I hope everyone is having a wonderfully rejuvenating summer. We’re having a great start to our summer as a community. We had a very well attended annual meeting on June 16th, immediately preceded by a special meeting, which resulted in a vote to temporarily expand our Board by adding two additional members-at-large. It was a very long day, but it was inspiring to see the high level of engagement in our congregation. I want to thank everyone who spent a good chunk of their Father’s Day attending our annual meeting, as well as those who couldn’t make it, but took the time to send in absentee ballots. Our active engagement in democracy is more important now than ever. We also received the happy news that we achieved Honor Congregation recognition from the UUA Annual Program Fund. This means that we’re paying our fair share and supporting the UUA in their important work. Thank you all for your continued generosity, which makes this possible.
The Board is taking our annual break from board meetings in July and August. But there’s still a great deal of activity at UUSM. On June 30th, we celebrated the completion of the Arizona Lobby Project with a ribbon cutting. I’d like to offer thanks to our Facilities Committee, and particularly to Beth Brownlie and Bryan Oakes. Beth and Bryan championed this project, helping the community to understand that, well… our building was sinking. We’re going to enjoy a newly accessible and attractive entrance, as well as better accessibility to the Garden of Eternity. But the most important aspect of the project is that our building foundation has been strengthened, and we’re engaging in proper care for our lovely, historic building.
To date, we’ve had about 20 congregants, including several board members, attend two Reflecting Circles, small groups that gather to speak from and listen to the hearts of one another. The focus of these circles is to continue to process changes that occurred in our Religious Education/Family Ministry staffing earlier this year, and to hear what people want and need from our community right now. Two more circles will be held on Sunday, August 11th at 10:45 am with childcare, and Thursday August 22nd at 4 pm via Zoom. Comments from all the Circles will be summarized, without attribution, and presented to the board when we reconvene in the fall. Many thanks to Rev. Kikanza Nuri-Robins for her leadership in this effort, and to Cheryl Barnett, Gretchen Goetz, Denise Helton, and Karen Hsu Patterson for facilitating the Circles.
We’ve also been deeply engaged with UU the Vote, with efforts led by Brad Hutchinson. We’ve distributed over 14,000 postcards so far, which share important information to help combat voter suppression and get out the vote. We have members and friends postcarding under the shade structure, with conversation and snacks, before and after services every week. People can also take cards with them to work on at home. I’d encourage everyone to participate in this fun, important, and empowering work.
Finally, I invite you to join me in welcoming the Santa Monica Synagogue to their new home with us here at UUSM. They’ll be beginning their services in our sanctuary later this month. I know this is a bittersweet moment for the SMS congregation as they leave their long-time home to move into their new home with us. I hold the SMS community in my heart. But I’m also very excited to see how our relationship with another liberal congregation strengthens us all. Rev. Jeremiah and Rabbi Shira Freidlin have been planning joint activities for our communities in the fall, including the building of a sukkah in our courtyard on October 13th after services. Rev. Kikanza and Rabbi Shira came up with the charming term “roomies” to describe our special, more than a renter, relationship with SMS. So it is with much gratitude for the leadership of Rev. Jeremiah, Rabbi Shira, Rev. Kikanza, and board members of both UUSM and SMS, that I welcome our new roomies.
