Something Old , Something New

by Ralph Olander,  
President, Board of Trustees

March marks the end of winter and the end of our fiscal year and that means change is in the air.  As we welcome the balmy breezes of springtime, it is time to attend to the nuts and bolts of our Society. 

  Our annual Congregational meeting is slated for March 21 after services.  Two major items of business are to be addressed at that meeting: the approval of a new budget and election of new members of the Board of Trustees.  About the first, we will be seeing something new: in order to to bring our fiscal year into alignment with both the UUA and the Ohio-Meadville District, we will be shifting our fiscal year from April through March to July through June.  That will mean that the budget presented for approval to the Congregation by the Finance Committee will cover 15 months: April 2010 to June 2011. 

  As to the election of  Trustees, there will be three vacancies to be filled: Kevin Morey, and I will be leaving in addition to the vacancy left by the recent resignation of Eric Richendollar.

Another issue to be decided is the proposal I advanced to replace the old facade of organ pipes in the front left of the Sanctuary with a scroll of sayings from other religious traditions to balance the Judeo-Christian scriptures at the front right.  Numerous comments have been received about the proposal and it deserves an open hearing in order to get a consensus on such a major change.

  In order to minimize the amount of discussion and questions that this issue and the budget might elicit, we will continue the practice of the last couple of years and hold an open forum on Sunday, March 7, after services to air out the concerns.  We will also have available the Annual Committee reports for review and will entertain questions on those.  Please be sure to attend if you have opinions on these matters.

Oh, and please pledge generously during our annual canvass so that we can plan the budget more accurately.

Become a Chalice Lighter—A program that is not new but you might not have heard of for a while is the Chalice Lighter program.  This program is UUA-wide but administered by each District and it provides grant money four times a year  to congregations that apply.  The money comes from the donations of individuals who sign up as “Chalice Lighters”  by agreeing to donate $10 when one of the four “calls” goes out.  That means you are liable for a maximum of only $40 per year.  Our Chalice Lighters deal directly with the OMD and can donate online through the OMD website or by sending a check. FUUSM was the beneficiary of this program when we had the flood a few years ago but there are only two Chalice Lighters among us now.  I hope many of you will join me in volunteering for this worthwhile program.  There are brochures in the Fellowship Hall and there is also information on the OMD website: www.ohiomeadville.org/steward/chalight.html

  The Last Word—As I depart after my second stint on the Board, and my one year as President, I want to thank everyone  for supporting the other trustees and me in our work and making my service a most rewarding time.