The UUA provides this definition of a church covenant: "Our covenant binds us together as a community; it expresses our promises to one another and the way in which we will interact and uphold one another’s beliefs." Our church has not adopted a covenant statement, per se, but language in our most recent mission statement (c. 2002), especially in its second paragraph, reflects the intent of covenant.
Jeff Giddings reports we have received several gifts to our Refugees Fund from inside and outside the congregation. He is keeping the money in a separate account so it can be identified. Thank you to all who have donated! Meanwhile, Bill has been continuing to push to try to get clarity on the evolving situation, but with limited success. The town Health Department has been doing assessments of individual immigrants regarding school and health needs, with the help of translators.
Click in this article for the link to view the results of the Congregational Survey that was sent out in September.
Greetings, members and friends of UU Middleboro! We’re already a month into the new church year, and the weather is getting crisper as the days shorten and nights lengthen. It’s time for pumpkins and candy corn and fall colors and (almost) time for pumpkin spice-flavored everything.
This month is starting out with a chance to drum-in a new month. On October 1 at 3:00 PM, Sam Holmstock will lead about 20 fine folks in a workshop to explore the rhythms of African and AfroCuban styles. We’ve got a range of talents from beginners to advanced. I’m so looking forward to learning new techniques and enjoying the magic that happens when we make music together.
This year the children will be exploring the concept of home, their family home, the homes of creatures of the earth, their spiritual homes and the homes of those outside our community and in the larger world. Our first lessons are about thresholds, and we will be decorating the threshold at church with pretty paper flowers.
The process has advantages for us in addition to improving our chances of finding a minister. We are planning to use the process of “contract to call.” In this process, the Search Committee provides an application to candidates and interviews and reviews applications of any ministers who apply. The committee makes its recommendation to the PC, and if the PC finds the candidate acceptable, the PC negotiates a contract and hires the minister. Please click on the title to read more.
This Small Group Ministry is meeting weekly on Wednesdays for five weeks: October 4, 11, 18, 25, and November 1 from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. Group is limited to 8 participants. The sign-up sheet is on the Parlor table. If there is sufficient interest, the ministry will be offered again in the spring.
Greetings! As part of the process of finding a new minister, the Ministerial Search Committee has created a Congregational Survey. The purpose of the survey is twofold: firstly, it give members of the congregation an initial opportunity to give feedback on what they most value about our church and what we are looking for in a new minister, and secondly to help the Ministerial Search Committee paint an accurate picture of our congregation so that prospective ministers can have a sense of who we are. The survey is completely anonymous and should only take about 15 minutes to complete. We would like to have all the surveys finalized by the end of the day on Sunday, October 1, so we can begin the process of reviewing and compiling the results. We will then present our findings during the upcoming Cottage Meetings and give members of the congregation an opportunity to discuss the results and give additional feedback.
The Cash in the Plate for the month of September will be donated to the Salvation Army for relief efforts in Maui in the wake of the fire.
