Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown

“Success is easy to achieve once you set your mind on a specific goal” ~ Aristotle

Every spring the Board of Directors meet to set goals for the UUFP to help us deliver on our Mission and values. These goals then help to inform on our decisions as to where we would like to invest in our fellowship and spend our money. These goals are a primary driver of our yearly budget. The board routinely reviews our progress on our goals and modify if necessary.

So, how are we doing with regard to this year’s goals? We have made great strides in achieving the goals which include the ongoing improvement in the aesthetics of our building, delivering spiritually nourishing and engaging Sunday Services (without a minister), hiring a nursery attendant, starting a program for “Tweens,” starting a Women’s Group, and creating a marketing committee that has done a great job increasing our on-line advertising. All these efforts have led to an increase in attendance on Sundays, an increase in the number of children in attendance on Sundays and an increase in rentals – all of which has strengthened our financial position.

The Board met in mid-March to develop goals for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The decision was made to keep the same goals as last year, but change our plan of action in achieving those goals. While you will receive a more in-depth explanation of each goal during our pledge drive and Annual Congregational Meeting, I wanted to provide an overview of what those goals are.

Ensure that UUFP remains a viable religious community: We will do this by managing our finances responsibly, invest in technology/sound system that would improve the sound quality of our on-line services as well as enable Sunday Services to be heard throughout the building and to continue to invest in updating our buildings and ground. We discussed developing a 5-year plan that would include the timing of some of the more expensive projects like new flooring in the original part of the building, fixing the cracks in the ceiling of the sanctuary and cleaning/replacing the sound tiles in the sanctuary.

Continue to offer spiritually nourishing and engaging Sunday Services: We will do this by appropriately financing the Worship Committee’s budget, developing a feedback mechanism so that we can identify those speakers who meet the needs of the Sunday Service attendees and then routinely engage those speakers.

Enhance support and function of the Worship Committee: We will look to add members to the Worship Committee as well as add more lay leaders. The Worship Committee will continue to have a strategic approach when lining up speakers to ensure that the topics are in alignment with the fellowship’s interests and UU principals.

Invest in Religious Education: We will do this by hiring someone to manage the RE Program for ages 5 through 10-year-old children as well as continue to build out programs for the “Tweens,” Teens, and adults.

Enhance Community awareness of UUFP: We will do this by continuing to hold events that include the surrounding community, supporting and leveraging our Marketing Committee to “get the word out” about the UUFP and invest in a new sign for the front of our property.

The fellowship has had a lot of successes this past year to be proud of (and there are still three months left in the fiscal year!). These successes are due primarily to our remaining focused on the goals we set and to the people who have given of themselves and their time to pull-through those goals. The Board of Directors believe that if we continue to focus on these same goals for next year, we will have even more success. Please feel free to let us know your thoughts.

In gratitude, Linda K.

“What I know for sure is that when you declutter–whether it is your home, your head, or your heart–it is astounding what will flow into that space that will enrich your life.” ~ Peter Walsh

March is the month when Spring begins, and many people start to think of “Spring Cleaning.” The UUFP is no different. After years of accumulating things and then looking for any vacant spot inside the building to store it, the time has come to take a systematic approach to “decluttering” our Fellowship and organizing the items that we want to keep. The first few steps have already been taken. The decision has been made to convert the conference room that is adjacent to the main entrance into a storage room. The first room to be decluttered was the “Teen Room.” All items have been cleared out of the closets and cabinets. Many thanks go out to Kay Price and Mary Ryan who helped to first review each item and then determine if it fell into the Keep, Sell, Donate or Toss pile. Once that was completed, items were moved (or removed) accordingly. The next step will be to give the “Teen Room” a fresh coat of paint and then the work crew will move on to the remaining closets and cabinets in the building. Once we have cleaned them out, we will have a much better feel for our storage needs and available space. The library and Minister’s Office will then be tackled. Simultaneously, Meghan Mickle, our new nursery teacher, is going through the nursery. This is an ongoing process: we didn’t accumulate the clutter in a day, hence it will take some time to declutter. If anyone would like to help, please let me know.

Part of the impetus for doing this is that we now have a new long-term renter of our “Teen Room.” New Earth Traditions is a home-school enrichment program whose mission is to support education and development in a modern-ancestral way. They will be using our space on Wednesdays starting in April. Their teachings are very much in alignment with our UU Principles, so we are very excited to have them. If you would like more information regarding them, please visit their website at www.NewEarthTraditions.com.

Speaking of rentals, please spread the word about the ability to rent our facilities. If you know of anyone that is looking for a space to hold a party (birthday, graduation or retirement), hold a memorial service, host a baby shower or hold a wedding, please mention our beautiful space. All the individual needs to do is contact us at  Rentals@UUPottstown.org. The Rental Coordinator (me) will then handle the rest.

The final bit of new information that I will share is that Ruby Barnthouse has graciously agreed to become the RE Committee Chair. Over the past few years, Ruby has done an outstanding job in serving as our volunteer RE Teacher and building a quality program that children love to attend. Miss Ruby, as she is known to the children, has created a nurturing environment where the children can learn age-appropriate UU lessons. However, the challenge that we now face is two-fold: more children are attending on Sundays and the ages of the children are becoming more disparate. Ruby is already thinking about different ways to engage the “Tween” group. She will be working closely with the Board to develop a plan as to how to expand the RE program to be inclusive and pertinent to all age groups. It is a big task, and we are grateful that she is willing to take this on. Enjoy the Vernal Equinox – or in laymen’s terms – Happy Spring!!

In gratitude, Linda