September 2011

It's hard to believe, but September is here already, and Autumn will soon be upon us. This month marks the beginning of our traditional Fellowship year, and with it we welcome our new Consulting Minister, Barnaby Feder. Rev. Feder will normally be leading services on the first and third Sundays of each month, but in September he will be doing the second Sunday as well. Sunday, September 4th will be his first sermon, in which he will formally begin his ministry with UUFP, and share his dreams for our congregation.

We traditionally begin the year with a UU water ceremony, in which we all bring a small sample of water from a place with holds spiritual meaning to us. We combine the waters and their symbolic meanings together, just as we bring our lives and varied experiences together in Fellowship. Our water ceremony this year will be on September 11th, in a very special program that both celebrates our community, and reflects on the terrorist attacks ten years ago.

Another end-of-the-summer UUFP tradition has been the Corn Roast at the Elsaesser's.    This will be on Saturday, Sept. 18. Everyone is welcome - it's a wonderful opportunity to share good food and conversation with our UU community.

And now for a little business. The Board has established two goals for the 2011- 2012 Fellowship year. The first is to implement the recommendations of the Communications Task Force, which worked during the past year to evaluate communications within UUFP and make recommendations for improvement. The second is to develop a major annual fundraising activity which focuses on bringing in money from outside the congregation. You'll be hearing more about both these activities in the coming months, and there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved!

In closing, welcome back everyone, and I hope you're all looking forward to an exciting year!

In peace,

Mark White