As you know, the past few months have been challenging. A lot of changes have taken place, and even a good bit of turmoil in the ranks. A few months ago, the last thing I thought I’d be doing is writing my first letter as president for the newsletter, but here I am. That said, I’m happy to be here for the congregation at this time. I think we all know that we have some work to do this year, and I’m rolling up my figurative sleeves to get ready.

First, I wanted to talk about the building itself. Our main concern is the issues with the roof. Thanks to the due diligence of our Buildings and Grounds team, we’re on a good path. Nancy Hagman had reached out to a few contractors to work on the roof and HVAC system. No need to go into specifics, but these will both be costly repairs. We’ll approach the congregation as more info becomes available. We all live in Florida so we know that roof and air conditioning is important, but we also know that contractors are pretty busy around this time. We may or may not have everything done before the end of hurricane season, but we’re certainly trying. Big thanks to Nancy for leading this effort, as well as the whole B&G team.

Next, insurance. I don’t have any big updates on this yet, but I hope to have some in the near future. When we last talked about this, we were pretty divided on what to do about this situation. Self-insure, which basically means put the incredibly high prices we’d pay for insurance into a special account to pay for whatever might come if we get a storm. The other option is to pay the incredibly high insurance rates. To be blunt, there’s no easy answer, and both rely on the whims Mother Nature and Lady Luck. As Floridians, we know how both of those entities work. At any rate, we’ll keep you informed.

Then there is the issue of church safety. We can look at this in many ways. Weather emergencies certainly can happen, as our recent deluge of rain shows us. Again, we’re in hurricane season, so there’s that. We also could do more on prep for medical emergencies. We have a defibrillator on hand, but how many of us feel comfortable using it? Maybe more importantly, especially in our troubled times, we could do more about the remote possibility of an individual with ill will who wants to do us harm. We do have contingencies right now that we hope will help with church safety, such as the work of the greeters and having them lock the doors after the service has begun. If someone comes late, it’s easy enough to hear them at the doors and have someone open them. However, there is more we can do, and I’m currently exploring more ways to reasonably make our congregation safe. Then, of course, the protection of our little ones in childcare. This has been a serious discussion in the past few months, and I hope to work on this issue most. A fellow congregant has written me recently with some common sense approaches that I hope to work on to implement when I am fully on the board.

Lastly, we certainly have work to do on the many complicated ways we deal with social issues in the nation and in our own ranks. As the federal government turns its back on the progress that we, as Unitarian Universalists, have struggled for over the years—from the civil rights movements, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and voting rights—we must be a beacon of light in our community on these issues. As a congregation, we’ve worked closely with JUST Pensacola, and I couldn’t be prouder of those continued efforts, as frustrating as they can be at times. After all, they don’t call it a “struggle” because the work is easy. Furthermore, as individuals, so many people in our congregation are parts of nearly every social justice movement in our region. That is also something of which to take enormous pride. Our civic engagement is unmatched in our broader community. However, there are always ways we can focus that energy on our own UUCP community. While fighting for the rights of others, we can also spend some time and energy to see the ways the ills of our society—in particular, racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and other ills—can be rooted out of our own community. I know this is easier said than done, but the effort is worthwhile. The Eighth Principle, that we adopted several years ago, asks us to make the effort to stay engaged in the fight against these ills of society. The effort is also, as I’ve come to learn over my years in activism, an ongoing effort. That said, we have a very long history of people who stay engaged in the struggles, and we can look towards those folks—Rev. James Reeb, Viola Liuzzo, Frances E.W. Harper, Martha & Waitstill Sharp, Clara Barton, to name a few—and those courageous people within our own ranks who inspire me constantly for spiritual guidance. In short, we have a history of facing tough times and prevailing. We should learn from these histories and lean into them to learn how to face these complex issues. Facing the issues, however, may be uncomfortable and mean we make tough decisions, but we will prevail. We always have.

Our challenge is always safety in an unsafe world, while also creating a caring and loving environment. To do so, we must be able to establish trust within the congregation—in the leadership and amongst each other. I’m confident that we’ll overcome our troubles and hopefully be stronger for the work.

That’s my hope: that, together, we will prevail. UUCP has a long history of overcoming pain and heartache, as well as responding with fairness and kindness, but most of all love.

With that in mind, let’s lean into the love this year and hold ourselves accountable to our principles.

If I haven’t said it before, I really do appreciate you putting your faith in me as president this year. It means a lot to me, and I hope to live up to your expectations. If you ever need anything, feel free to reach out at any time. I’m here for you.

Sincerely,

Scott, UUCP Board President