Did you get your Valentine last month from UUCP? The cards that came in the mail a few weeks ago invited our Members and Friends to review the church’s operating expenses and proposed budget and to make a commitment to our church for 2021-22. The Finance Team reminds us of the gratitude, joy, strength, resilience, and hope that we have shown and that has sustained our community during the pandemic. The online Budget Drive page is attractive and informative and is a convenient way to make your pledge and affirm your status as a Member or Friend (or request to change your status from one to the other). If you haven’t done that yet, you are encouraged to respond by March 7. As a Unitarian Universalist Church, we are a fully independent congregation. We receive no monies from our national organization; we are funded solely through pledges, donations, and fundraising at the congregational level. Therefore, it is up to us to support our church as we are able.
The UUA 30 Days of Love campaign began with MLK Day and culminated on Valentine’s Day. The campaign included a Side with Love Sunday Service that encouraged us to reflect on what it means to live as loving, caring people in the world by embodying our UU principles and values. Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin’s piece during this service was especially heart-stirring for me. Dr. Nur Amin reminded us that we have options eve-ry day to “do the most loving, life-affirming thing” we can. Embodying our UU principles and values must include taking care of ourselves. Another part of embodying these principles and values involves building community among our congregation — making a financial investment in the church, being present with one another, listening, checking in, and helping each other. Another aspect of embodying our UU principles and values involves extending radical hospitality toward the wider world. As Dr. Nur Amin said in her segment during the Side with Love service, UU is a faith that calls us to “do things,” and the proof of our faith is in the extent to which we set about doing the work of “love, justice, and community.” Her talk gave me chills as I reflected on the extent to which my choices and behaviors demonstrate my deepest-held beliefs.
As you all know, I am a professional social worker. Since completing my doctorate degree in December, I started another side job as an adjunct instructor teaching a graduate social work course in social policy at UWF. February being Black History Month, we spent some time in the class discussing black pioneers in social work, women such as Mary Church Terrell (1863 – 1954) and Dorothy Height (1912 – 2010), who are also excellent women to research and learn about during Women’s History Month, this month being March. While looking into social workers of color who were also UUs, I found an interesting resource for a service honoring Whitney Young, a social worker and Civil Rights activist, and the slain UU minister James Reeb, both of whom died in the month of March. Check out the resource at https://www.uua.org/worship/holidays/black-history.
The focus on UUs and social workers and activists reminds me that the legislative session kicks off this month. If you are on the Social Justice Team email list, surely you have been receiving alerts from Paula Montgomery about bills going through the legislative committee process and requests to call or write our representatives. Paula is sharing Action Alerts from UU Justice Florida. This will prove to be a busy and important legislative year with many opportunities to express our UU values in the policy arena and to side with love no matter how challenging or frustrating that seems.
Meanwhile, the Board continues to focus on the church’s operations, vision, and goals and to consider how to move ahead with recongregating and resuming in-person gathering. We always welcome your input.
Until next time,
Lauren Anzaldo, Board President