Submitted by Peter Livant

With this offering, appearing every month, the Board tries to convey to the whole Fellowship what issues the Board is thinking about and what all that thinking and discussing adds up to so far.

• blip •  blip blip •  blip  •          blip!  •

The Board’s radar is unlike the radar in an airport control tower. It’s magic! Air traffic controllers know that each blip on their radar screen represents in actual airplane carrying actual people which must be brought safely to earth, without delay. Like the air traffic control blips, the Board’s radar has blips that demand immediate action: nearby blips. But unlike the air traffic controller’s radar, the Board’s radar also has distant blips for planes that might never land, or at least might land next year, or the year after that. Sometimes the Board, in a paroxysm of visionary thought, thinks up a blip that it feels ought to be on the radar and just hauls off and puts it there. Then the Board must eventually decide either, alas, it’s a plane with no wings and removes it from the screen, or it’s a plane capable of a smooth landing and the Board keeps it on an approach path.

What blips stand out this time?

Distant blips

• Circle Dinners at AUUF
  Circle dinners involve groups of 6 – 8 people (g., 3 or 4 couples, give or take) getting together once a month to have dinner together at the home of someone in the group. Usually the location rotated. These dinners were a part of AUUF social life a long time ago. (“A long time ago” means it was before yours truly arrived at AUUF, which was 1994). I’ve been told that the Circle Dinners were pretty popular. And they spawned the “Circle of Friends” which focused on kids, who were left out of the Circle Dinner goings-on. Circle of Friends activities included a mask-making party before Halloween, a make-your-own-pizza party, and – still going strong – the Vining and Stone soup event at Robert and Amy’s house. The Board thought that after two years or so of seeing each other in Zoom rectangles, it might be a good idea for adults, kids – everybody – to get together in three dimensions.
• AUUF spots on Troy Public Radio
  Our trusty NPR affiliate which has been “Hear for Forty-Five Years” will sell on-air radio spots for a reasonable price. The Board is looking into purchasing some to get our welcoming, inclusive message out there.

Nearby blips

The nearby blips at our October Board meeting were important. A sampling:

• Auction Planning
  The work has begun! It looks like the live auction and the silent auction will be together again in the Sanctuary. If you have suggestions about the Auction, or have an item to donate for either type of auction, or would like to help out with the work, contact Peter Livant, Emily Livant, Billye Welburn, or Darrell Crutchley, who comprise the Auction Committee (so far). The Auction happens, as ever, on December 2, the first Friday in December.
• Emphasizing existing policy
  The Board endorsed the following statement: “The AUUF Board is committed to the safety of all members, friends, and guests of the Fellowship. This includes a strong commitment to the safety of children on our premises and in our care. As such, we reaffirm the importance of following all AUUF policies and protocols, including the requirements to perform background checks on all employees and volunteers working with children; for parents to sign their children in and out of the RE program (including the playground and related activities); and minimum staffing for adequate supervision. Children will not be allowed to participate in RE programming if there are not at least two adults present within line of sight of all children participating. These protocols are in place to ensure the safety of and accountability for our children.”
• A new policy on mask wearing
  The Board voted in favor of strongly recommending wearing masks indoors at AUUF instead of requiring that masks be worn indoors as we do now. This new policy will begin on November 6.

Here’s blipping at you, kid.

~Over and out.

P.S. A humongous blip, big enough to take up the entire radar screen, happened on October 8 and lasted 5 and a half hours! It was the Board Retreat! In person!! It’s hard to summarize such a monumental meeting but suffice it to say we turned our earnest gaze toward concepts such as Mission, Covenant, and Vision. We also discussed governance at AUUF. These were things that cannot be done at our regular Board meetings, so it was great to have the time to explore these topics deeply. Thanks to Gary Lerude, who facilitated the retreat professionally.