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! •
Unlike the radar in an airport control tower, the Board’s radar is magic! Air traffic controllers know that each blip on the screen is an actual airplane carrying actual people which must be brought safely to earth without delay. So, too, 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 maybe 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
o Increasing AUUF’s public presence
We’d like to be on the scene at festivals and other public events, increasing the public’s awareness of who we are and what we have to offer. We are thinking about buying a folding canopy to use at least by CityFest in April, 2023. Probably we will be ready before April to attend other gatherings. We’ll be looking for volunteers to “work the table.”
o Fun-raisers that are also fundraisers
Events that bring the members of the AUUF community together to enjoy themselves are events that are needed just now. And if everyone tosses in a buck or two…well, that’s needed too. Having an idea for an event and then turning it into a reality requires the creativity and energy of our members and friends. Tell us your ideas for swell gatherings. Meanwhile, Board members may be out recruiting you to work on some of the Board’s ideas. Let’s do it together.
Nearby blips
The nearby blips at our November Board meeting were BIG. A sampling:
• AUUF Policies
One of the Board’s fundamental duties is to formulate policies that keep the Fellowship on track and running smoothly. While some AUUF policies exist at present, in some cases new policies are needed. And, once a policy is created by the Board, there must be a way to alert the Fellowship that a new policy has been created, and there must be a way that everyone can access not only the new policy, but all our policies. We are undertaking the building of what many UU congregations refer to as a “Policy Book.” It will take a long time. But we have begun.
• Board Goals
As an outgrowth of the Board retreat in early October, the Board devoted considerable time at our November meeting to discerning goals for the Board for the rest of the year (until June 30). We came up with a two-part short-term goal (target date December 31), and a two-part long-term goal (target date June 30). Our short-term goals are (a) to have in hand an AUUF Mission Statement in final form and (b) to have decided how the Mission Statement will be formally adopted. Our long-term goals are to (a) Identify three policies most in need of work and (b) revise or rewrite those policies and adopt them.
Here’s blipping at you, kid.
~Over and out
P. S. Since I’ve got your eyeballs, let me give a shout-out for the Auction. It will occur, as always, on the first Friday in December. While it may seem that some anonymous invisible committee by itself causes the Auction to come into existence, in reality, it’s an effort of the entire Fellowship. Can you donate a food item for the food table? If so, contact Jan Newton. Can you chip in a six-pack of beer or a bottle or two of wine? If so, contact Jerry McCreary or Larry Moore. Can you help with set-up and take-down of the Auction space? If so, visit the SignUpGenius to volunteer (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4aadad2baaf8c52-annual). And if you can donate an auction item, either a physical item, or a service (like a special meal, or cleaning leaves out of gutters, or installing ceiling fans, or helping someone declutter a garage or a room), go to www.auuf.org/auction and enter your donation.
But whether or not you do any of these things, do this: Come to the Auction! The Silent Auction begins at 6 pm. The Live Auction begins at 7 pm. See you there!