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 every blip on their 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

• Out into the world
  The dividing line between “distant” and “nearby” blips is open to discussion (as are lots of things at AUUF). Even so, I have unilaterally called this a distant blip because I’m the guy writing this. If you want to discuss it, fill out the Request For Discussion form in triplicate and drop it in the President’s mailbox. AUUF has purchased a gorgeous purple canopy which we will be using at CityFest at the end of April and at yet-unspecified future events where we can make our Fellowship known to the general public. We now turn our attention to how we will convey our message; for instance, will we hand out pamphlets or other items, and if so, what shall they be?
• Covenant
  The Board has a goal this year of casting a spotlight on the creation of a written covenant for the Fellowship. As the creation of a mission statement and a vision statement is now in the home stretch, the Board is considering how to begin work on a covenant. Look for a service in March devoted to the topic. We UUs aver we aren’t a creedal religion; we’re a covenantal religion. Since we’re a covenantal religion, it seems only fitting that we have a covenant at AUUF.
• Good ideas in a box
  It occurred to us that locating a “suggestion box” in the Sanctuary might be a good idea. We’ll see.
• Fellowship retreat at The Mountain
  The idea of having a Fellowship retreat at The Mountain is in limbo. Currently the possibility of sharing a weekend at The Mountain

Nearby blips

• The board rules!
  There’s a bulletin board in the Sanctuary. Have you noticed it? It’s in the corner near the hymnals. Because Boards and policies go together like the proverbial horse and carriage, the Board considered a set of rules for using the bulletin board. The official rules (Board board rules) should come out shortly. While we await the official rules, here are some soon-to-be-official rules: put your name and the date of posting on the item, if your item publicizes an event, take down your item after the event has occurred, any item more than 30 days old can be removed by anyone.
• Canvass
  We put together our Canvass Committee. Canvass kicks off on March 5. I can’t imagine what this year’s theme will be!
• Chili Cook-off
  The Chili cook-off has become a tradition. With that in mind, we mind our traditions and we’re planning the 2023 manifestation of the Chili Cook-off. Would you like to help? Would you like to enter your chili? Tell us. In this case “us” is Jim Newton, Kristen Starr, and Peter Livant.

Here’s blipping at you, kid.

~Over and out

Peter