At the Congregational Meeting on December 17, the Board of Trustees will ask the congregation to approve a change to the bylaws updating the way we define our ministry and executive teams. We would like to be clear about the intention and impact of these changes before we cast our votes.

The board and ministers have been vocal about our preference for co-lead ministry and we have successfully adopted this model during our interim period, which started in August 2022. However, the vote on Sunday is not a referendum on co-lead ministry.

The bylaws changes we have proposed would allow for co-lead ministry, but they also allow for a number of other ministry and executive team arrangements. We would not be locked into co-lead or any other specific ministry model. Instead, the board, the congregation, and the ministers in collaboration would have the ability to define our ministerial and administrative approaches to meet the needs of the congregation as they evolve. 

Specifically, today we only have the option to call one minister, identified as the senior minister. Having the option to call a second minister is required in order for us to pursue co-lead ministry long term, but we could optionally call a minister who does not fill the lead role if that arrangement better suits our needs. 

Additionally, the changes explicitly entrust the definition of the executive team to the board. (The executive team is responsible for all activities of the church, like a CEO.) Currently this authority is granted as an exception when a senior minister is not serving as executive. Updating this language brings our bylaws in line with the practical responsibilities of the board and makes clear that the congregation ultimately decides how our church is managed, through their representatives on the board. 

Finally, the board is committed to engaging with the congregation to determine our needs and preferences before taking further steps to define our future ministerial team. An affirmative vote on the bylaws change signals willingness to engage in a conversation about co-lead ministry and other ministerial arrangements, not necessarily a firm commitment to the co-lead model. We expect to begin conversations on this topic in January 2024 so that we are clear about the composition of our Executive Team prior to initiating a search for a second minister.

Thank you for being active participants in our evolution as a congregation and helping us to discover our best reality together.

Here are the materials for the September 10 Town Hall – Click Here.

We are encouraging you to attend the town hall in the sanctuary. This town hall will continue the discussions started at the 6/25 town hall concerning a possible land sale. The meeting will be led by Vic Cornell, Board President, and Dave Riehl, Board Treasurer. The discussion will be about the planned vote to release restricted funds, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 24th at 12:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. 

The vote will require a two-thirds vote to pass. Here’s your chance to be an informed voter. Come to the town hall, hear what the board has to say, ask questions, tell your friends.

We are encouraging you to attend the town hall in the sanctuary. This town hall will continue the discussions started at the 6/25 town hall concerning a possible land sale. The meeting will be led by Vic Cornell, Board President, and Dave Riehl, Board Treasurer. The discussion will be about the planned vote to release restricted funds, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 24th at 12:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. 

The vote will require a two-thirds vote to pass. Here’s your chance to be an informed voter. Come to the town hall, hear what the board has to say, ask questions, tell your friends.

For our service on August 20, Rev. Chris and Rev. Michelle will answer your questions about the church, life, the universe, and everything (though neither will pretend to have the answers to all that). We will provide materials to jot down and submit your questions on August 20; however, if you know you will be attending the service virtually or will not be able to attend the service live, please feel free to submit your question ahead of time to info@austinuu.org. Rev. Michelle and Rev. Chris will then answer as many questions as possible in the time allotted.

On September 3, 2023, as we begin the 2023-2024 church year, will be changing the time of our worship service on Sundays to 11:00 a.m.

We will be making this change to achieve several goals:

• It will help make our church more welcoming to new folks by having a service time that is easier to remember because it is more standard than a service time that begins on a quarter hour mark.
• As our membership and attendance continues to grow, we anticipate eventually needing to return to two services. This new service time will allow us to plan for adding an earlier service more easily when the time comes.
• Finally, participation in our Lifespan Religious Education (RE) programs is also growing. Adjusting our service time will also allow us to structure our Sunday morning RE offerings to better accommodate this exciting growth.

From your Healthy Relations Team

Dear Healthy Relations Team,

It’s difficult enough trying to engage people I don’t know during coffee hour. Now, it seems, I must worry about pronouns. I am so nervous about making mistakes that I retreat to the corners or engage only with people I know. This certainly doesn’t seem welcoming. Any suggestions?

Confused and Wary

_____________________________

Dear Confused and Wary,

There are so many ways in which we can fail to be welcoming. Thank you for bringing to our attention one way that is new to many of us and, therefore, uncomfortable. Today we have turned to an expert and asked Evan Mahony, a trans competency trainer and new board member, to provide us guidance both about how to avoid allowing our silence to inhibit progress and/or failing to interrupt hurtful interactions when we witness them. Evan writes:

“In my professional life as a trans competency trainer, my first piece of advice is to initiate introductions        yourself by saying, ‘Hi, I’m Evan. My pronouns are they/them.’ If they don’t respond with pronouns, don’t worry. If they do, you know what they prefer.

People ask, ‘What do I do if I misgender or mis-name someone accidentally?’ There is a lot of worry and concern about accidentally saying the wrong thing. My answer is to briefly apologize, quickly correct yourself, and move on. It’s as simple as ‘I was talking to Alex and he—sorry, I mean she—said that she would bring the cups for the party,’ or ‘After service today I have to talk to Jenny—oh, sorry, Jonathan—about our class.’

Apologizing too effusively or too lengthily runs the risk of centering speaker’s own feelings and making the trans person feel pressured to reassure the speaker. Everyone makes mistakes—wires get crossed (for example, many people have had the experience of a parent absent-mindedly calling them a sibling’s name)—even trans people misgender each other by accident sometimes (I certainly do)! The point isn’t to be perfect and never make mistakes—the important part is how we recognize, take responsibility for, and correct our mistakes going forward.

Another question is what to do if you observe someone misgendering a trans person in front of you. This can get a little more complicated depending on the circumstance, but usually I would recommend, if you have a relationship to that trans person, ask them, ‘If I observe someone misgendering you, would you like me to correct the speaker? Does your preference change depending on whether you’re present for the conversation or not?” And then follow their preference.’

For me, personally, I very much appreciate when other people speak up and correct others for me, so that I don’t have to do so myself! It doesn’t have to be a whole conversation—just a quick interjection of ‘Oh, Evan uses they/them’ or ‘Oh, Evan is nonbinary’ can be very helpful. At a previous job, I had a coworker who repeatedly used the wrong pronouns for me, and my boss very consistently corrected my coworker over and over until my coworker started getting my pronouns right. That was a wonderful example of allyship and support in action.”

The Healthy Relations Ministry thanks Evan for their help today. We are available to you as a resource if you need help with a difficult situation here at church. The Healthy Relations team includes Margaret Borden, Tomas Medina, and Julie Paasche and can be reached at healthyrelations@austinuu.org.

In October 2022, First UU began offering a monthly Vespers service that provided a more intimate, experimental and contemplative style of worship.

As we plan for the future, we would love to hear from you. Would you attend a Vespers service? And if so, what sorts of things would you like to see included?

Please join Reverend Chris and the Vespers team for a discussion either via Zoom (6/29 @6:30 PM) or in person (7/9 @ 12:30 PM). We will provide pizza after the in person session on 7/9.

Please register to attend so that we plan appropriately:

6/29 Online Session: Register on Church Center

7/9 In-Person Session: Register on Church Center

Vespers is a unique opportunity to create worship together.

We are now live-streaming our worship services over Austin Public Television on Sunday mornings! 

Click here for information on television channels and other ways to access the Austin Public live-stream.

The 2023-2024 church year congregational meeting dates will be:

Fall Pre-Congregational Meeting – November 19, 2023
Fall Congregational Meeting –  December 17, 2023

Spring Pre-Congregational Meeting – April 21, 2024
Fall Congregational Meeting, May 19, 2024

Please note: All of the above meetings will be held at 12:30 p.m.

Meetings will be held in the sanctuary and over the church Zoom.

Your board requests that church groups not schedule other meetings or events during these dates and times so that congregational members who wish to attend and vote are able to do so.

On Sunday, June 4, at 10:45 a.m., we will hold our annual flower communion during the worship service.

This year, we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of this tradition. The first Flower Ceremony was held in Prague, in June 1923, led by Rev. Norbert Čapek.

We hope you will join us for this much-loved Unitarian Universalist ritual. Please bring a flower or flowers. During the service, you will have the opportunity to add your flower(s) to large bouquets we will create in the sanctuary and to take a different flower with you, symbolizing both the unique, sacred beauty of each of us and the even greater beauty we create when we share that sacred uniqueness with one another.