December 31st Family Overnight

New Years Eve join us for potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m., then a ritual  labyrinth walk at 7:00 p.m. followed by fun and fellowship throughout the night. The labyrinth will be available for individuals to experience it as they wish. Breakfast and coffee will be available at 8:00 a.m. Bring your musical instruments, your sleeping bag, your journal, or anything else that may add to the fun. All ages welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult (but adults do not have to have children). For more information contact Derrick Dunham dsdunham82@gmail.com

January 1st New Years Day open walk until noon

With coffee and breakfast available at 8:00 a.m., the church will remain open until noon for anyone that wishes to begin the New Year with a labyrinth walk. Consider a New Year's walk as a ritual releasing of the old on the way into the labyrinth, creating space for receiving in the center, and then returning to the new year to begin again. 

Standing on the side of love...together.    
 

I still remember the moment I saw the banner in our church, 'Standing on the side of love'. Something about it caught my attention and I found myself fixated on the words, the logo and my own musings about the meaning. After services, I visited Standingonthesideoflove.org and several other UU web sites. Within minutes, I had designed and purchased my own t-shirt with the Standing on the side of love slogan on the front, and the UUCG logo on the back! I was thrilled. This shirt represented a new beginning for me in a church community where I, for the first time, had found a spiritual home. My comfort level with church and faith grew exponentially. Week after week, services became a joyful foundation for the week ahead, as I was able to connect with the fun, laughter and contagious enthusiasm for who we are as UUCG members and friends.

It is with this foundation that I engage with you today to kick off our 2011-2012 ACT campaign (Annual Commitment Time): Standing on the Side of Love. As UU's, we choose where we stand. We choose what we believe. We choose how we worship. That ability to choose is at the core of why many of us are here, and not in another faith community. Our ability to choose gives us great freedom, and with great freedom comes great responsibility. How we move forward into this new year will be based on the choices we each make -- independently, and as a congregation.

I believe this year, maybe more than ever, we need to choose to Stand on the Side of Love - together. We need to choose to commit our precious time, talent and financial support to strengthen our faith community and build in what is most important...here... to you and to me. Our UUCG community is so rich in spirit, when we support that richness financially, we are choosing to make an investment in ourselves, and one of the best investments we can make is investing in ourselves.

 I invite you to join me, Vance Archer (ACT Committee Chair), and the Board to Stand on the Side of Love, and kick off this year's ACT campaign together. Let's invest in us.

Abby Donnelly

ACT Committee

Ladies' Night Out, Monday, January 31st 

Ladies meet at the Saigon Restaurant on the corner of High Point Road and Merritt Drive.  We welcome newcomers to our evening of getting to know about one another, fine dining, and lots of laughter. So that the wait staff knows how many tables to set up please contact Mary Davis (856-0188)or Janet Plummer (294-6364).

Men's Night Out 2, Monday, January 31st
 

 

Potter's House another big success! 

 
9 volunteers from our church fed 104 hungry people at Weaver House on December 6.  We fed them the usual ham stew, bread and fruit.  We spent $130 to provide the meal.  We also served cookies made by our church members, and they were a big hit.  We can always use more workers.

This is a time of some uncertainty in our congregation as we learn that our minister, whom we have known for the past nine years, will be leaving us in a few months.  It is a time when we need to come together to strengthen our commitments to each other in the spirit of our covenant. Our Congregational Culture Task Force will be planning opportunities for us to find ways to give positive voice to our concerns for our future.

As we learned when we read and discussed Dr. Peter Steinke's book, Healthy Congregations, "A healthy congregation is one that actively and responsibly addresses or heals its disturbances, not one with an absence of troubles."  Thus, we expect to work together during the next months to continue to make our congregation strong and healthy, as we move forward together.

Throughout November and December, members of the UUCG Governance Task Force have been actively researching in various aspects of the church's organizational structures, staff roles, policies, documentation practices and communication patterns in order to more fully understand what the current system includes and where there may be gaps or areas that can be improved upon in the future. 

Using ideas gleaned from the three Open Conversations on governance held in October, the Alban Institute report, and recommended readings on church governance and shared ministry, we divided into teams which are pursuing the following topics in more depth: Church mission and guiding documents/bylaws, Board authority and accountability, committee structure, communication and decision-making, staff roles and committee relationships, UUA best practices and models of governance, and documentation/"institutional memory" at UUCG.

Our members worked closely with Vance Archer and the Council on Committees on changes to committee charges and reporting lines that were approved by the Board on Dec. 15th. Interviews with all staff members will be completed by Christmas, and plans are underway for conversations early in 2011 with past board presidents and members and lay leaders.  We expect to complete this phase of research by the end of February and to prepare recommendations for submission to the Board later in the spring for any changes that seem most urgent with a ministerial transition pending.
 
If you have questions or suggestions about governance issues and how UUCG can better organize itself, make sound decisions, and communicate effectively, please contact me or other GTF members or leave a note in my mailbox (to the left of the water fountains).
 
Charlotte Hamlin, chair, Governance Task Force     (chamlin1@triad.rr.com; (336) 855-1266
GTF members:  Steve Andrews, Carolyn Crumpacker, Sharin Francis, Miriam Heard, Donya Lucas, Hope McLean, Sue Sherwood, Merritt Wayt
   

Received a proposal for use of the Reserve Fund from treasurer, Lonnie Houck, who asked for feedback for discussion at the January board meeting.

Discussed an assessment of the Multi-generational Service and agreed to continue consideration at the next board meeting, after getting further information from DFD, Beth Walden.

Passed a motion to accept the Committee Charges as presented by Vice President Vance Archer, with the addition of two friendly amendments: to edit all words in text to agree with the title of each committee or group, and to change Committee of Staff to Staff Support Group.

Passed a motion to disband the Task Force on Child Care Policy, as their work has been completed and the Policy and Procedures Committee should work with the DFD to complete a final draft for presentation to the Board for adoption.

Passed a motion to accept the Organizational Chart of UUCG as operational until the Governance Task Force completes its recommendations and the church has ratified its governance structure.

Passed a motion to appoint Sara Bourquin as Secretary of the Board.

Passed a motion to appoint Bolling Lowrey as chair of the Fellowship Committee.

• Promote a search for personal meaning, respecting individual truth in a community process of quest
• Speak and act with caring, courtesy and love thereby maintaining emotional, physical, and spiritual safety for all
• Support UUCG and denominational efforts with our resources
• Combat injustice while promoting equality
• Nurture our children on their spiritual journeys
• Hold ourselves to this covenant, especially during times of conflict and disagreement

Karen Madrone (2011)                                                                                           kmadrone@juno.com
Ken Williams (2011)                                                                                                 williams@ncat.edu

Michelle Lee (2011)                                                                                          nc.dogwood@yahoo.com
Carolyn Crumpacker (2012)                                                                                      msjazzzz@aol.com
Janet Eley (2012)                                                                                                 eleyjanet@yahoo.com
Steve Andrews (2013)                                                                                              sand3420@aol.com  
Charlotte Hamlin (2013)                                                                                        chamlin1@triad.rr.com
Thomas Clayton                                                                                                          tnt@riseup.net