Happy New Year?

Happy New Year, Only One Month+ Late!

In January I was at a group discussing our new “Principle.” This is the 8th Principle, joining our other seven Principles. The other seven have been around for several, indeed many, years, though one has been changed from “man” to “person.”

These Principles cover the items important to us as a congregation. They are the building blocks for us.

The first Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person. This Principle, like the others, gives us a guide to what we believe.

The second: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations. I think this Principle is about how we talk with others with a strong sense of belief in what each person is about.

The third Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. This reminds us to be attentive to each other as well as to ourselves.

If you want, you can examine the fourth and fifth Principles in the file WorshipWeb. I will tell you about the sixth: The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. And the seventh: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence in which we are all a part.

We were meeting to discuss the 8th Principle. It had been drawn up in draft form by many congregations who have expressed interest in this. We would like to add our name to the list.

Of course we first had to ascertain what else we want in the Principle. Do we wish to add anything about racism or any other topic? Or do we just accept it as it is?

For the conversation about race and racism, Rev. Anya helped me out. She gave me her sermon on “Race and Racism.”

What did she say that was important to me?

She said, “Be here now in this moment. We have agency, we have the right, to effect change.” And she refers to ending racial injustice, ending racial inequality, now! We must have a dream of our time, living now, today.

Notes from a Finance Meeting

The picture is not our Finance Committee. It’s just a picture I found on the web as a reminder of our own! For our own Finance Committee, I have a comment by the chair.

The Finance Committee chair was speaking at our session on the 8th Principle about the endowment. But I missed the chance to ask about the amount, overall, in our endowment.

I was puzzled because he served on both the finance and endowment committees. These joint committee appointments are not allowed by our church in Westport Connecticut. So no one can be on both committees at the same time.

After all, the Finance Committee is in charge of the overall health of the congregation. The Endowment Committee is given the task of helping the congregation cover any shortfall or to hold onto funds until needed.

Happy New Year!

Lots of friends sent me Happy New Year or Merry Christmas cards. I would like to offer many thanks for these wonderful cards, letters, and photographs.

I don’t think I’m going to send out cards now. It seems a little late! Maybe next year?