Dear Congregation and Friends,

February is considered by some to be friendship month. It is also the beginning of our new stewardship year. It is a special time when we reflect on the past and consider what we want for the future. This congregation has made it very clear that we want a new future. We want to break from our past history at 6400 New Watermelon Road, to leave our building and property and to begin anew.

This can be both scary and exciting. We are comfortable with the past and we hold many happy memories in our home of over thirty years. But now we are older, smaller, and looking for a way that we can sustain and nature our UUCT beliefs and friendships in a healthy and responsible way.

This is your congregation and to ensure that we continue to have a place of worship or a home where you are nurtured and nourished, we must take ownership. Taking ownership means in part, being a good steward.

The dictionary defines stewardship as: “the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving.”

In my eyes, we have several things worth caring for and preserving as stewards of our faith community. We seek to ensure our members are cared for and nourished in body and spirit; that our children are being taught our UU principles and are safe and secure to become who they are; and that we are sharing our beautiful faith with our greater community.

We are not an island unto ourselves but need to be a destination for those in our community who seek a place where they feel welcomed, understood, and companioned in their journey. We need to continue our social justice activities, so we can reach out to others through these acts of witness, courage, and kindness and offer our love and support.

This requires us to do more than survive, but to thrive. This requires us to be the beacon of our liberal religion for years to come. We need to be here to offer understanding, acceptance, hope, and peace.

It means that each of us who is a member of this congregation needs to reach out, connect, listen, support, and be there for each other as we move forward to find a new place to sustain us. It means that our patience, empathy, faith, and courage will be tested.

Let’s join with each other to protect the beliefs and values that we care for and create something new and beauty for all of those in our community who need to believe in us and what we stand for.

In love and peace,

Susan McKee
UUCT President