The CVUU Board of directors met Thursday, April 21st, 2022. Board meeting minutes are available upon request from the CVUU Board Secretary (Suzanne Miles) or Congregational Administrator (Susie Gullixson) approximately 30 days after the board meeting date. The Board currently holds hybrid Zoom/in-person meetings. The meeting is on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM. The meeting is open for congregants to observe. Congregants who want to present something to the Board must notify CVUU Board President Steve Ciganek (ciganeks@gmail.com) before the meeting to be included on the agenda. The next Board meeting is on May 19th, 2022. The following is a synopsis of pertinent items:
Reverend Viola has been busy in and out of the pulpit. She attended the Tidewater branch of the Joseph Jordan Cluster of UU Religious Professionals on April 19th. The multi-platform meeting was held in person at the church in Williamsburg. Reverend Viola also attended a presentation titled “Faith-Based Security Briefing & Securing Houses of Worship,” sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, held at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community on March 23rd. During leave in April, the Minister attended Finding Our Way Home, a retreat for religious professionals of color. While there, she led a workshop on the spiritual practice of lament. She also participated in the installation of a colleague and led one of the rituals in the service.
CVUU will be participating in a five-year study focusing on the pandemic’s impact on congregations. This study entitles CVUU to an honorarium of $2,500 – payable in two installments – from the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) project.
CVUU’s first multi-platform worship service took place on April 17th, 2022. You are no longer required to make a reservation to attend in-person services.
Masking is now required in the church building when children aged four and under are present. Mindful that children four years of age and under are not yet able to be vaccinated for COVID and mindful that the value of having our RE program is crucially important to our beloved community, the CVUU Board is now requiring masking for everyone inside the church building when children four and under are present. The intention of the CVUU Board is to remove this requirement 60 days after vaccines are available for those four and under. The Board made this decision after lengthy discussion. Our policies continue to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.
Fiscal Year 2023 Budget finalization efforts continue to be made by the Board and the Finance Committee. Stewardship will continue until May 2nd, 2022.
Reverend Viola Abbitt’s Installation will be held May 21st, 2022. The event will include guest speakers, food, a bouncy house, and singing by our very own CVUU Choir, directed especially for this event by CVUU member Victor Hugo. Childcare will be provided.
DRE Paul Greggs currently has 18 volunteers committed to teaching Religious Education (RE). New RE classes begin May 15th, 2022.
Word on the Street is youthful neighborhood skateboarders continue to be an issue on CVUU property. Three youth with skateboards in hand were recently heard, then seen, on the third-floor fire escape. They hastily departed when told to do so. On another occasion, two youth were found skateboarding on the front steps. They departed but responded with a bit more bravado on their way.
Board Bouquets:
Ellie Fetterly and Martha Shore for leading a very successful Harvest the Power training.
Nominating Committee for finding great candidates to serve as Officers and Directors of the 2022-2023 Board.
Community Table Volunteers for their on-site program providing meals to people in our community.
Tech Team for integrating our new video system and providing a seamless transition to our single service Zoom/in-person platform.
Grounds Committee for receiving the River Star Program Award on behalf of CVUU from the Elizabeth River Project.
Paul Moss for his work in the building.
Finance Committee and Stewardship for their tireless efforts toward reaching our FY22-23 budget goals.