Monthly messages and special updates from your Board of Directors.
WELCOME TO THE NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The board of the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough thanks Marta Hanlon for her two years of service and bids adieu. Marta has completed her term and now plans to exert her energies in other directions.
We say hello and welcome to new members Tracy Galvin, Meredith Hill, and Brian Thorn. And we welcome back Stephanie Curtin (Wildheart), Heather-Lynn Fraser, Chris Risley, and Ben Wolfe for the second year of their current terms, as well as Guy Hanchet and Joan Higginson who were re-elected for a new term.
The board met immediately following the AGM and elected the officers of the board for the next year: President, Stephanie Curtin (Wildheart); Vice President, Ben Wolfe; Treasurer, Joan Higginson; and Secretary, Chris Risley.
This team of nine is nearly a full complement for the board and we are looking forward to working and learning together. The bylaws still allow for one more board member, so if ever you find yourself wondering how you can contribute, please give us a call.
ANNUAL MEETING AND SPECIAL MEETING THIS SUNDAY
This year we have an important item to consider – a request for congregational approval to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Beth Israel Synagogue. This MOU commits UFP to a long-term relationship, and our decision is as important as purchasing a building. To consider an item of this consequence we will hold a Special General Meeting which has a higher attendance requirement (40% of members) to attain quorum. Following this we will hold the Annual General Meeting.
If you are a Member of the Fellowship and unable to attend these meetings, it is important that you assign your proxy to another UFP Member who will be attending. Once you have confirmed who will serve as proxy for you, send them an email stating that you assign your proxy to them for BOTH the Special and Annual General Meetings, and please copy that email to uu.ptbo@gmail.com.
The wording you can use in your email is:
I, [put in your name], appoint UFP member [put in the person’s name] to act as my proxy at both the Special Meeting and Annual General Meeting of the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough on May 2, 2021.
The Financial Statements, Annual Report, and Proposed Agenda for the meetings are linked below.
Please contact Joan Higginson by email at joanhig@nexicom.net if you have any questions about the Financial Statements.
Links to the MOU and to the License Agreement are also included below.
The 2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT is HERE.
The 2020 FINANCIAL STATEMENT is HERE.
The Nominating Committee Report is HERE.
The Minutes from last year are HERE.
The Proposed Agenda for next Sunday is HERE.
The MEMORANDUM of UNDERSTANDING is HERE.
The LICENCE is HERE.
See you there on this momentous day!
Past Notes From the Board
OFFICIAL CALL FOR MEETING
Dear Fellowship Members and Friends: Please consider this the official announcement that a Special Meeting of the fellowship is scheduled for Sunday, May 2, at 4:00 pm (to be held online). In addition to the usual business of our Annual General Meeting we have special business to conduct, namely to affirm the Memorandum of Understanding between us and Beth…
The board’s COVID UPDATE – JAN 15, 2021
Your Board of Directors wants you to know how UFP is staying on top of COVID-19 (even if you are probably as tired as we are of hearing about it). The first thing you should know is that there is a COVID-19 Committee that is responsible for monitoring changing conditions and recommending actions to the…
Re-opening?
In our last message to the congregation about reopening, the Board let you know that we would not reopen before October 4 at the earliest, and that we would update you in September. Well, it’s September, and the Board has decided that we will not be reopening for in-person Sunday services before January at the…
When will we re-open?
The UFP Board has decided that we will not return to in-person services and meetings until at least October 4. UFP’s committees and groups should continue to meet on-line as well. A memorial service may be allowed if we are able to meet the safety protocols. The Board will be monitoring the situation and will…
Moving Forward as Beloved Community During COVID-19
On Sunday we held our first on-line service at the Fellowship. The uplifting feeling of being supported in our community was not diminished by the few tiny technical glitches. Nearly 60 devices were logged in to the meeting, quite a few from outside Peterborough. Many of these represented 2 or 3 people participating. In the…
Online-Only Services
Leadership at the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough has decided to suspend in-person gatherings starting this Sunday, March 15 for at least 2 weeks, moving to online services instead. We do this because of the rapid spread of COVID-19 and the risk it poses to our community, and in alignment with the advice of the Unitarian…
March 8: Community Conversation — “How We Care for Each Other”
Among the deepest reasons for belonging to a religious community — is the care, connection and community we offer each other. When has the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough met your need and longing for community and care? When have we fallen short? We often talk about outreach — and we do so much social justice…
November board message
The board would like to bring everyone up to date on the exciting progress in defining our new relationship with Beth Israel. This extract from the Joint Statement of Intent agreed to by both congregations explains why we are considering this change. “Beth Israel has aspirations for a community where congregational size, resources, and leadership…
Our Budget Meeting on Dec. 8 Will Be Much More Than That — Plan to Be There!
This week we received the disappointing news that our application for a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to make the downstairs more accessible was not awarded. Only about one in three grant applications is successful, so we are not unprepared for this news. If you attended the informational meeting on September 15 you heard…
Finding Our Way Home — Accessibility, Our Relationship With Beth Israel, and This Building
An Update from our September 15th Special Meeting On September 15th the Board called a special meeting to report on and explore the accessibility challenges we have faced since the stairlift failed a year ago. As background — we are waiting for word on a major Trillium grant application we submitted in June (with Beth…
September 15: A Congregational Information Meeting on Accessibility
This Sunday, following the service Accessibility is an important value for us. The Board has called a meeting to consider possible steps and financial commitments we might make to improve accessibility. We have been exploring a renovation project that would create a more welcoming main floor as we continue to work with Beth Israel toward…
Catch up on our ‘BIG QUESTIONS’ at next week’s AGM
The Fellowship Annual General Meeting is after next Sunday’s service, May 26, with a simple lunch provided. It’s more than a meeting this year. The Board and Co-Visioning Task Force are taking it as an opportunity to connect and catch up in community around some of our “big questions.” You probably know we’ve been working…