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First Unitarian Church of Orlando Covering January 2013 Program Overview This monthly Program Overview is part of Rev. Kathy’s report to the Board of Trustees. It is intended to be a summary for congregational leaders. It is posted to the web as a handy overview for anyone interested. In January, one Sunday service was led by Worship Associate, Charlotte Fleming, and three services were led by the minister. The Chalice Choir performed twice. The Tuesday Nite Band and the Harmony Sisters each performed once. Our Share-the-Plate offering benefitted Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando. $876.66 was collected. The Alliance matched this so the total sent to PPGO was $1,753.32. A memorial service for Susan Anastasio was held. Susan had moved back to CT last August and died in December. Although a family memorial was held in CT, we felt the need to offer a service for those who knew Susan during the many years she lived in Orlando. Religious Education programs for children and adults continue to go well. For 30 Days of Love, the children created a Love Tree that is on display in Gore Hall offering people the opportunity to purchase and donate items to benefit the New Image Youth Center. 22 people attended a talk and book signing featuring Cindy Wigglesworth, author of SQ 21: The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence. Minister emerita, Rev. Marni Harmony, has trained with Ms. Wigglesworth and was present to introduce her. The six Covenant Groups formed last year will hold their finally gathering this month. Signups for new groups are taking place now. The new groups will begin meeting in March and meet for one year. A new team has been formed in the Member Ministry Network. Currently called the Connection Team, the team’s mission is to connect 1U members to opportunities which may deepen and maintain meaningful engagement at 1U. Their initial focus is new members beginning with the class from Fall 2012. We kicked off our participation in the 30 Days of Love with great participation. - Over a dozen folks from 1U joined the "candlelight" vigil and march from City Hall to First United Methodist Church where we celebrated the life and legacy of The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a service coordinated by the Interfaith Council of Central Florida and the Mayor's MLK Commission. A highlight was seeing 3 of our 1U children sing in the interfaith children's choir called "Everyone's Children."
- 1U members headed out into the community for a weekend of service at Community Food & Outreach Center. It was great to learn about the good work of this organization and to put our hands to work on their behalf. At least 16 individuals participated with some attending both days.
- Yummy, delightful, and inspiring... words that describe our evening with UU singer/song writer David Roth which started off with a Spaghetti Dinner. This trial event was a great success with lots of volunteer participation. At least 50 people enjoyed some part of the evening. We look forward to bringing other such talent to our community.
- A vibrant crowd including 1U members and friends, celebrated the 40th anniversary (01-22-73) of Roe v. Wade with keynote speaker, Honorable Patricia Schroeder. Joyce Hamilton Henry, ALCU Mid-FL Director and Rev. Kathy also addressed the group which gathered at The Venue and was entertained by three local bands.
The 20th Anniversary Dinner for University Unitarian Universalist Society was attended by at least 7 1U members. The Program Coordinating Team held a quarterly Leadership Gathering which drew 26 participants including some new people considering leadership. Although the focus of these gatherings is program leaders, all 1U leaders are welcome. This gathering included introductions of new programs (Retired UU Men and Pastoral Associates), team building, updates on Stewardship, Budget, & Annual Pledge Drive, and an exercise to more fully understand the difference between a pastoral congregation (which 1U has been) and a program congregation (which 1U is becoming). Statistics Programming Statistics for January 2013: Sunday Morning Attendance (4 weeks): 9:30 service: average = 59/week 11:00 service: average = 133/week Visitors signing in: average = 3/week Children’s RE classes: average = 32/week Childcare During Worship average = 4/week Nursery: average = 4/week Adults in Children’s Programming average = 21/week Adult Education classes: average = 17/week Events/Classes other than Sunday Morning: Yoga: average = 11/week (3 sessions) |