A Happy (and Busy) New Year!

I’m sure many breathed a sigh of relief as 2020 ended, though this will be a busy and challenging New Year. The COVID vaccines hold the promise of far better times, when we all can gather again with dear friends and family, and enjoy those warm hugs and handshakes. New leadership in Washington hopes to bring us all together, regardless of our political views, and in this new year we may think about how we might be able to help encourage that process right here at home. We can also pause, every now and then, to think about how much we miss Katherine’s wonderful music each Sunday, now that she’s retired. It carried our spirits to higher and more beautiful places, and we are most grateful.

We also have some very important tasks ahead that will require everyone’s active participation. In just a few months, Board members will start making phone calls, seeking your thoughts on who might best serve on a great Search Committee to find a new, settled minister for the years ahead. We will also begin work in earnest on our post-COVID recovery plan, defining when, and how, we can return safely to in-person services and gatherings.  

And we will have our annual Spring pledge drive, with this year’s canvass being especially important. We all have a shared responsibility for the financial health of UUFH, and for our ability to advance our mission and play our part in helping to make a better world. Each person will need to be as generous as possible because budget deficits could mean some tough choices.  

We’ve already got lots on our agenda, and the year has barely started! Let’s all use 2021 to help UUFH be everything we’d like it to be!

Michael Yates
President, UUFH