In this month’s video message, our new President, Jan Partin, welcomes our new minister, Rev. George Grimm-Howell. She also shares highlights of upcoming events, including our fall auction and trip to The Mountain retreat center.
Video Transcript
Hi everybody! I’m Jan Partin. My pronouns are she/her.
I serve on the Board of Directors as President for the fiscal year 2024-2025.
I am going to try to follow Peggy Law’s precedence of bringing you a monthly video message on what’s happening at UUFH. Peggy has been our very capable president for the past year. My thanks for all her guidance and help filling me in on board activities. I have big shoes to fill!
We are all excited to welcome the Rev. George Grimm-Howell as our new settled minister and his wife, Betsy. They have successfully sold their home in St. Louis and have found a place here in Hendersonville. Rev. George will begin his duties as minister on August 1, but will not be in the pulpit until September.
We are also excited about our new choir director, Janey Hall. She brings teaching and choir directing experience and has a wonderful, fun personality to boot. The choir has already fallen in love with her! They will be singing twice a month starting in September.
Our major fundraiser this year is the Oktoberfest Auction. Please check out the items that are already online and if you haven’t done so, support our Fellowship by offering a service, craft item, baked goods, a dinner, or whatever you can come up with to bring in more money. Online bidding begins October 5th at noon. The LIVE in-person auction will start at 5PM on October 19.
Last year’s board did a good job of keeping expenses 5% under budget. Income was within 1% of our target goal for which we are grateful. This year we have a 17% increase in our budget, so it’s really important that we have a successful Auction!
Please join us for a weekend retreat at The Mountain Retreat Center on October 25-27. Festivities will begin with a dinner on Friday evening and end with lunch on Sunday afternoon. The cost includes all meals and accommodation for 2 nights.
Registration is now open! We hope you will make room on your calendar for this all congregation event! The Mountain offers incredible opportunities for us to bond in a gorgeous setting. We will be sending out an agenda for the weekend closer to the time of the retreat.
To register, go to The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center website. In the upper right corner of the web page, there is a teal colored portal. You just follow the instructions. If you have trouble, please call (828) 526-5838 or give me Becky Reid or me, Jan Partin a call.
We do have scholarships available, so if the cost is prohibitive, please let one of us know. If you would like to sponsor a scholarship, there will be a ‘cookie jar for you to place your much appreciated donations.
Thanks to Bill Elder, a stunning portrait of Rev. Terry Davis will join our gallery of past ministers’ paintings that hang in the Quiet Room. Look for that to happen soon!
Finally, just a reminder that we have outreach collections each month for various worthy non-profit organizations. For the month of August we will be collecting for Thrive, a nonprofit here in Hendersonville that provides support and opportunities to adults with mental health and housing needs.
Thank you for listening!
See you soon!
Namaste