Volunteer Invitations & Committee Activity

Gardening Work Party
Church gardens need lots of weeding to happen now. I would like to organize a Saturday morning work party 10-12 noon  for every Saturday throughout the growing season. Please reply if you can help.
In addition, I am willing to arrange one evening a week after finding the evening most convenient for most people. There is much to be done. It is your church home.
Betty Howell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We have a new portable projector system for church-related events.

If you would like to reserve the projector for your event, please send email with the time and date for your event to the IT Committee at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . While we will consider requests for any church-related event, we are generally looking for committee sponsored events. Please realize that there are a limited number of projectionists and that some times are more difficult to accommodate than others, such as weekdays before 5 pm.

Additionally, this is just a projection system, you will have to provide the laptop to display your programming. We do have a DVD player, but if you use Blu-Ray you will need to bring your own player. We have adaptors to hook most devices into the system.

If your committee hosts a lot of events requiring the use of the projector, or need the projector at times that are difficult to accommodate, we will ask that a person from the committee be trained to be a projectionist to serve that committee's needs.

There will be a training of projectionists at the church. Space is limited so please write to the IT Committee list if you are interested in training. Let us know what committee you are training for or if you are interested in adding this work to your ministry for the church. We do need people who are willing to be general projectionists.
We will have additional trainings as needed throughout the year.

Thanks. Scott Harrigan / Chair, IT Committee

Volunteers needed!
If you enjoy decorating, why not consider joining the UUCA DECOR COMMITTEE? If you are interested, please contact Grace Little.
** The Decor Committee is looking for slightly used folding doors or French doors that could conceivably be installed between the church living room and dining room. If you know of any such doors, please contact Grace Little.

The FACILITIES COUNCIL is looking for two volunteers to fill very specific needs for the church.
***First, we are looking for someone to oversee the church's heating and cooling. This may sound like a big task, but most of what is required has been documented and there are many people both inside and outside that are available to help. The person in this position would review the systems in the church on a schedule to be determined, checking the condition of the devices, and making minor changes as required. If outside help is required this person would have a list of vendors to call and would setup the repairs required. When devices fail, this volunteer will be contacted and they will help the reporter repair the problem or arrange for repair. This person will be trained in this position by the person who currently handles the job.

***Secondly, we are looking for someone to monitor the outside custodial crew hired to clean the church. This will be accomplished by checking predetermined items on a scheduled to be developed. Once checked, problem issues will be reported to the custodial company and to the Chair of the Building Maintenance committee.

If you are interested in either of these positions please contact the church office.

UUCA Skills Survey: We are conducting a survey of our membership to find out who, in the immortal words of Paul Bieter, "knows stuff about stuff". The idea is to create a list of members in the congregation who might have some knowledge or skills in special areas. It will only take a few minutes, I promise!

As you look at the survey, it will ask you to check off if you have a novice level of skill/knowledge or a professional level. Then it will ask you to check off if you would participate and help out, if you could offer advice, or to not call you at all. That's it! Here it is: UUCA Skills Survey

You can print out and then fill out the survey and drop it off in the Website Mailbox, or just pass it on to Kathy Moriarty or Tim Ashton. If you'd like, you are welcome to call me and I will call you back. We can do it quickly & simply over the phone. I look forward to hearing from everyone and thank you so much for your participation. Kathy Moriarty

The CHURCH LIFE Committee welcomes new members. We are in charge of sponsoring three parties a year. If you would like to, please join us.

•  a summer picnic, usually held at Dennis and Judy Bihl's summer cottage in Canada

•  The Holiday Dinner, held in early December, for all church members, with entertainment for the children and caroling for all.
  

•  The Pot-Luck Dinners, in conjunction with the Membership Committee. For our March event, 125 adults and 27 kids got together for the All Church Pot Luck Dinners! Maybe a record! Thanks to all who contributed the wonderful food we shared. But our biggest round of applause and many thanks go to the hosts and hostesses who graciously opened their homes to the congregation and co-ordinated the dinners--thank you again for a wonderful evening!

  If you are interested in planning parties and fun, this is the committee for you. We hope to see many of you at that time. – Eileen McCallister
  

Call to grandparents & all church members Are you a retired teacher or other professional? Do you have hobbies, interests, or skills that you would like to share? Do you enjoy working with children?

Consider joining with members of the ECONOMIC JUSTICE & SOCIAL CONCERNS COMMITTEE in volunteering to work with the children at Gateway Longview (our next-door neighbor and home & school for disadvantaged children). All kinds of assistance are needed: mentoring, tutoring, skills sharing, or just helping the with school and institution operations.

If you have an interest or skill that you would like share or just want to help, contact Pat Burke (684-0119). She can help arrange a meeting or discuss ways you might volunteer. – Doug Funke
    

 Safe Congregations, which you may have heard about, is the responsibility of the whole congregation. This is a set of policies meant to protect our whole congregation, not just keep our children safe. We started with putting windows in the classrooms and offices for visibility, and have two teachers in every classroom. I'm calling on everyone's help now, not just those with children in church school. We need volunteers once a month for the listed duties. A great way to get involved in UUCA and a brief time commitment!

FIRST FLOOR GREETERS: One Sunday a month to stand by the mailboxes at the foot of the stairs leading to the R.E. wing from 10:15 - 10:45. This person would greet people, offer to help newcomers, direct them to the proper place or to me, let them know what is going on that Sunday, answer questions. No need to miss a service.

LOBBY/HALL MONITOR: This person would be in the lobby and walk the first floor halls during the service, offering to help latecomers or anyone who seems "lost".
Basically, just be a "presence" so people are aware that
WE know who is in the building.

CHILD SUPERVISOR: This person would be in the Channing Chapel from about 11:30 (when the service lets out) to 12:30, supervising the kids who choose to hang out there and play during coffee hour. The kids would have a choice to be at the kids' snack tables in the Emerson room or to be in the Channing Chapel. If they want to be any place else (like the playground), an adult needs to be with them. A great way to get to know the church school kids!

You can choose which Sunday you want (1st Sunday, 2nd Sunday, etc.)
I'll have sign-up sheets. This system would start on Sept. 20, 2010 (3rd Sunday). Contact me by phone, email or see me at church. On behalf of the congregation, I thank you! Anne Hibbert, DRE

Coffee Carafes Needed
We are looking for insulated coffee carafes in very good condition which we would use for guests in the Emerson Room on special occasions. Ours are very stained. Please bring them to the kitchen . Thank You. – Marge Marcille

Board Announcement

     Some of you have heard rumors about an up-coming Church Leadership Retreat. The retreat will be held in early November on Sat. Nov. 6 or Nov 13. The Board struck a planning committee to design the retreat. Obviously the planning committee has not finished their work yet. But in order to give the attendees as much notice as possible, I wanted to get the date on people's calendars. More information will follow soon. - Ted Lightfoot, Chair, Board of Trustees

   P.S. For those wondering about the purpose of this retreat, it is simple. The congregation has gotten too big to know everyone: we are no longer one closely knit community, we are becoming an organization of overlapping closely knit communities. To manage such an organization effectively, we need to have closer connections between the leadership of the many groups within the church. This retreat is intended to serve as a community building exercise for the extended leadership of the church and to start a visioning process for the future.

The Endowment Trust

The Endowment Trust met on July 20th at the home of Chairperson Irving Laub. We welcomed Karen Kuhn, our liaison with the Board and Chair of the Finance Council, and former trustee Ellen Doyno. We also welcomed Paul Ziebarth of the Endowment Committee at the UU Church of Buffalo. Paul described the development and operation of the UUCB Endowment Trust which was created in 1988. There are many ways of managing endowment fund investments. Trustees want to be able to consider many options and make decisions about our portfolio that will result in growth, even in difficult financial times. In order for the fund to grow significantly, we will also need donations that honor and remember church members and friends. Please visit the Endowment Tree and view the memorial book, and please consider a gift to help build a strong financial future for our church. – Larene Hoelcle for Irving Laub, Dennis Bihl, Doris Kent and Sylvia Moran
 

You can see UUCA activities listed in
our monthly events calendar.