Greetings,

We are all so excited to meet our candidate for Senior Minister, Rev. Alison Miller. She will be joining us for Candidating Week May 15-22. More details about her visit will be forthcoming from the Ministerial Search Committee.

Ballots for voting to call Rev. Alison will be mailed to all voting members shortly. The important thing to remember is that if you return your ballot by mail, it must be in the church office by Thursday, May 19. You can also return it in person on Sunday, May 22. Ballots will be counted on May 22^nd and the results will be announced that day.

On April 10 the Board and the Ministerial Search Committee hosted a joint forum to talk about the transition. More than 80 of you attended and it was good to see you. Thank you for being there. The transition to a new minister generates the excitement of new energy and beginnings and also the sadness that comes from saying “goodbye” to Reverend Bill. We discussed these conflicting emotions in the forum and hope that various committees and program groups in the congregation make time over the coming months to discuss the transition. I think we are all feeling a mix of sadness about saying goodbye to Rev. Bill and anticipation about getting to know Rev. Alison. If you weren’t able to attend the forum, you can view a recording of it here .

The Ministerial Search Committee has done its work under conditions none of us could have imagined two years ago and has brought us a wonderful candidate. The Board thanks them for their service and commitment to First Unitarian.

We will be honoring Rev. Bill’s time with us in June. June 12 will be his last service. June 19, Rev. Susan Frederick-Grey, UUA President, will preach. Following the service, there will be a reception for Rev. Bill in the Buchan Reception Room.

All of us want to honor Rev. Bill’s legacy at First Unitarian. Rev. Bill has asked that we do that with a contribution to the William G. Sinkford Scholarship Fund. The fund, administered by the UUA, helps support BIPOC seminary students as they prepare for ministry. Many of you have already donated, but if you haven’t done so yet, it’s not too late to make a tax-deductible contribution:

• PayPal: paypal.me/firstupdx – with note “Sinkford Scholarship” 
• Mail or drop off check to First Unitarian Church with memo “Sinkford Scholarship”
• Want to use your credit or debit card? all Church Office and ask for Zaida Cooper

Funds secured by mid June will be tallied and presented to Rev, Grey at the June 19th service. 

The Board is also continuing its focus on living into the 8^th Principle that the congregation adopted last year. A Transformation Team is taking shape to initiate and guide us through this next phase. The Transformation Team will serve as a visioning and research group, as well as a central hub of learning and information. Look for additional information in the near future.

In Service,

Mindy Clark, Moderator