September 2024
Greetings from the Board of Trustees!
September is well underway, and I am reminded of all the starts to the new school year I’ve
been through, years ago as a child, and more recently as a parent of children. It can be a
bumpy, exciting and joyous time, not without its challenges! I was always excited for the new
year, looking forward eagerly to whatever lay ahead, but I know some of my siblings, children,
and friends struggled with the changes each year. The good news is, they always made it
through. As new schedules take over, we all adapt to our new roles, new routines, and new
ways of being together. As we do that, we build our ability to be resilient.
This morning, I am thinking a lot about resiliency, and all the changes we have gone through
together at UUCSW the past few years. I am impressed with how this congregation has
already demonstrated so much resiliency. Think about it. Remember the darkest days of the
pandemic? Consider also how we then evolved to our hybrid services. Last spring, we learned
of Rev. Laurel’s departure, a loss felt deeply by many of us. However, as with the response to
the pandemic, we bonded together, and found our way forward. We have a new minister, and
we continue to do the things we love to do together: letter writing to get out the vote; collecting
food and clothing for the SMOC shelter in Worcester, gathering together on Sunday mornings
for our service, and social time at coffee hour. RE has started. Program Sundays are being
planned. Our Membership Engagement Team is busy greeting us all as we enter the building
on Sunday mornings, and doing all the little behind the scene duties to help build our
community. There’s an energy here that is palpable!
I think what impresses me the most about this congregation, one of the key behaviors I believe
helps us be so resilient, is the that we share an overarching ministry of caring for each other.
That is at the center of our being together, the reason for our work to stay together, to grow, to
struggle through tough decisions, to keep moving forward. We each care deeply about this
place, this group of people, and who we each are as individuals. We want the best for all of us.
The work of the board this fall has already challenged us, as we heard of the potential
departure of our DRE and Administrative Assistant, Colleen Munson. We worked to rise above
our individual needs, to address the needs of the congregation as a whole. We talked about
the strengths of our RE and Youth Group programs, and we talked about the momentum that
started last year and continues to be an energizing force this year. We talked about navigating
this transition time with our new minister. We talked about wanting to celebrate our 300th
anniversary, and strengthen who we are in the greater community of Westborough. We talked
a lot! We also acknowledged the threads of strain and fatigue that were brought forward the
last few years, during our leadership meetings and congregational surveys, the thin areas that
need reinforcing: we need more members, we need more volunteers, we need more activities
and programs for adults, we need to get our name out in the community, we need to celebrate
more!
We acknowledged that helping this congregation survive and thrive is going to take a multipronged
approach. We believe that one of those prongs is providing a consistent staff member
to assist with all those needs. We believe the creation of this position will help to meet those
needs, and help us grow. For these reasons, we created such a position and have scheduled a
Special Meeting of the Congregation to vote on it, and approve changes to the budget to
support it. We invite you to join us on September 25th, at 7:00 pm, on Zoom for this
special meeting.
While there will be time for some discussion on the Zoom call, if you have any questions or
comments about this decision, come talk with us! Consider joining board members Tim
Nourse, David Lambert, and Vince Aquilino in conversation after services this Sunday, Sept
22, during coffee hour. Bring your questions, concerns and your comments!
We know we have more learning to do, as a congregation and a board, and more decision
making to do, especially around our financial resources. I am very hopeful, because I believe, if
we continue to bring our best selves to our meetings and activities, if we continue to lean into
our ministry of caring for each other, then we will continue to learn from each other, strengthen
our resiliency, grow, and move forward, together.
Sincerely,
Nancy Siegal
Chair, Board of Trustees. UUCSW