During our retreat in January, members of the Board brainstormed ways to get more feedback from the congregation and to do a better job of listening to your ideas, hopes, and concerns. One suggestion was to make ourselves more available after services in Hannah Hall so that you could “ask a Board member” anything that you’d like to know. We don’t always have answers, but this experiment has been truly rewarding and helpful. I’d like to use this column to describe two ideas shared during coffee hour (and at other times) that I hope we can pursue during the second half of this church year.

Members have asked about what we are doing to enhance safety procedures and building security, particularly in light of news stories that remind us regularly about potential dangers and threats. We have sensible plans in place already and our staff is deeply committed to the goal of making our church a safe and secure place for worship and fellowship. The UUA has developed a wealth of material on this subject. Also, the Akron Area Interfaith Council offers programs and support. I would like to draw a larger segment of the congregation into the knowledge of what we are already doing, as well as into the conversation about what more we can do to make the UUCA safer. I propose the creation of a safety task force. The Board, at its February meeting, heard this idea but before formally creating it, we would like to invite those who would like to join to let us know. Please contact me at rsturr@kent.edu or come to the “ask a Board member” table after church to discuss this initiative.

The second item on my “wish list” for the remainder of the church year is to act on the suggestion from many members that we return to having a printed directory so that we can be better connected to one another as a congregation. There are a variety of ways to go about doing this that I won’t list here—mainly because I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject!—so, I simply want to (again) invite anyone who would like to join this effort to contact me via email or to express interest the next time you stop by our table to say hello on Sunday.

It appears that I’ve turned “ask a Board member” into “ask the congregation” if they’ll get involved, which is exactly as it should be and suits perfectly the spirit of the UUCA. I have always known our congregation to be generous, active, and eager to pitch in. I hope that you’ll consider joining one (or both) of the initiatives mentioned above or, even better, come visit us as the Board table after church one of these Sundays to make new, fantastic suggestions. We are eager to listen to your ideas.

Rob Sturr, Board President
MARCH