Month: September 2022 (Page 1 of 2)

September 2022 Board Update to the Congregation

September 30, 2022 /

Greetings from your Foothills Board of Trustees,

The crisp air of fall is beginning to remind us that we are once again at the fall equinox and the nights will continue to get longer, the days shorter, and the inevitable winter is not far behind.

The end of summer and start of fall is also the end of one board year and the start of another. The board just completed its annual Board of Trustees retreat. A time to welcome our new board members and begin the integration of this new board’s identity and agreement on the board’s covenant and the goals to be addressed this coming year. The deepening of relationships and trust between members has always been a most rewarding benefit to board service and this year has been no exception.

One of the changes decided on this year was having our monthly board meetings to be the first Thursday of the month. 

On a sad note, we bade goodbye to board member Richie Nelsen. His increasing work commitments and his needs at home to father a rambunctious two-year-old made it impossible to balance all these commitments and do them all justice. We wish Richie and his young family the best and look forward to seeing them all on Sunday, and we welcome Richie’s continued service to Foothills as time and energy allow.

In your service,

Walter Nash
Board of Trustees President

How to participate in the 2022 Auction!

September 29, 2022 /

The Auction is one of Foothills’ essential fundraisers (and one of our most fun events of the year!) Here’s how to participate:

Step One: Map Out Your Strategy!

Go to foothillsuu.org/onlineauction to steer through our many generous, creative donations from local businesses and your fellow Foothills folks. Registering to participate in the Online Auction is simple – you don’t need to enter a credit card to bid. Use this early access to see all the fabulous donations and strategize before the bidding starts on Monday, October 3, 2022.

There’s also an app for our Online Auction on your smartphone (called Auctria). It’s available for iOS and Android. After you’ve registered on the website, you can scroll and bid on the items on your phone, tablet or computer! 

Bidding for the Online Auction starts Monday, October 3 at noon and ends Monday, October 10 at 8 PM.

If you need any help registering for the Online Auction or navigating the site, please reach out to the Auction Team at foothillsauction@gmail.com. We’re happy to help!

Click here to view the auction catalogue!

Step Two: Register for the Live Auction (Deadline to register is Saturday, October 1)

Join us for the Live Auction at the church on Saturday, October 8, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.

Tickets are $25 each. Get yours today!

This is a catered event with live music! We will be serving heavy hors d’oeuvres and dessert! Beer, wine, and sparkling water will be available with a suggested donation.

Click here to register for the live auction!

Celebrating Rev. Christopher Lamb’s Affiliation as a Community Minister

September 23, 2022 /

As a faith tradition, Unitarian Universalists are congregationalists – as in we gather in covenant in individual and interdependent congregations each with the unique right to call and ordain our own ministers. Except that we know the need for ministry and for Unitarian Universalism extends beyond the congregation out into the wider community. Ministry is often needed in hospitals, mental health care, hospice settings, prisons, universities, community organizing, and many other places. This is where Unitarian Universalist community ministers come in. 

Community ministers extend the reach of Unitarian Universalist ministry beyond the congregation. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still connected with our congregations. Every community minister affiliates with a local congregation as a way of grounding their ministry in the local church, and to establish a source of clear accountability and support for their ministry.  

In our entire almost 125 year history, Foothills has not had the opportunity to affiliate with a community minister – that is, until now. On August 18, 2022, the Foothills Board of Trustees unanimously and enthusiastically approved the request from the Rev. Christopher Watkins Lamb to affiliate with us as our community minister.  Christopher is the lead chaplain at the Poudre Valley Hospital, where he brings the presence of Unitarian Universalist ministry to the patients, family members and staff through all that they may face in the PVH community. 

We have a long history of relationship with Christopher, first as a newcomer with his wife Amber Lamb, later as our youth coordinator and children’s music coordinator, then our music lead. We also co-ordained Christopher just over two years ago.  

In affiliating with us, Rev. Christopher signals a continuation of this long relationship, and also yet another turn in how we will be in relationship. Affiliation is not the same as being a staff member – he is employed by PVH, not by Foothills. But it is a way of acknowledging that we are all on the same team and that there is an explicit and formal relationship between his work and the mission and ministry of our church. Christopher will also continue to be present in various ways at Foothills, as he has over the last decade. He will preach at least once a year, and provide back-up for pastoral care needs. He may also lead other special programs or rituals or other ministry opportunities as it fits his schedule and ours.

This Sunday we will celebrate Christopher’s affiliation with us, and the way his ministry is an extension of our congregation’s ministry in our wider community. We hope you will join us for this celebration and affirmation of our continued and evolving partnership.

The Building Bulletin: September 2022

September 23, 2022 /

We are seeing a lot of changes on the construction site every day. To make it easier for you to see what’s going on, we’ve asked the contractor to take down the fence covering next to the patio and sanctuary. There is also one accessible window on the upper floor of the education building that gives a good view. 

To get an even closer view, the construction buffs among you can sign up for a supervised visit behind the fence. You’ll have a chance to talk to Quentin (the site superintendent) and see things up close. These will be held at 9:30 on the first Friday of each month, starting on October 7. The groups will be limited to 10 people. Wear closed-toe shoes; hard hats and vests will be provided. Registration is required. Sign up here.

And, about seeing things up close, remember that this is an active construction site and can be dangerous. Please do not try to climb the fence or access the area behind the fence. In our weekly meetings with the contractor, SAFETY is always the first topic on the agenda, and there have been some concerns. 
Please be careful and supervise any children under your care.

The biggest observable progress right now is the huge hole being dug for the basement and foundation of the new sanctuary. The dirt being removed is good dirt and will be delivered to other work sites that can use it for fill. We will be able to use it for our own fill needs later, saving a bit of money.  We were told it would take 100 dump trucks to relocate all of the dirt. The hole is almost complete; a little more work on the Drake Street end is all that remains. The area has been staked out for the next step, pouring the footings. 

Other projects that have been completed are the removal of the breezeway between the Main and Education buildings, removal of the siding from the wall of the education building, and removal of the fireplace. We’ve heard many positive reactions to the removal of the breezeway.

We are expecting that the recent asbestos removal project will be the last one in this phase of the project. The remediation has been disruptive to our staff and to our ability to use the building, so we are glad to see it completed.

One of the many reasons we chose Pinkard as our contractor was their commitment to recycling. Not only are we reusing the dirt, but even the cement rubble with rebar in it will be recycled. We are glad to see the commitment to recycling in action!

In partnership and with excitement,

The Building Expansion Team
Chris Bettlach, Jerry Hanley, Peg MacMorris, and Margaret Cottam

Sign up for the building expansion newsletter!

Music Newsletter: September 2022

September 22, 2022 /

Hi All!

This is Benjamin, your new Music Director! It has been a delight getting to know and make music with many of you since I arrived in August. If I haven’t met you yet, please come introduce yourself when you see me on a Sunday morning!

So much has already happened in our music program this fall. In the past six weeks, we’ve kicked off the return of the Foothills Choir with over 40 singers at our fall retreat, celebrated Water Communion with special music from a vocal band of Foothills members, and celebrated the life of Foothills member and respected choir director Bob Molison with a super-musical event featuring the Foothills Choir, Madrigals, and guests from the Front Range Chamber Players. And we’re just getting started! There are many more musical events planned through the end of the year, and I’m excited to tell you about some of them coming up

The Singing Revolution: Music and Movie Night
Wednesday, September 28, 5:45 – 8:00pm, at the church

Foothills’ Music Ministry and the new Global Peace & Justice Team are cohosting a special event exploring the power of music and the call of peace. We will watch an abridged version of “The Singing Revolution,” a documentary about how the people of Estonia overthrew Soviet occupation with choral singing––it’s a fascinating and inspiring story! I will also share stories from my travels to Estonia this past summer, including my experience singing in a choir of over 6,000 people as part of a benefit performance for Ukrainian war relief efforts. After that, I will teach attendees some Estonian protest songs I learned during my trip. Please register for the event here so we can provide enough food and copies of music!

Choir Rehearsals Restart!
Wednesday, October 5, 6:30-8:30pm, at the church

Throughout September, the Foothills Choir was preparing music for a celebration of life for beloved longtime Choir member, Bob Molison. After a beautiful event last Saturday, the Choir is beginning anew to learn new music for upcoming Sunday services! This is a great time to jump in, as the choir will be starting all new music in October! Join the Foothills choir group for regular choir-specific updates!

Children’s Choir Rehearsals Begin
Sunday, October 16 (more details coming soon!)

The Foothills Children’s Choir will return this fall! Led by the wonderful Kara Shobe, who has led children’s music at Foothills in previous years, the Children’s Choir will prepare music to for Sunday services during the holiday season. More details will be announced in the coming weeks, but please save the date for your child now!

See you soon,

Benjamin Hanson
benjamin@foothillsuu.org

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