Year: 2024 (Page 6 of 12)

UU the Vote

October 1, 2024 /

As we look ahead to the election, many of us are looking for ways to take action on behalf of Unitarian Universalist Values. Our partnership with UU the Vote provides a variety of options so that you can find the action that feels like your right yes.  

To get started, be sure to join the Foothills’ UU the Vote Group where opportunities for Foothills-connected engagement will be posted, and also go to uuthevote.org to get information from the national campaign directly.

Education & Advocacy 📚

In the coming weeks we have two opportunities for education & advocacy:

🚩 October 7th at 7 pm Ballot Issues Presentation hosted by the League of Women Voters. A full review of all 14 Initiatives on this year’s Ballot. Non-partisan, educational. Register here. 

🚩October 18th at 6 pm when we will host Colorado legislators at Foothills as a part of our Climate Fridays action.

Letter Writing ✅ Many of you have already started your UU the Vote Efforts by writing more than 4,000 letters to GOTV to voters in swing states in partnership with Vote Forward. Those of you who still have letters should bring them back by this Sunday, October 5th.👏

Windshield Project 📝 Starting the weekend of Oct 14th, help distribute quarter-sheet palm cards to car windshields in parking lots at CSU, Front Range, and UNC. The cards are non-partisan but identify issues of concern such as reproductive rights, education, and gun control as well as a map showing the specific ballot box location. For more info and to sign up contact Tom Rhodes. 

Calls to Action 📞

Every week brings another advocacy opportunity at the City, County, State, or National Level. Joining the IAT will keep you informed about these opportunities.

Local Canvass Push 👊We are working with the Side With Love and UU the Vote National Campaign to organize a get out the vote push on 

November 1st and 2nd – the weekend before polls close, specifically focused on the closest legislative district.

More info coming soon.

How We Advocate at Foothills

We are excited to share that we have joined the interfaith coalition, Together Colorado. Their work specifically helps us advocate on behalf of affordable housing, criminal justice, climate justice, economic justice, immigration and health care. The calls to action and opportunities to engage that come to us from Together Colorado will also be shared through the Intersectional Action Team.

Nearly every week we receive opportunities and invitations to advocate and show support for an initiative at the city, county, state, national and even global level. To help provide guidance about how we can respond to these requests for support in a timely manner, we have created this procedure. You’ll see that the main starting place for advocating at Foothills is to be a part of a team. Join a Social Change team on our Groups Directory, and/or be a part of our Intersectional Action Team.  

Because we are explicitly non-partisan, sometimes you may want to work outside of the church to further our values. One example is the work of the States Project, an organization that many in our community have connected with. To learn more or to get connected with this organization, contact church member Ticie Rhodes. 

Exciting Volunteer and Paid Opportunities at Foothills!

October 1, 2024 /

As hard as it is to believe, the holiday season is right around the corner! This is one of our most vibrant and bustling times of year at Foothills, and we need you to help make it all happen. We’re offering a couple of key roles—both volunteer and paid—where you can contribute to our community’s success and help create memorable experiences. These opportunities are a great way to get involved, connect, and even earn a little extra this season!

Front Desk Greeters

Volunteer, a few hours per week, flexible
Help us be the welcoming face of Foothills!

We are seeking friendly and organized volunteers to cover the front desk on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 1 PM. If you enjoy meeting new people and have a welcoming presence, this role is for you!
Key responsibilities include:

  • Greeting visitors and assisting with walk-ins
  • Signing in guests and handling light administrative tasks
  • Offering helpful information about our church’s mission and activities
  • Recording information and assisting with basic computer tasks (Google Docs, etc.)

If you’re someone who can offer a warm smile and helpful hand, this is a fantastic way to contribute to the community while staying connected to the heart of Foothills.

Administrative Support for Drag Christmas Spectacular

Paid or Volunteer, part-time, 5 hours per week

Are you a behind-the-scenes hero who loves organizing and managing details? We are seeking administrative support to assist Rev. Sean for our second Annual Drag Christmas Spectacular event. This is a key role that helps ensure everything comes together smoothly and successfully! While we’d love to find a volunteer for this role, we do also have some funds to pay an administrative assistant. Because this is a short-term, seasonal need, members may apply for this role.

Responsibilities include:

  • Managing sponsorship ask

  • Grant submissions 

  • Organizing marketing efforts (in collaboration with the Foothills Communications Team)

  • Creating and managing the event’s ticketing system

Foothills Outside Event Team

Paid, hours vary
Love events or just want to make a little extra money? Help us make our outside and rental events run smoothly. Because this is in support of non-Foothills events, members may apply for this role. 

We’re rolling out a new concept to offer our staff some much-needed relief from 7-day work weeks as our building continues to be a center for activity within and beyond the Foothills Community.  We’re looking for event-loving, energetic individuals who don’t mind being on their feet and can lend a hand with setting up and breaking down event spaces, as well as on-site contact to support outside groups meeting in our building. 

We are able to offer $20/hr for lead roles and $15/hr for team members. Whether you’re looking for a fun side gig or simply want to contribute your time and energy to Foothills in a unique way, we’d love to have you on board!

Interested in these roles, or know someone who might be? Email us at hello@foothillsuu.org to be connected to the right person. These are great ways to be part of the action at Foothills and make a real impact during our busiest season.

Updates to Foothills Music Director Search

September 27, 2024 /

Thank you for your active participation in our Music Director search process. Your feedback—whether through surveys, personal conversations, or insights from services—has been invaluable. We received input from a broad cross-section of our community, including choir members, musicians, staff, virtual attendees, and others involved in our music programming. Our goal has been to be transparent and open-minded at every juncture of this process, and we hope you’ve experienced that. 

The feedback process reflected diverse perspectives as well as strong feelings, both positive and negative about the fit of our final candidate. You can read a summary of the feedback here. The congregation, board, staff and Music Hiring Advisory team share a recognition that our music program must be resourced with strong musical and technical skills but also embody the values and spirit of our congregation. After careful consideration, we’ve decided not to move forward with the final candidate. While this outcome is disappointing, we made this decision with the long-term health of our music ministry in mind, as we seek a partner who will be with us for years to come.

The last quarter of the year is one of the busiest at Foothills, and we believe it is important to prioritize our current ministry programming and operating functions. Continuing the search at this time would not allow us to focus on the immediate needs of our congregation. Therefore, we are pausing the search until next spring.

In the interim, we will implement a temporary music leadership structure to keep our music ministry vibrant and connected. We have identified local staffing options that will serve in an interim basis in leading the choir, song leading on Sundays, and managing musician coordination, logistics, and creative planning. Our goal is to maintain a high standard of musical leadership while we continue the search. We will share more details about this plan and invite your partnership over the next few weeks.. 

We plan to resume the search in the new year aligned with a more regular hiring cycle. Our aim will be to hire a new Music Director who can begin by September 2025. This timeline will allow us to approach the search with renewed energy and carefully consider candidates who align with our needs and values. In the meantime we are grateful for your partnership and patience as we navigate this transition. Music is at the heart of the life of our community, and we remain committed to ensuring it continues to nourish and inspire us.

Thank you again for your trust, engagement, and commitment. We look forward to finding a Music Director who can help us fulfill our mission of unleashing courageous love through music. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.

Sincerely,
Rev. Gretchen Haley
Rev. Sean Neil Barron
Katie Watkins, DFO

Join The Generosity Builders Team!

September 25, 2024 /

Announcing the Generosity Builders Team: Join Us in Creating a Culture of Joyful Giving!

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new team: the Generosity Builders Team, and we’re inviting YOU to join us on this exciting journey!

Together, we’ll work to cultivate a spirit of generosity in our community that is joyful, energetic, and full of possibility. With each meeting, we’ll dream big, laugh a lot, and find new ways to inspire generosity within our congregation that enables our missional work at Foothills.

To kick things off, we’re hosting an info night next Thursday, October 3, from 6:00-7:30 PM. There will be snacks (because everything is better with snacks!), and you’ll have a chance to connect with Sue F., Team Lead, and Katie Watkins, DFO, to learn about our vision, and see if you’d like to join us in this important and exciting work.

We’re looking for 4-8 team members who want to help build something meaningful while having a great time. If that sounds like you, we’d love for you to join us!

Please register so we can make sure we have enough snacks and space for everyone.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Joyfully Welcoming Our 2024-25 Caring Listener Team

September 13, 2024 /

At Foothills, it’s the work of all of us to take care of each other.  Sometimes we are the ones held by this ocean of care – and sometimes we ARE the ocean.

Our Caring Listener team is a special group of trained and trusted people who embody Foothills’ commitment to care.  In their unique role, Caring Listeners offer emotional support and spiritual companionship to members and friends of Foothills experiencing hardship or transition in their lives. They also connect individuals and families with other modes of caring within the Foothills Caring Network (e.g. meal delivery, Caring Kits).

This year’s Caring Listener Team includes (from left to right): Steve Sedam, Neil DiMont, Karen Harder, Dick Lubchenco, Katie Slota, Pat Slentz, Nadine Thomsen, Sunny Hanley and MaryLou Smith (MaryLou is not pictured here). 

Some members of the team are focused on a particular demographic, such as:

  • People with dementia and their caregivers
  • End-of-life ministry
  • Elders who have become disconnected from church
  • Legacy work and exploration

Explore the Caring Ministry webpage to learn more about our wider caring efforts at Foothills. 

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