The canvass is well under way. By now, you and your canvasser may have talked about May Memorial — what it means to you, its future prospects, and the shared obligation of members to sustain and promote the church’s mission with their dollars.

Doing so never seems to get any cheaper — although as MMUUS continues to draw visitors and new members, I hope the expanding reservoir of “sustainers” will keep the individual’s burden manageable.

As you reflect on the meaning of May Memorial in your life, I expect your thoughts fix on spiritual things — the worship service, the fellowship, the music, the people, special times spent with family and friends. As Rev. Jean remarked in a recent sermon, few people affiliate with a church to serve on a committee! I just want to take a moment, though, to salute those who do serve on committees, as well as members of the Board of Trustees who keep the ship sailing in all kinds of weather. No, their contribution of time and energy doesn’t pay the bills. But it keeps MMUUS on track as a spiritual beacon and sanctuary.

More specifically, I want you to know about the work of four special task forces during this canvass season. One group (Alexa Carter, Bob Coye, Jennifer Hamlin-Navias, Roger Hiemstra, Bruce MacBeth, Ross Valenti, and Bob Schulz) is making plans to use a $5,000 Chalice Lighters grant from the St. Lawrence UU District to create a family-friendly space so members and friends who need or prefer to sit outside the sanctuary during the worship service can still be part of the spiritual experience. A second task force (Verah Johnson, Kevin King, Jennifer Newman, Ann Pia and Steve Reiter) is drawing up a “road map” for the congregation and its leaders to use next year in developing a mission/vision that will help guide MMUUS through the exciting times ahead.

The other two task forces are “next steps” following the congregation’s adoption of the Covenant of Right Relations at last June’s annual meeting. The “Safe Congregations” group (Rob Neimeier, Jennifer Hamlin-Navias, Thane Joyal, Peter Colman, Taylor Longo, and Therese Hogle) is developing a policy to ensure that May Memorial is a place of safety and integrity for each person’s mind, body and spirit — including children in the growing Religious Education program. The second group (Gary Carter, Diane Chappell-Daly, Peter Knoblock and Paula Zebrowski) is developing a program to assist in conflict management within the congregation.

As you can see, some dedicated members of May Memorial are engaged in good work. They deserve your support and encouragement. How better than through a generous pledge for this year’s canvass?

~ Fred Fiske