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Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
2020 - 2021 Annual Report
Table Of Contents
President's Report to the Congregation, 3 Minister's Report to the Congregation, 5 Leadership Development Committee, 7 Endowment, 7 Stewardship, 8 Worship Committee, 10 Safety Committee, 11 Building & Grounds, 12 Communication, 13 Common Ground Choir, 15 Greeters, 16 Membership, 17 Adult RE, 17 Covenant Circle, 18 Green Team, 19 Women's Group, 19 Marysville Community Lunch, 19
Whether or not it is an old curse, “may you live in interesting times” is an apt saying for the past year.Not only are we living through a pandemic (that is hopefully waning), we had a summer of protests rivaling the protests in the 1960s, a presidential election in a divisive time in American history, and a capitol insurrection.And, of course, we have spent a year congregating via Zoom, paradoxically together while still staying apart.And through it all, we have continued to meet each Sunday, and meet with our other Evergreen groups. This year, we had two open questions cafes.In the first, we talked about what we as a congregation want to focus on, and the overwhelming answer was our regular worship service.In the second, we talked about how our current building meets our worship needs.And the answer was that, the location is great, but the building itself does not.We as a congregation will need to decide what we want to do and come up with a plan for our facilities. At the Board’s annual planning retreat, we developed a Vision of Ministry for the coming year.After much thoughtful discussion, the Board came up with the following Vision: Develop a plan for our facilities that will help fulfill our mission and has broad consensus throughout the congregation. Create worship services that balance creativity and innovation with familiarity to attract a diverse group of people and to nourish a supportive community. Develop a plan to expand our financial resources to ensure that we can fulfill our mission and plan for our long-term viability/security. To help the Board accomplish the Vision, and to expand on the responses you provided in the Open Questions, we will ask you the following Open Questions: How do we expand our financial resources? What option should we pursue regarding our facilities that will fulfill our mission? The Safety Team is looking closely at the guidelines from the Unitarian Universalist Association and the state and county to determine how to best open up our building in the safest manner possible. We want to ensure that all members of our congregation and the larger community, from the youngest, unvaccinated newborns, to our older congregants who have been vaccinated for many months now are all safe.We all want to come back to a building where we can see each other, but only when it is safe for everyone. Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your adaptability and openness to the changes we all have gone through this year, and look forward to seeing Evergreen address the problems with the building and budget with the same desire to make things work. Fred Haist Evergreen UUF Board of Trustees President 2020-2021
President’s Report to the Congregation Fred Haist, President of EUUF Board of Trustees Name
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The Safety Team is looking closely at the guidelines from the Unitarian Universalist Association and the state and county to determine how to best open up our building in the safest manner possible. We want to ensure that all members of our congregation and the larger community, from the youngest, unvaccinated newborns, to our older congregants who have been vaccinated for many months now are all safe.We all want to come back to a building where we can see each other, but only when it is safe for everyone. Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your adaptability and openness to the changes we all have gone through this year, and look forward to seeing Evergreen address the problems with the building and budget with the same desire to make things work. Fred Haist Evergreen UUF Board of Trustees President 2020-2021
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Minister’s Report To Congregation Rev. Thomas Bozeman
The fourth year of this developmental ministry is drawing to a close, and I feel honored to get to serve such a tenaciously resilient congregation. In the face of one of the greatest public health emergencies in the past century (alongside HIV/AIDS and the "Spanish Flu"), Evergreen has adapted and held strong. Evergreen has continued to live out our positive Core Values of compassion by reaching out to and supporting one another, integrity by staying committed to the Fellowship, justice by continuing to gather online rather than in-person, community by continuing to support this congregation with your energy and care, learning by adapting to new ways of engaging (Zoom, Slack, etc.), and environmental awareness by continuing to drop off styrofoam for recycling! Last year, we talked about our Bedrock Beliefs being those beliefs which we turn to in times of uncertainty and crisis - and we certainly have gotten to experience a bit of that over this past year. Indeed, we have turned to our Bedrock Beliefs: in the power of community, love, and compassion; that healthy relationships give us life; that gratitude and appreciation of life nourish and strengthen us; that we all get to live one day at a time; and that change and challenge are inevitable, that we are resilient and capable of handling life’s challenges, and that positive change takes effort, commitment, adaptability, and time. But not only did Evergreen stick with what is important to this Fellowship; the congregation also looked ahead. When I was hired by Evergreen, my contract stated the expectation that the developmental ministry would last somewhere between three and five years. That was an ambitious timeline. In light of the new mission statement and the pandemic and the facilities questions we are currently addressing, this Spring I proposed to the Board that we extend the expected timeframe for this developmental ministry from 3-5 years to 3-7 years. They agreed that the expanded timeframe would allow us to move forward together on key challenges that the congregation faces. So, I will be happy to continue with you all for a bit longer. I’m particularly excited about this coming year for several reasons: Our newfound clarity regarding values, beliefs, vision, and mission should prime the pump for taking effective action together. Since the Board’s Open Questions have continued to deepen as we become more familiar and practiced with such a process of including the entire congregation in important upcoming decisions, the Open Questions have greater and greater influence on future congregational direction. This Spring’s conversations about our congregational priorities and facilities, for instance, directly informed the priorities that the Board set for this coming congregational year (see below). In our four years of working together, we have developed the familiarity and trust to move forward with ease. The three priorities that the Board Of Trustees set for us to work on this coming year are: A plan for our facilities that will help fulfill our mission and has broad consensus throughout the congregation. Worship services that balance creativity and innovation with familiarity to attract a diverse group of people and to nourish a supportive community. Expand our financial resources to ensure that we can fulfill our mission and plan for our long-term viability/security. To be sure, there are challenges ahead. But I feel confident that over these past four years we have laid such a foundation as to support our facing them with the same positive Core Values and Bedrock Beliefs as Evergreen has in the past - and with the added clarity around our vision and mission to guide us into the future. I’ll see you all soon enough!
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forward together on key challenges that the congregation faces. So, I will be happy to continue with you all for a bit longer. I’m particularly excited about this coming year for several reasons: Our newfound clarity regarding values, beliefs, vision, and mission should prime the pump for taking effective action together. Since the Board’s Open Questions have continued to deepen as we become more familiar and practiced with such a process of including the entire congregation in important upcoming decisions, the Open Questions have greater and greater influence on future congregational direction. This Spring’s conversations about our congregational priorities and facilities, for instance, directly informed the priorities that the Board set for this coming congregational year (see below). In our four years of working together, we have developed the familiarity and trust to move forward with ease. The three priorities that the Board Of Trustees set for us to work on this coming year are: A plan for our facilities that will help fulfill our mission and has broad consensus throughout the congregation. Worship services that balance creativity and innovation with familiarity to attract a diverse group of people and to nourish a supportive community. Expand our financial resources to ensure that we can fulfill our mission and plan for our long-term viability/security. To be sure, there are challenges ahead. But I feel confident that over these past four years we have laid such a foundation as to support our facing them with the same positive Core Values and Bedrock Beliefs as Evergreen has in the past - and with the added clarity around our vision and mission to guide us into the future. I’ll see you all soon enough!
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Due to disruptions from the pandemic and other external circumstances, the Leadership Development Committee focused much of its efforts for this church year on the core goal of identifying, recruiting, and nominating candidates for the Board of Trustees, the Leadership Development Committee, and the Endowment Committee. We held three meetings over Zoom and maintained extensive email communication. We investigated some of the leadership development resources available from the UUA website, and learned that the Board of Trustees was engaged in some leadership development activities from the Pacific Northwest UUA. We were thrilled that so many members of our Fellowship have said "yes" to serving Evergreen in a variety of capacities, and we are especially grateful to those who are embracing roles outside their comfort zones. We are excited to present a full slate of nominees to the Fellowship at our Annual Congregational Meeting.
Endowment Committee Chuck Taylor, Chair
The mission of the Endowment Committee is to manage the EUUF Endowment Fund as provided for in the By-Laws. Current members of the Endowment Committee are Chuck Taylor (1st year), Bob Heavey (2nd year), and Marijo Duprey (3rd year). Terms are 3 years in length. Members are limited to two consecutive terms. Chuck Taylor is in his 2nd consecutive term. The corpus of the EUUF Endowment Fund is invested through the UU Common Endowment Fund. This is a professionally managed fund whose objectives are safety and yield consistent with UU values. More information about this fund may be found at https://uucef.org/about/. As of July 1, 2020, the value of our investment was $10,765.33. During the year we received a gift of $94,455 from the estate of Bobbye Miller. Return on investment net of fees as of April 30, 2021, was $18,722.78. The value of the Endowment Fund as of April 30, 2021 was $123,943.11. These are the latest numbers available as of this writing. As prescribed in the Endowment Investment and Distribution Policy, no funds have been distributed from the Endowment Fund during this period.
Leadership Development Committee Ken Rines, Chair Members: George Beykovsky, Anne Atkinson, & Joy Lauderbaugh
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Mission: Facilitates our annual Pledge Drive each spring to project next year’s resources. Duties: Plans and conducts activities throughout the year describing and supporting a culture of abundance culminating in tightly organized pledge drive with celebration of completion. The Stewardship Committee, Chuck Taylor, Karen Winchell, Ryan Weber, Nancy Guidry, Dan Hall, and chair Tom Gaskin met online once a month from September through June on the first Monday of each month from 6:30-8 pm. The Committee selected “Now More than Ever” in the Fall of 2020 as the theme for the campaign. In the New Year, the Committee also arranged for several members of the congregation to provide testimonials on the importance of the fellowship in their lives. For Valentine’s Day, cards of love and thanks were sent to members and friends of the congregation who pledged during last year’s pledge drive. The cards also indicated the 2021-22 campaign would start on March 14th and continue to April 11, 2021. As Spring approached, Karen Winchell put together a basket of readings, a candle, and other goodies to be delivered to pledgers from last year. These baskets were hand delivered by Committee members. By all reports Karen’s idea and implementation of the basket creation and delivery was a terrific success. A note in the basket also indicated when the pledge campaign started. On Sunday, March 14th, chair Tom Gaskin gave a sermon on the pledge drive theme, “Now More than Ever.” The campaign occurred entirely with online pledges. Committee members were assigned names of members and friends who were not in the first wave of pledgers to canvass. In the last week of May 2021, thank you cards were sent to all of the pledgers noting the pledge amount and asking them to contact Tom Gaskin if there were any discrepancies with their intended pledge. The 2021-22 pledge campaign raised $160,820 from 57 pledge units. The average pledge was $2,821. No median pledge was calculated. The 2020-21 pledge campaign raised $161,180. The average pledge last year was $2,303. Historically* over the past fifteen years:
Stewardship Committee Tom Gaskin, Chair
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The 2021-22 pledge campaign raised $160,820 from 57 pledge units. The average pledge was $2,821. No median pledge was calculated. The 2020-21 pledge campaign raised $161,180. The average pledge last year was $2,303. Historically* over the past fifteen years: Pledge Amount Pledge Units Average 2021-22 $160,820 57 $2,821 2020-21 $161,180 70 $2,303 2019-20 $153,949 66 $2,332 2018-19 $151,325 72 $2,102 2017-18 $130,000 — ——— 2016-17 $119,121 78 $1527 2015-16 $181,640 105 $1,735 2014-15 $166,912 114 $1,464 2013-14 $154,978 121 $1,281 2012-13 $150,230 120 $1,252 2011-12 $141,942 110 $1,200 2010-11 $143,240 110 $1,302 2009-10 $124,684 108 $1,217 2008-09 $133,909 110 $1,217 2007-08 $138,957 90 $1,524 *these figures may not reflect pledges that came in after the pledge campaign ended.
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During the 2020-21 church year, the Worship Committee adapted to a Zoom format rather than the in-person worship services. This meant responding to the needs of the Tech Team and working with the internet-based platform. This past year -- The Worship Associate Team was represented at every service. The 8-member Worship Associate Team managed services with guest speakers and assisted the Minister on those Sundays Pastor Tom was in the pulpit. Storytellers were recruited to read stories during the services. We added a member of the Worship Associate Team. The Worship Committee stayed within its budget. Guest speakers were recruited for 27 services during the year. Some of those were from the congregation and the Worship Committee appreciates all those who stepped up to participate in the services this year in any capacity.
Worship Committee Marilyn Bosckis & Mike Mallory, Co-Chairs
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Safety Committee Barbara Johnson, Chair
Our mission is to ensure the safety of Evergreen UU Fellowship. That includes the building and grounds as well as the members and friends and other user groups. The Safety Committee consists of four people: Pastor Tom Bozeman, Past President of the Board of Trustees Ken Rines, and Members Mari Budlong and Barbara Johnson. Among the accomplishments this year were: Working cooperatively with the Building & Grounds Committee to assess the repairs and safety needs for the building for occupation when Covid 19 restrictions are lifted. Monitoring the Covid 19 metrics for various Phases for Snohomish County reopening. Procedures and criteria used to develop recommendations for the next year include: Strategizing for safety procedures when we are able to have in-person gatherings which included The “UUA GUIDANCE ON GATHERING IN-PERSON WHEN COVID-19 SUBSIDES” document raises many excellent questions, such as: What safety precautions should be in place? What attendance limits do we set at various gatherings? What cleaning procedures do we need to have in place? Should we require masks? Should we allow food service or not? There are many unknowns about the current and future conditions due to the Covid epidemic and many factors that the Safety Team, Board of Trustees and Congregation will need to consider when making decisions in the coming year. Update: May 14, 2021 The new CDC and Washington State Covid-19 guidelines allow those fully vaccinated to meet with others without masks outdoors and, if the business allows it, indoors. Some experts are still recommending wearing masks when around others as the effects of the Covid-19 mutants are unknown. The Safety Team will be meeting soon to update Evergreen UU Fellowship policy suggestions for the Board of Trustees.
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This spring we look forward optimistically to the time when we can reoccupy our sanctuary. Since the last report, we’ve seen positive turns to some building and grounds issues. Gutters and downspouts have been renovated. Coincidental with this, we have not seen water intrusion into the Kumbaya Room or Auction Closet. We contracted for a mold/mildew survey which reported that there was no detectable mold/mildew contamination. This survey was only on the basement level in the areas where anecdotal reports from congregants suggested a problem. Since mold and mildew growth are dependent on moisture, it seems likely that remedying the water intrusion noted above may have had a positive impact. Several grounds work parties did a tremendous job rooting out weeds, removing ivy, and spreading wood chips. Many thanks to Nancy Miller and her dedicated team. A check of all the electrical outlets in our building identified about ⅓ that were ungrounded and unsafe. We are now in the process of remedying this situation. While we have been out of the building, we have negotiated with the Dept. of Labor and Industries, the agency that monitors our elevator, to mothball the elevator until we re-occupy the building. This has saved us substantial dollars. With recent budgetary approval we will be renovating many of the downstairs baseboard heaters. In counterpoint to the above items Evergreen faces some very challenging building issues. Financial constraints have reduced the building budget for the coming year significantly. As a result, much deferred maintenance will continue to be deferred. However, there are issues that will have to be addressed as we re-occupy our building. As noted above, work on electrical outlets and baseboard heaters will have to be completed. The elevator continues to be a substantial expense. In order to reactivate it we will have to contract for some significant L&I mandated upgrades, repairs and inspections. As per the recommendation of the Facilities Analysis Task Force, we will not be using the Annex for RE classes. RE will be using the Kumbaya Room, the Fireside Room, the Peace Room and the Fahs Room. All of these spaces will require some upgrades to be practical and safe RE spaces. A regular schedule of grounds maintenance should be a priority. All of this seems rather daunting but I’m confident with the continuing support of our congregants we can return to our building safely.
Building & Grounds Paul Miller, Chair
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Communication Committee Mari Budlong, Chair
Mission Statement The Communication Committee supports and facilitates communication within the congregation and to the larger community to provide information and invite participation. Vision Statement In a healthy and vibrant community, communication is a two-way street. In order to strengthen our connection to the wider community and ensure an informed congregation, the Communication Committee: solicits and encourages congregants to provide text and/or photos that reflect our identity and promote current events meets the needs of members and friends through a variety of communication methods; offers opportunities for familiarization with technological tools provides frequent and timely processes for feedback regarding day-to-day experiences, activities, and needs at the Fellowship bridges communication between leadership and congregants; offers services for teams and committees to effectively and readily accomplish their goals; supports leadership collaboration in achieving their objectives. This year started several months into the pandemic. We had already moved to online services, trained congregants in how to be participants in Zoom meetings, trained leaders in how to lead Zoom meetings, and had communicated to the congregation in a variety of ways, including the newsletter, the weekly update, and over Facebook and Slack, how we were now ‘doing’ church. We had changed the website to include a/Sunday page that included a Guest Connection Card and the Order of Service, and we continued to make improvements on that page for clarity and ease of use. We had shifted to using Slack from Twist early in the summer, and the rollout was slow, with people needing to accept invitations or letting them expire before others could be sent out. All through the summer, fall and winter we helped people become familiar with using Slack as the primary mode of communication for Evergreen. Slack cannot be hacked in the same way e-mail can, keeping communication more secure. Several congregants were hacked, with the scammers trying to solicit money from other congregants. People also sent e-mails to solicit gift cards and money from congregants. These kinds of solicitations are not possible on Slack. While we struggle with finding the right balance of how to bring in new users to Slack, set up channels that make communicating within groups easier, and continuing to train new users, we also gain the experience of being together in community in this new way, with space to share Joys and Sorrows throughout the week as well as check on each other, and search for other congregants. We continued to offer trainings for congregants to learn how to Tech Host the worship services, and ended up with a training in April to break down the tech hosting task into several smaller tasks. We have a sign-up sheet that has for each task a How-To document that, for most tasks, includes a How-To video. One of the issues that has come up with inviting congregants to lead the service is the quality of their internet connection, which ranges from not being able to host the basic service to not being able to stream videos during the service. Mari has gone to the church building most Sundays to use the church internet, which is reliably strong, and is continuing to try to figure out how to remedy this problem. We continued to release seasonal (every six weeks) newsletters and update the website to keep it relevant and user-friendly. We resumed recording sermons when possible and upload them to SoundCloud. We worked with the Mission Planning Team and the Board of Trustees as well as other Task Forces, groups and teams to set up meetings after church in breakout rooms. We are working with Membership and Greeters to streamline processes and make sure visitors and friends are tracked, contacted, and invited into groups and ultimately membership when appropriate.
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solicitations are not possible on Slack. While we struggle with finding the right balance of how to bring in new users to Slack, set up channels that make communicating within groups easier, and continuing to train new users, we also gain the experience of being together in community in this new way, with space to share Joys and Sorrows throughout the week as well as check on each other, and search for other congregants. We continued to offer trainings for congregants to learn how to Tech Host the worship services, and ended up with a training in April to break down the tech hosting task into several smaller tasks. We have a sign-up sheet that has for each task a How-To document that, for most tasks, includes a How-To video. One of the issues that has come up with inviting congregants to lead the service is the quality of their internet connection, which ranges from not being able to host the basic service to not being able to stream videos during the service. Mari has gone to the church building most Sundays to use the church internet, which is reliably strong, and is continuing to try to figure out how to remedy this problem. We continued to release seasonal (every six weeks) newsletters and update the website to keep it relevant and user-friendly. We resumed recording sermons when possible and upload them to SoundCloud. We worked with the Mission Planning Team and the Board of Trustees as well as other Task Forces, groups and teams to set up meetings after church in breakout rooms. We are working with Membership and Greeters to streamline processes and make sure visitors and friends are tracked, contacted, and invited into groups and ultimately membership when appropriate.
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This last year has completely changed every aspect of the choir program. We’ve had to re-imagine, re-invent, restructure, and revamp everything. Everyone involved has been brave, resilient, innovative, creative, persistent, helpful and caring. We’ve embraced new technology and adopted new ways to provide meaningful choir music for our worship services. Being unable to sing together in-person, we’ve been holding choir meetings on Zoom where we can make connection with one another, see each other’s faces at least, discuss relevant matters, and engage in some semblance of a choir rehearsal. Even though we can’t hear each other sing, we can practice our parts with the piano and then go to Soundtrap to practice and contribute individual tracks of individual voices resulting in a group sound. Using the new COVID method, we have provided responses, anthems and hymn arrangements to the Fellowship for use during the worship services. We are so grateful to the tech-savvy members of the choir, the EUUF Tech Team, and other generous volunteers in the congregation who have graciously offered their time and expertise to help us accomplish this task. We are still unable to meet in person and we miss singing together very much. It is impossible to know when we can resume singing in-person again, but it will happen when the time is right – when everyone is comfortable again and feels safe doing so. In the meantime, we will continue our new way of doing things. It is encouraging to note that some of the technology we have been using will be valuable in increasing our efficiency when we finally get back to “the new normal” in the “after times”. We will keep singing!
Common Ground Choir Kathleen Goff, EUUF Choir Director
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The Greeters have been operating without a membership chair since the middle of 2019, but that vacancy has now been filled by George Beykovsky. George and I have started meeting via Zoom to discuss how to revitalize the Greeter role and how it can contribute to the overall membership function in light of the new mission statement. There are currently three active greeters who survey Sunday Worship Service in Zoom and input the attendance number into an online form. Additionally, two of them, Kelli Sparks, and Barbara Johnson alternate the task of inserting newcomer links into the chat window several times during each Sunday service. Mari Budlong has been watching out for newcomers and messaging them a welcome during our Sunday service. This task is one of her tiny tech tasks and Kelli Sparks and I are assuming this duty. I want to thank Mari for creating this process and passing it on to me. Alli as provided me with the following data on newcomers. “There were 9 new people in total that filled out the connection card from July 1st 2020 through now, 7 of which subscribed to our email list. In total, 15 new visitors subscribed to our email list. Some new visitors signed up to stay connected without filling out the connection card.” The move to Zoom for Sunday service has sped up the change to the use of online systems to replace the way records have been kept in the past, and even the primary method of connecting with newcomers as a consequence this past year has seen many adjustments in the Greeter role. In addition, the number of active Greeters has dropped from 12 to 3.
Greeters Sandra Biggerstaff, Greeter Coordinator
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Despite the pandemic, Adult Programs carried on with virtual programming. Using the EUUF Calendar, it was possible to schedule meetings and activities which everyone could access and then participate. The Book Club, Men’s and Women’s Groups, Big Questions, art programs, and many other activities powered through the year of isolation. Because of the virtual nature of our gatherings, it was possible to have deeper, more personal contact with all participants, which turned into a positive environment.
Membership George Beykovsky, Chair
Adult Religious Education Desmond Smith
The Membership Committee had unfortunately been without a leader since mid-2019. The Fellowship is grateful that George Beykovsky very recently offered to assume this leadership role, and the Board of Trustees approved his appointment as Chair of the Committee in April of 2021. We look forward to his reactivation of this committee in the coming year.
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A year has passed quickly and we are all still meeting on Zoom as these times remain challenging, but we have greater hope of opening up to meet in person in the near future due to our wide spread vaccinations. Covenant Circle Leaders are continuing to meet monthly with their Covenant Circles to help foster fellowship, community, and to keep our spirits up as we offer help to our members as needed to combat loneliness and isolation. We are fortunate to still be able to schedule these meetings using the Fellowship's two Zoom accounts and needing a little less technical assistance from Ali, Mari and Sally. Zoom meetings are still a plus for us all since we can gather in the comfort of our homes without traveling. Although Zoom doesn’t eliminate the longing we have to see each other’s smiles in person and feel the warmth of our friends’ hugs. Our five Covenant Circles fortunately remain strong a year later even with the pandemic and missing our in-person gatherings. Alonna Chatburn’s north Marysville group has nine members. They continue to collect socks for the Community Lunch Program. Other Covenant Circle groups also contributed to the sock drive this past winter as well. Paula Bloomberg’s Covenant Circle of six continues to enjoy meeting during the afternoon on Tuesdays. George Beykovsky’s Covenant Circle with Kelli Sparks took the lead to organize and offer meals to a friend of the Fellowship who was experiencing health issues. George’s group remains strong. They have experienced changes in membership this year, but they have nine members and are hoping to soon welcome a new member to their group. The fourth Sunday afternoon Covenant Circle has seen some changes in leadership. Skyler Malan and Kelli Sparks, long time facilitators, are passing the leadership of this group on to Sandie Biggerstaff, a fourth Sunday CC member. Sandie is eager to be the group’s leader, and she is hoping to increase this Covenant Circle’s membership. Sue and Tom Gaskin's Covenant Circle remains robust and welcomed two new members into our Covenant Circle in the fall. We currently have 12 in our group. Our members contributed to the Marysville food drive at Thanksgiving and the Community Lunch sock drive in the winter. Covenant Circle Leaders continue to meet monthly for fellowship and to support each other with the challenges we face as leaders, and to discuss how to meet these continuing challenges with kindness, support for one another, and inclusivity. We hope for the expansion of our small ministry groups by encouraging and inspiring friends and members to take advantage of the benefits of joining a Covenant Circle. Individual letters are being emailed to members as well as friends offering information on the importance of these small groups and the names of the two groups with openings. As our groups fill to capacity, we would like to be able to offer new groups with openings in the future weeks to come.
Covenant Circles Susan C. S. Gaskin
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Women's Group Marijo Duprey
Due to Covid 19, we changed our delivery system for the lunches. Instead of seating people inside, we handed out sack lunches. We encouraged people to wear masks (gave them one if they didn't have one) and kept the 6 feet of distance. We spent more money on supplies, such as plastic utensils, and different sized take-out containers. MCL wanted to give out hot meals on the cold days. Our guests appreciated that. Our numbers were reduced to about 20 a day and we often provided second bags. MCL has guests who come regularly and we always welcomed new people. We appreciated donations of socks, gloves and hats during the winter. Socks are good anytime! Thank you to Evergreen for their support and for being flexible. Several EUUF members contribute to the lunches and we are grateful. MCL hopes to be serving inside again soon to support our goal of social interaction with a welcoming environment. If you would like to volunteer, please contact me.
Green Team Jennie Lindberg
Unfortunately, most of the Green Team Members are in the "vulnerable" category for the Covid 19 virus. Since almost all of the Green Team activities involve people being physically present, all Green Team meetings and activities have been suspended for the duration of the pandemic until it is safe for us to begin meeting in person again. We look forward to a safe future when we can resume "green activities" with EUUF.
Marysville Community Lunch Alonna Chatburn
No meetings were held during this church year, due to a lack of interest. Hopefully, there will be a group of women who would be interested in continuing this group in the future.
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