Dear friends,

I hope you are all having a joyful summer and lots of time with loved ones, perhaps those far away, perhaps those in the same house who can feel far away when life happens.

As usual, I have an extended list of “thank you’s” for all the work that goes on, vacation time or not, to keep the grass cut, the bills paid, the schedule developed, and the wheels turning on various long-term projects. Thank you one and all for keeping MMUUF in your hearts and on your cell phones.

With the resumption of bi-weekly worship services coming up after our traditional summer hiatus I wanted to get some dates on your calendar and update you on the latest news.

First, the worship committee is getting ready to figuratively and literally “gather the waters” from our fellowship as we come back together on Sunday September 11^th, so if you haven’t collected some H2O from a source with meaning for you, now’s the time. OR – do what lots of us do, and grab some from the sink and tell us about your summer J

Other dates to remember – September 10^th – back to the barn day.  From 9 to 11am or so we are asking for volunteers to help prepare the barn for services (light housecleaning) and take on some other projects.  We may also be able to give a hand with the siding project, will keep you posted.

The BIG ONE – our main fundraising event of the year – the Haunted Barn!  This will be on Halloween weekend, so mark your calendars and stay tuned for details – and let me (or anybody on the Steering Committee) know if you would be willing to be one of the coordinators this year.

As you may recall, we did NOT run a fundraiser during Harvest Market last year, but DO have a stash of costumes.  We looked at getting a stall at the market so that we could both sell them and make our presence known among our spiritual and corporeal neighbors.  This didn’t work out, but we are looking for volunteers interested in helping with a costume sale. Please contact Jenn Fink if you’re able to help.

Religious Education:  We are looking forward to the return of most of our teaching staff, and will be launching their training soon. There is always a need for both an “RE Angel” during service, and adults willing to lend their time and talent to keep the program strong. Based on community feedback and the expected enrollments, our classes will start with the following age/teacher lineup. 

Pre-K – 1st grade: teacher: Ella King, assistant: Eli Swaney

2 – 4: teacher: Lindsey Ward, assistant: Jacob Davis

5 – 8: teacher: Isabel Pless, assistant: Anna Hogan

Other news.  The effort to develop an MMUUF covenant got a great start over the summer with Dana Baron, Kelley McCutcheon-Adams and Gaye Symington stepping forward to help coordinate the effort. More on that coming soon, but it’s not too early to think about what MMUUF means to you, what you want our priorities to be, and what your dreams are for our fellowship.

New neighbors!  We learned this summer that a small new development is going in behind the barn, and that their access road will go right by our back parking lot.  This offers the opportunity to add a second driveway that would connect to Raceway (by the bank).  Given the danger and difficulty turning onto Route 15 from our existing driveway, the building committee has pursued this option with the builder and working to get more information and the necessary permits etc. to pursue this option. Potential costs vary based on where a connection can be made and how it impacts water management. A best guess approximation is $5,000 for all the legal fees and initial construction, plus paying a very modest cost-share for upkeep of the segment of shared road.  Pending further details, the building and steering committees are positively inclined to invest in this option which also provides options for adjusting our parking arrangements if needed.

Fun Raisers + Conversation Matters sessions.  We have a family game night in the works for October, and may have another event, but are looking forward to the chance to learn about the hidden talents and passions of more of our members. Please contact anybody on the Steering committee (Betty, Bill, Delia, Jenn, or Susan)

That’s all I can remember for now, but please continue to keep MMUUF in your hearts and thoughts, and thank you to all who have stepped up to help the Merrill family – and helped out in so many other ways to keep our community strong.

 Best regards and see your September 10^th/11^th J

 Bill

Dear Friends

 As previously mentioned the MMUUF Directory is making a return in digital form!

 Think of it as Facebook, only it’s just the faces, names and contact, no clicking, “like” button, just a handy way to find members of the community.

 Our plan is to use information we have on file to set up the entries, which should be fairly accurate since we are taking a minimalist approach.

 If you know your info is outdated or incomplete – please send any updates to me (at swaneys5@yahoo.com) – copying Jenn Alberts (jenniferalberts@yahoo.com).

 The trickiest part will be the photos. We’d like to get an individual picture of the community member (which for this purpose we are defining as anybody who has a name tag or wants to be in the directory) and have space for a family photo as well. Nothing fancy needed, just a quick selfie is great.

 You can email photos to me (naming them for easer of reference e.g. “JaneDoe.jpg” would be appreciated), OR Kelly McCutcheon Adams can take new pics after the January  24^th or February 14^th service. Otherwise we will do our best using our whatever we might have in archives (or maybe I’ll try my hand as an artist J).

 I hope to send out draft entries to everyone in February, and then “publish” – by emailing it as an excel spreadsheet to the listed individuals.

 Should you wish NOT to include some or all of your info – please let me know – and we will of course respect your wishes.

 A sample entry is below to give a sense of what this should look like when it’s done.

 Warm regards on this cold day,

 Bill