 Issue 36: February 2007, Page 2< Page 1 | Table of Contents | Page 3 > District President ReportsWilled Into BeingRev. Brian Eslinger As the minister of a congregation I am keenly aware that if anything is to happen people have to want it to be. As president of the District during the past two years I have marveled at the happenings that people have willed into being. Our congregations and our district are voluntary associations, we are here and creating because we want to; no threat or admonitions will get anyone to join a board, create a network or host a workshop. There are countless hours of people’s powers that go into creating the Annual Conferences, so many, many people shuffle their way across the many states that make up PSD to engage our congregations in social justice work, conflict engagement workshops, stewardship, hospitality, all the possible variables to help us create more welcoming, successful religious communities. Then there are those on-line resources, Stonetree and the PSD Website that have staff and volunteers creating virtual connections that help cement physical realities. To each and every one of you who have been about this work I say thank you. You know that we do this work because our faith matters. You know that spreading the word of who we are and helping us to live in concert with our visions matters. Thank you. Along with the outstanding staff that is the glue to hold us together, I have had the pleasure of working with outstanding boards during the time I served as a board member, vice president and president. I’ll take some credit for those people since prior to being a board member I spent several years on the nominating committee. I’d like to thank two people who are ending their service on the board, Laura Schlatter and Will Rankin. I’d also like to introduce Fred Hulting from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka, Minnesota who has been appointed by the board to fill out a term vacated early. Thanks to all of you for your dedication and comradeship during this time in the life of the district. Resources for CongregationsA new version of Stonetree will be available on March 1st for you to check out and give us feedback! Stonetree Congregational Resources is a onestop shop for programming needs of congregations: Need someone for a memorial service in your lay-led Fellowship? A Sunday morning speaker while your minister is on Sabbatical? On March 1st go to http://www.stonetreeuu.org and check out the new site. The search capabilities have been greatly expanded. We know that it is not much good to have a large variety of resources available to UU congregations if you can’t find them! Now, you can now search by audience, topic, name, keyword and a variety of other bits of data. The site is almost entirely automated. Folks only get listed on Stonetree after they have been recommended by people like you, and now there is no delay between when you recommend someone for the first time, and when they are invited to become listed on Stonetree. Also, program resources can update their own information as often as needed. Resources can tailor their listings to their skills. For example, if you do a search for “Dawn Cooley” on the site, you will see that she has a listing for the Sunday morning services she offers as well as additional listings for weddings, naming ceremonies, memorial services and workshops that she is available to present. So please, check out our new site and let us know what you think! And remember, Stonetree needs you to recommend people who have offered their skills and talents to your congregation. New Board Member We welcome Fred Hulting, who has been appointed to fill an unexpired term on the Prairie Star District Board. Fred has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Minnetonka for the past 11 years. During that time, he has filled a variety of leadership roles, including Board Trustee and Board President. Fred enjoys teaching RE classes, and is currently the LRE Program Chair. Professionally, Fred is a Director in the Research and Development organization at General Mills. |