From the Board President
Dear Fellow Countryside Members and Friends –
For the second month in a row, I’ve got some exciting news to share!
The Board is pleased to announce that it has approved the hiring of Dr. Mary Lamb Shelden to serve as our new Director of Religious Exploration, effective June 1. This will allow Mary to work with Rev. Karen for several weeks to facilitate a smooth transition. Rev. Karen has brought new life and vigor to the Religious Exploration program over the past two years, and the transition period with Mary should ensure that the RE program remains vibrant, relevant and continues to grow, after Rev. Karen retires. (There is more specific information in the April 29 e-news and in the Focus.)
This past Saturday evening, we held our Time & Talent auction and raised more than $40,000 for our service partners and CCUU. A big thank you to Nancy Dempsey and Mari Van Meter (and many others) who helped make this auction a fun, community event and a major success!
This past Sunday, we welcomed 9 new members to the CCUU community. That is wonderful news! I’m grateful that CCUU continues to attract people who value an open-minded, welcoming community, with which to share their spiritual journeys.
As you may remember, our Treasurer, Rick Rayborn, has been leading an ad hoc capital projects team to install a second array of solar panels on the church roof. Work on the roofing upgrades is nearly complete. However, we are still awaiting the results of a review by Commonwealth Edison to determine whether our existing electrical equipment will support the new solar panels. We are hopeful that we will hear from ComEd soon, so that we can begin the solar panel installation and have it completed by the end of June. I understand that once the new solar panels are installed, we will have doubled our solar generating capacity.
Also, keep in mind that our Congregational Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday May 17, immediately after the service. At the meeting, the congregation will vote on, among other items, the new slate of Board members and the Annual Budget for the 2026-2027 church year. It is very important that as many members attend as possible. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.
All in all, things are looking up for the CCUU community. We will end the current church year with a new Director of Religious Exploration, many new members, and new solar panels, and we will begin the next church year with a new Senior Minister. That’s very desirable position to be in. I can’t wait to see how the church grows and evolves during the upcoming year.
Thank you,
Gary LaBedz, Board President