Spring certainly seems to be in the air! Just yesterday I saw our first Sagebrush Buttercup growing in the meadow behind us. Always a good sign! Along with longer days, there is hope as well for a change in the pandemic and the continued return to the freedoms of pre-2020. How this impacts KUC was the main order of business for our meeting.

Your new Council Circle met Tuesday evening, March 15th. We welcomed in three new members, Emily Vutev, Derm Strong, and Doug Scorrar – we are very happy to have them as members of our Council! At the same time, we were sad to confirm that after many years of service to the Council Karen McClelland will be stepping away. Karen has been our steadying force in the education and implementation of our Policy Governance model. She has brought years of experience in this area to Council. We will definitely miss her and her friendly admonition to “get out of the kitchen” when we get too involved with the work of Management! Karen agreed to be an ongoing resource for us in governance matters and we are grateful for that offer.

Some of the highlights of our meeting in March 2022, are as follows:

1.  Following much discussion, Council Circle has agreed to follow the direction of the Government regarding gathering size and the wearing of masks. To that end, we will be “mask friendly” meaning that it is not a requirement to wear a mask, but that we see them as a friendly option to support vulnerable populations, especially if people are not feeling well. PIT Stop will reopen, inside, on March 20th. All programs, including funerals and funeral teas will reopen with required protocols. After church coffee time will also be open with protocols.
2. Visioning for KUC remains on the agenda and is a primary part of work for Council Circle. We are continuously experiencing new ways of being throughout the last two years. Council Circle feels that when things settle our time will come to review who we are and where we are going. We are hopeful that you will be hearing more in this direction in the very near future!
3. Along with visioning, Council Circle is committed to reviewing our financial situation with an eye to supporting our new direction. We will also be reviewing the organizational structure at the same time to ensure that it supports our vision.

If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Michael, Florence or myself. We’d be pleased to help in any way.

Warm Blessings, Marcia Julian

Image: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons