Read the full issue of this week’s newsletter here: The Weekly Liberal Jan. 9

In this week’s Liberal, Rev. Jen Crow writes:

Our building has been a hub of activity these past few weeks. We’ve hosted multiple holiday services from Solstice to Remembrance Sunday. We’ve been home to families experiencing homelessness, we’ve supported Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism, and we’ve cared for each other and our larger community. All of these things happened because hundreds of you put our Universalist vision of love and hope into action by sharing your time, talent, and financial resources within and beyond these walls. 

Our building is a bustling place, a resource for our congregation and our community, and as we’ve been doing the work of being the church, we’ve also been hard at work studying our spaces, deciding what changes we can make to our physical space that will allow us to be even more welcoming, accessible, and inclusive of both our First Universalist and larger Minneapolis community. 

Our building project, Not For Ourselves Alone: Building an Inclusive Future , is moving quickly now, and we are getting close to being able to share more concrete details. While things are always fluid with a construction project, there are a few things that are clear:

• We continue to keep our focus on fulfilling the original intent of our capital campaign – improving accessibility and hospitality, improving worship and religious education spaces, and securing our financial future. The money we have raised, which totals over $4.5 million, will allow us to do so much! 
• We expect to move out of our building in most ways after our annual meeting on May 31 and return to a fully remodeled space in time for Water Communion and the start of religious education classes in the fall.
• We have paid off our mortgage and do not intend to take out a new one. 
• We will complete many critical repairs (roofing, electrical, HVAC) and create a new, central accessible entrance.
• Our sanctuary will be refreshed – including new paint, flooring, lighting, electrical work, audio visual equipment, ceiling repair, the creation of an accessible chancel, and installation of a hearing loop. 
• We will be building and renovating with a focus on environmental and racial justice – looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of our building and putting our vendor policy to work in the hiring of all contractors and subcontractors. 
• For the first time since we became a Sanctuary Congregation more than two years ago, we will have a living space designed to house individuals and families at risk of deportation, and will no longer need to rely on make-shift arrangements in a crowded building. 
• There will be work for us to do this summer! As we look at ways to save money and achieve more of our dreams, we will need to put in our time, energy, and resources. There will be opportunities for additional financial gifts to add in hoped-for improvements, and there will be lots of opportunities to help with packing, cleaning, moving, painting, and even some demolition. I’m looking forward to working with you as we make our dreams a reality. 

This is who we are, and this is what we do. We take the mission and vision of our church – sharing the Universalist spirit of love and hope – and we make it real. I’m so glad to be in this community, doing the work of the church with all of you.

In gratitude,
Rev. Jen
Co-Senior Minister