'Board of Trustees' Tagged Posts
Meet Yvette, our New Ministerial Intern!
Late last month, we announced a pleasant surprise at WellSprings: Yvette McDonnell, who serves on staff as Congregational Life Coordinator at the nearby Main Line Unitarian Church (MLUC), will be joining us this year for a part-time “joint” Ministerial Internship! In our denomination, an internship in a UU congregation is among the last steps required before ordination – when a ministry student finally becomes a “Rev.” WellSprings has a long history as a UU Teaching Congregation, and Yvette will be…
Our Third Year at Pride!
In the face of ongoing attacks on the sacredness of LGBTQ+ people, our local Chester County PrideFest was louder, larger, and more alive than ever this year. With about 20 WellSpringers staffing our table throughout the day, folks from beyond our congregation came by to ask questions: about our services, our beliefs, to take flyers and stickers and affirmation mirrors – and of course, to be blessed with glitter and abundant love, by our volunteers. (The rainfall in the late…
Congregational Meeting Recap
This past Sunday our Board of Trustees led our annual Congregational Meeting, after Service. You can view the annual Congregational Meeting at the YouTube link above. The meeting starts at 01:20:30. Included in the meeting were reports by the Board and the Minister, an update on our financial position, and our 2025-2026 Stewardship Campaign. Our congregation offered gratitude to our outgoing Board President Tonie Scullion for her outstanding work. Presented during the meeting were the Congregational Goals for 2025-2026. They…
A Final Report, From Stewardship
Dear WellSprings family, With grateful hearts, the Stewardship Ministry is wrapping up this year’s pledge campaign. Thank you to everyone who already made a pledge commitment for our next fiscal year (July 2025 – June 2026)! Each dollar you pledge lights the way for everything we do together – singing with the band, gathering in Bell Hall and online, caring for our children and teens, supporting our ministers and staff, and serving our wider community. Because 95% of our budget comes…
Rev. Lee Returns from Sabbatical on April 1st
Dear WellSpringers, I have missed you so much – and I’m thrilled to be back in ministry with you all, beginning again today, Tuesday, April 1. For the past four months, whenever anyone asked how my sabbatical was going, I found myself repeating the same refrain: “It’s incredible. What a ridiculous privilege this is: to have four months all to myself… to rest and learn, to spend my time exactly as I choose… to have the freedom to say ‘yes’…
Rev. Lee on Sabbatical Until April 1st
Dear members, friends, & visitors to WellSprings, The day is here: my four-month sabbatical begins this Sunday, December 1st. As I said in my most recent message, I love you all, and I will miss you during this time away. A sabbatical is a wonderful privilege of serving in ministry, and I do not take this gift lightly. After all the challenges of the past few years, it means so much to me that you are offering me four entire…
Announcing Our New “Future Fund”
At our Installation service in September, our former ministerial intern – the Rev. Beth Monhollen – announced the creation of a new fund at WellSprings. The Future Fund is an investment in WellSprings’ future, created on the occasion of our first ministerial Installation, and intended to honor our congregation’s founding era by planning for the era to come. Gifts given to the Future Fund will not be used for our normal operating budget, but for future-oriented projects that help sustain…
Announcing a New Coalition for People of Faith in Chester County
Many folks in our congregation have felt the call, over the past few years, to take a more active role in our local community – lending strength and support to each other, and to our neighbors. We see how our political climate is only growing more volatile by the day, and we long to be reminded of the strongest power there is: the power of Beloved Community. The power of showing up, to love and care for one another. WellSprings…
Save the Date for WellSprings’ First-Ever Installation
UPDATE: Registration is now open! Click here to RSVP. Save the date for September 29th, 2024, when WellSprings will hold a milestone event in the life of our congregation: our first-ever ministerial Installation! Earlier this year, our congregation held a vote to officially “call” and affirm the Rev. Lee Paczulla as our settled minister – the first time we’ve gathered in this way to choose our own minister, in the 17-year history of our community. WellSprings has been host to…
WellSprings at Pride!
We showed up for Chester County PrideFest in force this year, WellSprings! This was the second year in a row that WellSprings served as a sponsor for the annual event, held along Bridge Street in Phoenixville, during the month of June. We were packed with volunteers at our booth, and dozens more from our community dropped by to say hello – whether they were there tabling for another organization, or just out at PrideFest enjoying the gorgeous weather. This year,…
Farewell Jessica, Congregational Meeting Recap, & A Report from Stewardship…
This past Sunday we celebrated Jessica Heichel’s last day on Staff as our Membership & Communications Coordinator – and, our Board of Trustees led our annual Congregational Meeting, after the service! You can watch all of Sunday’s events at the link above – including a special New Member Welcome for Jessica and her husband Dan! The Heichels decided to become members of our congregation, following Jessica’s time on Staff. We also gave Jessica a parting gift to thank her for…
A Final Report, From Stewardship
Greetings WellSprings! The Stewardship Ministry is wrapping up our annual pledge campaign, and we would like to thank everyone who generously made a pledge commitment to WellSprings for the fiscal year July 2024 to June 2025. Our pledge campaign, Building Our Beloved Community, supported the following stewardship goals: 1. to increase member pledge participation from 70% to 90% 2. to increase the overall pledged amount by 16% to meet the planned budget of $250,000. To measure member pledge participation, we used a base…