President's Message

On July 1, 2012, I began my service as the newly elected President of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades’ Board of Trustees.  I believe this is a position of great honor and responsibility and my intention is to strive my utmost to justify the trust that the Congregation has placed in me.  

This past year I had the good fortune of serving on the Board as vice-president under the leadership of the then president Eddie Hadden.  We endeavored to move our efforts to grow the Congregation onto a higher gear.  Our emphasis was to make the growth of our congregation our top priority.

I believe that this priority remains vitally essential.  This congregational year we hope to move even further along both in numbers and in organizational and leadership growth.  We need this to meet our basic responsibility to continue to serve the spiritual well being and growth of each and every member and friend and those who choose to associate with us.  In fact, I believe growth activity itself is and should be part of our spiritual well being.

Growth in numbers leads to growth in spirit.  It enriches our congregational life in countless ways such as - - expanded activities, speakers, classes; adult and youth religious education, greater outreach to the community; a permanent full time minister;  the gift of the energy and minds of new members and friends; and ultimately our long time dream of a permanent, every day of the week, place of our own.

This can happen!

These are things that will enable us to continue to travel the path of our mission statement which is who we are and who we strive to be (see “Mission Statement” elsewhere on  the website), “an intentionally diverse, anti-racist, multicultural spiritual community”.  This will strengthen our unique commitment to religious and spiritual pluralism.  It will power us to being more “inclusive, welcoming and nurturing” and to “ reach outward...to serve and  to seek racial and social justice.”   
    
I invite you to talk with me about your thoughts and comments on congregational growth at,  president@uucpalisades.org.

Al Stawsky