As many of you know, Kris Lutters, longtime Director of all things “children, families, and youth,” announced her intention to retire late this past fall. During a rousing Mitten Tree Sunday service this past December, Kris shared memories from her long tenure in this role. She also shared about how she hopes to free up energy for her family and other passions, once retirement from this particular role at UUFP becomes a reality.

Although we advertised for an RE Coordinator (a scaled down position to cover Religious Education essentials, while we develop a future vision for the program) and received quite a number of applications, we have decided to rethink the way this position is set up, at least for the coming year. Currently, we’re looking at offering two smaller positions: one to support nursery through middle school children and their families, and one to support youth and young adults. Expect more information in January.

Graciously, while we continue our search for new, qualified staff, Kris has volunteered to continue to offer simple all-ages programming on Sunday mornings. Thank you, Kris!

At the same time, our beloved Office Assistant, Christa White VanCour, has also made the choice to spend more time with family. She’ll be retiring from her position with UUFP at the end of January. We’ve created an exciting new part-time position that combines office administration, bookkeeping, and communications responsibilities. While Christa worked primarily from home, the new office administrator will work onsite, providing greater accessibility to staff, members and the general public. Learn more about this here, and please share, if you know someone who would be a good candidate for our team.