January 3, 2012

Dear Members of Unity of Madison:

For the last couple of years, the Unity of Madison Board of Trustees has been looking at the current Unity of Madison Bylaws, adopted in 2004 and the revised bylaws published by the Unity Worldwide Ministries in 2007, considering whether a revision of the current bylaws was indicated. The Board felt that there were enough differences between the current and the revised versions that a revision and update was warranted.

Starting in spring of 2011, a committee of community and board members continued the previous work and started in very specifically to revise the Unity of Madison bylaws. By late summer a completed version of the revised Unity of Madison bylaws was sent to a committee of past board members for review and comment. Suggestions were taken from that group and more revisions were made. In October and November, members of the current Board of Trustees met and carefully reviewed the revised version of the bylaws and made more suggestions and changes. The Board of Trustees approved the final version of the proposed revised Unity of Madison bylaws in December 2011.

According to the Unity of Madison bylaws, the community must vote on and approve any revisions to the bylaws at a Membership meeting. In order for members to vote on the revisions, they must receive a copy of the revisions at least 10 days before the membership meeting. Unity of Madison’s annual membership meeting will be held on February 26, 2012 at 12:15 pm. One of the items on the agenda for the annual meeting will be the vote on the revisions to the Unity of Madison bylaws.

Please click to view:

• the proposed revised Unity of Madison bylaws
• a document outlining the major changes, additions and deletions
• an addendum to the major changes document
• the current (2004) version of the bylaws

All three documents are PDFs. To save a document to your computer, right-click the link and select "save as." A small supply of printed copies of the 2004 bylaws will be available in the Narthex, starting on January 8.

The Board of Trustees welcomes any questions, comments and concerns regarding the proposed changes. Please contact any of the current Board of Trustee members.

Thank you all for your commitment and involvement in the Unity of Madison community. Your involvement makes this the loving and blessed community that it is. Blessings to you and your family for the New Year.

Sincerely,
Unity of Madison Board of Trustees

From now though February, those interested in learning about possible membership in our church are invited to contact Rev. Marshall. He will be meeting with people as the need arises in
small groups or individually. Please know that membership is not required in order to come to worship services or volunteer. Rev. Marshall can be reached Monday-Wednesday in the church office or at marshall@unityofmadison.org.

The Porchlight fire on Jan. 13 left 16 people homeless again. Our community and the Porchlight team will be adopting one of the women and collecting items in order to provide her with all she
needs to move into her new room after it is remodeled. A collection container will be in the foyer along with a list. Thanks so much! For information, contact Janie Lynaugh, 608-215-5895.

During 2012, we will be changing most of the 5th Sunday of the month service times from one service at 10 am back to two services at 8:30 and 10:30 am. For clarity, this information will be posted online, in the
newsletter calendar and in the events page. On Sunday, Jan. 29, there will be two services: 8:30 and 10:30 am.

This small group would like to bring together others who are interested in deepening their spirituality. The group combines meditation which intention so one is in a focused state for healing and change to occur. If interested, please call Rita at 608-238-6874.

The Youth Education Ministry is proud to announce a 15-week special program, “Don’t Laugh at Me,” created by Peter Yarrow. The mission of this incredible program is to “assure each child and youth a respectful, safe and compassionate climate of learning where their academic, social and emotional development can take place free of bullying, ridicule and violence.” It is designed for children 6 to 12 years old and will therefore be taught parallel in the Unikids and Tween classes by Julia Meyers, Jonathan Motley, and Sara Lozanova from Jan. 15 through April 15.

The New Year is upon us – 2012. Join us and become amember of Unity’s Green Team!

The Green Team, while working for the betterment of the environment, and thus ourselves, is also working at creating loving community among the Unity of Madison members. The Green Team at Unity welcomes all of you to join us in the valuable team work that is so badly needed. Without the Earth we are nothing – we cannot exist. What we do today can effect future generations, our children and grandchildren for years to come.

If you wish to join the “Unity of Madison Green Team”

1. Sign the green sign-up sheet in the foyer.
2. Contact any Green Team member. Team member names are found on a green sheet of paper on the table.
3. Come to a meeting. Meetings are held every third Sunday of the month at 9:30 am in the library and hospitality area.

It is getting colder, so be thinking of donating some warm winter clothing or an old coat that is clean and useable. Put them in our pull out bins on the far left hand side and below the counter in the coatroom.

Also, be looking for the Duffle Bag Bin. Needed items are: men’s stocking hats, winter gloves and white tube socks, deodorant, combs, soft toothbrushes and travel sized toothpaste, dental floss, chap stick, new wash clothes, new hand towels, hand sanitizers, travel sized shaving cream and disposable razors and small pocket tissue packets.

Rev. Marshall Norman will take his three-month sabbatical leave beginning in March 2012. Rev. Joy Young will be serving in his stead for that three-month period. We have a wish list for that time:

• Rev. Joy needs a place to stay in March, April and May. Her ideal situation would be at or above ground level. Living in a basement isn’t her first choice unless it would have lots of light. She needs light and lots of privacy. Small is fine but the place needs to be a sanctuary for her. Ideally, she’d like her own entrance, kitchen, bedroom, bath, living area, and access to laundry facilities. She likes the idea of the Monroe Street area because one can walk to get groceries, coffee, dinner, newspaper, etc. Rev. Joy is also open to house sitting.
• Rev. Joy needs a car to use.
• We would appreciate help with frequent flier mileage for Rev. Joy’s airline ticket.

If you can help with these items, please contact our board chair, Pat Payas, at mppayas@gmail.com.

Are you an artist looking for a space to display your work? We have installed a gallery art hanging system in our lower level and are inviting members of our community to display their artwork in our “art gallery.” Your artwork will be displayed on four different walls in hospitality for up to two months.

For more information, take a look at the Art Hanging Guidelines and Application (PDF). Questions? Contact Elaine Stebleton at 2bhapea@gmail.com or 608-836-5120.