Our actions and behaviors at UUCA with each other are grounded in our covenant. The purpose of this covenant is to “increase awareness of actions that each of us can take to nurture and support our beloved community”. As UUCA prepares for its Congregational Meeting, Sunday, May 17, 2020, I ask that each of us read and implement each component of this covenant to govern both our actions and behaviors.

The congregational letter is on its way! Your board is providing an abundance of gratitude to Travis, Gary, and Bryce for preparing the congregational letter for the congregation. Please attend one or more of the Town Halls to ask and listen in order to enhance our Beloved Community

Moreover, learn more about the 2020 UUCA Slate of Nominees prior to the Congregational Meeting, Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 12:30pm. This information will provide insight on our imaginable leaders of our Beloved Community at UUCA. Please attend one of the four Town Halls via Zoom, to meet and ask questions of the nominees. . If you have any concerns or questions prior to the Town Halls, please email the board at board@uuca.org.

UPDATE (5/8/2020): A Pdf version of the slide presentation is now available for download in advance of the meeting here.

Town Hall Dates & Times

Town Hall I- Sunday, May 03, 2020- 12:30pm-1:30pm – Zoom

Town Hall II- Wednesday, May 06, 2020- 7:30pm-8:30pm – Zoom

Upcoming Congregational Meeting & Town Halls

Town Hall- Sunday, May 10, 2020- 12:30pm-1:30pm- Register for Zoom Invite
Town Hall- Wednesday, May 13, 2020- 7:30pm-8:30pm- Register for Zoom Invite
Congregational Meeting- Sunday, May 17, 2020- 12:30pm-3:00pm- Register for Zoom Invite

UUCA Slate of Nominees

Sean Golan- President Elect

Sean Golan is honored to be nominated to be President-Elect of the congregation he has grown up a part of. Sean currently serves as UUCA Board Secretary and is a licensed attorney in the state of GA. His lovely wife, Erin Bickley Golan, is on the newly formed Healthy Relations Committee and is a licensed therapist.
Sean believes that in this bewildering moment in history, we have a unique opportunity to grow and solidify our congregation as well as our UU values. The son of long-time members, Kay & Patrick Golan, Sean hopes to bring comfort, stability, and vision to UUCA through his service as part of our UUCA Board of Trustees.

Dr. Jason Delaney- Finance Trustee

Dr. Jason Delaney is a behavioral and experimental economist who teaches economics, statistics, and game theory in the School of Business at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, where he is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean. His interest in economics stems from his underlying interests in ethics, moral philosophy, Christianity, Taoism, Microsoft Excel, computer science, budgeting, mortality, discount rates, amortization tables, and English literature, among other things.

At UUCA, he has served as the chair of the Stewardship Committee and has been a Coming of Age Mentor and Facilitator as well as a Youth RE teacher in the past. He loves his wife, Cheryl and his kids, Violet, Henry, and Fern very, very, very much. Before all this, he had a misspent early adulthood, which is far too long a story to address here. Before that, Jason and his siblings had a paper route empire in Emmaus, Pennsylvania from 1992 – 1998, during which they weathered the blizzards of 1993 (Storm of the Century) and 1996 (at the time, the highest record snowfall for the Lehigh Valley).

Allen E. Lee- Trustee At Large

As a career educator who has spent nearly 20 years focusing on social justice and diversity curriculum, I feel at home with UUCA’s commitment to be an inclusive community. In the past four years, I have volunteered to co-lead an Adult RE class with Rev. Taryn Strauss, serve on the RE search committee, and co-facilitate YRUU.

I currently work as the Associate Director in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Emory School of Medicine. In this position, I focus on ways the medical profession can increase access to healthcare careers in under-represented populations.

As a Board Member I hope to advocate for effective Religious Education programming as well as focused social justice work that manages our many competing priorities.

Maureen McAndrews – Trustee At Large

When I started attending UUCA in the late-70’s, I knew immediately that this congregation embodied my values and that I wanted to be part of the community. Today I value the connections I have at UUCA more than ever and am especially grateful for the support I’m receiving during this time of the pandemic. While we face a challenging time ahead as we plan a capital campaign, I believe we can continue to expand our social justice and civil rights initiatives, which are major interests of mine.

Since my retirement as Asst. Director for Clinical Nutrition at Emory Hospitals, I’ve been more involved in service at UUCA including chairing the Search Team for Membership and Social Justice Coordinator, consolidating our storage units (along with other volunteers) to save money, working on the pledge drive and at the Welcome Table, and volunteering with UUCA Help the Homeless. I look forward to the opportunity to serve on the board at this critical time.

John Merkel- Trustee At Large

My family (wife Johanna, daughter Maren) and I began attending UUCA in the fall of 2013 and became members shortly after that. Since then, UUCA has been our spiritual home: we are regulars at the Sunday services, SUUSI (highly recommend!), and Johanna and I participate in a Chalice Circle. My service to UUCA includes two years teaching children’s RE, two years as a member of the Nominating Committee, and four years on the Small Group Ministry Steering Team. UUCA is also an essential part of our social life: we enjoy Wonderful Wednesdays; Johanna and I participate in a UUCA “Fun Band,” and we enjoy UUCA parties, camping trips, and retreats at The Mountain.

I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, received my Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Minnesota, and moved to Georgia in 1995. I met Johanna in 2001, we married in 2005 and were blessed with Maren in 2009. I have been a professor at Oglethorpe University since 2010.

Through my service on the Board, I hope to help build UUCA into an even more robust congregation, and in the process, give back to you, the UUCA community, who have given so much to my family and me.

Nominating Committee

Carl Pelizza

UUCA is the spiritual home for my family, where we will continue to grow as members of this vibrant community. Being able to give back to UUCA and the community we serve has always been an essential part of being a member of the congregation. Most of my service has been with the Religious Education program in the classroom and presently with the Children’s and Youth RE team. Along with this, you can find me with the Project Phoenix Design Team and sometimes doing an odd job around UUCA. In the past, I have worked with the Aesthetics Team and Buildings and Grounds. All these opportunities have expanded my friendships at UUCA. I will be honored to serve on the nominating committee helping UUCA as we move into the future.
Outside of UUCA, you will find me working as Manager of the Mold Department at The Inferno Art foundry. During the week, I am the Volunteer Coordinator and Advisory Committee Member of the East Point Farmers Market. My free time is spent with family and working around the house, garden, and studio.

Laura Yamashita

UU since I was 16, my husband and I joined UUCA in 1998. We have been members here since (except for four years when we lived in Seattle and were members of the UU congregation there) and raised our two children in this congregation. I teach Elementary and Middle-School OWL and have previously served on the Board, a ministerial selection committee, and many other committees.

I’m looking forward to helping UUCA maintain strong leadership through my service on the Nominating Committee.

Stewardship Co-Chairs

Barbara Begner

I was raised in Michigan but have been in Atlanta since 1979. I have two grown boys, who both live in Atlanta. My first degree was in Horticulture, but I graduated from Georgia State with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1993. I have since retired from nursing and enjoy a part-time business from my home.

I began attending UUCA in 1996 and taught Religious Exploration for a few years, after which I attended sporadically until joining in 2007. Since joining, I have been deeply involved in many areas, including the Coming of Age program, the Hospitality/ Welcome Team, Lay Ministry, the Nominating Committee, as an Usher greeter, Co-Teaching Adult RE, as a Liturgist, and volunteer whenever I can. I am excited to serve as Stewardship Co-Chair as it is an area I have not yet explored. I cannot imagine my life without UUCA. This community sustains my spirit, allows me to nurture friendships, affords me many service opportunities, and develops a deep sustaining connection to the larger world.

George Macon

I was raised at UUCA and came up through our RE program. I have been a volunteer with the Multimedia Team for many years. That position has allowed me to meet many of the wonderful people here at UUCA, and I have stuck around through college, grad school, and now five years of working in the “real world.”

Growing up, many of the benefits of the UUCA community were invisible to me. They had always existed and seemed as if they were inevitable. Looking at UUCA’s systems more closely has made me realize how important support from every member is to the continuing existence of our community.

I am honored to be asked to serve as one of your Stewardship Co-Chairs for this upcoming year.

Board Briefs – April 2020