From Lora Poepping, Lead for the Jon Luopa Celebration Team

How time has flown.

It has already been more than three weeks since we celebrated and bid farewell to Rev. Jon and Annie. The positive “vibes” we felt as a community still reverberate throughout the hallways and gathering places of UUC. Although, it is still bittersweet.

It is with joy that I share updates and thanks:

Jon Luopa Youth Leadership Development Fund

As a result of the generosity of so many, an additional $43,000 was raised towards the Fund! In the years to come, many youth at UUC will benefit, and as a result, so will our community.

Thank you, donors, for making this fund a reality.

A special thank you to Ken Mundt, who spearheaded the Youth Leadership Development Fund fundraising in a gracious and inspiring way. Ken, we miss seeing you in the “pews”, but your energy continues to be felt by all.

The Dream Team: The Jon Luopa Celebration Planning Team

There are not enough superlatives in the English language to accurately describe this team. From start to celebration day, this team “showed up” every other week for months to make certain that we honored not only Jon, Annie, and their families, but also to show you, our congregation, how much we care.

Thank you, Rich Brooks, Bruce Farwell, Kristin Guest, Kathleen Holm, Janine Larsen, Ken Mundt, Rene Murray, Deborah Raible, Jane Saddler, Larry Soriano, and Lee Iris Thomas, for your incredible energy and creativity. It was beyond a pleasure to work alongside you all. Because of you, we all experienced one of the most memorable events in the history of UUC.

Celebration Donors

So many of you stepped up to make a gift towards the celebration and we thank you with all our hearts. As a result of your generosity, we were able to pay for the event in full, without any outstanding debt. From the flowers, to the catering to the band, your gifts made this possible! Thank you so much.

Music to Our Ears

What would a celebration be without our choirs and conductors.

Thank you to those who generously donated towards the creation of an original Karen P. Thomas piece, Stars, that brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

To our Loft Choir and Bell Choir, included soloists, guest musicians, returning alumni, guests, and current members. Thank you for the spectacular gift of your voices and talents. Chills were felt throughout the service.

To those in the All Voices Choir: Bravo! While there are too many to list here, know that we did not take your energy and gifts for granted.

Dwight Beckmeyer, we appreciated every note. Many thanks to you for your talents.

The gift of UUC’s conductors, Karen Thomas and Jacob Finkle is immeasurable. Thank you is barely sufficient.

“The Service”

There simply isn’t enough space in The Gateway to recognize each person who participated in the service. However, a special thank you to team members Deborah Raible, Janine Larsen, Rich Brooks, Larry Soriano, Bruce Farwell, and Kristin Guest, for making certain it all came together so beautifully. (View service)

To those of you on and off the chancel, our gratitude abounds.

Gratitude to Staff

Deepest thanks to Byron, Janine, Aria, Amanda, Susan, Floyd, Jessica, Jorge, and Alberto for lending their talents and expertise to this experience. We could not have made this happen without you. Your contributions were more than noticed.

To our Community

May we celebrate together again soon. In the meantime, don’t forget the sense of awe, appreciation, and energy we all felt that day.

“This church is a community of ourselves.” I am so proud to be part of it.

~ Lora Poepping, Lead for the Jon Luopa Celebration Team