As we reflected on the feedback we’ve received from the congregation and from the Board Listening Sessions, we discerned four goals that we as a church need to explore in order to move more fully into our mission.  Our plan is to find a developmental minister who is a good fit for partnering with us on those goals.

Our first goal is “Develop and implement strategies for intentional growth”.  We know from feedback at the Listening Sessions that, within the congregation, there are many mixed feelings about growth.  We hear you!  We understand that collectively we want the best aspects of UUCM to endure.  The reality is that we are already growing – best to be intentional about it . . . Our intent is to enhance our community and the formation of interpersonal connections to serve current members as well as new members.

The remaining goal areas are “Leadership Development”, “Long-Term Strategic Planning”, and “Board / Minister Partnership.”  We’ll discuss those further in an upcoming Board Update.  And as always, please seek out any member of the Board with your feedback.

The Minister Selection Task Force is busily updating documents which are the foundation of the materials we will make available on the UUA website for prospective ministers.  On the website, prospective ministers can learn more about us and decide if they want to apply for our position.  Our interim ministers have told us that they believe we have a strong portfolio due to our strong financial position, congregational growth, and new church building among other favorable attributes, and we think it is likely that there will be nation-wide interest in the position. We plan to find a minister that will help us work to achieve the goals we have identified using information gathered from the annual survey and the board listening sessions. Next week, we will share information about these goals. Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for May and we are hopeful that we will have a new minister (or minister team or other possible configuration) to share at that time, or soon after that.

In order to provide more transparency about the process of selecting a new minister, the Board will be providing weekly updates on our progress.   (And note that although we’ve used “minister” we are also open to a minister team or other possible configurations.)    UUCM has a long history of selecting called ministers who do not have a pre-agreed term length.  For a variety of reasons, we have decided it would be best to take a different course for our next minister.  We are pivoting to a development ministry model and it is the responsibility of the Board to select the best applicant.  We have recently identified our Selection Task Force which is comprised of Robert Brooks, Bill Arnold, Julia Antonsen, and Becky Halat, who are working with Christine Purcell, the Transitions Program Manager at the UUA.  We are on track!  Next week, we will be sharing more about the developmental ministry model and more details about the process so stay tuned!  If you have any questions, please ask any Board member.