November 8, 2019
Dear ones,
Some years back, I attended the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester, Minnesota on the first Sunday in May. On the grounds of the church stands a maypole. After the service everyone was invited out into the spring sunshine to join in the ritual of weaving the colors of summer and new life. Amid singing and laughter, and some intense and serious (and less obvious) direction from some seasoned maypole dancers, we wove together individual strands into a beautiful monument to human spirit, creative energy and disciplined know-how.
When I imagine this interim process at its best, this is the image that I see. In September, you identified strands of story and structure, assets, challenges, and strategies. In October, you engaged in reflection and chose quality over reactivity in your consideration of an extended interim. Like the weaving of a maypole which looks so easy when the dance is happening, the grounding of a congregation in sustainable structures and relationships involves much planning and preparation.
Story, structure, assets, challenges, and strategies. These are the main strands that we will be weaving together over the rest of the interim period.
During my November visit, the Sunday services will focus on attention to story and how the stories we tell about our own lives and about the life of UCE are shaping the future. Can we maintain the truth of our old stories and also expand and deepen them to make way for a more promising future?
In our Brown Bag gatherings we will begin a conversation that attends to UCE’s Covenant of Engagement. Where do we see this covenant at work? What are the challenges to keeping the promises it makes?
In a gathering of volunteer leaders we will attend to the structures of our volunteer efforts. This is a time of high energy at UCE. What might you do to strengthen the structures that sustain that energy during times of transition or stress? What might entice new volunteers to participate and lead? How is your membership sustained?
In addition, I am available to meet with individuals by appointment or with small groups/committees/covenant groups/ etc. by invitation to discuss any aspect of the Interim Plan (see UCE Website under “Interim”) .
At the Town Hall meeting at the end of my October visit, I was acutely aware of the disappointment around the extension of the interim period. I can only hope that that disappointment might be turned into determination to make the very most of this time, to dig deep and take long looks. This is not so much about “solving problems” as “embracing challenges.”
Let us weave on!
Karen
Message from the BOT and the Ministerial Search Committee – Nov 8
Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Town Hall meeting on Sunday, October 20th. After the Board of Trustees, the Search Committee, and Reverend Eileen gave short presentations about our interim, we received comments and questions from the congregation about extending the Interim/Search for one more year. In case you were unable to attend that meeting, here are some of the questions that were asked that day and some of the answers provided by Susan Carlton, the Chair of the Search Committee:
What is the process that a Search Committee goes through?
A Search Committee is generally constituted in March or April. The Committee participates in a workshop with UUA staff in April and begins creating a Congregational Record, a document ministerial candidates use to determine if they will apply for the position. A congregational survey is distributed in late August to be completed by the third or fourth week in September. Focus groups and cottage meetings are conducted in late September and October. Data from the survey and group discussions are compiled and analyzed in October and November. In November, the Congregational Record, which includes information as well as a narrative, is completed. The Record is posted on December 1st. Reviewing and interviewing of candidates begins in January and runs through March, when a candidate who will be presented to the congregation is selected.
What are the reasons why UCE would decide to add a year to our interim and call a minister in 2021 rather than 2020?
The work of the Search Committee grows out of the work done by the congregation during the first year of the two-year interim period. During the first year, the congregation engages in the interim tasks as defined by the UUA. It is when the congregation has done the interim work and can articulate how it wants to live out its mission that it can decide what it needs from a new minister. The Board of Trustees was concerned that a number of the important interim tasks had not been undertaken or completed and they asked Reverend Karen to complete an assessment of what interim work remains to be done. (You can read her report on the UCE website under “Interim.”) Based on what work remains to be done and the fact that it is not feasible to work on the interim tasks and conduct a search at the same time, the interim/search needs to be extended. By extending the interim/search, the congregation has a year to concentrate on the important interim work and the search committee can then use that foundational work in presenting the congregation to potential candidates and in selecting a candidate.
Will the current members of the Ministerial Search Committee continue to serve during this additional year of Search?
All of the members of the Ministerial Search Committee have agreed to continue to serve until they recommend a candidate to the congregation.
Will Reverend Eileen and Reverend Karen continue as Acting Senior Minister and Interim Minister?
Yes. Eileen and Karen have both agreed to stay on during the additional year needed and will provide the stability and consistency UCE needs during this time of transition.
How will the interim work benefit the congregation, the Search, and our new minister?
The interim work includes creating structures to support trust and safety in our interactions with each other and with our ministers, providing opportunity and guidance for expressing, working through, and moving on from unresolved hurts, fully embracing our Covenant of Engagement and learning tools to help us deal with conflict in a way that is growth-producing, and defining how, as a congregation, we want to live out our mission. This work is crucial for the life and health of our congregation. It is also foundational to a successful ministerial search process. The stronger we are as a congregation – when we understand our assets and our challenges, and we are actively addressing our challenges – the more attractive we are to any potential minister. We also want to be able to invite a minister to join us and support us in how we have decided we want to live out our mission. We do not want a minister to fill a vacuum with his/her/their idea of what our mission means. It’s important to note that a congregation with a clear sense of direction is a very attractive placement for any minister. While nothing is ever guaranteed, the Board of Trustees and the Ministerial Search Committee believe that extending our interim period by one year and fully embracing the interim work outlined by Reverend Karen is our best shot at identifying a settled minister well suited to working with us to achieve our goals and live out our mission.
If there are any further questions that you would like answered by the Ministerial Search Committee or that could be answered by the Board of Trustees, please feel free to contact them at BOT@ucevanston.org or ministerialSearchCommittee@ucevanston.org.
November 10, 2019
“Attention Deficit – Scarcity in the commodity of attention”
What do we attend to? How do we decide what deserves our attention in the age of social media when the calculated political strategy is obfuscation through intentional chaos and the most valuable commodity is our captured attention? How might we tune our attention to the things we’d rather deny or ignore? Rev. Wiviott leads the service.