As explained in the letter from Howell and the Board of Trustees, our upcoming ministerial search will be focused around the goals UUCB has developed. These goals have been available since adoption in the Members’ Area of the church website, and they are also printed below:
Broad Church Goals
These goals were developed from the 2007 Dream Report, the original Consulting Ministry goals (2008-2013), and the visioning work done through the Appreciative Inquiry process and with the Board of Trustees. The Board will review these goals annually with each Developmental Contract renewal.
During the Developmental Ministry, the shared goals of our congregation and our professional ministry team are to:
Church Community
- Practice radical hospitality. Make sure that our members, friends, visitors, and strangers feel welcome and are cared for.
- Strive to live our covenants with each other, including our church’s covenant and the covenant of respectful relationships, each and every day.
- Develop a culture of spiritual and financial generosity and create a common understanding of shared ministry and the role it plays in our church community.
- Provide community-building opportunities both within affinity groups (age-specific, life-stage, neighborhood, etc.) and across traditional boundaries (multigenerational experiences). Foster mentoring relationships for children, youth, young adult, middle agers, and elders.
- Nurture deeper connections within our congregation through ministries, committees, covenant groups, affinity groups, and special events.
Worship
- Provide meaningful, fulfilling, and inspiring worship and spiritual experiences that nurture our individual and community spiritual growth and deepen our understanding of UU principles and philosophies.
- Create multigenerational worship experiences that provide a meaningful church experience for all.
- Deepen our understanding of rituals, rites of passages, and ceremonies unique to Unitarian Universalism.
- Expand “worship” beyond Sunday morning and into new settings and experiences.
Lifespan Faith Development
- Strengthen our full-church Lifespan Faith Development program, addressing the needs of all ages, including children, youth, young adults, middle agers, and elders.
- Make our children and youth programs vibrant and compelling, so families choose to attend regularly.
- Develop a robust and vital family ministry.
- Foster a strong under-18 community, which supports mentoring and friendship across age groups and builds an exciting children’s ministry.
- Enhance our internal ministries to create programs and events that nurture our spiritual development, strengthen our spiritual practices, and fulfill our church’s mission.
Social Justice
- As a congregation, both individually and as a whole, make personal commitments that can transform us by making our Unitarian Universalist values truly a part of our everyday lives.
- Increase our social justice presence in the local community and provide opportunities for social justice work through our external ministry. Develop connections and partnerships with community and interfaith organizations that share our Unitarian Universalist values.
- Support and encourage the creation of social justice programs that put our individual and Unitarian Universalist values to work, helping to make social justice work an integral part of our church.
- Continue to focus on All Church Social Change Events, small group ministries, and programs that lead our congregation toward increased generosity and involvement in our larger community.
Strategic Planning
- Develop a strategic plan with an organizational structure that takes into account our church goals, our continued growth, all of our church’s ministries, and the aspirations identified by the Appreciative Inquiry process.
- Create operational and longer term capital plans to achieve an expanded professional ministry team and supporting church staff.
- Develop capital plans to support our growth and the church’s maintenance needs for buildings and grounds, taking into consideration the recommendations from the Grow Task Force.
- Implement a ministerial succession plan that transitions our church to a settled parish minister.