The Lay Leadership Program Council (LLPC) would like to invite you
to participate in our Objective Planning Workshop on August 23rd,
2014 from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. in the Chapel at First Unitarian to help us
solidify our brainstormed tasks into action plans and prepare for the year
ahead.
Light
refreshments will be served and our agenda is as follows:
Opening and Introductions
Invocation
Review areas of concern
Regroup- own your category and
form a group to brainstorm ways to address the area of concern.
Small Group: Brainstorm
Share your plan
Develop a timeline and action plan and way to communicate your
objective to reach the goals and encourage participation of others.
Discuss Stewardship Fair October 5th, 2014
Below is a summary of the Goal Setting Workshop on June 7th, 2014.
Please review as we prepare for our time together.
A dedicated and talented group of
about 25 lay leaders met on June 7th, 2014 to focus attention on our
congregation's hospitality efforts. We completed a self-assessment provided by
the UUA to uncover our strengths and weaknesses with regard to hospitality
based on 5 categories:
·
The newcomer’s initial experience
·
The membership process
·
The worship and faith development experience
·
Connecting and growing deeper relationships
·
Our image and visibility
The assessment revealed many
strengths including:
·
Worship, Music and Faith Development well integrated and uniformly
excellent
·
Strong Youth Group
·
GA participation is high and we are becoming more connected to UUA
·
Strong professional staff (Minister, Faith Development Director
and administrative support) involvement in the membership process
·
Administrative follow-up with new comers
·
A structure and procedure for a greeter program that includes
greeter station, welcome table and sign-up process, including a newly formed
family greeter program which is highly effective.
·
Newly incorporated announcements into the worship service
·
Public recognition of new members in the worship service
·
Caring Circles
·
Managing our time of transition and change
The assessment and subsequent
discussions highlighted our growing edges including:
Improving our Greeting and
Welcoming Practices:
·
Greeter training
·
Identify and grow Super Greeters who will take a more personal
approach to welcoming and recruitment
·
congregational members take on a collective commitment to promote
greeting and hospitality
·
More consistency in identifying newcomers
·
Greeting→ Welcoming→ Membership→ Recognition: This is a
multistep process that should focus on opportunities for bonding
·
Change all “Membership Table” references to the “Welcome Table”
·
Help new members connect into our community
Extending our Adult Faith
Development Programming
·
More consistent delivery of a New UU orientation program.
Offer this multiple times each church year.
·
Identify mentors for newcomers
·
Increase spiritual practices in our meetings and work of the
church
·
Honor the presence of new people in this spiritual place
Improving our Social Justice
Programming/Faith In Action
·
Connecting with programs and social action in the community (Gay
Pride, Jericho Road, etc.)
Review and Revise our Mission
·
Re-imagine and promote our Mission.
·
Be mission-driven, internally and externally
Continue to improve our outward
image
·
The physical appearance of our church is indistinguishable from
the now vacant courthouse
·
More external signage that is attractive, informative and inviting
·
Develop or contract for Public Relations expertise
The conversation was rich and
constructive and led us to 5 areas of concern all centered on the goal of
increasing our hospitality efforts and led us to the goal below.
During the 2014-2015 church year,
the members our congregation at The First Unitarian Church of Worcester will
increase our individual and collective involvement in hospitality by developing
and implementing action plans focused on the 5 growing edges: Greeting and
Welcoming Practices, Adult Faith Development Programming, Social Justice
Programming/Faith In Action, the mission, and our outward image. To accomplish
this goal, 70% of our active members within the congregation will take part in
at least 1 hospitality related activity during the year.
This goal is a good one, but
taking the next steps to organize action plans around each of these growing
edges requires all of our support and assistance. After all, hospitality is more
than just a committee, it is a spiritual practice that can help us all live our
principals in a very real and meaningful way. As we open next year we will be
welcoming a new minister, new members and newcomers to our church, come be a
part of this historic new beginning.
Save the date:
Stewardship Fair on October 5th, 2014.
See
you Saturday August 23rd at 9 A.M.
Kinds
regards,
Laura
Kirshenbaum
