September 25, 2011
It seems the church year is in full swing. The board held our first monthly meeting a few weeks back and last Sunday we held our fall retreat. Deb Gilburg, a member of our congregation and of the Faith Development Committee, facilitated this 4-hour intensive session which helped us get to know one another better and understand and prioritize our work.
Through individual contemplation, small group sharing and full plenary discussion, we looked at the broad landscape of UUCR and discerned, as best we could, a current snapshot of our work at hand. To frame our discussion, we used a mission-centered growth model that places UUCR’s mission at the center of our attention, circled by the various areas in which we are working to foster our growth. These areas include not only our numerical growth but also our growth in terms of our individual and collective spirituality, our influence in the world through social, political and environmental activism and also our collective sense of identity and ability to function in healthy and productive ways as a faith community. We discussed and prioritized goals for the year in these areas and in areas where our model didn’t aptly capture, and walked away with a point person for each area, who will coordinate the board’s efforts.
Our most recent Governing Board addition is our clerk, Jane Jolkovski. It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Jane into our fold. She brings a passion for our church, wisdom as a long-term member, an attention to detail and willingness to jump in which has already served to infuse our group with energy and direction. Welcome Jane!
If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to sign up for the nuuws blast listserv which I’ve been using to provide a more detailed sharing of the Governing Board’s activities each week. To sign up for this service both for the first time and every time your email changes, you send a blank e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and in the subject line write “subscribe”. Please note that this list is self subscribing. You must enroll yourself from your own computer and email.
Best Regards,
Tracy Sopchak
UUCR Governing Board President
