December was another awesome month at WUU! And a lot of this happened as a part of the seasonal activities:
My favorite WUU event is Winter Solstice. It was wonderful to see 60+ participants celebrate the occasion with a drumming circle, a candle-lit service in the sanctuary, a candle-lit labyrinth behind Parker House and ending with a closing ceremony around the bonfire. With the exception of a few older folk in attendance, most of the participants included folk who we seldom see on Sunday. It suggests to me that we need to find more ways to offer spiritual/worship experiences beyond our traditional Sunday program.- Our Yule Sing was a festive affair with great food, music, conversation and crafts.
- The Auction continues to help fulfill our desire for fellowship as donors and winners get together over dinner, engage in outdoor activities, and use someone’s treasures (dishes, etc.) that they purchased at the auction.
Seeing our youth participate in the story time is always fun and they enliven our worship experience.- The Senior Companions group continues to offer great monthly programming (second Monday @ 10), discussing together the challenges of aging.
Looking Ahead (just in case you missed some Spiral highlights):
- For newcomers and all inquiring minds, our membership group will offer Starting Point in a four-session series starting Jan 22.
- Many have been waiting for opportunities for Adult Faith Development classes and it is happening! Check out the Spiral for details.
- Our new pianist, Heidi Souza, joins us this month.
- This month, our Soul Matters groups are working on “Finding Our Center.” Check with Susan Walkley for details.
- Our Board and Program Council will meet jointly this month to discuss Gary McIntosh’s book entitled Taking Your Church to the Next Level.
- We await further contact from our Southern Regional Staff about the transitions that are ahead of us. See below.
Ministerial Transitions:
- With Rev. Laura’s announcement last month that she will be leaving to pursue a different career path, we are beginning our research into various ministerial options. Fortunately, UUA has several resources to help us in this process, including the Transitions Handbook.
- We know that COVID has been difficult for many faith traditions, including ours. The UUA leadership has been scrambling to meet this challenge. Good news—there are far more options offered to UUA congregations and ministers in transition; bad news—the pool of available ministers is much smaller now than in previous years. It is possible that the traditional ways of conducting a ministerial search may not be the best option for WUU this time. The subtitle to McIntosh’s book “What got you here won’t get you there” is so timely!
- Linda Lane-Hamilton has spent a quite a bit of time reviewing the Handbook and searching the Internet to explore what is happening in the UUA world. Her findings:
- The traditional UUA process for the selection of a settled minister
- Interim Ministry (2 years, appointed by the Board to prepare congregation for the settled minister search)
- Search Committee nominated by the Nominations Committee and elected by the congregation.
- Settled Minister who is called by the congregation after the ministerial search.
- Other options (these do not involve a Search Committee and an Interim Minister)
- Contract Ministry (Open-ended contract, appointed by the Board for specific role). Variations include:
- Transitional Contract Minister (Minister part-time at congregation and part-time from home base elsewhere)
- Contract Minister for specific roles (Part-time or full time)
- Developmental Ministry (3 – 5 years to focus on congregation-specific goals, appointed by the Board. Minister can be called to be settled minister)
- Lay-lead Congregation (Run by congregational volunteers)
- Contract Ministry (Open-ended contract, appointed by the Board for specific role). Variations include:
- The traditional UUA process for the selection of a settled minister
- The Other Options place far more responsibility on the Board than is the case for the traditional approach where the primary focus is on the Search Committee. Right now, our Nominations Committee is developing the slate of elected congregational representatives for the Board and other committees. This slate will be presented to the congregation for the election at our annual meeting in February.
- So our next steps are outlined in the Transition Handbook: “Before your ministry search begins, Congregational Life and/or UUA Transitions Team staff will meet with your leadership to discuss your ministry needs, context, and history.”
- While we wait for the UUA staff to make the next move, let’s continue to take care of one another, consider “our ministry needs, context and history,” and stay involved. And if you have questions, let’s talk.
Les Solomon, WUU Board President