UU News

Monthly Newsletter of

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro

An Intentional Liberal Religious Community   October, 2012  

      As an interim minister, one of the developmental tasks I work with congregations to engage in is "committing to new directions in ministry." Here at UUCG this year, that task has evolved in a different way than it might at some other churches. Budget limitations and the challenges of forming a Ministerial Search Committee prevent us this year from entering a full search for a settled minister.

     (I would add, those struggles with our budget, and with forming a search committee, seem symptomatic of deeper issues which may have hindered UUCG from forming the hoped-for bond with a new settled minister. I believe we have made positive progress on some of these deeper issues in the last 6 months since they rose to the surface, and I remain hopeful that positive work will continue. However, there is still more good work we can do together, to make this good church even better.)

   There are, however, alternative options, which your board has considered carefully over the last few months. At the Sept. 18, 2012 UUCG Board meeting, your Board voted to recommend to the congregation hiring a Developmental Minister for a 3-5 year period starting about August 2013. This is a new model for ministry in the UUA; more info can be found in this article - http://www.uua.org/interconnections/interconnections/198411.shtml - from "Interconnections," the UUA's online newsletter for lay leaders. (This article discusses several changes to the process of searching for ministers; the discussion of Developmental Ministry is toward the end of the article.) I concur wholeheartedly with this recommendation, and see several positive aspects of this ministry model for UUCG:

• A developmental minister maintains focus on a particular, systemic issue (or set of issues) of long-term importance to the congregation; the issue is identified in advance by church leadership.   
• The UUA's Transitions Director, a professional with much information about the available ministers, and about our congregation (including the focus issue identified by UUCG leaders), will select the minister who offers the best match with our needs (though the UUCG board retains the authority to accept or decline this choice).    
• If the developmental minister and the congregation chooses, the developmental minister can be called as the settled minister, following the developmental ministry period. The congregation gets to know the minister before selecting them as the settled minister.    

The congregation will be asked to vote to affirm this recommendation at a specially-called congregational meeting, to take place in our sanctuary on Sunday, October 21, shortly following worship. Also, the board will hold an informational forum in the sanctuary after worship on Sunday, October 7, to answer more questions about this option. We hope you will join us in this important dialogue about the new direction for professional ministry at UUCG.

In faith,

Rev. Eric Posa

From Cindy Dillard 

 As my first month at UUCG draws to a close, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has made me feel so welcome.

Thanks to those of you who were at the August 19 service, who so warmly welcomed me both during and after the service.

Thanks to Eric, Mark and Julie for their gentle guidance over the past few weeks (and in the coming weeks) as I get my "sea legs."

Thanks to the adults who have invested their time and passion for liberal religious education by serving on the RE committee and attending meetings regarding our RE model.

Thanks to our RE teachers: Cindy Williams, Fred Lehman, Ian Perkins, Julie Potts, Kevin Houck, Lauren Houck, Marty Ward, Michele Giorgi, Michelle Lee, Rissa Tuttle, Rob Hamilton, Sharin Francis and Steve Pearsall. If you run into any of these folks-our terrific volunteer teachers-please thank them too.

And finally, a thank you to the families who entrust us with your children. Thanks to those who are able to get to church earlier than accustomed for the 9:30 RE classes. And thanks to those who join us for our new all-ages worship model at 11:00.

What cannot be mistaken is that UUCG clearly has a commitment to Religious Education-for its children and its youth and its adults. While the resources of time and wo/manpower are currently limited, your desire and goodwill fill me with optimism as we begin the church year. As a recent RE meeting was winding down-and many ideas had been floated, but not necessarily fleshed out-I suggested that if we don't dream it, it won't even be up for discussion. I look forward to some hearty dreaming and discussing in the days and months to come.

Cindy Dillard

RE Coordinator

From the Vice President - Karen Madrone 

The Coordinating Council is continuing a discussion of a standard report format for all of the teams and committees to use. The report format is being discussed because each committee and team was submitting very different types of information in different ways. We are working towards having a standard form so that all committee and team reports address the same questions. In addition, the Coordinating Council began the discussion of how much information should be kept in the official archives and what format it should be in. This conversation will continue next month.

The Coordinating Council has begun the work of creating a behavioral covenant. Rev. Posa engaged the members of the Coordinating Council in a group brainstorming discussion of words and ideas that address how we should interact with each other. At our October meeting we will continue creating the covenant and discuss how it will be implemented at our meetings.  

In board news, after months of research and discussion the board voted to adopt a developmental ministry format to be effective in August 2013. The developmental ministry model will allow us to focus on specific issues, help us develop a strong identity and help us continue to put in place the government structure we voted on at the May congregational meeting. With this model, the UUA Transitions Office recommends a minister with the skills to assist us through this process. The developmental ministry time period is from three to five years and the congregation has the option to call this minister as our settled minister at the end of that timeframe. The board feels that this is the best option for our church at this time.

In order to make the congregation fully aware of what is entailed in the developmental search process and why the board chose this model, there will be a Search Information Forum on October 7th after worship. The congregation will be asked to affirm the board's recommendation at the congregational meeting on October 21st after worship.

Please make every effort to attend the congregational meeting. This is our church and our future together. We need everyone in the boat rowing the same direction!  

Expressions and Pot-Luck 

Expressions is back!  Join us as we explore the connections between art and spirituality. 7pm every Wednesday. 

Oct 31 - Barbara Hands - Humor with Music

Thanks!  

Thanks to everyone at the Unitarian Universalist Church who contributed to the 40 pounds of peanut butter and nonperishable food  

collected last month for the Greensboro Food Bank.  

Food Lion food collection 

UU Dinner Group 

Social Action Update  

Summary of the September 18 UUCG Board Meeting

The board approved the nomination of Nelson Stover as chair of the ACT campaign

The board approved setting aside money for long term maintenance of the building each year from a portion of the bank lease money.

The board approved moving the Staff Support Committee to the ministry pillar as the Staff Support Team.

The board recommends that the church go with a developmental minister starting in the summer 2013.

The board approved that the congregation be asked at the October 21, 2012 congregational meeting to affirm the board's recommendation for a developmental ministry.

Birthdays this month 

Attendance and Collection

UUCG Covenant 

• Promote a search for personal meaning, respecting individual truth in a community process of quest
• Speak and act with caring, courtesy and love thereby maintaining emotional, physical, and spiritual safety for all
• Support UUCG and denominational efforts with our resources
• Combat injustice while promoting equality
• Nurture our children on their spiritual journeys
• Hold ourselves to this covenant, especially during times of conflict and disagreement

UUCG OFFICERS 

TRUSTEES

Michelle Lee (2015)                                                                                          nc.dogwood@yahoo.com  

Stephanie Blake (2014)                                                                                       cicciblake@triad.rr.com 

Myra Anne Geese Dean (2014)                                                                    myraannegesse@yahoo.com
Steve Andrews (2013)                                                                                               sand3420@aol.com    

Suzanne Deering (2015)                                                                                         zanned@earthlink.net  

Katja Brown (2013)                                                                                                     sabrown@ieee.org 

UUCG STAFF

Congregational Contacts