Having served five years as UUCW's Clerk,  I've decided it's time to pass the baton.   At last Monday's board meeting, Dave Schowalter accepted the nomination starting July 1st.  Thank you, Dave!    Having joined three other non-profit boards since 2010, one as chair, and being a firm believer that a healthy board is a board that turns over fairly frequently, it will be a welcome transition whose time has come. I'm delighted to see that in next year's board we'll have a new clerk, a new president (Bill Derr), and a freshly minted treasurer (Mary Fitton), pun intended. So, while on the one hand, it is a relief to be coming off the board, it is also a source of remorse. You see, I've loved being part of the leadership of this outstanding church during some jaw droppingly amazing changes in its operation, its vision and its governance.

Five years ago, we were struggling with a lot of very difficult issues. The RE program was bursting at the seams and so in response we offered two morning services instead of one. This change was controversial and a big drain on our leadership, staff and every volunteer.  Issues with church governance that originated from outdated bylaws were fomenting.  The church was fiercely struggling with finances that affected every program of the church. The roof leaked and the furnace was about to fail.   The Futures II team was working very hard to complete their work but before they did, the church seemed to be on a drifting course with respect to long term strategy and goals. Burn out, fatigue and frustration were common themes I heard during coffee hour, even from those in leadership.

In these five short years, however, the church has transformed itself into something much different and, dare I say, better.  Worship reverted to a single service in the morning with Soulful Sundown services on some evenings. The Futures II team completed their work and based on this, the staff built a new set of visions and vision paths for the church, and the board set itself in motion to implement those.  To wit, a grand experiment was undertaken in which  some bylaws were suspended so that the church could model fundamental changes in the way the church is governed. This experiment, which is still underway, has brought revolutionary change, at least from the perspective of this church leader.   The board is now smaller and more agile. Some standing committees have been dissolved, replaced with more flexible and task-oriented coalitions of staff, board members, stakeholders and volunteers that prioritize and come to decisions more quickly. Very cool beans indeed.

This experiment's biggest success, in my opinion, though, has been a dramatic turn-around in volunteer and staff burn out, one of the top issues to come out from the work of the Futures II team.  This more agile governance model has directly resulted in real and measurable progress in operations, programs, policies and even our ministries.  Through all of these organizational upheavals, I can't overstress how inspirational and steadfast Aaron, Robin and the rest of the staff have been in helping facilitate this transformation and staying positive in good times and in bad. Of course, it has also taken a gargantuan effort by all of our volunteer leaders, both on the board and off.   Oh, and did I mention that through all of this, we somehow managed to build a brand new roof that is substantially paid for?  

Wow, it's a lot of good stuff, and yes, surely there are still some endemic issues still to be addressed; the furnace is still in tough shape and we still can't afford to pay our staff at scale or pay our fair share to the district or the UUA, and more.  I know a lot of you have great ideas and visions that would represent a transformative leap for this church if only we had a few dollars more. We need to expand our ministries.  We need a van. We need to fix the parking lot, and many other things.  So while I do still hear coffee hour rumblings, they are different now in my opinion: the rumblings are forward thinking. They are about where we should be whereas before they were more bemoaning the status quo.  So keep up your rumblings, and keep them forward thinking and please, let your church leaders know about them. 

Change is now systemically more part of our governance and indeed the way we want to lead this church.  Given this, I'd like to suggest that there is a heck of lot better chance that your dreams and ideas to improve this church will come to fruition today as opposed to where we were five years ago.  If I've learned anything from being part of the leadership of this church, it's that if you have a good idea, be prepared to put some chips on the table to see that idea through.  It's clear to me now that if enough of us ante up, imagine how cool this church could be in another five years?  So, simply put: volunteer, give generously,  and speak up!

In closing, I want to thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the leadership of this church. It has been a great privilege and I'm pretty sure that I have become a better person directly as a result of the learnings that have come from that role.  I also want to remind you that the pledge drive is still underway and while the response has been good, next year's budget is being finalized in the next month or so.  There will be areas requiring cuts and some of these cuts would not be necessary if pledges improve.   The stewardship committee has done a phenomenal job this year of helping us understand the importance of a good pledge, so pony it up, good people! 

As for me, you may think this is my Dear John letter, but no, I will not fade quietly into night.  I will continue to work my little pet wishes for this church, of which there are a few, and I will stay involved with Building & Grounds and Building Futures. I just recently volunteered to join Mara P. on the team trying to covert UUCW to Solar power.  How cool would that be? Or is it 'how hot'?? 

Peace and love,

Mike