The UUCW Board of Management had a very productive retreat this past August. As part of the new Policy Governance model, the board will have an annual retreat each summer. The first part of the board's retreat was to orient our two newest board members Cristina Heffernan and Maya Desai to our Policy Governance system, the finances of the church, Human Resources at the church and the role and responsibilities of the board. This training will help them be successful board members right from the beginning of their terms.

 

At the retreat the board set an annual goal for itself and for Aaron, in his role as chief executive of the church. Part of the Policy Governance system suggests setting an annual goal for the chief executive and the Board. Having a single focus will allow Aaron and the board to lead our church in accomplishing a lot in an important part of the church that needs improvement. Having a single focus will prevent the board and Aaron from trying to accomplish too many things at once and enable greater achievement toward long-term goals.

 

After a productive conversation the board and Aaron decided this year's goal is to improve church finances through the addition of new members. Specifically the following goals were formulated(goals as summarized by Dave Schowalter (Cleric):

 

For Aaron:

Over the next 5 years increase pledge units to about 240 members from or current number 180. This year, Aaron will  focus on attempting to reach this goal through improved internal and external communications about church programming that inspire community involvement.

 

For the Board:

During the coming year, the board will develop communication polices (i.e. website, social media, newsletters, order of service, pamphlets, etc.) to increase the ease of access to church resources among our current members and the larger community. Communication policies will also be designed to increase the church's visibility in the greater Worcester community so that we may encourage membership growth. If we all work together to let more people know about our church's many good works our membership will grow.