Minister’s Letter — September 2007

A Vision of Our Ministry: 2007-08

At this time of the year as we prepare to resume regular services after the summer break, I usually convey what I consider to be our program priorities for the coming year. You might call it the “minister’s vision of our ministry.” What I am about to list is not altogether new. Based on conversations I have had with many of you over the past several months the following is what I have discerned to be of importance to us at this point in our spiritual growth and active outreach.

I am aware that the ministries I am about to name will require volunteer leadership, perhaps more than we can honestly provide. Nevertheless, if I were asked, “what are the ministry programs and improvements you think your congregation needs to implement?” these are the ones I would name. The list does not preclude other outreach/educational programs. I encourage each of you to follow your own heart and interests and create other program ministries, if you are so interested. The Green Sanctuary program and the Buddhist Exploration group were both started by members who had a particular interest in those issues. So aside from the Sunday worship services which hopefully will continue to inspire, connect and heal our hearts and souls and a highly energetic membership committee that is doing a phenomenal job of welcoming and engaging people who visit us, these are the areas I hope we can at least consider and possibly prioritize in the months ahead:

Religious Education

This is always a priority. I don’t know about you, but if I had a young child I would want to believe that the Religious Education program at the UU Fellowship offered the most open and relevant religious, moral, ethical education I could find that would help me as a parent in teaching the strong, responsible, liberal values that I would want my child to learn and live by. This kind of RE program requires strong leadership, a challenging/creative curriculum, dedicated teachers and strong active support from the Board of Trustees and overall membership of the Fellowship. We are a small (but growing) congregation and presently, we can only afford a part-time Director. All the rest of the leadership is voluntary. So this area of our ministry is a challenge.

Social Responsibility Council

I think we need to write a strong social responsibility policy that will define what we mean by “social responsibility” and serve as a direction for the Social Concerns committee ( which I am suggesting be called Social Responsibility Council) in ascertaining, organizing and actively addressing the social issues of both our immediate and the larger community. Again, this is a volunteer group and requires strong leadership.

A More Active Outreach Program to the Gay and Lesbian Community

I believe our “welcoming congregation” status is a wonderful milestone and makes a powerful statement to the community. However, I think we need to be more active in reaching out to the gay/lesbian/transgender community and also more active in supporting civil rights issues and legislation for the GLBT community. But we need leaders. This group could also be considered a task force of the Social Responsibility Council.

Family Life Ministry Program

I hope we can build on Marjorie Redleaf’s work with parents of adolescent children and offer other such programs for parents (including gay/lesbian families) of
infant/toddler children, marriage support/education programs, and support program for elder members. It seems to me that a Family Life Support Program would be highly welcomed and valued by the larger community. I think it should be an important ministry of all liberal religious congregations.

Music Ministry Program

I have addressed this before. I think we need a Music Ministry leadership committee that will welcome/invite/coordinate the inclusion of other musicians into our worship services on Sunday mornings. I believe Music is absolutely key to the experience we want to create and have when we assemble for worship!!

Again, I am sure there are other areas that need attention as well. Our membership committee is doing an outstanding job and I anticipate that they will continue to reach out and welcome more new people to our Fellowship, and keep them here once they have joined us. If we could somehow follow through on the areas I have described above, the membership will no doubt have their hands full.

However, I welcome other suggestions for improving our congregational ministry. My belief is that if we can at least begin to pursue the areas I have outlined above, our ministry will grow, not to mention our membership, but more importantly, our message of liberal religious values and spiritual growth will be witnessed by those seeking the kind of community we have created and represent.

I look forward to another year of growth, service and nurturing connections with all of you. See you on September 9th when we begin the new congregational year with our Water Communion Service! Bring a small vial of water from whatever place of travel or important to you. Jim Covington