From the Board

Emily Smith, Mission & Vision Task Force

Hello from the Mission and Vision Task Force! This Board-chartered group began meeting over the summer to design a process for creating and adopting congregational mission and vision statements. First things first – what do we mean by mission and vision? A vision statement speaks to our dreams for the future. It inspires us by defining the target we reach for and reminds us why what we do is important. A mission

statement articulates who we are and what we

exist to do. It grounds us in our purpose and allows us to discern our priorities. These definitions are informed by UUA guidance as well as discussion with our ministers and Board. They also fit into a larger picture of guiding congregational documents that includes the relational covenant we developed in 2021. You can see a diagram created by the UUA depicting how these guiding documents work together on the page opposite.

Congregational input will be very important in creating mission and vision statements. We want these statements to reflect who we are and who we hope to become as a congregation. We want them to be places we turn to guide the priorities of our work as a congregation and to remember why that work is important to us in the first place. In order to create statements we can all see ourselves in and stand behind, we need to hear from you! There will be numerous and varied opportunities to shape the statements throughout the church year, starting with the congregational meeting on October 30. At this meeting, we’ll bring discussion questions to get us dreaming about what’s possible. We will also be collecting feedback in writing over the month of November in the event that you cannot attend the congregational meeting or find yourself wanting more time to reflect afterwards. Over the winter, the task force will use your input to craft draft statements. In the spring, we’ll ask for your feedback on those drafts. Finally, we’ll vote to adopt our new mission and vision statements at the congregational meeting in May. You can see a full timeline on the page opposite.

It’s worth mentioning that many of you provided input on who we are and what we hope for as part of the ministerial search process in the fall of 2020. Be assured that the task force has this feedback in hand and will use it as a starting point for thinking about our mission and vision. We’re asking for additional input from you before we begin drafting the statements because we’re in a different place now as a congregation than we were two years ago. To name just a few of the notable events, we’ve gotten COVID vaccines, returned to our building for in person worship services, and we’ve enjoyed a full year of ministry from Team Kelly. The task force is eager to hear what’s on your heart and mind now, in this season of our community.

The level of congregational input we’re asking for is unusual for a congregation of our size. In a large congregation, it would be more typical for a senior minister to write mission and vision statements on behalf of the congregation, ask the Board to approve them, and conclude the process there. We’re doing this differently by design. When we chose to move towards a co-ministry model, we embraced the principle of power with, rather than power over. This is true of the relationship between our ministers, and (con’t on page 7)

FROM THE BOARD

(con’t from page 6) it is also true of the relationship between the congregation and the ministers. Committing to mission and vision statements that are by, of, and for the congregation is part of the committment to collaboration and shared power we made when we chose co-ministry. We hope our process can become an example for other congregations exploring shared ministry.

The task force members look forward to connecting and dreaming with you throughout this process, starting at our congregational meeting on October 30!