Dear Beloved UUFM Community,
October has been a productive month on the organizational side of things.
The Community Team met for the first time this month on October 12th, 2023.
The Board met this month on October 15th, 2023.
The Minister and Board Chair are members of both of these teams under our new, evolving organizational structure. This update, therefore, is from both of these teams, covering both governance and community life. For a reminder of the organizational structure initially developed by the Seed Team but still in process, you can click here for an updated visual presentation:
INSTALLATION TASK FORCE
We have begun to assemble the Installation Task Force. The Board began recruitment by asking members from the Call Task Force, as many had expressed interest in participating in this next step as well. There is a standing request for nominations and volunteers, with a specific ask for someone who was present when UUFM made the decision to move into professional ministry in the 1990’s to join the team. If you are interested in volunteering or have a nomination to ask, please email Emily Fraser, Board Chair at chair@uufm.net.
The Installation Task Force members who have confirmed so far had their first meeting on October 23rd with Pastor Isa to begin the process of scheduling the event for the Spring. A couple of dates have been identified and a final date will be determined within the next couple of weeks.
COMMUNITY TEAM
Per the Seed Team’s proposed organizational model, the Community Team has officially formed and begun to meet this month. Standing members of the Community Team include the Pastor, regular staff (Director of Religious Education and Office and Communications Coordinator), and the Board Chair. During this transitional period, we are inviting leadership from one other group per month to join the meeting; this month it was Membership. The aim of the Community Team is as follows:
We catalyze and sustain UUFM activities through delegation, supervision, coordination, and communication. We hold and share institutional knowledge and make decisions related to Fellowship life.
Some of the highlights from the meeting that directly impact members include:
BREEZE
We are rolling out a new system for maintaining our member directory and stewardship tracking called Breeze. The information from our previous spreadsheet has been transferred to this new system. Here are some of the benefits of this new system:
- The directory is available online and through a phone app for easy access.
- Members can access and update their own information and photo at any time.
- Enhanced security: Our previous spreadsheet was made viewable by sharing a link to the document on Google Drive. The link could be shared with and followed by anyone. With Breeze, you must have a username and password to see the contents of the UUFM directory.
- Breeze also allows for easier tracking of financial stewardship.
EVENT-BASED LEADERSHIP
The Community Team reviewed and affirmed the Board’s transitional call for Event-Based Leadership as we build capacity for teams in the long run. Folks are openly invited to coordinate events that they are passionate about with support from the Community Team and Board in lieu of standing social and event teams.
It was noted that no one has volunteered to coordinate a Holiday Craft and Bake Sale – something historically done as a fundraiser for UUFM. Under this transitional model, if there are no volunteers to coordinate it, we don’t do it. There was some grief expressed around not having the Craft and Bake Sale this year, but just because something doesn’t happen once doesn’t mean it won’t happen again in some form in the future.
Our goal is to harness energy and enthusiasm where it lives and avoid burning people out.
Meanwhile: Sandy’s initiative to coordinate a movie night and potluck this month was a well-attended, successful event. So much so that she is planning another movie event for November 12th.
If you have an idea for an event or activity, The Community Team is here to support. We hope that as more people try out this event-based leadership, that you will also begin to support other members in making things happen.
BYLAWS, HANDBOOK, and PROCESSES REVIEW and DISTINCTION
The Board has begun the process of reviewing the Bylaws and Handbook.
Our goal is to make sure our bylaws and handbook are up to date and accurately reflect our current organizational realities – including the shift to having a full-time, called minister.
We also want to better distinguish between policy (the “what”) and process (the “who” and “how”).
We’ve identified three categories:
- policy decided upon by the whole congregation – the Bylaws
- other policy developed by teams in their area of authority – the Handbook
- and processes – the Process Guide
Our hope is that – by distinguishing policy and processes in this way – it will become easier to maintain adherence to and relevance of policy (the “what”), while entrusting and empowering leadership to develop and change processes (the “who” and “how”) to best fit the needs and circumstances of our evolving spiritual community.
NEXT BOARD MEETING
Thursday, November 16th, 2023
6:30 – 8:00 PM
In-person at UUFM and on Zoom
Typically 3rd Thursdays
Board Meetings are open to members. Email the Board Chair for the Zoom link at chair@uufm.net.
NEXT COMMUNITY TEAM MEETING
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023
3:30-5 PM
In-person at UUFM and on Zoom
Typically 1st Thursdays
Community Team Meetings are open to members. Email the Minister for the Zoom link at pastor@uufm.net.