This is the second report from the Committee on Ministries on the progress UUCville has made on our Long Range Plan.

In the first report, COM described the progress on the Preamble of the plan.  This report is about how UUCville are doing with Goal 1.

Summary of Accomplishments

I. Cultivating a safe and welcoming place for all

Our Long Range Plan is an ambitious 3 year plan and we are in the first part of year 2 of the plan. We have accomplished a lot toward cultivating a safe and welcoming place for all, and we have a lot more to do. UUCville is needed now more than ever and we hope we can be a sanctuary of love and kindness for all.

1. Make our buildings and grounds more accessible, inclusive, cohesive, beautiful, and inviting.

• The Campus Plan Task Force developed a draft Comprehensive Building and Grounds Plan and presented it to the Board in August.
• The process for developing the long-range Buildings and Grounds Plan is divided into three phases.
  • Phase I: Forming and Assessment
  • Phase II: Engagement, Visioning, and Concepts
  • Phase III: Finalizing Plan

• Phase I is underway.
  • Historical data and building and site plans have been collected.
  • Over 20 volunteers, including members of the Buildings Committee, conducted a walk-through of the interior building spaces. The assessment of the building envelopes (exterior) is scheduled, and a date for the gardens and campus walk-through is under discussion.
  • Work has begun to collect data on the HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire and safety, and electrical systems. Steve Rogers, Facility Manager, will assist with this part of the assessment phase.
  • Other assessments for accessibility, exterior lighting, major appliances, and office spaces are in discussion.
  • The LEAD report, facilitated by the Ministry for Earth, is an informative document for this phase of the project.

• We have been in conversation about how we should replace or update the “Marriage Rights” banner on the outside of the sanctuary.  We want to give a clear and transparent message that UUCville is safe and welcoming to all, to be in alignment with municipal regulations, and to make sure that decision making is inclusive in our decision making.  This will take more time. Since the 2024 presidential election results, we have prioritized putting energy into other ways of taking a stand, but this is also very important and discussions will continue in the future.

• Similarly, we have begun conversations about how we will intentionally engage with the history of the land we reside on by moving us beyond weekly land acknowledgements to taking concrete actions that help repair relationships with historically marginalized communities.  However, we have not yet taken action on this with all the other threats that have been happening.

2. Grow our Ministry of Welcoming and Membership

• We have three excellent and committed greeters who have been trained to handle the sensitivities of the job.  We could always use more greeters, but this is working!  A Greeter training was held on September 28.

• We have had regular Newcomer meetings after church which have been well attended. Rev Tim has led several successful New Member and Friends weekend classes. We hope to continue these efforts with more New Member activities.  The Befriender program has been started to buddy new members with existing members.

Part 3. Cultivate and Sustain a Vibrant Young Adult Ministry

• Our Young Adult Ministry is continuing but it needs additional support from the congregation. The Communications committee would need additional support to undertake the desired marketing to young adults, specific to UVA.  A Young Adult Open House was held on September 21st and a group meeting was held October 19.

4. Create a board-appointed Safe and Welcoming Team charged with assessing and developing a plan to make our congregation safer and more welcoming for historically marginalized communities, including those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, gender-expansive, differently-abled, etc.

• Our Mosaic Squad began looking into an inclusivity assessment and thinking about how we can evaluate where we could put our efforts to make our congregation safer and more welcoming for historically marginalized communities. The experts that the Squad contacted unanimously advised that UUC is not yet ready for that assessment and we should focus on training and conversations with the congregation first.  The Mosaic Squad considered bringing UUA sponsored anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multi-cultural training to the congregation. However, since the presidential election, MOSAIC has focused on action in the larger community.
• On November 16, Adult Faith Development (AFD) offered a Congregational Teach-In “Speak Up!” This was a skill-building, interactive workshop intended to enable participants to feel empowered to respond when they experience, witness or hear about disrespectful behavior, particularly in the context of bias or prejudice.
• Earlier this fall, AFD offered the class “Anti-Racist Lessons from the Ancestors” which discussed what we can learn about today’s UU engagement with anti-racism from the earliest Unitarian encounters with a formerly enslaved community in South Carolina.

5. Develop a UUCville Marketing Plan whose objective is to share our mission and message with the wider Charlottesville/Albemarle County community.

• There is no funding in the current budget for professional development of a UUCville Marketing Plan to share our mission and message with the wider Charlottesville/Albemarle County community. The Marketing Plan task has been paused until the next budget cycle or until we discover volunteers to create and implement a new marketing plan, and funds to support the implementation.

Committee on the Ministry (COM)

Barb Alag, Laura Horn, and Pam McIntire