The Long Range Planning Task Force has been hosting Congregational Conversations about the interests and passions of congregants in supporting our mission. The conversations were divided up in relation to the four main focus areas of our mission:

• Cultivating a safe and welcoming place for all
• Nurturing mind, heart, body, and spirit
• Working for equity, justice, and peace for all people
• Working for equity, justice, and peace for the planet

Wonderful, thoughtful ideas were raised in these conversations. And, there are still more conversations ahead before we present the final plan to the congregation in June.

In this report, I present some of the broad initiatives that have been discussed, followed by some of the specific ideas. The specific ideas could be considered by groups organized by the plan or incorporated within the broader ideas.

This summary is an initial report to the board on our progress. This is not a draft of the Long Range Plan, just a summary of the ideas that have been presented so far.

Cultivating a safe and welcoming place for all

Develop and adopt a comprehensive Master Plan for our building and grounds that reflects core UUCville values (accessibility, sustainability, community, etc.) and that includes a funding strategy to support implementation of the plan. A few of the many things this plan should consider are:

• ADA compliance of all grounds and buildings and AIM Certification from UUA (Accessibility and Inclusivity Ministry).
• Improvements to our parking situation.
• Consideration of how the visual aspects of our building and grounds might be more welcoming to people from diverse groups.

Completion of an “Inclusivity Audit” and report reviewing core UUCville ministries (worship & music, faith development, social action, membership, etc.) with a focus on the experience of groups/identities/perspectives that have been historically marginalized within Unitarian Universalism and UUCville. This task should include engaging focus groups of different communities within our community.

Appointment of a “Safe and Welcoming Team” that will work collaboratively with staff, lay leaders, the congregation, and the wider community to implement the recommendations of the Inclusivity Audit. The plan should pay special attention to:

• Creating a College Ministry and welcoming Young Adults to our community.
• Attending to the needs of families with school age children.
• Considering the needs of LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and other people who have traditionally been disempowered, disadvantaged, and disenfranchised.
• Ageism that can marginalize older congregants.
• This might include training for all of us on how to be welcoming.
• It might include potlucks with activities that help people engage with people they don’t know.
• It might include questions for people to ask each other in the social hall (like icebreakers).

Develop a marketing plan that brings our UU values explicitly into the larger community. Perhaps we could think of this as developing a “brand.” Examine what has been effective for other UU Congregations and the UUA. There may be many people who would want to come to UUCville, but don’t know what we are about or even that we are here.

Nurturing mind, heart, body, and spirit

Building on existing ministries, we will create a ministry of healing and wholeness. A task force will be appointed to define the goals and parameters of the ministry and recommend initial actions/programs.

Structure our ministries on the model of ‘community of communities’ (COC) rather than the family model.  The family model tends to be hierarchical and self-contained (vertical structure); the COC model is more inclusive and focuses on sub-groups within the congregation (horizontal structure). Examples of sub groups are seniors, young adults, parents with children in RE, those involved in music, LGBTQAI+ folks, and people involved in social action. For more details on this concept, here is we a short video: UU Congregations:  A Community of Communities by Paula Cole Jones https://www.uua.org/leaderlab/community-communities

Working collaboratively with the Minister for Faith Development, the Religious Education Committee, and leaders of key programs/ministries, UUCville will increase the breadth and depth of its faith development ministry for all ages, including classes, workshops, retreats, trainings, affinity groups, etc. relevant to important demographics within our congregation, including young adults, elders, LGBTQAI+, BIPOC, etc. and that dovetail with key ministries and programs, including social and environmental action, anti-racism, LGBTQAI+ outreach, etc.

• This work could prioritize our need to raise the next generation of UUs by centering the children in the congregation), supporting parents, and providing more connections across generations.

Recognizing the yearning for community and connection that brings so many to our congregation, we will build a multigenerational, Family Ministry that brings people of all ages (both within and beyond our congregation) together for friendship, fun, learning, and service. A Family Ministry “Council” (FMC) will include but not be confined to representatives from faith development, hospitality, worship, social action, etc. and will also include the creation of a Social/Fellowship Committee charged with organizing multigenerational events/activities.

Working for equity, justice, and peace for all people

Building on our very successful tradition of offering financial support to organizations working for social and economic justice, we will cultivate 3-5 community partnerships that will enable our congregation to engage in experiential, hands-on service and relationship building. We will especially seek partnerships with organizations working for equity, justice, and peace for historically marginalized communities in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and Central Virginia.

• Ideas for additional involvement in the larger community include engaging with other UUCongregations and other faith communities.
• Develop community projects that bring us all together. Build stronger relationships with other groups (such as our current emphasis on our connection with Sin Barreras) while making sure to bring our UU values and wisdom to these partnerships.

Recognizing that justice and equity require addressing structures of oppression through public witness and advocacy, UUCville will connect with and draw upon the expertise and resources of national, state, and denominational initiatives and organizations. Examples may include but are not confined to IMPACT, Side with Love, Equality Virginia, the UU Service Committee, the Poor People’s Campaign, Equality Virginia, Environmental orgs, NAACP, Livable Cville etc.

Develop a plan to become more anti-racist in our congregation and the larger community.

An impactful UUCville social justice ministry will necessitate a new organizational model/structure. A social justice organizational task force should be appointed which will propose such a structure, taking into account current practices and programs as well as likely initiatives in the near future.

Create a Volunteer/Member Coordinator position so we can bring a greater focus and intention on helping people get connected with the church. This coordinator could:

• Assist with matching people with groups/committees/activities.
• Maintain the membership data base.
• Promote more sustainable and new leadership for projects we already do.
• This could start as a volunteer position and grow into a paid position.

Working for equity, justice, and peace for the planet

Led by the UUCville Ministry for Earth, we will develop a wide-ranging environmental ministry that enables us to be a community leader for climate justice. To that end, we will:

• Engage in regular hands-on, environmental service in our local community.
• Collaborate with UUCville ministries like Faith Development and Hospitality to offer classes, workshops, eco-friendly potlucks, and other educational programs that promote sustainable living in our congregation, in the lives of our members & friends, and in the wider Charlottesville community.
• Be a bold voice for environmental advocacy and justice at the local, state, and national levels. To that end, we will work closely with advocacy organizations like Virginia Interfaith Power and Light.
• Offer a green, sustainable voice in the development of a Master Plan for UUCville’s Building and Grounds.

Specific suggestions for changes and initiatives

Specific points that were raised that could be considered by groups working on the broader initiatives or that might be incorporated in these initiatives.

Cultivating a safe and welcoming place for all

Specific points that were raised that could be considered by groups working on the broader initiatives above:

Finances

• Create a facilities capital fund to maintain grounds/Summit House/ building.
• Create an annual maintenance plan.
• Staff Compensation.

Accessibility

• Continue accessibility via Zoom.
• Not all seating in church is accessible. The pews are difficult to get into and it is difficult to see the screen and the chancel from behind the pillars.
• Please make sure the ramp is shoveled when the steps are shoveled.
• It is hard to get to the altar to drop stones in the water and hard to get coffee.
• Sometimes the tables in the social hall have no chairs around them.
• There are bumps by some entrance doors and no automatic doors.
• We could do an assessment of accessibility.
• There is no room for a rollator.
• Room behind the back pews is too tight for people with walking disabilities.
• We need gender neutral bathrooms upstairs and family bathrooms.

Marketing

• We could have a “passive marketing” plan where we go out and do things and people in the community get to know us.
• Invite other congregations to visit us on a Sunday.

Welcoming newcomers

• We have to do a better job at communicating happenings to new congregants.
• Have welcomers who greeters can refer newcomers to. They would talk one on one with newcomers.
• We need training on how to welcome newcomers.
• Have special name tags for newcomers so we can identify them even if they don’t have a red cup.
• We could have Implicit bias trainings.
• Find out what it is like to be a newcomer and help our settled congregants feel that.
• We need to intentionally talk with newcomers so they don’t feel like outsiders. We need someone on the playground to do this and someone in the Social Hall.
• Have a flier/mission card to hand out to newcomers.
• Have a list of activities to hand out to newcomers.
• Perhaps we need the bulletin boards back so people can see what activities are available.
• We could have the QR code for the website more visible around the building.
• Have volunteers be friendly to visitors on zoom.

Connections and Conversations

• Have discussion groups after church on deeper questions of life and growth. Or, perhaps to talk over ideas brought up in the service.
• Perhaps tables in the social hall could have signs to attract different people to a discussion or to a question or a particular group so we mix up people and people talk with people they don’t know.
• We could have icebreaker questions for people to ask each other after the Sunday Services.
• Set up more tables in the social hall for people to sit and have a conversation.
• We need a Transgender and Gender Non-binary activity group.
• We need more social activities – perhaps a group that takes on organizing social activities.
• It is nice to have more potlucks after church.
• We could offer the courageous conversation curriculum.

Nurturing mind, heart, body, and spirit

Healing

• Focus on healing as a central concept in our work together. We all need to heal from the way interlocking systems of oppression have harmed us all.
• Offer Air Flow Afro yoga, which addresses all of these things—emerging from the African diaspora, and African spiritual practices. There is more to healing than intellectually understanding past and present oppression. Practices that heal our bodies and or spirits are also critical.
• Build trust among congregants starting with a low stakes Social Activities Group. As trust builds, perhaps more deeper interactions will be possible.

Faith Development

• Organize “faith” groups for people to explore their spirituality in small groups.
• Have an Adult Faith Development Committee to organize new programs that are needed. Perhaps we could offer courses in a curriculum—courses in some sequence to learn about a particular topic, perhaps addressing it from different angles.
• Add other ways of connecting spiritually outside of Sunday services.
• Have more time in Sunday services devoted to deeper spiritual experience and less time on children.
• We need teachings on ways to disagree and say no.
• Have a leadership development team.
• Incorporate what do I need and what can I offer as another part of joys and sorrows.

Care for our Older Congregants

• We need to care for our elderly population who cannot attend the regular activities.  For example, can we offer rides to medical appointments.
• Sometimes elderly people need “friendly visitors” who can stay awhile, talk, and perhaps even watch sermons together from the website.

Engage in Deeper Discussions

• Create ways to engage more deeply with the sermons.  Perhaps by having discussions together after the service.  It might be especially helpful to have these discussions in the Parlor where it is quiet and there is a comfortable place to sit.
• It would be good to have a chance to engage in deep conversations about difficult issues from a spiritual perspective.
• We need training to really listen to each other so we can have these deep conversations.
• We could offer courses or programs on aging and spirituality.
• A course on people’s relationship with ultimate reality would be very helpful.

Engage with Nature

• We could develop a program for people to enrich their spiritual experience through contact with nature – reintroduce that connection to nature as an integral part of mind body spirit. Perhaps taking walks together in nature.

Working for equity, justice, and peace for all people

Examine the root causes of social issues, especially hunger, poverty and homelessness.

Examples of specific causes we could work on:

• Create a group to focus on Criminal Justice initiatives including inequities in the criminal legal system, police behavior and policing budgets, gaps in people returning to the community from prison.
• Increase our involvement in UUUN activities.
• Service project weeks in and around the community.
• Teaching life skills to the community.
• Support people in preparing their taxes.
• Assist with Immigration support.
• Support drug addicts in recovery.
• Support parents through addressing child care needs. 
• Support the development of low income housing locally to work toward ending homelessness, hunger, and poverty.
• Examine and promote Diversity Equity and Inclusion Policies.
• Peace education – peace actions in the United Nations group. 
• Support for political activity – helping get more diverse people involved in local politics.
• We need to make more connections with African American communities.
• Advertise our yoga class to the larger community.
• Support initiatives to encourage people to vote.
• We could take more direct action in the community.
• UU outing day to promote ideas we are talking about.
• Community center work.

Training ideas for our congregation:

• Support learning sessions where people can come to learn about issues and then be available for action.  
• Provide opportunities for congregants to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and be in the company of people we wish to help.
• We need information to contact our political representatives.
• Practice seeing both sides of issues – so we can communicate more effectively with each other.
• Have a webpage of “Ways you can help.”

Working for equity, justice, and peace for the planet

Organizing in UUCville

• Access wisdom from the UUA website about forming justice programs and their numerous brochures and guides so we don’t have to reinvent programs. https://www.uua.org/environment
• We could bring together the different groups of social and environmental action to share ideas and provide support to each other instead of existing in silos.
• Empower the Social Justice Council to pull together our actions and make the larger community aware of groups and activities.
• We could organize a writing group where people interested in justice issues could write and share together and connect to our faith and values. This would help deepen their commitment to justice and help meet their spiritual needs.  This would be especially valuable to those who could more easily access the group on zoom.
• We could organize a central webpage that lists social and environmental justice actions that are happening through UUCville. Several people said they would like to participate, but do not have the time and energy to do their own thorough research to identify effective action.
• Attending lectures and follow up discussions is especially helpful in learning about issues.
• We could engage in targeted letter writing and emailing to representatives. We could publish letters in the local papers.
• Perhaps we could focus on one issue per year together.
• We could focus our efforts on the climate crisis and associated economic disparities.
• We need to find ways to continue with Active Hope in the face of the climate change which can lead to despair.

For our building and grounds

• Research the carbon footprint of the church campus (an initial step in B&G 3 year plan). 
• Use recycled paper toilet paper .
• Use organic products (particularly coffee) – perhaps from Fair Trade.
• Have a energy audit completed – through LEAP. 
• Use rain barrels.
• Research gray water systems.
• Start a community vegetable garden.
• Work toward Green Sanctuary 2030 certification.
• Move toward net zero carbon emissions on our campus.

Financial Action

• Use only sustainable banking organizations for our funds and our credit cards.

Education

• Research and share good climate news/success stories to help people feel motivated and hopeful.
• Educate the congregation on ways they can be sustainable – by examples. of members already doing so – either a forum or perhaps an Environmental Tour of Homes.

Advocacy

• Advocate for government laws and policies that support a sustainable planet.

In the larger community

• Partner with other churches (particularly marginalized groups) to work on environmental projects.
• Partner with community organizations such as Food Justice Network to work on community gardens (Washington Park).
• We could collaborate with local environmental groups such as Cville 100, the UVA Sustainability group, and Interfaith Power and Light.  We could have a UUCville representative attending their monthly meetings.
• Locally, water distribution is a problem and our streams are open to pollution.
• Take action to protest the wars through association with national groups and the United Nations group.