The Board met for our annual retreat in September 2025. In addition to getting to know each other better, we spent a lot of time discussing the strategic plan, our progress so far, and our priorities for this year. Two members of the Committee on Ministry (COM) attended to help walk us through the plan items and give progress updates.

We also asked the COM to help update the congregation on our progress on the strategic plan, and they have begun a series of articles in the newsletter and on the website, broken down by section of the plan.

Rather than reiterating the pieces of the plan that have already been completed, I will highlight here the pieces we continue to work on, and those we want to start on this year. These are our priorities for the current congregational year.

Preamble

• New this year: Now that we have Volunteer Coordinators identified, we hope to work on getting a better understanding of the skills, experiences and volunteering interests of the congregation. To that end, a survey will be coming. This will help us identify more people to lead or support items in the plan.
• New this year: The Stewardship Steering Committee has designed and launched a Planned Giving Program to inform the congregation about how legacy giving can help ensure UUCville’s light of love and justice shines far into the future. (Click here for more information.)
• Continuing: We have made significant progress in this area, and continue our work via the Committee on Ministry, the Stewardship Steering Committee, and the new Volunteer Coordinators.

Part 1 – Safe and Welcoming Place

• New this year: create the Buildings and Grounds Plan task force. They are just beginning their work, and will involve stakeholders and the congregation in the process this year.
• New this year: we are working on assessing the safety and security of the congregation, with an eye toward making necessary improvements. In the current political climate, it is critical to improve our resilience.
• Continuing: re-energizing the Greeter Program, we have begun adding more volunteers and held a training session recently.
• Continuing: supporting our Young Adult community – this is ongoing, but could use more support.

Part 2 – Nurturing Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit

• Continuing: consider our ability to expand the scope of “caring” we do (like CareNet) to include additional aspects. Needs assessment, leadership and support.
• Continuing: Our Fun and Friendship Team needs additional leadership and support to continue the social activities we enjoyed last year.

Part 3 – Equity, Justice and Peace for All People

• Continuing: although the plan was written before the current presidential administration, several items of this section of the plan are supported by the work of the Mosaic Squad. We feel this is critical work, given the current political climate.
• Continuing: we are strengthening and expanding our partnerships (e.g. City of Promise, Sin Barreras, Ebenezer Baptist Church, PACEM, IMPACT and the Haven – maybe add Charlottesville Public Housing Association (PHAR) and Equality Virginia, and Blue Ridge Abortion Fund).
• Continuing: we continue to offer many Adult Faith Development classes that support this section.
• Continuing: we continue to align our Social Action giving with the several focus areas in this part of the plan (racial justice, immigrant/refugee rights, reproductive rights, Health Equity, Homelessness, Food Insecurity, and LGBTQ+ issues – we don’t have a social action collection with LGBT issues, though we support it especially with Charlottesville PRIDE).
  https://uucharlottesville.org/social-action-collections-2025-2026/
  • July 2025 – City of Promise: Racial Justice
  • August 2025 – Birth Sister: Health Equity
  • September 2025 – PACEM: Homelessness
  • October 2025 – The Haven: Food Insecurity and Homelessness
  • November 2025 – Sin Barreras:Immigrant/Refugee Rights
  • December 2025 – Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR): Affordable Housing
  • January 2026 – Impact: Advocacy/Enhance the Knowledge Base of the Congregation
  • February 2026 – UUCville Food Ministry: Food Insecurity
  • March 2026 – UUCVille Meal Packets: Food Insecurity/Family Support
  • April 2026 – Blue Ridge Abortion Fund: Reproductive Rights/Justice

Part 4 – Equity, Justice and Peace for the Planet

• The Ministry for Earth (MFE) team could use additional support on many of these items.
• New this year: develop an ongoing partnership with a local environmental group.
• New this year: coordinate with the Buildings and Grounds Plan task force to ensure that sustainability is in the forefront of all infrastructure modifications and improvements.
• Continuing: promote and encourage church participation in community work days with local environmental organizations.
• Continuing: host sustainable potlucks to encourage health, planet sustaining habits.
• Continuing: research upcoming climate legislation, meet with local legislators to advocate for specific policies, table for post cards, and organize letter writing events.
• Continuing: enhancing environmental education and encouraging actions to support sustainability through a monthly newsletter and adult programs.

Submitted by: Carol Gardner, President