Our Board Retreat was a transformative experience for me. It was wonderful to be a part of group that worked together with such respect for each other, dedication to community and with such purpose.  I was amazed at how we worked from general caring and commitment to specific plans for action (and, of course, being UUs, with so many different points of view!).  I am looking forward to our September Board meeting and launching our action plans!

As I think over our Developmental Goals and Action Plans, I realize that we are already doing so much towards these goals.

Goal 1: We want to define a broad shared vision of our purpose for being a congregation so that we can feel energized, dedicated, and aligned in the use of our resources.

We already talk as a congregation and small groups about our visions for our congregation. So many groups share a passion for community, spiritual growth and social justice.  I look forward to bringing this all together in a broad shared vision of purpose.

Goal 2: We want to be a more welcoming, inclusive, and anti-racist congregation, cultivating greater diversity in our membership and stronger engagement with the broader Charlottesville community.

There is so much to be done for this goal and there is so much we already do to be welcoming, inclusive and active in the larger community.  I love this month’s theme of Belonging (Sunday Services and Sermons by Rev. Tim and Rev. Leia have been inspiring!).

We have many groups to meet the varying needs of our congregants: UU Parents Weekly Conversation Circle, UUCville Women’s Friendship Group, UUCville Young Adult Group, Weekly Zooming with Rev. Tim, Youth RE groups, Children’s RE classes, Adult RE classes, the Honoring Elders Garden Party, the CareNet Team, the Active Hope Faith Development Group, the Active Minds Discussion Group, the Interweave LGBTQ+ Fellowship Group, Covenant Groups (now forming new groups).

We are working hard to welcome visitors and create a clear path to membership with the Membership Committee work, and a Newcomers Circle monthly meeting.

We have a strong presence in the larger community of Charlottesville with our monthly Social Action Collections, PACEM, Friday Food Pantry, Refugee Welcome group, Reproductive Justice Group (newly formed), Soup Kitchen (at The Haven), and IMPACT.

Goal 3: We want to strengthen our Stewardship Ministry to manifest passionate support of our mission with time, wisdom, and finances.

We have a fabulous, hardworking, and expertly-guided Finance Committee.  We are transparent about our finances with our monthly statements available in the board reports, and clear statements of our progress and struggles also in the monthly board reports. Our Finance Committee has worked with all parts of our congregation to prepare budget proposals that reflect our values and are balanced.  These proposals are available prior to the annual congregation meetings. We have been meeting our goal of excellence and transparency in every aspect of our financial well-being.

Our Personnel Committee is diligent in keeping up with the UUA recommendations for staff compensation and benefits.  We are honoring our UU principles in our care for our top-notch staff.

Our recent pledge drives have had terrific participation and we have had success with meeting most of our goals.

We have created a Rental Task Force to examine the complete picture of how we rent our property to community groups.

We are working to re-establish a Building Committee to help maintain our property.

We have had groups of hard-working volunteers manage our yard sales and Church Auction.

We have large groups of volunteers that work with our excellent staff in every aspect of congregation life.

Goal 4: We want to strengthen our internal processes and communication skills, build trust, and become more emotionally and operationally functional than we have been historically.

We have a highly skilled Communications Committee that maintains an easy-to-navigate, informative and beautiful website.

We post recordings of our services on Youtube.

Transparency guides our communications between the board and the congregation with the agenda and minutes available on the website and with monthly board meetings accessible to all through in-person and Zoom.

We have all worked hard to treat each other with respect and loving kindness to build a sense of trust and safety in our community.

We are already doing a great deal toward meeting our goals and I am sure our action plans will catapult us even further forward.