As I wind up year one of Developmental Ministry I want to share with the membership my annual report now instead of the end of the summer when other reports are due. My report includes the goals I set for myself and the results, plus I reflect on areas to consider as we move into a new fiscal year. If you find you have something you want to talk with me about my report I would appreciate you asking me to set up an appointment when I return from study and vacation leave on Sept. 1. — Blessings, Rev. Nan

Listed are my Developmental Ministry goals and reflections for year one (2014-2015) concluding with areas to consider for year two (2015-2016).

Goals:

• Establish relationships with members, leaders, Board and staff to build trust by making myself available for all requests to talk or meet; and by establishing weekly/monthly meetings with staff, and attending once, all meetings that occur during a month at RVUUF.
• In the first four months hold weekly meetings with the RE Coordinator and Lead Teacher to gain understanding of the Religious Exploration program and build support.
• Create a time for the staff to meet monthly building support for each other and greater understanding and appreciation for each position.
• Establish a working relationship with the Worship Team that fosters collaboration.
• Collaborate with the Worship team to provide meaningful Sunday services to build a better sense of community, including multigenerational connections.
• Introduce and model the importance of creating covenants with staff members, Board and encourage covenanting within committees by working together to write covenants.
• Present the Conflict-Resilience and Empowered Communication work of Rev. Cat Cox with intentions of offering video conferencing for groups of members followed by practice sessions led by me. (This goal resulted in my having monthly sessions with Cat to continue deepening my understanding and practice for the very work I hoped the leadership would begin doing as well.)
• Begin to help the Board understand its role and authority in relationship to committees and governance; hold a Skype meeting with UUA Moderator; secure UUA Moderator for 2015-2016 board retreat.
• Introduce and begin practicing ‘best practices‘ for meetings including importance of using process observation as a way to improve meetings with greater efficiency and meaning.
• Connect with UU colleagues in the Pacific Northwest by attending two Professional Days meetings.
• Connect with the Interfaith clergy group who meet monthly. (This goal resulted in my volunteering to help offer a program on MLK day at the Temple with Rabbi Joshua, Chaplain Pandora Canton, and Rev. Paula Sohl who serves the UCC congregation as an assistant Minister. I also hosted two of the monthly meetings.)

Reflections:

Beginning in September my calendar filled quickly with weekly individual meetings, plus committee, Board and staff meetings. Initially I was challenged to find the time to prepare for Sunday services and other meetings I was expected to lead or present. After the first of the year I found my ‘rhythm’ creating time for myself to study and prepare more efficiently.

I did not attend all meeting groups though I did attend when meeting groups (or people) took the initiative to invite me by putting it on my calendar. Many hours were spent with individuals or groups longing to understand their (& others’) part in past conflicts, as well as, wanting to bring a sense of closure.

I interwove experiences of healing and building community within the context of worship services, as well as, I offered a ‘healing service’ for those interested.

Trusting the process is a challenge for many during this first year of strengthening Beloved Community. The six-week classes that included 20 members led by Rev. Cat Cox proved to be the most effective way to address past conflicts while creating a new culture that includes compassionate communication lifting up the Covenant of Right Relations. Finding ways to practice the skills learned is the greatest challenge for those who took the classes. I offered a four-week practice class with plans to offer additional times in the fall.

As Pastoral Care concerns and issues arose during the year I addressed them as I knew of them resulting in hospital and house calls plus many phone calls. I officiated at two weddings and one Celebration of Life ceremony. I supported lay Worship leaders and family in preparing for a Celebration of Life ceremony. I attended the Legacy Circle Tea giving me an opportunity to meet and thank the members who support RVUUF above their promised pledge. I attended portions of Camp Latgawa and the Women’s Retreat to avail myself to people who may not be active in others ways at RVUUF, and additionally every fifth Sunday I chose to be with the children in their classes.

I supported the Social Justice and Action Committee’s work in ways that honor the Developmental ministry model. I often attended the LGBTQ elders monthly luncheon. I encouraged the creation of a UU Christian group offering an alternative to the Humanist and Buddhist groups among RVUUF. Thirty-six members attended General Assembly in Portland, renewing RVUUF’s connection to the UUA and inspiring faith development and social justice work among RVUUFians. I attended social events like the Gay Pride parade, the Thanksgiving dinner and the Bodacious Ball.

The Christmas Eve service and the MLK Sunday service were two highlights for me in that both were drew people in from the community and they shed light on the musical skill and working relationship our Music Director and I have when working together. I spent a significant amount of time working with the worship team and I find it inspiring. I think we have a nurturing and compassionate yet focused group of people to bring Sunday worship services to the membership and guests fostering meaning in a variety of ways.

We held two retreats to plan worship and our time was well spent in gaining more clarity about our work together and addressing the needs of the congregation gathered for worship. I intentionally interwove into Sunday services community building elements, i.e. child dedication/board installation/new member welcome/peace candle, all of which foster the movement from an “I” church to a “We” church mentality (or from a kind of consumerism to an investment way of being together).

I worked with staff members creating covenants and encouraging setting goals for the year. In the spring I held staff evaluations with a process that included self evaluation and suggestions for the minister and/or supervisors. I created monthly staff meetings to build community and support for each other’s position. I analyzed the part-time position of the Office Administrator job description and recommended to the Board and Finance Committee that an outsourced bookkeeper company would better serve the congregation and greatly relieve the demands of the Office Administrator. At the time of this writing I am working with Personnel to re-write the job description to reflect a realistic 25-hour a week description rather than a 40-hour week that includes rental management, human resources, and office administration with payroll duties.

The ‘speed of church’ continues to be a reality especially when desiring quicker decisions and expediency to move forward on multiple levels. Initially, the Board and I struggled with the Developmental Ministry 5 goals voted by the congregation in April 2014, in that we both tended to respond to the daily/weekly issues rather than work more strategically with the objectives to begin addressing the goals. They were in our purview but the reality was that we were trying to get on board with each other while at the same time address the weekly/monthly needs and expectations of everyday church life.

Since August I have met weekly with the President and we created a covenant between us to model right relationships. The Board followed with creating a covenant that was read at the beginning of each meeting striving to keep covenant as we work on behalf of RVUUF.

The goal of “healing’ was primarily on our minds due to the recent pain within the membership and between members. With the Board’s openness to hearing about the work of Rev. Cox and moving forward by creating a Leadership group to discern how the congregation might best address healing and leadership development, the result was negotiating a six-week class with Rev. Cox and choosing the Soul Matters program to begin in September 2015. These decisions reflect how the Board endorsed initial ways to approach the goals of healing and leadership development. The need arose to change the language from ‘healing’ to ‘strengthening
Beloved Community’ and it seemed important in terms of identifying the congregations first goal more positively.

A governance task force was created to work on a new organizational chart and that has taken many months to create. I think what has been created thus far is how RVUUF presently functions in response to the need expressed in the Healthy Congregation report. Gaining clarity in terms of authority and where decision making occurs in the governance of RVUUF is important. At the time of this writing the feedback on the governance chart has been requested from committees.

The Board asked the Finance Committee (FinCom) to create a policy for restricted and unrestricted gifts to better clarify to the members the opportunities to give beyond their pledge, thus to foster a culture of generosity. I strongly encouraged FinCom and the Board to offer forums to educate the membership throughout the year for the purpose of creating a culture that expects to hear from the Board and FinCom quarterly instead of annually. I met with the Stewardship Committee chair encouraging and empowering him to lead the canvass in a way that was positive and coming from a place of gratitude.

By the time March 2015 arrived the Board and I felt better about the committees being more aware of the 5 goals and having more impact for future planning. Presently I think a good majority of the congregations leadership realizes they are more invested in the importance of the 5 goals and how they intersect with committee work. Reports from each committees objectives for next year and how they intersect with the 5 years goals took place July 9, 2015. The Board will now follow-up by meeting to find ways to support the committee objectives for the coming year. I will lead the staff in developing ways to support the goals as well.

When our website crashed in December it provided an opportunity to create a new website as a marketing tool instead of an in-house tool, which is how the old website functioned. I spent many hours helping to get the website ready to run with sufficient people-power to keep it current. Thanks to Victoria Law who responded to my request in writing a grant to the Endowment for funds to create a new web editor position. The Board will need to assess whether the web editor position should resume in the future and be funded by the operating budget for 2016-2017.

Areas to Consider:

In spite of the fact that we lost three board members due to health or moving away, the Board has persevered. We have more relationship building to do during the upcoming year with new board members. I’ve secured the UUA Moderator, Jim Key, to work with the Board in late September with hopes of gaining clarity and understanding as to how to strategically and intentionally lead RVUUF towards their future in ways that are mission driven. My hope is that next year the Board’s focus will be on the need for re-visioning and missioning that involves the congregation, and especially the people who gather in Medford. If RVUUF desires a sustainable and hopeful future there must be a need to understand why RVUUF exists, who is included and how does RVUUF make its mission manifest in the world.

My primary role with the leadership and staff will continue to build relationships of trust and become stronger and clearer in expectations of each other. Plans for the fall offering the Soul Matters program and additional classes with Rev. Cox can ensure the future will be less reactive than when I arrived and more productive in building community while fostering compassion and empathy. These programs can offer direction, cohesion and build community among all generations while deepening personal and spiritual practices.

I trust my ongoing work with the Board and leadership will be to gain clarity on the needs for a successful and growing Religious Exploration program and to help meet the needs of those who gather in Medford. It is very clear to me that the relationship between those who meet in Medford and the RVUUF membership is ambiguous in that neither party seems to be able to identify how their relationship reflects or supports the mission of RVUUF as a whole. Therefore, I think it would be beneficial this coming year to take intentional time and process looking at the present mission and vision discerning if it is the best vision for the future of UU’s in the Rogue Valley, and then begin to strategically plan for the future.

I have been honored to serve RVUUF in 2014-2015. I look very forward to what the new year will bring us and how the Board will lead us as I continue to serve as your Developmental Minister.