Notes from the President’s Desk – March 2018

The Beginning of Making Plans
“Want what you have.
Be who you are.
Do what you love.” – Rev. Dr. F. Forrester Church
The Rev. Dr. F. Forrester Church (1948-2009) served the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City as senior minister and as minister of public theology. He died September 24, 2009. A frequent contributor to UU World, he is the author of many books including A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism (with John Buehrens). His writings are worth exploring and can be found in our Bookstore.
This quote from Forrest Church resonates deeply with me. The simplicity of “Want what you have.” seems so reasonable and sensible. “Be who you are.” is probably the most difficult. And “Do what you love.” strikes me as a healthy act of self-discovery. Taken together the words of Forrest Church seem like a good plan for living fully. Yet making a good plan is not easy to do.
On Sunday March 18 the Board invites everyone to a Congregational Conversation following the Service and Coffee. We are going to talk about our 2013 Five-Year Plan that ends in June. This conversation is just one part of our process to develop a new Plan with goals that express the aspirations of the UUCV. It is important to review what the congregation was thinking in 2013 when the current plan was created and approved. Since then we have changed as a church. We have a new minister, all new staff, and many new members. This meeting marks the beginning of a process that will take 12-18 months to complete.
The 2013 Five-Year Plan is on our website www.uuventura.org. Type or paste the following link into your browser: http://www.uuventura.org/download/board-policies/2013_5_year_plan-v4kp_final.pdf. That will open the document and you can see the 2013 Plan to review.
You will find there is much that has been accomplished. We want to hold these achievements up and celebrate them. There are some ideas that are works in progress, and there are others that were put on hold that we want to be aware of. The idea of having a conversation with each other is not to go into every detail of the current Plan but to reflect on how it has helped our congregation be bold in living out our values.
The Board has authorized forming a Team to help the congregation develop a new Five-Year Plan to be approved in 2019. Rev. Dana and a Board Trustee, along with several others yet to be determined, will form the Team that will guide the process. This work is about our hopes and dreams. It is about articulating what we want to do, and who we want to be, as Unitarian Universalists. Please contact me if this opportunity speaks to you.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President