by Admin | Nov 14, 2019 | Between Sundays
Good People,
Welcome to Between Sundays!
Often things arise at church – between Sundays – that are interesting or needful of raised awareness, but rarely do they fit into the rhythm of our newsletter. Sometimes I get a spark of creativity or insight that doesn’t fit into a particular sermon, and I still want some way to share. By the time it might come out in the newsletter 2-3 weeks later, it doesn’t feel as timely or lively or even as insightful.
As a way to communicate about matters in the church and beyond in a more timely way, we are introducing “Between Sundays” written by the minister, and sometimes the board president or a member of the staff.
Have you noticed lately that with all the options we have for communicating, that we actually seem to be missing more and more? I hope Between Sundays will be a way to cut through some of the overwhelm and the eye-glazing stupor we can fall into while staring at an inbox with so many things to read.
So here is a way to get word out in a timely and engaging way.
Between Sundays will be posted with a link from our website home page. We’ll send it out on a e-blast, and you’ll find a link to it in UUCV This Week on Thursdays. We’ll also post the link on our internal Facebook page – Unitarian Universalist Facebook of Ventura. (Just like the page to gain access.)
Yours in service of good, clear, lively, useful communication,
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 30, 2019 | Between Sundays, News (home)
No one ever joins a church because they want to serve on a committee,” is common wisdom. It is even largely – though not always – true. This is part of why folks who study church dynamics (and there are people who make a living at it) suggest churches move away from forming more committees.
In our very busy, often over-committed (over-committeed?) world, the word feels off-putting, hide-bound, and, well, tedious. Folks in the WWII generation and even the Baby Boomers joined committees and changed the world. Yet many today are more comfortable with shorter-term work that doesn’t necessarily mean meeting on the third Wednesday of every month.
Because of this, UU Ventura is slowly changing titles of the groups that form to help us live out our mission. Though it reflects more than a change in nomenclature, and a few people have expressed confusion about it. So here is a glossary: Committee – a formal group that meets regularly – usually monthly – and likely publishes formal minutes.
The best example for us is the Finance Committee; we definitely need them to meet monthly and their minutes are vital to keeping us all informed and aware of budgets and finance. Team – a group that meets on an as-needed basis. They likely take notes to keep team members on track, though don’t need published minutes. A team’s work is also likely more dynamic, more nimble.
A good example at UU Ventura is the Personnel Team. There are times their work ramps up and they meet regularly, although not necessarily monthly. There are times they do work by email, and times they touch base with each other, the board, or the minister to make sure things are on track. Task Force – a group gathers to complete a task and disbands when the task is done. They may keep notes, though not necessarily minutes. They likely write a report for the board, committee, or team that empowers them.
The Five Year Vision Task Force has five members, so we affectionately call the 5-4-5 Force. It was formed by the board to take the congregation through a mission and vision process. The end result will be a Five Year Vision Plan which will be created by committees and teams and a perhaps a task force or two. The plan will be approved by the board and then by the whole congregation. The 5-4-5 Force will then disband, rest a while on their laurels, likely move on to other church work.
My great hope is that we have a vibrant combination of committees, teams, task forces, affinity groups, and social groups that all actively engage people’s hearts, minds, spirits, and sense of devotion to the congregation and to creating justice in the world. That’s all, With Love, Rev. Dana
