Minister’s Report October 14, 2008

We are a month now into our new Program Year, and slowly settling into what (I hope) will be a sustainable routine that will allow us to make noticeable progress toward our goals, relieve much of the stress on our hard-working (and short-handed) leadership team, and still leave plenty of room for having fun.

Much of our ability to do this successfully depends upon the attitude with which we approach the task. So let us all try to remember to be gentle with ourselves and one another, and to reman confident that we have within us and among us the knowledge, wisdom, experience, expertise and resources to overcome whatever unforeseen challenges we may encounter upon our way.

Let us all be “slow to anger and quick to forgive,” eager to take responsibility and reluctant to place blame, devoted to those high purposes and values which give our lives (and life itself) its greatest meaning, and committed to the challenge of our mutual promise of “Walking Together.”

Thus endeth the sermon.... [Amen & Blessed Be]

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I thought that our Leadership Retreat last month marked an important step forward on our journey as well, and want to make certain that we keep on track with the same momentum we began to develop there. Naming our fears about the long-term condition of my health was important, but I hope we all can keep in mind that “I ain’t dead yet” and I don’t plan to be for a long, long time. Likewise, the “Ministerial Support Team” we have now put in place is a very talented and experience group, and as we move forward and learn how to work most effectively together, I believe we will be able to accomplish a great many things here that I would never have been able to achieve alone, even in the best of health.

Our Goal of Consistent, High Quality Worship likewise seems to be coalescing very nicely. As we work toward becoming what some have described as “a seven-day-a-week, ‘full service’ Program Church,” a solid three hour Sunday Morning Program of Worship, Fellowship, and Education (for both children and adults), plus our new bi-weekly Wednesday Evening Evensong service, represent a very nice start.

I’ve also made a recommendation through the Worship Committee to the Trustees for better Lighting & Sound in the Meetinghouse. The latter is actually pretty good at the moment, but the former has always been problematic; the recommendation I have made should solve a good percentage of the problem at a nominal cost (under $750)

The Search for a new Director of Religious Education seems to have pretty much taken on a life of it’s own: a committee has already been formed, and I believe are already meeting to draft a new job description and to advertise the opening in all the usual places. I can’t predict and won’t attempt to try how long this will take, but my assumption is that as with the last search the committee will generate a “short list” of acceptable candidates, and I will select one of those based on my own sense of who will fit best with our team. Personally, I am much more concerned about finding the right person than I am “filling” the position, but I also recognize the perceived sense of urgency, and the desire to have someone in the position right away.

Kitsy and I also spoke with our District Program Consultant, Benette Sherman, at the UUMA Chapter Retreat last week, and she offered to be of help to us in any way we could use her in this process. Meanwhile, Barbara Ann McHugh has officially resigned as Chair of the Committee. I am uncertain at this moment about what steps are being taken to replace her.

Our final goal, Improved Communications, seemed to me in a little danger of being lost after the retreat; personally, I would hate to see that happen, especially since it also seems to me very closely tied to our Pathway to Leadership initiative, and my own desire to help every member of the congregation discern their own vocation or “ministry” here at First Parish.

Thus, in addition to finding the right people to do those essential “jobs” around here (both staff and volunteer), it also seems important that we define those jobs more accurately and precisely, and also that we develop the kind of consistent and reliable Administrative “Standard Operating Procedures” which will allow both staff and volunteers to concentrate on DOING those jobs, rather than trying to navigate the system where the jobs are to be done.

This in turn requires consistent and effective methods of training, Training, TRAINING so that everyone KNOWS what those procedures are, and can follow them reliably and successfully.

Finally, we need to be more effective about communicating among ourselves, both up and down the system from Staff and Committees to the Governing Board, and also laterally between Committees and even the Staff members themselves. Part of this challenge has to do with how effectively we use our meeting time, and another part has to do with effective communication between meetings, and especially the use of e-mail and the web.

We should keep in mind that the three core purposes of meetings are to 1) share information, 2) solve problems, and 3) Make Decisions. The more closely we can organize our meetings around those purposes, the more effective they will be.

Likewise, in terms of reporting, I want to continue to push the idea of “Quick Minutes.” At the end of EVERY meeting, just before the check-out, each Committee should take five or ten minutes to recount what was actually discussed and (especially) decided there, and then draft a brief report which can be e-mailed within 24 hours to all committee members, plus the office and anyone else who is a potential stakeholder. It should also be posted to THIS SITE (which is easily done, once you’ve been signed up as an “author” or -- in a pinch -- Barbara or I might be willing to do for you).

These Quick Minutes should include the following information in this order:

Name of the Committee

Time, Date and and those present at the meeting

Decisions Made: for each decision, this should begin with a brief description of the problem and the desired outcome, what actions are to be taken, what resources are available/authorized, who is the responsible contact person, and the deadline by which the decision is expected to be implemented.

FYI items - especially those which potentially impact our master calendar or require space use in the building.

The date, time and location of the next meeting.

The more quickly we can consistently use these Quick Minutes, the more consistently we will be able to share information among committees quickly and accurately.

The last little bit of business I wish to report on this month has little to do with the retreat itself, but rather involves what I see as a critical need to revitalize our Pastoral "Care Ring” into a more effective network of ministers and volunteers capable of reaching out to those members of our community who are in need of face-to-face ministry from First Parish. This is one aspect of my job which my own disability had made it nearly impossible for me to do effectively, yet also made critically clear in my mind is essential for us to thrive as a faith community capable of effectively transitioning from a “graying” church to a Growing one.

Or to put it a slightly different way, the outpouring of support for me as I have faced my illness has been simply overwhelming. I have been so amazed and gratified at people’s generosity and good will, and by the innumerable offers of assistance in ways both great and small. Yet the one thing I would appreciate most of all is that same style of assistance being made available to those to whom I would normally minister to myself if I were in good health, but who are now essentially without a pastor because of my illness.

Kitsy and Sally and Charlie have all stepped up to take on some of that responsibility, but there still needs to be more. We need to recruit, train and assign a whole new “Care Ring” of Coordinators, Pastoral Visitors, and Caring Volunteers who can provide occasional meals and transportation, or perhaps just a little congenial afternoon company and conversation, to those members of our community who are unable to get out and do these things for themselves. Think about it in terms of Matthew 25:40 -- “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” It’s an important and potentially very personally fulfilling ministry.

Now that we are close to the completion of our new Congregational directory, the next step should be to take a “census” by comparing those names to the names of those who have been “missing” from church so far this year, and to ask ourselves “why are they missing?” “Who are their friends?” “what can (and should) we do about getting in contact with them again?” One nice thing about moving our annual financial canvass to the Spring it that it allows us to reach out to our “lost lambs” without necessarily having our hand out looking for a donation at the same time!