October 2023
Charting a Course for the Future
Over the past month, the Board’s Next Steps Core Team has started its initial work with consultant Liz Coit and various church committees to sketch out an 18-month Action Plan of activities and projects planned for January 2024 through June 2025. To create the Action Plan, we are using a similar process as we did so successfully last spring with the Learning Teams: four small teams focused on planning in four specific areas of church life:
Team 1 – Programs: we have started meeting monthly with the Council to track what each committee, especially Fellowship, RE, and Worship, are doing in response to recommendations included in last June’s Learning Teams Report… and they are already so busy that we had to add September – December 2023 to our planning chart!
- In response to the recommendation “Offer more Fellowship & social events on a regular basis”, Fellowship has started a First Saturday of the month plan of activities: the Artists, Makers, Bakers, Performers and All Art Show Gala in September followed by a successful Potluck Supper in October
- In response to the recommendation “Expand the RE program into a Life Span / Family Ministry model including Adult Enrichment”, RE will be offering this month a Chalice Circle & Family Potluck for families with young children, a Halloween Party for children and families, two monthly Covenant Groups, and a three-part discussion on Spirituality & Dying.
Team 2 – Governance: in its effort to identify appropriate governance practices and leadership models that make sense for our church community, this team has started its work by drafting a Value Proposition and bucket list of items it will consider focusing on in the coming weeks. First on that list is creating a Vision and Mission for this Next Steps Board initiative which they will be working on over the next few weeks.
Team 3 – Finance: we are pleased to share that a current member of the Finance Committee and a current Trustee of the Endowments, will be working with the Next Steps Core Team in the coming months to clarify strategic financial priorities for the near and longer term, including initial preparation for a Capital Campaign. We’ve recently met with the Finance Committee and Trustees to give them an overview of our plans and look forward to working closely with them going forward.
Team 4 – Property: we are also pleased to share that two members of the Property Committee are working with the Next Steps Core Team to prioritize MUUC’s property management needs and plans for the future. The team is working on the first draft of a prioritized project list to have ready to review with the full Property Committee early next month.
Input from each team will inform an initial version of the Action Plan, which will be created by the end of December 2023. The Plan will be adjusted as circumstances change and evolve.
We will continue to share our progress with you in the coming months. If you have a question or want additional information about this fall’s Next Steps work, please contact a member of the Next Steps Core Team.
Next Steps Core Team: Co-leaders: Gretchen L. and Cathy S., Jennie W., Liz F., Rev. Susanne
*the final report is accessible in the Members-only section of the website under “Next Steps Process”. If you have any questions about how to access the members only section of the website please contact office@melroseuu.org.
