Committee on Ministry

Members: We are Reverend Barbara Jamestone, Heather Ferguson-Hull, Ginny Berrien, Greg Berg, Al Herzog, Nancy Mandly, and Mike Roy.

Reports are listed with the most recent at the top and older ones below.

Report of Committee on Ministry -- E-News on 2/15/07

The Committee on Ministry (COM) convened on January 31, 2007, and invited representatives of the Religious Education Sub-Council (RESC), to discuss the ministry of the RESC and its future role at USH. Attending from the RESC were Nina Binin, Janine Chapeldaine, Ed Lyman, Laurie Kelliher, Holly McHaelen, and Heather Ferguson-Hull (RESC and COM), together with COM members Greg Berg, Ginny Berrien, Al Herzog, Reverend Barbara Jamestone, and Mike Roy. This report is taken from the expert notes of Laurie Kelliher. The meeting centered on five questions.

1. What were you anticipating by joining RESC? Were your expectations met?

Members joined to meet and work with other USH people and to learn more about Unitarian Universalism. Ed and Laurie are long-time members, while the others are mostly new. All believed that RE is one of the centers of congregational life and a way of being part of the work of the church. New members saw this as a good time to join because of so many changes in USH (new minister, new DRE) and the possibility of being a part of the change.

Generally, members expressed satisfaction with working on the RESC. People learned much about UU principles and had fun leading RE, although the work was harder than expected. Larger issues have not always been addressed. There have been many short term band-aids instead of progress.

2. What is the mission of the RESC? What are your expectations for the RE program, the RE director, and teachers?

RE is a ministry. It is a shared ministry that serves and benefits the children who learn, the teachers and staff who impart UU precepts, and the congregation who witness and support the inculcation of UU values. By instilling this sense of ministry, the RESC carries out its mission to raise and prepare young people as UU’s to enter the world and live by Unitarian principles. The RESC also strives to create a worshipful experience in which all kids can participate. Indirectly, RE can also be a means of bringing in new members to USH.

The RESC expects that the RE program will grow. The leaders hope to develop a more intimate environment by creating classes for narrower age ranges. For example, they would like to split off a grade 2-3 class. The curriculum should also change to a more unified approach that reflects the congregational personality and interests. Such growth will require more support and volunteers to teach and administer. As the RE administrator, Nina Binin sees a future need for a DRE who both manages the “big picture” (guides the program and plans a high quality curriculum with several stages) and supports the operation of the program (communications with volunteers, budget).

3. How is the lay leadership supporting you in your mission? How about the congregation and the minister?

Significant support has come from the minister, the president-elect, and Spiritual Life liaisons. This support has been far beyond expectation. At times the roles of each may be unclear. The RESC needs to utilize better the support of these leaders and to reach out to them more often. Select members of the congregation have taken on classroom scheduling, curriculum design, and lead teacher assignments. There remain major concerns about the loss of the DRE salary line; a half-time DRE, and ideally a full-time DRE, is desirable.

4. How effectively is the RESC functioning?

Too often we have been forced to resort to a band-aid approach. The unexpected loss of the DRE hindered new programming. We need an overarching blueprint for a program and curriculum that will reflect the USH identity and passions. The RESC also needs more role clarity. RE members are generalists, while more specialty focus is required now.

5. What do you hope to accomplish in the upcoming meeting with the RE consultant, Deb Levering?

Besides assistance in the areas mentioned above, we will look for advice on an RESC “portfolio” approach to programming. We will also seek help with DRE hiring guidelines.

6. Open discussion

There should be more outreach to non-parents for RE volunteering. Those adults are a valuable resource, and this could lead to a greater connection between the congregation and the RE program. We would like more feedback from parents. We in RE want so much to meet the expectations of parents. To accomplish this, we need their participation (and that of the congregation) in teaching and in chaperoning.

We discussed the issue of the former trimester method versus the current teaching team method. There can be a conflict: people come to Sunday service for respite, but teachers must miss the service because of teaching responsibilities. Is it valid to feel that “If I’m teaching, I’m missing something”? Or should you feel that “If I’m teaching, I’m having a special experience with kids”? It would help to have a Volunteer Coordinator for USH who knew many members and what their interests and talents were, thereby being able to hook them up with the appropriate committees like RESC.

We in RE want our programming and children to become recognized and participate as part and parcel of one religious community. Our physical space, especially the front lobby, is not welcoming to families and kids. RE is not a program of USH, but is an inherent aspect of the life of the society. How does RE become more integrated with the congregation? This is the vision the RESC is pursuing.

Mike Roy

Report of Committee on Ministry -- November 21, 2006

The Committee on Ministry held its monthly meeting on November 21, 2006. We invited Louise Schmoll, as a representative of the Women’s Alliance (WA), to speak with us about the ministry of WA and its future role at USH.

Louise gave a very informative description and history of the Alliance, and explained in detail the activities and benefits of WA. We were surprised to hear that WA is over 112 years old! It boasts about 35-40 members from USH who pay “local dues.” The USH Alliance is affiliated with the national Women’s UU Federation in Boston, which is an advocacy group for women’s issues. Many of the Alliance members pay additional dues to that national federation.

The Women’s Alliance is a vibrant ministry. Among the many ways in which it serves the needs of its members and the community are the following: “R&R” lunches, outings to museums and cultural places, scholarships for furthering education, and donations to our sister church in Lupeny, Planned Parenthood, and Interval House for battered women and children. WA provides needed companionship and support for women both within and outside its organization. The camaraderie can be especially helpful to the many elderly members who are the sole head of their household.

The Alliance is presently exploring its relationship with USH. It is difficult to pigeon-hole WA as falling solely within one of the four USH Councils since its activities concern three Council domains: Spirituality, Community Within, and Social Justice. Presently the Alliance is working with Carol Sexton, Chair of the Council on Community Within, to establish a place within that area for purposes of church organization. From a net budget standpoint, WA does not take funds from USH; rather, it voluntarily contributes a generous sum annually to more than cover office supplies and overhead.

The Committee on Ministry (COM) supports the Alliance in its efforts to cement its presence at USH under the umbrella of Community Within. As members of WA and governance structures maintain open lines of communication, we are confident that there will be a dovetailing of organizational goals for WA and the larger congregation. We were impressed with the ministry of WA and hope they will consider publicizing their organization and activities more extensively so that more persons could avail themselves of the benefits of this ministry.

At the January meeting the COM will invite members of the Religious Education Sub-council. The COM welcomes input from everyone in the congregation. We are Reverend Barbara Jamestone, Heather Ferguson-Hull, Ginny Berrien, Greg Berg, Al Herzog, Nancy Mandly, and Mike Roy.

Mike Roy

Further Report of Committee on Ministry - 10-29-06 The Committee on Ministry held its second meeting on October 29. We invited all Council Chairs and Board members to this meeting to discuss their respective roles and responsibilities as “ministers” in our new governance structure. Present were Nina Elgo and Marye Gail Harrison (Spiritual Life), Nancy Mandly and Carol Sexton (Community Within), Peg Otto and Fred Louis (Social Justice), and Hugh Schweitzer (Administration).

Reverend Barbara Jamestone deftly facilitated a discussion that centered around three questions: (1) What were we thinking when we accepted this leadership role? What are the history and hopes for the positions of Council Chair, Board member, and Committee on Ministry (COM) member? (2) How are we doing? What are some of our best practices, and where are we on thin ice? (3) What are our next action steps? The format prescribed that one group (Council Chairs and associated Board members) discusses the questions while the other group (COM) listens and observes, with the groups switching such roles later in the meeting.

Here are our key observations:

1. There is uncertainty regarding the role and responsibilities of Council Chair and associate Board member, and of the COM. We need to develop some job descriptions with details.

2. We have experienced much attrition already in the key roles of Council Chair and Board Liaison. Why is that? Part may be due to lack of clarity in the length of term for a Council Chair.

3. Things work better when the “dyads” of Council Chair and associated Board member develop a trusting, close working relationship that features open communication. While we have spent much time recently in protecting against storms (for example, going to two services, dealing with staff turnover in RE), we have also started to form solid working relationships across a wider swath of members.

4. We should continue to spread leadership roles, and encourage members to be assertive in seeking leadership roles and owning the responsibilities of such roles. We need to reverse the trend of reluctance in seeking or accepting leadership, together with passivity in shaping and owning the responsibilities attendant to such leadership.

5. The Committee on Ministry can play an important role in observing, assessing, and evaluating the roles of minister and lay leaders in our new governance structure and our ministries. The COM can also support and help integrate the new minister into USH culture. However, it is not clear if our role should rise to the level of tracking the progress of USH in achieving its stated mission and vision. It is also unclear if the COM should play a role in conflict resolution.

The next action steps suggested are as follows:

1. Ask your sub-councils, “What can we do to help USH achieve its mission and vision? What resources do we need to accomplish that?”

2. Review and renew the “yoked” relationship between Council Chair and associated Board member, and review the roles and job description of each. The COM should also continue to review its role and job description.

3. Review your sub-councils for propriety: does each sub-council still fit within my council area?

4. Hold regular “council meetings” with your sub-councils, perhaps once a quarter, and report the results to the associated Board member and the Board.

Carol Sexton distributed copies of a proposed form of “leadership resource guide” that contains much information useful especially to newer leaders. We also discussed the benefit of making available the surveys, summaries, and congregational profiles compiled by the recent Search Committee (There are two blue binders containing this material in the library.) The COM will invite representatives from the Women’s Alliance to its next meeting on Tuesday, November 21, at 7:00 pm.

The COM welcomes input from everyone in the congregation. We are Reverend Barbara Jamestone, Heather Ferguson-Hull, Ginny Berrien, Greg Berg, Al Herzog, Nancy Mandly, and Mike Roy. If you would like to read more about the concept of Committee on Ministry, we refer you to an informative article. - Mike Roy

Report of Committee on Ministry -- 10/12/06

The Committee on Ministry held its first meeting on September 21. You may wonder, “What does a Committee on Ministry do?” The COM is a relatively new structure within UU societies that supports all of the ministries of the congregation, not just the ministry of the called minister. District executive Reverend Anne Heller explains: “Committees on Ministry are designed to track the heartbeat of ministry within a congregation; how the members take care of themselves and each other, how the lay ministerial leadership serves a congregation; and how the called minister serves the congregation. It seeks to understand, assess, support, and advocate for robust ministry throughout the context of congregational life.”

Since this type of committee is new to USH and we are sailing on uncharted waters, we will be defining our role as we go along, with input and direction from the Board. So far we have agreed to devote part of each monthly meeting to sitting down with lay leaders representing different ministries of USH. Next month we will share our meeting with council chairs and board liaisons.

What the Committee on Ministry WILL do: we will try to figure out together what roles and responsibilities are unique to the minister, and unique to the lay leaders, volunteers and staff. And what roles and responsibilities are shared by minister and lay leaders, volunteers and staff. All of this role definition is done pursuant to the USH vision of shared ministry. Remember that “ministry” means how we can serve others in pursuit of their mission.

What the Committee on Ministry will NOT do: unlike the old tradition of the Ministerial Relations Committee, we will not be the repository for anonymous complaints about the minister or lay leadership. We encourage anyone with complaints to speak directly with the minister or lay leadership about them.

At our first meeting the COM discussed the general topic of “dividing the pie” of our minister’s time and energy, along with the urgent issue of attending to the support and rebuilding of our Religious Education program in the wake of Ken Silberman-Bunn’s departure. We agreed that Reverend BJ needs to focus more energy on leading and supporting RE in the coming months, which may mean giving up some time in other areas.

Mike Roy

Let us know of any comments, errors and corrections - thanks (revised 02/15/07)