To hope, to care, to love. These are emotions that define the human experience. We all have the responsibility to develop a moral compass to guide us through life. Some prefer to do this on their own. Others prefer to have an institutional framework to guide them, and for celebrating the passages of life, i.e., birth, adulthood, marriage, and death.

Unitarian Universalism is one venue that offers a nonreligious person a community with shared values. Other institutions, among them, the Center for Inquiry and the American Humanist Association (specifically, its Good Without God campaign), promote the idea that religious beliefs are not essential for a person to live an ethical life. They offer a philosophy for being a moral person, but they do not necessarily offer a local community.

So, what brought you to UUCWC? Where are you on your journey? I am a humanist and have chosen UUCWC to be my community. When you arrive at UUCWC in Titusville, N.J., you are welcome here. And, after you have visited us for a while, you will understand why this is the place “we all call home.”

*The title for this blog was inspired by the song “Home,” lyrics by Dierks Bentley.

This will be done over a period of several years. This year, we’ll be examining certain sections of the bylaws that will affect a settled ministry process and clean up inconsistencies between articles within the bylaws.

You will find these changes listed in the Crossings Room in December, where we will welcome your input. In January, we will hold informational forums.  In February, we will have a congregational meeting to vote on these changes.

We need you to mark the dates, and take a few moments to review the changes. Please be sure to attend the congregational meeting to vote (in
between services), as a quorum will be required.

As you familiarize yourself with this year’s changes, please contact Holly Bussey, Jon Holcombe, or Steve Fishbein with any questions.

Key dates:

• December: review suggested changes in bylaws
• Jan. 8 and Jan. 22, 2012: informational forums (between services)
• Feb. 26, 2012: Congregational meeting, 10:30 am to vote on bylaw changes

But why wait for a new year to start anew? As our December First Sunday Speaker, June Vogel, reminded us, why not start each day anew? Live each day with all of its possibilities. Start each new dawn with loving, caring, and helping each other in our lives and in our communities. Start each day with a new song, “Live like you were living.”

UUCWC is a community filled with promises, dreams, and possibilities that are endless. There are many opportunities for enriching your life and serving your community. As we will soon be welcoming a new transitional minister in the late summer of 2012, please join us in the new beginning — the ongoing beginning of UUCWC.

Celebration. The word brings to mind a joyous event or time that is not part of the daily routine. During 2012, UUCWC will experience one like no other in recent memory. Our beloved minister, Charles Stephens, is retiring after 15 years of service to our community. During the next few months, there will be times to honor and thank Charles for all that he has given to us. The grand celebration will be the weekend of April 14–15. As individuals and as a community, let us take the time and the opportunity to thank Charles and his wife, Alison. The year 2012 will be a new beginning for them and for UUCWC.

Last June, Charles announced his retirement effective June 30, 2012. Since then, the Board of Trustees has provided initial information about the steps we’ll take to transition to our next settled minister. Still, we’re sure that you have questions.

The board met in November with the New York Metro UU district executive to understand the transition process. The next step is to begin the process of selecting a transitional minister (TM). A TM is a skilled minister, certified by the UUA to act as a minister for congregations in transition. TMs are matched with a congregation based on talent, need, and other factors a congregation exhibits in its application. It’s a tried-and-true process, and, with our exemplary reputation, UUCWC will no doubt have a great transitional minister.

With an eye on our future, the TM works with the congregation to support our vision and strategic plan in preparation for the settled minister’s arrival. The TM cannot become the settled minister.

Timeline

• July–December 2011: Board meets with district executive to gather information and continues to update the congregation
• December: Board votes to apply for a 2-year transitional minister for UUCWC, effective July 1, 2012
• January 2012: Board appoints a Transitional Minister Task Force to work on an informational packet about UUCWC. This task force will have specific responsibilities for this process. The task force will be comprised of board members and possibly one or two members of the congregation at large
• January–February: Board prepares transitional ministry application for UUA
• February: Task force completes information packet about UUCWC so it can be submitted to UUA with the transitional ministry application
• March 31: Board submits application and informational packet to UUA
• April 14–15: Retirement celebration for Charles
• End of April: UUCWC receives ministerial packets of four people interested in serving our congregation as transitional minister
• First week in May: Transitional Task Force interviews potential transitional ministers
• Middle of May: Task force recommends one candidate to the board for final negotiations. Board will also vote on recommendation
• May 20: Annual meeting. Congregation updated on status of transitional minister and when this person will begin
• August–September: Transitional minister begins position at UUCWC
• Fall: UUCWC meets with the district’s ministerial settlement representative, Rev. Craig Hirshberg, to discuss the process of finding a settled minister

We hope you’ll look at this as a time to gather information about yourself, your spirituality, and what the future holds for UUCWC.

Check the Board of Trustees bulletin board for a timetable of events that will help you to get a clearer picture of the entire ministerial search process, and watch the board’s website blog and Crossings articles for updates. We want you to be informed. Please talk with any board member about any and all concerns, questions, or need for clarification.

In the meantime, Charles is here to listen to your spiritual questions and will help us all as we prepare to say goodbye and look forward to an exciting future.

We are embarking on an exciting new chapter. We are all on this journey together. Our feelings and concerns are normal. This is a time of celebration, sadness, excitement — and anticipation.

The strength of most not-for-profit groups lies in their boards, committees, and volunteers, who act as an organization’s advocates. UUCWC is no exception; we pride ourselves on our energetic and talented lay leadership. In thinking about how our leaders strive to meet UUCWC’s mission, though, it seems apparent that some refinements in how we are organized and how we work could help us all to carry out that mission more effectively. What those changes may be and how they may affect you are being discussed.

Currently, we have 15 committees and multiple task forces. Over the years, some of these groups have become silos — always well meaning but sometimes working, at best, in parallel with others, expending a great deal of effort but missing a valuable opportunity to advance the church’s mission. Other groups are well integrated into the mission, vision, and life of UUCWC. Some have an adequate number of volunteers to fulfill their goals. Others cannot accomplish tasks that are vital to the church and the greater community because they lack the manpower to do them.

Committees will be asked to rethink their roles and they way they operate. Are they silos or are they well integrated into the life of UUCWC? How can they combine their work with other committees and become more efficient in the process? Processes are on the table, too. How can committees encourage greater member participation in the work of the church? Can committee chairs break down goals into simple tasks that can be accomplished by a single person who may want to help but does not have the time to attend meetings?

The Board and staff recognize that we all lead busy lives. Many of you are involved in multiple tasks and committees at UUCWC, and we are profoundly thankful for your involvement. Still more people are needed to help carry out the mission of UUCWC. We hope that some changes in how we operate will encourage volunteerism.

Humble. I thought for a long time before using the word humble in the title because of its many definitions and connotations. I am using the word in the sense that channeling one’s pride in his or her work effectively can be beneficial to the entire congregation. The title for this month’s Crossings article comes from two delightful books, both titled Humble Pie, one by Anne Dimock, the other written by Jennifer Donnelly and illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

What lies beneath your crust?

*My favorite, by the way, is apple.

GOAL – Following UUA guidelines, hire a transitional minister for UUCWC.

OBJECTIVES

1. Contact and meet with a UUA representative to learn about the new UUA guidelines by October 15.
2. Develop an action plan and present it to the congregation by November 30.
3. Implement the plan and provide ongoing communication to the congregation.
4. Complete the hiring process of a transitional minister by May 31. The transitional minister is slated to begin with our congregation on July 1, 2012.

GOAL – Work with the Finance, Stewardship, and Endowment Committees to strengthen the financial stewardship of UUCWC.

OBJECTIVES

1. Discuss with Stewardship the need for and potential benefits of a UUA Stewardship consultant by October 31. This consultant would guide UUCWC through the canvass process for 2012–2013.
2. Set priorities for UUCWC’s budgeting process for the 2012–2013 fiscal year, and communicate this information to the Finance Committee by March 31.
3. Meet with the Endowment Committee by December 31 to discuss ways for increasing the awareness of the importance of UUCWC’s endowment for the financial well being of UUCWC.

GOAL – Support the development of a five-year strategic plan for UUCWC.

OBJECTIVES

1. Communicate the Board’s expectations to the 5-Year Strategic Plan Task Force by October 31.
2. Participate in the at-large activities sponsored by the 5-Year Strategic Plan Task Force on an ongoing basis.

GOAL – Review the governance structure at UUCWC and make the necessary changes that will enable UUCWC to operate more effectively.

OBJECTIVES

1. Establish a process by November 30 for reviewing and revising portions of the bylaws of UUCWC on an annual schedule.
2. Communicate the need for this bylaw revision process to the congregation by November 30.
3. Review committee structure and develop a plan for rationalizing committees into more cohesive units by December 30. The Board of Trustees will develop new policies, as required.

A number?  Something more?

Time. Together.

The UUCWC Board of Trustees, along with Charles and Robin, spent the third weekend in August with Gini Courter, the UUA moderator and a nationally recognized speaker on collaboration. Her role was to lead the board and staff on a retreat to guide the board in preparing goals and objectives for the current year and beyond. We told her stories about ourselves and about UUCWC. We laughed; we ate. We pondered.

Time. Together.

Gini listened to our stories; she pondered. She helped us weave our web, our story, and the story of UUCWC together. How did the board benefit from that weekend? The board has clear goals to guide it on its journey. And we had …

Time. Together.

The weekend was a time for reflection, a time for analysis. It was a deliberative process with a positive outcome. And while we outlined the goals, we now need to define more clearly the objectives. We will be sharing the specific goals and objectives with the congregation in October. And where does that lead us?

“Gotta live like we’re dying”

Lyrics by Kris Allen …

… and …

Jerry Scheick, President, Board of Trustees

The board and staff wish to thank Gini for the time she spent with us.

* “86,400 seconds in the day to turn it all around or to throw it all away”

How does the Board of Trustees escape the heat? We go on a retreat to a mountain in the Poconos. There, we will discuss the future of UUCWC and plan the board’s actions for the current year.

As we discuss plans for Charles’s transition, it is important to remember that there is plenty of time. This is not a process to be rushed; rather, it is one that will require much planning and will include the participation of the congregation. In early September, UUA will issue new guidelines for ministerial transitions. It is important to know that the UUA and the New York Metro District will be supporting us 100 percent in this process. The board will be working closely with District Executive Andrea Lerner and the district office during the next year.

In the fall, the board will launch a regular monthly column in Crossings intended to communicate what’s happening with the transition process. The first column will outline the process. As the year proceeds, this column will convey ongoing information as the process unfolds. The board is committed to keeping you informed at every step of the way. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact any board trustee.

So as you find ways to escape the heat, take some time this summer to enjoy the embrace of each other. The community we have built with Charles at UUCWC will be here after he retires. We will miss him and Alison, but they will always be with us.

During the past year, the Board and staff have striven to use our resources more creatively and efficiently. Significant progress has been made at developing our Policy and Procedures Manual. In addition, a task force was created to develop a five-year plan for UUCWC. Both of these initiatives will be a focus of the new board.

With the news of Charles’s retirement, the board will be in close contact with the Metro New York District executive and the Unitarian Universalist Association. UUA has a well-tested and efficient process to help congregations going through ministerial transitions. We have the next year to enjoy and celebrate Charles’s ministry, and you can be assured that during that time the board will work with UUA leaders to ensure a smooth transition.

Our community requires the work of many hands and minds. Some committees and task forces have many helpers. Other committees consist of only one person to accomplish its tasks. Your help is needed. As the lyrics in her song ‘Firework’ (sung by Katy Perry) prompt, “Do you know that there’s still a chance for you?” At UUCWC, what ignites your spark? During the coming year, there will be many opportunities to shine.

The board looks forward to working with you.

I must say that at the conclusion of this year’s annual meeting, I had a bit of a feeling of anticlimax - even aloneness - as everyone else went about the rest of their days. As president, you get deeply involved in hearing about and guiding and considering so many aspects of our church community. And then, it’s over.

Perhaps it’s like being a parent: You hope at least to be one that’s good enough and doesn’t screw up your kids. or, in this case, don’t mess up the church, don’t get in the way too much.  And there is some truth in that, I believe. So I tried to lead with the firm conviction that church is not about the leadership. It’s not about the president. It’s not about the board of trustees. It’s about being there for each other.

And I am so grateful to all of you who were there for me and my family during that first year as we dealt with family illness, the death of my beloved sister, and the repeated hospitalization of my mother. Not to mention all the church issues.

When I started two years ago, there was some pretty intense frustration over a few issues, one being the state of the noncompletion of our kitchen. I have a simple style and believe in some basic things, and one of those is that our life together shouldn’t be so frustrating. So I said, “Let’s get it done.¨ I sure didn’t do it, but lots of people did - and today, the kitchen is a reality. (The board is working on recognizing and thanking all those who contributed to making it happen.)

I am proud of the work of the Living Our Principles groups that have worked to turn the painful difficulty we experienced as a community in response to the labyrinth project into something positive and healing. Some of that work is just now coming to fruition.

For years, many people have commented on our need to have a five-year plan - a strategic plan for living our mission in a coherent and cohesive way. The task force that will guide our church in that process had its first meeting May 24, so stay tuned!

Thanks to each of you for your support. Thank you to the board for being patient with me and for your hard work. I leave you in the hands of one of the most dedicated board members I have ever seen, Jerry Scheick. And I am confident that Jerry will lead the board with that commitment and dedication as it continues to provide positive leadership to our beloved community.

See you in church.