UUCB’s Purpose – November Sunday Workshops
By Selene Fabiano, Co-President, Board of Trustees
How would you define UUCB’s purpose? Is that something you think about? Has it changed over time? Come to the workshop series starting Sunday, November 1!
UUCB is currently in a good and stable place. We have the good fortune to have a very talented staff including two amazing ministers, our Settled Minister (Rev. Marcus) and our Minister of Congregational Life (Rev. Kathryn). We have a regular influx of visitors each week including many new families with children. With a clear pathway for those interested in UUCB membership, our membership numbers have held steady despite the national trend toward an overall decline in church membership. And the board has been working towards focusing more of its attention towards its primary tasks of visioning and policy.
Now seems like a good time for the UUCB community to come together to think about our purpose. What is our essence? How do we bless the world? Is our true purpose reflected in our stated mission (“To create loving community, inspire spiritual growth, and encourage lives of integrity, joy, and service”) What is our message?
These are not easy questions and I definitely don’t have the answers. I’m sure there are many different ideas and perspectives among our congregation. I also suspect that with guidance, our congregation can find some deep truths and commonalities among our varying perspectives. Having a skilled facilitator to offer a process to help the congregation uncover answers to these important questions would be ideal, wouldn’t it?
How lucky we are that Tim Kelley, co-author of “True Purpose: Unleash the Power of the Person You’re Meant to Be”, and Brett DeSchepper, Ph.D. have offered to provide a series of workshops on a pro-bono basis designed just for this.
UUCB has been hosting a series of “Inner Compass” workshops facilitated by Tim and Brett. The first series, held in September, focused on connecting with what they call a “Trusted Source.” The second series, held in October, provided instruction and exercises to assist the participants in learning more about their own individual purpose.
I would like to call your attention to the third series which begins on Sunday November 1st at 12:30PM and runs for three consecutive Sundays. This series will provide a process for helping us as a congregation to learn more about UUCB’s collective purpose. Attendance at the previous series of workshops is NOT required. All are welcome. I hope you will consider being part of this first step in a process of reviewing and renewing our ideas about UUCB’s purpose.
