From the Chair's Chair

For those of you who have not heard about our Committee on Ministry (COM) I wanted to take the opportunity to present it here. The COM was formed last year as an advisory and review committee that can provide a high-level assessment of our many aspects of CUC life. Its creation was based on recommendations from Robert Latham's excellent book, Moving on From Church Folly Lane: The Pastoral to Program Shift, which was recommended to us by Meredith when he first arrived. I believe there are copies available at CUC (or of course via Amazon or on Robert Latham's own website if you are interested).  In his book Latham describes a committee that is charged with reviewing the programs, structure, culture and leadership in a congregation, and determine whether these critical elements are fulfilling their intended purpose and in particular whether the activities are consistent with the congregation's mission. Once our new Mission Statement was articulated and ratified by the congregation, the COM could be formed and start its work.

The idea of a COM is that it should consist of a well-respected group of members who have participated in many aspects of church life, including leadership roles.  To fulfill its purpose, they would need to be objective, dedicated, and wise. The CUC Board of Trustees appointed the first 6 members to the COM last year, comprising 6 former Board Chairs: Creighton Cray, Charley McNally, Anne Majsak, Janet Press, Ted Dreher, and Steve Baer. The BOT charged them with writing their own charter based on Latham's recommendations, and proceeding with sequential assessments of crucial CUC elements. The following is drawn from the working draft of their charter:

COM members will serve 3-year terms, with 2 new members appointed each year.

The committee on Ministry's scope of responsibility will include:

• Mission.  Help the Church fulfill its mission by making recommendations to the Board of Trustees and Minister.   Be attentive to the mission and to the covenant among the church members of the commitment to that mission.
•  Feedback.  Carry out the on-going review of the Minister and CUC's four areas of ministry:  Worship, Justice, Education and Pastoral (Congregational Member) Care.
  •  Make recommendations from received feedback
  •  Communicate key recommendations to the Board of Trustees and the congregation. 
•  Education. Make the congregation aware of the church's mission (brochures, orientations, newsletter editorials, worship service). Make the congregation aware of the responsbilities of the COM
•  Consultation.    Consult with the minister and leadership of the congregation:
  •  Encourage minister to establish annual goals
  •  Make recommendations to the ministers in respect to enhancing the quality of their leadership
•  Ordination of Ministers.  Make recommendation on ordination of prospective UU ministers and authorization of certain members to represent CUC in officiation weddings and memorial services.
•  Conflict Management.   Initiate and oversee processes of reconciliation when there are conflicts between a CUC member and another member, a CUC staff members or the minster.  The COM does not do conflict resolution but manages it.

To date the COM has provided to the Board:

•  An assessment of the minister,
•  A review of CUC's conflict management process,
•  Initial reviews of the RE program.

You may also have participated in the "community chats" that have taken place on two occasions after Sunday service.

The Board of Trustees is grateful to the COM for their important contributions so far and we look forward to great work in the future. Steve Baer and Creighton Cray will be rotating off and two new members will rotate on.

Please feel free to talk to the COM or to any members of the Board of Trustees to ask questions or give us feedback.

Yours in Faith,

Randy Marshall, Chair, CUC Board of Trustees