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Message from the President's Desk
Previously, I have focused a lot on how we need members to step up and help build the beloved community we want to be -- to sign up, pitch in, and help us get the work of the church done. It's true that "many hands make light work” and “it takes a village.” But in our case, it also often looks, and it certainly feels, like much of the work is being done by a few serving in many roles. And these folks need support, a break, and/or an infusion of other folks’ proverbial “time, talent, and treasure”.
Perhaps it seems like the work is being done by a few, in that we are few… we are a smaller congregation than we sometimes care to admit, after all.
But at the same time, I also can’t help but notice that many of us are showing up and pitching in, in countless ways, big and small. Thank you to everyone working hard, making a difference, and hopefully, having fun. But we can always use more help. Whether you love to cook, are great with numbers or technology, or if you are into logistics, planning, or volunteer wrangling, we have plenty of opportunities for everyone to find their niche.
Did you know we have a Church Librarian? Erna Johnson has been our librarian for years, making reading materials available to us on loan, and is looking to pass the torch to a successor. Our Finance Committee is looking for a couple more folks to help plan and create the budget for the year(s) ahead, and, similarly, our Human Resources department would also like to grow and/or pass the baton as well. If these or any other opportunities interest you, please reach out to the appropriate committee or the Congregational Development Committee. The CDC would love to compile a list of our talents and interests to help us help ourselves. A list of committees with their contact information is in the Members Resources section of our website. Committee work can, and should be, so much more fun and fulfilling than just sitting in meetings.
Whenever any one of us is asked what we enjoy most about UUCM, it seems the answer is almost always “the community.” Indeed, we do have a great community! From there, our follow up comment usually points out that we need to grow our congregation. This is doubtless a request we will make of our next minister -- as will every other congregation out there. "Please help us grow." It's a common ask these days.
As our numbers have declined, we tend to look back fondly and think that all we need to do is get more families back in the church, and everything will be great. Perhaps. But I posit that we don’t need to be who we were, or who we think we need to be. We simply need to take a good look at who we currently are, take action to move toward who we want to be. Whether or not we know how to get there doesn’t matter.
“Help us in our journey to ‘X’” is a far more enticing call to prospective ministers than the cry for growth for growth's sake. Let's show them we know who we are and what we want to be, and that we're not afraid to put in the work. It is guidance, focus, and clearer direction in achieving our greater goals that our new minister can look forward to helping us with.
We don’t need to be "the person we think we should be", the person we pretend to be, or the person our dog thinks we are. What we really need is to be "the person we’d most like to spend time with." If we keep actively doing things for the betterment of our current beloved community, with joy and enthusiasm, we cannot help but attract more of the same.
This is already happening! So, please, keep showing up, and start showing up to new things that catch your eye. Let's continue to show the community who we are, and we will attract the community -- and a new minister, one that we need and one that needs us. In this way, we can’t help but succeed in building this beloved community.
Looking forward,
Scott Blanchard (president@uucm.org)
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