Yes, that’s right, your dedicated Search Team met for three and a half hours last Tuesday night! And not a single one of us fell asleep at the meeting!
Despite its length, it was actually a terrific meeting. We got so much accomplished! Here’s a sampling of some of the things we decided:
We’ll be conducting our survey of the congregation for the whole month of September. You’ll hear more about this soon, but just know for now that this is a critical part of our search process — it gives us, and prospective ministers, valuable information about our church, and it helps us narrow our focus on what qualities are most important to us in a new minister. We very much hope that everyone will participate in the survey!
In late September or early October, we’ll have our congregation-wide Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop. This is a workshop put on by the UUA that is designed to address unspoken biases in the search process. In the workshop, we will explore our hopes and concerns for a new minister, as well as learn how our own history (both personal and congregational) might interfere with our efforts in this search. Ultimately, beyond being a terrific opportunity for us to face our own biases, our full participation in this workshop signals to prospective ministers that we are serious about being anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and welcoming to all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental ability.
Then, in October, we’ll be hosting cottage meetings and focus groups. Cottage meetings are open to anyone to attend, and there will be several to accommodate various schedules. It’s a chance to further narrow down our search criteria, and we hope you’ll be sure to attend one. Focus groups will be opportunities for specific groups in the congregation to meet with the search team to discuss the particular desires they have for our new minister.
By November 17, we will be submitting our Congregational Record to our Coach, Rev. Phil. It will include data from all of the above and more, and much of the data will be available on our website. And speaking of the website, we are also in the midst of a number of website revisions to make our website more informative and visually appealing. Keep an eye out for the changes!
It’s going to be a busy fall, but every step we take gets us closer to calling the minister that’s right for us! We look forward to working with you on each of these steps, and as always, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at search@wildflowerchurch.org.