NOTES of
GROWTH CONSULTANT'S VISIT
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October 15-17, 2004
Friday afternoon, Wayne met with Rev. Carolyn Colbert and with Board President, Olga Turner. He was also given a tour of the church.
Friday evening, Patrick Phillips and Kay Crider hosted a potluck for Wayne, the Board, Carolyn, Candee Cole and Tom Sears. Wayne asked what we hoped to gain from this weekend. Answers: A clear plan for a process to determine our growth options. A process that ends up feeling (somewhat like) consensus. We'd like an idea of pitfalls that we should watch for; we want to know how to deal with them. We'd like to get there with good feelings all around. We'd like to focus on a common purpose and maintain momentum. Because of some of our history, there's been resistance to facing change and the accompanying disagreements.
Our Vision workshop last October led to afocus on the shortcomings of the physical church rather than vision. The Board pushed the vision and mission statement later, because we knew it was critical. But budget/canvass issues distracted us. Our day-to-day church Board work has pushed out the long-term planning. Also, we were short of basic information. So we lost the momentum obtained from the Vision workshop. We need a centralized working group, with congregational input as we proceed.
This weekend we need to address burnout issues. We hope to re-energize key folks in church. We need to get the ball rolling again. There was discussion about the new Strategic Planning Committee, the Leadership Council, and the Annual Stewardship Drive (ASD).
The group reviewed our space and financial limitations. Wayne asked whether having additional members will affect the budget. It was noted that new members tend to give less. Lack of leadership in stewardship is more of a concern than the lack of money. We also need members of the congregation to have wider knowledge of the issues, and to give more of their time and money. Wayne shared with us pledge amounts from our own congregation and from a compendium of other UUA congregations. Our average pledges, as well as our median pledges, are well below that of the other UU Congregations. Rather than believing that our congregation is unable to support our Church with higher pledges, he is convinced that we have not been asking properly. So it's not a matter of ability, but one of willingness. The myth of scarcity.
Wayne stressed that he can provide guidance and coaching, but we have to decide what to do and do it. It's our church. After this weekend, Wayne will be gone and we'll still be here. We may be over-concerned about getting buy-in. We need to recognize that we'll never get full consensus. We need to avoid being held hostage by a vocal minority. We also don't want to be held hostage to history. We are a good group and have strengths to build on. Wayne will provide sequencing and process for us. As we know, it is tough when a church moves from a pastoral to a program church.
Wayne stressed that space and money are means not goals. We need to keep in mind our vision, goals, objectives and resources (money, time and space).
Saturday morning Wayne met with the Leadership Council. In attendance were
| Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts, Membership Committee Patricia Christgau, Fundraising Committee co-chair, Social Concerns Carolyn Colbert, Minister Anita Cowling, Leadership Council, Safe Congregation, Board Kay Crider, DRE Advisory Committee and Nominating Committee Sally DeCou, Board and Volunteer Data-base Sally Diehm, Worship Associate, choir, Spirit Choir Chris Gordon, Music Committee Ruthie Manley, Fundraising Committee co-chair Cindy Pitcairn, Poetry Groups Ken Ross, Board Secretary Tom Sears, Music Director Olga Turner, Board President |
Wayne asked about us, where we are, where we hope to go. He gathered information. Wayne drew a triangle with four rows each leading to the next. Row one: vision. Row two: mission statement. Row three: goals and activities. Row four: resources (money, facility, people, time).
Julie would like to see the majority in the church acting as welcoming ambassadors. Chris emphasized that RE needs more space to have effective programs for 3-4 year-olds, who are now too crowded in their classroom. Sally DeCou indicated that we need more involvement; she mentioned her work with our volunteer database. We really need a Volunteer Coordinator. In the fairly near future, we want committee chairs and others to have direct access to such a database. Patricia discussed stewardship issues, especially fundraising. Wayne noted that fundraising events should be fun and not just exist to help balance the budget.
Later Saturday morning, Wayne met with the RE group. In attendance were Pam Dillehay (chair), Elaine E., Karen Gaffney, and Verna Tuesday of the RE Committee and Kay Crider, chair of the RE Advisory Committee. Also in attendance were Carolyn, Ken and Olga.
Wayne asked the group what was going well, and he found out that RE is going very well. Evidence of its success is that there are about 160 registered children and youth, with 110-120 attending per week. Pam stated that curriculum development is going well. The Curriculum Committee, working with Candee, is developing specific materials, drawing on many resources including UUA materials. There's been good feedback from teachers who have found it to be less demanding and more flexible. A general concern was that teachers need more orientation from Candee. Teaching is intimidating at first, but becomes easier as teachers gain experience.
Asked about problems, the group mentioned space. The rooms are small and dark. At least one person objected that kids go "down" to their classes. With more rooms, we could have smaller more age-appropriate classes. Also, behavior problems are more challenging with larger classes. It would also be nice to have a big space where the kids could meet together. As with the rest of the church, volunteers who are recruited to RE suffer from burnout.
Saturday afternoon, Wayne met with a group called the Strategic Planning Group. In attendance were
| George Carroll, past Board President, past Canvass chair, Committee on Ministry Kurt Engelmann, past member of the Shared Ministry Groups Steering Committee, chair of the Nominating Committee, RE teacher Truman Grandy, past Board President, past Finance chair, member of Finance Committee, choir Betty Hosokawa, chair of Personnel Committee, Shared Ministry Marilyn M., chair of Search Committee for Minister, Publications, past Vice President, choir Gil Osgood, past President, past chair of Committee on Ministry, chair of Growth Options Task Force, chair of History Committee, Shared Ministry Group Steering Committee Bonnie Phipps, past Secretary of the Board, Shared Ministry, various women's groups, Womenkin editor Patrick Phillips, Board member John Wagner, immediate past President, Finance Committee chair Also in attendance: Rev. Carolyn Colbert and Ken Ross, Secretary of the Board |
Wayne asked, What's our definition of "strategic planning?" Goals oriented. Formulating plans to attain the goals. It's long-term, meaning at least five years. Involves research. Should set goals whether one feels that they are possible or not; avoid being limited by past experiences. Needs to see beyond our immediate problems. Needs flexibility and it needs to be realized that it's a working document. Sets framework for prioritizing.
Patrick provided some background beginning with the Growth Options Task Force which included Gil (chair), Bonnie and John.
There was some discussion of the difference between Strategic Planning and Growth Options. It was recognized that Strategic Planning would/should involve a bigger view and that Growth Options is just an important part of it. Whichever we choose to follow, we will need a map for the process needed. It was wondered how a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) is empowered, by the Board or by the congregation. Wayne offers a model below.
Wayne returned to the triangle with vision, mission statement, goals, etc. Bonnie asked a good question: How do we know when we've done enough visioning? Wayne indicated that he thought we found decision-making tough, and he felt that this was related to our conflict avoidance. We can't avoid conflict; we need to prepare for conflict and manage it. John said that he was ready to move on and deal with the fallout as it happens. In particular, we need a culture shift.
Wayne gave a model he likes by starting with, "Some congregations create an SPC." They have 7-9 members selected to represent all parts of the church. They are selected by the Board, but empowered by the congregation. After this, the SPC is responsible to the congregation directly (not through the Board), though there should be a Board liaison on the SPC. Members should have staggered three-year terms.
The SPC starts out by creating an outline of a 5-year strategic plan, based on its understanding of what the congregation wants. This outline focuses on three broad categories: programming, staffing, and facilities. There would be bullets with rough estimates of the costs which should err on the high side. There would just be this outline for the first year. In fact, they would create three viable versions (a conservative one, a middle-of-the-road one, and one based on the best of all worlds) and ask the congregation to select one. Each would be accompanied by brief spreadsheet including income and expenses (operating and capital).
Each year SPC would add a year to the 5-year plan and update all of it. The Board provides the resources for the first year. SPC is always five years ahead, carefully listening to the congregation each year. Pitfalls include having the strategic plan being too specific.
Wayne provided a piechart cut into five pieces representating general categories, which might be: worship & music, lifespan RE, community within, outreach, and denominational connection. The sizes of the pieces of pie would reflect the amount of financial resources to each category. For example, the minister would determine what percentage of her time and energy are devoted t each category; then the minister's cost to the church (salary, benefits, etc) would be allocated to the pieces of pie accordingly. This is just one way to focus on the budget in a programmatic way rather than detailed line items.
Wayne was asked how we coordinate the strategic plan with the vision which will change over time. He responded that visions and mission statements should be revisited every two years, but the revisits shouldn't be time and energy consuming. They should be quick-and-dirty.
Wayne stressed that we need to abandon the myth of scarcity and replace it with the reality of abundance.
After meeting with the Strategic Planning Growth, Wayne met with Candee for half an hour.
Wayne's last meeting on Saturday was with the evolving Stewardship Council. People present were John Wagner, Truman Grandy and Barbara Greenley from the Finance Committee; George Carroll; Patrick Phillips and Michael Mattick from the Board; Olga and Ken. There was immediate discussion what the Stewardship Council includes, if anything, beyond the Finance, Budget, Canvass, Planning Giving and Fundraising Committees, and the Pledge Secretary. If it's really stewardship, it should at least include the Membership Committee. If not, it should be renamed something like the Financial Resources Council. Wayne listed some burning questions that were discussed:
| 1. How to define stewardship? 2. Endowment (and planned giving) questions. 3. Best way to structure Annual Stewardship Drive (ASD). 4. How to recruit ASD leaders. 5. Budget or canvass, which comes first? 6. Move mindset and culture about money. 7. Program oriented budget. |
1. Stewardship should recognize that there are many ways to contribute to the church, not just financial. All members of the church should be aware of expectations of time, talent and treasure. We should work backwards and first decide what our desired outcomes are; then we can decide on a charge and name for the council.
3. Wayne said there should always be co-chairs and that the ASD should be a standing committee. He stressed that we can't get too many people involved. The workload needs to be distributed, so that there are more people working on smaller tasks. For example, folks should be recruited to be in charge of leadership (big giver) gifts, and who will host a reception for these lead givers. These people should be acknowledged for their contributions, but not necessarily publicly. They are the financial leaders of the church. They should be canvassed first. Their contributions should be given early publicity. Folks need to be recruited to work on publicity, to work on the kick-off event, to be the canvass treasurer (not the Board Treasurer), and someone needs to be the follow-up person.
Then recruit canvassers. At first, all they need to do is commit to attending one orientation. If they're still uncomfortable, they're off the hook. Otherwise, they are guaranteed that they won't have to canvass more than four pledge units. Canvassing needs to be person-to-person, but not necessarily at their home. It can be done over coffee, at church, on a walk, etc. A typical visit involves four stages: the canvasser's story, the canvassee's story or concerns (just listen and acknowledge concerns), the straightforward "ask", and thanks. Whatever the response to the "ask," which would be a specific interval such as a pledge $1000 to $1200, whether it's a yes, a no or a question like, "Where'd you get those figures?," don't comment beyond maintaining the conversation. For example, to that question one might respond, "Oh, what were you expecting?" The "ask" such as $1000 to $1200 are based on organized best guesses determined by a small respected group that includes the Treasurer or Pledge Secretary. Actual previous pledges are kept anonymous beyond what is already known by the Treasurer or Pledge Secretary. The general idea is to make canvassing easier and more comfortable for the canvassers, and without expectations placed on the canvasses.
After two or three years of face-to-face, it would be reasonable to switch for one year to another model, such as a Celebration Sunday. When the anonymity issue was raised again (a big concern to some), Wayne responded that, yes, we do need to respect confidentiality. Ken asked whether people should be allowed to canvass if they didn't go through the orientation. No!
2. Endowment? This is capital, not annual operating money. Wayne frankly stated that we're not ready for a Capital Campaign, because our endowment is so small and because we're struggling with our budgets. In other words, our Fiscal House is not in order. Our endowment should be at least double our annual budget, preferably triple that. We need an active Planned Giving Program, which we had a few years ago. Until the endowment is much larger, we shouldn't consider using any of it, certainly not any of the principal.
5. The budget comes before the canvass, but the budget shouldn't be a line-item budget but a program budget like the one described with the five-piece pie. Wayne ended by recommending two books by Jerry King, one of which is titled, "Asking Makes a Difference."
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After the 11:00 Sunday service and a splendid luncheon, Patrick introduced Wayne Clark to the congregation. Without taking an actual count, there were probably more than 75 people in attendance. Wayne began by emphasizing that we are a good congregation. He listed some
Observations
| 1. Our facility is beloved and well worn. 2. We're in transition from a small to a larger congregation. We might want to read Alice Mann's book, "In Between Church." 3. He detects reluctance to confront conflict. We want to be all things to all people. 4. We suffer from the myth of scarcity instead of the reality of abundance. |
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| o Growth in membership, RE, giving, and organizational sophistication o Carolyn, who has united the congregation and embraces change and growth o The RE program and Candee, but RE space is crowded and tired o Music and choirs o Core group of leaders who had the sense to ask for help o Intentionality, new member organization o The new Shared Ministry Groups |
Recommendations
We need to move from the myth to the reality. Wayne shared the data showing that our average and median giving are well below the national UU averages, which take into account east, west and midwest, urban and rural churches, etc.1. Get our Fiscal House in order. We need an Annual Stewardship Drive (ASD) that focuses on fair compensation. Wayne described the person-to-person approach that was discussed with the Stewardship Council on Saturday.
2. Get our Endowment in order. We started seven years ago and now have about $57,000. But the program is now moribund. Churches should have endowments equal to at least double, and preferably triple, their annual budgets.
The second main theme is strategic planning
Three major items, which can be viewed as extensions of work of the Growth Options Task Force. (In a survey of 30 folks on Saturday, 25 wanted 15-25% growth over the next five years.)
| 1. Outline of a 5-year strategic plan. 2. Projections of programs and staffing as well as facilities. 3. Three versions of the (outlined) strategic plans should be offered to the congregation. Each should be viable, however; otherwise it should not be offered to the congregation. |
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| a) growing in place - viability includes zoning, green space restrictions, adequate parking b) second church option, i.e., a satellite church c) change location, either by acquiring land and building or by acquiring an existing structure |
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We should be able to accomplish this by May 1.
Wayne discussed the feasibility study, which comes late in the process. He indicated that this is the most important and most expensive step in the process.
After meeting with the congregation, Wayne met with the Board. In attendance: Olga Turner, President; Ken Ross, Secretary; Carolyn Colbert, Minister; Members-at-large: Anita Cowling, Rachel Cummings, Sally DeCou, Karen Gaffney, Michael Mattick, Patrick Phillips.
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We also need to move forward on the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), both charge and membership. Patrick has the relevant information and will work on this. Following Wayne's recommendation that the SPC will answer directly to the congregation (not through the Board), a short congregational meeting is being scheduled for Sunday, November 14, after the 11:00 service.
Both of these items will be on the November 2004 Board agenda.
Ken Ross
Board Secretary