Behind the Scenes: There’s some important stuff going on behind the scenes at UUCY. One of them directly involves all of us. We are kicking off what you might call a Vision Quest, a series of small gatherings intended to collect people’s thoughts about the church now and into the future — what we are and what we can become.
This is part of a long-range planning process initiated by the board as we start to lay out a growth plan to carry us forward. A planning expert from the California offices of Unitarian Universalist Association’s western region came to Yakima recently to help start the process. A number of you attended a session she held to discuss how this will work. She also spent time training several UUCY leaders who will be running some special get-togethers intended to compile the thoughts and hopes of the whole congregation.
Our team of facilitators includes Rev. Ken Jones, Susan Kaphammer, Linda King, Nancy Born and me. Working with our UUA expert, we came up with three questions designed to stimulate thought and discussion about what our church means to us and where we would like to see it headed. Between now and fall, all our members and friends will be invited to attend one of these sessions and contribute their opinions. Then sometime early in the fall we’ll report on what we collected, and start using that information to steer us toward a long-term plan for the church. It’s a big undertaking, a bit daunting but also exciting. I don’t know of anything of this scope being done here before.
It will be fascinating to see the direction it leads us. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE to contribute to all this forward-thinking activity by joining the church’s board of directors. There will be several board positions open and waiting to be filled by our annual congregational meeting in early June. I will be ending my two-year term as board president (which should come as a relief to everyone) and Jean’s term as vice president is also up. Chuck Forster’s board term is ending. And board member Ted Raihl is leaving us for an exciting new job in Portland. You’ll be missed around here, Ted. My personal thanks to Jean, Ted and Chuck, who have all played big roles in church leadership during their time on the board.
Our Nominating Committee of Dorre Wayenberg, Bill Jacobs and Kathy Lambert is looking for people to take over those four positions. It’s a great (and pretty easy) way to serve the church. The board meets once a month for no more than two hours, with occasional extra duties as needed. And after serving two years as board president, I can assure you that the president’s job is not as overwhelming as you might think. Hey, if I can do it, how tough can it be? So please give some thought to joining the board. Get in touch with me or someone on the Nominating Committee if you’d like to help out. See you in church. Randy