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At our recent congregational meeting the Board of Trustees shared a covenant they have recently entered into with our minister, Rev. Jeanne Lloyd. To read the document, click: Covenant between Board and Minister Transitional/Transforming Milestones for Our Congregation On December 14, 2008, this congregation voted to support the leadership in leading the congregation toward a variety of different kinds of growth, focused on creating a sustainable and inheritable Unitarian Universalist congregation for future seekers and generations. The Transformational Milestone document below describes the major developmental milestones that the congregation (as a whole) must grow through in order to achieve the goal of sustainability and developmental growth. With the support of the congregation and through shared ministry, the leadership of the congregation pledges to guide the congregation through these milestones (and others as they may arise). The journey has begun! From the UUA, “The Membership Journey,” , December 15, 2008: http://www.uua.org/documents/congservices/membershipjourney.pdf, Maturational growth represents opportunities for members to deepen their faith and spiritual roots, as well as to increase their understanding of the spectrum of religious possibilities. This kind of growth also includes the ways in which, and the depth to which, the congregation cares for others. For maturational growth to occur, a congregation must empower members to contribute their unique talents and gifts for the well-being of the whole. Organic growth is growth of the congregation as a functioning community and an institution that can engage with other institutions of society. The term refers to healthy internal organizational structures such as policies, processes, practices, and programs; recruiting and succession-planning practices for leaders; evaluation mechanisms for programs, volunteers, and paid staff; and practices that deal with conflict openly and honestly. Incarnational growth is the ability to take the meanings and values of Unitarian Universalism and make them real in the world outside the congregation. A congregation must be able to build itself into a religious community in which people can deepen their spiritual life, be challenged to live out their faith, and engage in the larger community to make the world more loving and just.
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