Hello Friends –
We’re in the process of looking for a new minister for UUCW. We hope for this new minister to start in August of 2024, which seems a long way away, but the Search Team must be selected now. Why? Our bylaws require that the congregation votes to elect the team members, much as we do our Board of Trustees. We would most efficiently do this at our June Annual Meeting.
The Ministerial Search Team will have the critical task of creating a congregational profile (with input from you) and then interviewing and selecting a final candidate to present to the congregation for your approval.
How can you help? The UUA suggests that a good way to form an inclusive and representative search team is to give every member a voice; therefore, each member of the congregation has the opportunity to nominate members to serve on the team.
The Team will most likely be 6 members and cannot include Board members serving next year. (Those current Board members who are going off the Board in June may be nominated.)
A small subset of the Board will tabulate your nominations and propose a slate for the Search Team to the congregation in June. The congregation has final approval on the makeup of the Team!
What do you do? You may fill out this FORM with your nominations. And the Board will be calling all members of the congregation (who haven’t yet filled out the form) during March and asking for their thoughts. At that time, you may give your nominations to the Board member or go back online and fill out the form yourself. The form will be available until April 10th. These nominations are confidential, reviewed and tabulated by just a few Board members.
Who should you nominate? Think about who can best represent the congregation’s values and vision and who can devote the time and enthusiasm to this project. None of us individually can represent the entire congregation. That’s why we need a team!
Think about all that we value – identity as a UU, creation of an uplifting spiritual environment, desire for diversity and inclusion, search for social justice, provision of a community atmosphere involving fellowship and common goals, and much more! Please nominate members who would be strong advocates for issues that you find important. You may nominate up to six people – and please know that it is absolutely a good thing to nominate yourself if you feel called to this task.
Curious about the whole process? Watch for updates and further information from the Board, including, soon, an expected timeline.
You can browse through the Settlement Handbook.
Questions or comments? Call or email Rob Zimmerman, Board of Trustees President or Jeannie Baker,Vice President.
