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With this issue of the Governance Task Force Report, we begin a new chapter in the exploration and implementation of our governance structure at FUS. This will be the first of many opportunities for you to be engaged in conversations with the Board as we continue to build on the foundation established during our year of discernment that led to the decision to proceed with the policy-based governance model.
At its September meeting, the Board of Directors selected the following question as the focus for exploration and conversation as we begin what is called the Open Questions process:
In what unique ways shall FUS engage people in spiritual community?
In this issue of the Governance Update, we hope that you will:
- Learn about the relationship between Open Questions and Vision of Ministry
- Gain an understanding of the process used by the Board to arrive at the focus of this year's Open Question
- Learn about opportunities for you to join the Board and Governance Committee in discussion about those questions that will shape our long-term direction and commitments.
IMPORTANT DATES:
One thing that we know to be true, both from our experience and from that of other congregations, is that it is essential for the Board, leadership, and members of the congregation to be involved in ongoing conversation. It is our sincere hope that you will join us as we begin the conversation about this year's Open Question.
Plan to attend at least one of the three Governance Forums on the question selected by the Board:
- Saturday, October 1, 3:15-4:15, Landmark Auditorium
- Sunday, October 30, following the Parish Meeting, approximately 1:15-3:00, Atrium Auditorium
- Tuesday, November 8, Atrium Auditorium. We'll offer pizza dinner 5:45-6:15 p.m., and meet 6:15-7:30.
Join the Board and Governance Committee for a Governance update and conversation on...
- Sunday, December 4, 12:45-3:00, Atrium Auditorium
Child care will be provided.
In addition, we encourage you to give us your feedback. We will create a new FAQ page, where we will again aggregate your questions and our responses.
OPEN QUESTIONS AND VISION OF
MINISTRY: WHAT ARE THEY?
We will more fully explore Vision of Ministry in a few months, but it is important to start with an understanding of how Open Questions and Vision of Ministry function to guide our decisions as a congregation. We again rely on the guidance of Dan Hotchkiss, our Alban Institute consultant, and his book, Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership. In his book (p 96) Dan differentiates between these two concepts:
"The annual vision of ministry is, as its name suggests, created every year. It answers the question, ‘In what new and different ways will we transform lives in the next one to three years?"
You may recall that last year, following an extensive list of possible vision statements generated at a leadership retreat, the Board adopted the following vision statements:
- Motivate members to live the UU principles
- Strengthen ties among generations
- Successfully implement the governance model
In the Hotchkiss framework, in contrast to the 1-3 years addressed by vision statements, open questions look farther in the future. These are often questions for which there is no immediate set of answers, and that require an extended period of reflection and discussion.
"[Open questions] may relate to major capital projects that cannot happen soon for practical reasons. Or they may arise from changes in the community environment or the surrounding culture that raise doubts as to whether the congregation's comfortable concept of itself is valid anymore."
CREATING EFFECTIVE OPEN QUESTIONS
One of the roles of the Board is to consider these long-range questions, select the one or two that are most central, and engage the congregation in conversation. To this end, at its July and August meetings, and in a leadership retreat in August, the Board generated a list of possible open questions.
Dan distinguishes between questions that gather data, and questions that are what he terms "missional:" questions that seek to get at aspects of the church's identity, purpose, and relationships.
Data gathering questions engage members as consumers. Examples of data-gathering questions are:
- How do we get to know one another?
- How do we connect with each other in meaningful ways?
- What do people come here seeking? What brought you here?
- Who are we and what are our expectations?
These questions are useful and important, in that they enable church leadership to gather information about the needs and wishes of individual members. Data questions help us understand what people are seeking, and that information helps us discern ways that we can lead individuals to a deeper level of commitment to the work of the congregation.
Missional questions, on the other hand, are about institutional strategy, and are intended to engage members of the congregation as constituents and stewards, rather than as consumers. Examples of missional questions are:
- In what unique ways shall FUS engage people in spiritual community?
- What should be special about FUS?
- What is our vision of FUS' role in the larger community? What are our responsibilities to those outside the walls of our church?
- What is our vision for ministerial leadership over time?
Dan acknowledges that focusing on long term vision as contrasted with asking people to talk about their likes and dislikes is not an easy path. In a recent e-mail to the Board President Sandy Eskrich, Dan observed:
"In a society that trains us all to be consumers, it is easier to ask people questions about their individual likes and dislikes than to ask them to think strategically about an institution. Church members are, of course, consumers of church services. But like board members, they are also trustees, holding the institution in behalf of its purpose and mission. If it feels awkward to shift people from thinking as consumers to thinking as trustees, part of the reason is that we get so little practice in the latter."
We look forward to exploring these ideas with you.
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