I would agree with all of Jane's summaries above- she has well presented what was discussed. I'd like to add a few personal views/comments/observations. I would not like to have us pursue a "growth campaign". I think we should instead continue to strive for consistently excelllent presentations which include Unitarian Univeralist principles; to maintain consistancy in the order of service; to maintain a consistant location and time; and to continue our current "marketing" of what we're doing by keeping the wesite updated, having information about the service in the Thursday newspaper and underwriting Eclectic Cafe. If people are interested, I think they'll come, and if they like what they see, they will continue to come. I don't think any of us has the time, energy or desire to devote several hours a week to "growing" the community when in fact we have no idea if there are other like minded liberal thinkers who would be interested in joining us.

I like the fact that we have no building of our own and no bloated building budget to support. Surely there will always be some public space available for a reasonable fee. -- from Julie

From Jill Jarvis, UU Minister who is asking us to undertake this discussion: The two main questions are: As a UU religious community, why are you there? And – most importantly – who are you there for; i.e., who do you serve?

Almost never is the “official” answer to the second question, “Our current members.” Yet, behaviorally, that is often the unofficial answer, particularly in the case of small lay-led congregations (though certainly not limited to those!)

The answer we’d all like to hear is, of course, we’re here for all those who might need this liberal, life-affirming religious. A place we can doubt, and question, and find our own idea of spirituality and truth within a free and supportive environment that values diversity. A grounding for not only the inward journey but also for turning outward and working with others to promote justice, equality, peace and compassion in the larger community and the world. A place where people can bring their kids to learn these values and be supported by an intergenerational community.

OK, so that sounds nice. It’s what we would hope every congregation wants to do, because there are lots of people out there who need a UU community and who have their own gifts to contribute. So, if that IS the answer and you want to reach these people, there are three things you need to do: 1) Be visible; let everyone know you’re there, and what you stand for 2) Be accessible – make it easy for people to find you and enter in. If you do those two things successfully you will have lots of people checking you out, which leads to the third point 3) Be welcoming and inclusive – which is about a whole lot more than greeting on Sunday morning; it’s not easy to learn to do this, and it doesn’t come painlessly. To be continued on next comment.

Continued from Jill Jarvis: Forget about growth for growth’s sake; that’s pointless. If you accomplish these three steps, you will grow organically. Which means, you will change. You will have to take some pro-active steps to change just in order to accomplish 1) 2) and 3), and then you will have to be open to allow for the resulting changes that will inevitably occur with the entry of new people with differing perspectives, experiences, needs and expectations.

When many (especially) fellowships realize what this entails, they sometimes find that many if not most of the current members don’t really want those changes. The congregation becomes more like a small group of like-minded people who enjoy getting together regularly, than a congregation with a mission in the community and world.

Which is why it’s important to have a real in-depth conversation with everyone having a chance to express their feelings. SCORE or PSD can facilitate such a workshop. Even if everyone says they want to move forward, they need to have a clear vision of what this involves, deal with their fears and needs to maintain the status quo, etc. This is actually an ongoing process and it needs to happen in the open, and not be the 800 lb gorilla in the room. To be continued.

So that’s more the abstract principle. What would this look like in practice? You would have to decide how to begin to welcome families with kids on Sunday, with the short-term goal of starting an RE program. Stewardship is a major issue – how you talk with each other about money, the value members place on having this community, how to do short, medium, and long-term financial planning. How do you become visible? What can you do in the community that reflects UU values? What can you do PR-wise? You’d have to ensure that you have high-quality, welcoming, public-worthy services each and every Sunday, same time, same place. How do you greet visitors on Sunday? How do you follow up with them? You’d need some sort of “programming” or activities other than just Sunday morning – whether that’s social action in the community, some small special-interest groups, etc. You’d also need to take part in some of the cluster/PSD/ UUA – i.e., denominational – activities occasionally to be part of the resource sharing.

This is all about changing from being inward-focused, to connection with other UU’s and the local community, which is about being outward-focused. It’s not an easy transition, but it can and has been done by many UU congregations.

With all the above, if there’s a real commitment to moving forward in this way, SCORE can help. We have tons of resources and ideas and support from the other congregations. The first step, though, has to be the fellowship’s discernment of whether the will is there.

Thank you for being welcoming to our visitor this morning!
Is it going to be in the paper or the radio or anything that we are NOT having services locally November 30 but rather meeting in KC? Will there be a group that meets to carpool? Here is some info from their website about it.
Topic: How Are We Thankful? How Can We Give? - Kent McKusick
November 30 - Services 11:15 a.m.
For many, the pace and stresses of life explode after Thanksgiving, as the lengthening nights invite us to slow down and rest. Explore holiday mythology and how we might rediscover, reconstruct, and reconnect thanks and giving. Kent McKusick

Have people from our fellowship ever participated in U.U.A. camps or retreats that can contribute to family and/or youth educational programming? I don't know much about what resources are available in that area.
I Googled it and found http://www.uucamps.org/

Now back to the topic - looking toward future developments.

I've noticed that our services have a strong U.U. focus and I thought today's talk and reading were very meaningful. The ideas distributed during the talk-back session were a good way to help people feel comfortable and kind of break the ice.

As a side note, I'm going to need the recipes for the apple biscuits and the cranberry squares.

I really hate to give you the "recipe" for the apple biscuits because I want you to think I slaved for hours over them. But- you may find you like the super easy way to make them. I just used bisquick and their biscuit recipe- a little less milk- with finely chopped apples, sugar and cinnamon- they took a little longer to bake than a regular biscuit.
Sue Sundberg

I did not make it to All Souls Sunday due to the snow and ice. Hopefully the weather will be good December 6 and I can get to Warrensburg.