Interim Minister - Rev. Dr. Margret A. O’Neall, AIM
Annual Report January 2014
This has been the crowning year of the ambitious three-year transitional time that this congregation chose to undertake. If 2011 was a year of accepting and moving into change, and 2012 was a year to set foundations in place, then 2013 has been a year to begin building the flexible and responsive structures and processes that will carry this congregation into its bright and hopeful future.
As you will recall, the Board of Trustees identified three high-priority goals for the interim period, reflecting goals of the Long Range Plan that was adopted in 2011. Those goals have directed my work as your intentional interim minister:
- Clarify the mission, values, identity, image of the church -- the new statement of mission was affirmed in September 2012.
- Create a governance structure and process that works (that is relational and flows) -- the Board voted in July 2012 to move ahead on this process
- Educate the congregation on covenantal relationship and stewardship (serving and being served) -- this became more of a focus in 2013
The Governance Task Force (Rita Capezzi, Marjorie Girth, Eve Holberg, Doris Poodry, Kate Silver and myself) was created late in 2012, and as the new year began they were off to a quick start, coaching and supporting the Board of Trustees in the complex governance transformation process.
Also in January, the District Ministerial Settlement Representative, Rev. Priscilla Richter, made her first visit to inform the congregation about the ministerial search process. At the end of the month we hosted Minister of Music Mark Slegers from the First Unitarian Church of Portland to help the congregation define the music program going forward, following Minister of Music Barbara Wagner’s stroke and retirement in late November.
During February, members of the Board and other leaders contacted every member of the congregation to seek nominations for members of the Ministerial Search Committee. On April 14, the congregation voted on a list of ten well qualified nominees , and the Board made the final selection of the seven people to represent the church in searching for the next settled minister. The Search Committee got organized to begin their work, and during the rest of 2013 they researched the needs and wishes of the congregation, wrote up the formal Congregational Record, and created a beautiful “search packet” website describing the congregation to prospective ministers.
Also in February, a hiring team (Diane Bockrath, Joyce Bol, Kimberly Elsener, Meghann French, Martha Malkeiwicz, Phil Nicolai and myself) conducted the search and hiring process for a half-time Music Director. Following an intensive selection process, Daniel Bassin was hired as Music Director beginning August 1, 2013. An additional search was conducted to fill the quarter-time Organist/Accompanist position and Su Lee accepted that position in November.
Stewardship was the final priority goal remaining to be addressed in the interim time. The Stewardship Team decided over the summer that it was time to look to outside resources for support, and following an August telephone conference with Wayne Clark (UUA Congregational Stewardship Network Director), Stewardship Consultant Barry Finklestein was brought in to work with the congregation to strengthen the Annual Budget Drive. Visiting Stewards were recruited, and as many congregational members as possible were contacted for a personal conversation about their commitment to the church. The initiative was successful in generating higher pledging levels for the 2014 budget year, and the Team hopes to build on and expand their efforts next year.
One of my own goals during this time has been to initiate programs of “shared ministry” that are usually found in a UU congregation, so that your next settled minister will have that developmental foundation in place. In spring 2013, with the assistance of Rev. Fran Manly, a Worship Team was initiated, providing developmental work to prepare the initial six team members (Nancy Bukaty, Rita Capezzi. Lauren Layton, Francis Montgomery, Mary Sczcepanski and Steve Wixson) to act as Worship Associates and to support the minister or guest preacher in organizing and conducting worship on Sunday mornings. The Worship Associates have shared the pulpit with me (and with other preachers) since September of 2013. We also initiated an annual workshop for those who would preach in summer services. Other worship innovations this year include a monthly “All-Community” intergenerational service intentionally designed to engage those of all ages during the entire hour of worship on Sunday mornings, and an experimental early-evening Christmas Eve service in order to be more inclusive of families and those who are not able to attend the traditional 11 pm service.
Shared ministry also extends to pastoral care, and first steps were taken in the fall to create a Pastoral Visiting program to complement the activities of the Care Network. Sue Frawley and Jean Ott attended pastoral visitor training offered by Roswell Park, and they will help to organize and co-lead development of a program that can be shaped by your next minister in coming years.
As the Ministerial Search Committee continues their work to bring a ministerial candidate to Buffalo for a congregational vote in May, the work of building for the future continues. Successful new and ongoing initiatives, including the Access/Inclusion Team, Covenant Groups and the Share-the-Plate program continue to thrive and expand. The Leadership Development Team is also beginning to expand the opportunities for people to get involved in church activities in satisfying ways.
The various “working groups” in the church (which have been called Committees or Task Forces) will be invited to commission themselves as Ministry Teams within the new policy-based governance context. This simply means formalizing their statement of purpose, defining how they help implement the mission of the church, and developing role descriptions for team leaders and members. The work of governance transformation, creating clear policies and shaping current activities into Ministry Teams, is intended to bring more clarity and coherence into church operations, so that it becomes easier and more joyful for everyone to participate.
In late April, I will enter the process that connects the professional interim ministers with congregations that need interim ministry, and in early May I will reach an agreement with a congregation to begin in August 2014. It has been a pleasure to work with this congregation, and it is especially rewarding how much you have accomplished in this transitional time.
Since this will be my final annual report, I want to express my special gratitude to two groups of people here who have helped make this interim ministry possible. Standing with me throughout this time have been the members of the Transition Team: Gerry Evans, Arlene Miles, Joe Ott, and Maria Testa (along with Kristina Church and Tracey Kassman, who left the Team last spring to join the Search Committee). They have supported me in learning the dynamics of the congregation and helped with the tasks of this interim time. And so much of the success of this congregation is borne up by the strong, smart, resilient staff of this church, who are a strong team to carry the church into a bright future: Joshua Layton, Donna Sentz, Sara Kirkland, Sonja Jensen, Christine Derby-Cuadrado, Daniel Bassin, Su Lee, Jennifer Mernitz, Paula McGirr, Melinda Achtziger, Michael Sulzbach and Michael Harris, and our crew of child care workers who care for the children on Sunday mornings. My love and gratitude are with you always.
This has been the crowning year of the ambitious three-year transitional time that this congregation chose to undertake. If 2011 was a year of accepting and moving into change, and 2012 was a year to set foundations in place, then 2013 has been a year to begin building the flexible and responsive structures and processes that will carry this congregation into its bright and hopeful future.
As you will recall, the Board of Trustees identified three high-priority goals for the interim period, reflecting goals of the Long Range Plan that was adopted in 2011. Those goals have directed my work as your intentional interim minister:
- Clarify the mission, values, identity, image of the church -- the new statement of mission was affirmed in September 2012.
- Create a governance structure and process that works (that is relational and flows) -- the Board voted in July 2012 to move ahead on this process
- Educate the congregation on covenantal relationship and stewardship (serving and being served) -- this became more of a focus in 2013
The Governance Task Force (Rita Capezzi, Marjorie Girth, Eve Holberg, Doris Poodry, Kate Silver and myself) was created late in 2012, and as the new year began they were off to a quick start, coaching and supporting the Board of Trustees in the complex governance transformation process.
Also in January, the District Ministerial Settlement Representative, Rev. Priscilla Richter, made her first visit to inform the congregation about the ministerial search process. At the end of the month we hosted Minister of Music Mark Slegers from the First Unitarian Church of Portland to help the congregation define the music program going forward, following Minister of Music Barbara Wagner’s stroke and retirement in late November.
During February, members of the Board and other leaders contacted every member of the congregation to seek nominations for members of the Ministerial Search Committee. On April 14, the congregation voted on a list of ten well qualified nominees , and the Board made the final selection of the seven people to represent the church in searching for the next settled minister. The Search Committee got organized to begin their work, and during the rest of 2013 they researched the needs and wishes of the congregation, wrote up the formal Congregational Record, and created a beautiful “search packet” website describing the congregation to prospective ministers.
Also in February, a hiring team (Diane Bockrath, Joyce Bol, Kimberly Elsener, Meghann French, Martha Malkeiwicz, Phil Nicolai and myself) conducted the search and hiring process for a half-time Music Director. Following an intensive selection process, Daniel Bassin was hired as Music Director beginning August 1, 2013. An additional search was conducted to fill the quarter-time Organist/Accompanist position and Su Lee accepted that position in November.
Stewardship was the final priority goal remaining to be addressed in the interim time. The Stewardship Team decided over the summer that it was time to look to outside resources for support, and following an August telephone conference with Wayne Clark (UUA Congregational Stewardship Network Director), Stewardship Consultant Barry Finklestein was brought in to work with the congregation to strengthen the Annual Budget Drive. Visiting Stewards were recruited, and as many congregational members as possible were contacted for a personal conversation about their commitment to the church. The initiative was successful in generating higher pledging levels for the 2014 budget year, and the Team hopes to build on and expand their efforts next year.
One of my own goals during this time has been to initiate programs of “shared ministry” that are usually found in a UU congregation, so that your next settled minister will have that developmental foundation in place. In spring 2013, with the assistance of Rev. Fran Manly, a Worship Team was initiated, providing developmental work to prepare the initial six team members (Nancy Bukaty, Rita Capezzi. Lauren Layton, Francis Montgomery, Mary Sczcepanski and Steve Wixson) to act as Worship Associates and to support the minister or guest preacher in organizing and conducting worship on Sunday mornings. The Worship Associates have shared the pulpit with me (and with other preachers) since September of 2013. We also initiated an annual workshop for those who would preach in summer services. Other worship innovations this year include a monthly “All-Community” intergenerational service intentionally designed to engage those of all ages during the entire hour of worship on Sunday mornings, and an experimental early-evening Christmas Eve service in order to be more inclusive of families and those who are not able to attend the traditional 11 pm service.
Shared ministry also extends to pastoral care, and first steps were taken in the fall to create a Pastoral Visiting program to complement the activities of the Care Network. Sue Frawley and Jean Ott attended pastoral visitor training offered by Roswell Park, and they will help to organize and co-lead development of a program that can be shaped by your next minister in coming years.
As the Ministerial Search Committee continues their work to bring a ministerial candidate to Buffalo for a congregational vote in May, the work of building for the future continues. Successful new and ongoing initiatives, including the Access/Inclusion Team, Covenant Groups and the Share-the-Plate program continue to thrive and expand. The Leadership Development Team is also beginning to expand the opportunities for people to get involved in church activities in satisfying ways.
The various “working groups” in the church (which have been called Committees or Task Forces) will be invited to commission themselves as Ministry Teams within the new policy-based governance context. This simply means formalizing their statement of purpose, defining how they help implement the mission of the church, and developing role descriptions for team leaders and members. The work of governance transformation, creating clear policies and shaping current activities into Ministry Teams, is intended to bring more clarity and coherence into church operations, so that it becomes easier and more joyful for everyone to participate.
In late April, I will enter the process that connects the professional interim ministers with congregations that need interim ministry, and in early May I will reach an agreement with a congregation to begin in August 2014. It has been a pleasure to work with this congregation, and it is especially rewarding how much you have accomplished in this transitional time.
Since this will be my final annual report, I want to express my special gratitude to two groups of people here who have helped make this interim ministry possible. Standing with me throughout this time have been the members of the Transition Team: Gerry Evans, Arlene Miles, Joe Ott, and Maria Testa (along with Kristina Church and Tracey Kassman, who left the Team last spring to join the Search Committee). They have supported me in learning the dynamics of the congregation and helped with the tasks of this interim time. And so much of the success of this congregation is borne up by the strong, smart, resilient staff of this church, who are a strong team to carry the church into a bright future: Joshua Layton, Donna Sentz, Sara Kirkland, Sonja Jensen, Christine Derby-Cuadrado, Daniel Bassin, Su Lee, Jennifer Mernitz, Paula McGirr, Melinda Achtziger, Michael Sulzbach and Michael Harris, and our crew of child care workers who care for the children on Sunday mornings. My love and gratitude are with you always.