As part of our mission-centered policy-based governance, each year the new Board of Trustees has a retreat to consider the year to come. They work on getting to know one another, choosing an Annual Focus of Ministry, Open Questions for the congregation, work projects from the Board Advisory Committees, and Board Goals.

We focused a lot of time on learning what it means to lead in these liminal times, when the way forward is not so clear as what once was has dissolved or changed so much. Using Susan Beaumont’s book on this subject, we spent some powerful time in discernment about what is needed now in the Congregation.

The fruits of our labor together are a new Annual Focus of Ministry which the Board creates and then delegates to the Ministers, who in turn share it with the Staff and Ministry Teams to apply it in our work on the ministries of UUSS. All Ministry Teams have their own purpose, connected with the mission of UUSS. So, we apply the lens, the ways the Board wants us to focus, over the next 9 months or so. The Board contemplated what it has witnessed over the past couple of years, noting the joys and the challenges. They held with care the wide and varied successes and conflicts of this time of re-emerging.

Their deepening discernment led them to the new AFoM as we nicknamed it.

Our 2022-2023 Annual Focus of Ministry is to explore how our differences can strengthen our connections and commitment to one another and apply what we learn to help us imagine what’s possible for the future of our congregation.

The Board also creates some Open Questions for the whole congregation to reflect on. Watch for updates from them on the powerful questions they have selected for this new year.

We are excited for this focus and grateful for the Board’s work on faithfully discerning what would benefit the ministries of the congregation at this time. We’ll be sharing more with the Staff and Ministry Teams in the coming days!

With anticipation,

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn