The summer is pretty much over, and UCV is coming back to full life. There is much to look forward to this fall – not the least is getting to know our new settled minister, Shawn.
One vision shared by the Board and Shawn is that we once again become a predominantly member driven congregation. We were a strong member driven congregation under Steven but the last few years with COVID and the transition has seen us rely on staff more. We would love to see our members become more active again. This would free up staff to focus on those tasks that only they can do.
Please consider coming to our Volunteer and Engagement Fair on September 17. There are many rewarding positions available – short and long term. It’s a great opportunity to deepen relationships within the congregation, learn more, and have fun. One final plug for members to run for the Board – a secretary and two members at large.
Over the past few years, the Governance Implementation Task Force (GIT) has been reviewing all our policies. This was a big task as some policies had not been approved, some contradicted others, and many were covered in dust. As part of their process, they consulted the teams and committees that were most impacted by the policy. There will be a forum this fall that highlights the work this task force has done and the policies that could impact members. One such policy is the Disruptive Behaviour Policy. This was revised based on input from the Healthy Relations Team, the Human Resources Team and other interested members. Please take a look at it in the Policies and Procedures Folder in the Member View.
While you’re in the Member View, check out the Task Force Reports folder. There you will find the Rethinking Our Identity report from the Congregational Identity Task Force (CIT), and the Decision Making Task Force report (DMTF).
The CIT was tasked with leading the Identity phase of our interim transition (described by Margaret Keip in Keith Kron’s book, In the Interim, as “illuminating the congregation’s unique identity: its strengths, its needs, and its challenges.”)
The DMTF was formed in response to a direct request to the MTT from the Board president shortly after the Nov 2021 AGM (the AGM when we voted to not continue with the UCV campus redevelopment project).
Each of these groups worked for well over 12 months and made important contributions to our transition process and, I hope, to our future success as Vancouver Unitarians.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all this September. It truly feels like a new beginning.
Mairy
On behalf of the Board