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Next Service

Community Sunday- Spring

Sunday, April 21, 2024 10:00 a.m.

Service Leaders:

Rev. Lisa Bovee-Kemper, Interim Minister
John Herrick, Director of Music

What’s Happening at the UUCC this Sunday?
Click here.

All About Interim Ministry and the Transition Team

UUCC has hired an intentional interim minister whose role is to help the congregation shift from focusing on the departed minister to readying the community for a new settled minister.

The Transition Team was established to lead the congregation through the five Focus Points of Interim Ministry and work with the Interim Minister and the Board of Trustees to prepare the congregation for settled ministry. The Five Focus Points are Heritage, Mission, Leadership, Connections (or Linkage), and Future (or Vitality). These five points are the work of the congregation during the interim period.

The interim minister has a set of tasks to accomplish as well, the first of which is Joining the System, which leads to Analyzing the System.

It is my job in this process to attend to and monitor the goals of the interim period at the same time I observe patterns and trends in the life of the community. I am here to be curious about why things are the way they are – not to judge the congregation as right or wrong, but to invite you to be clear about your values, your goals, and your process. I have specific expertise in governance and systems that I’m able to apply as well. It is my role to ask why, and to invite you to do things on purpose, not simply because they’ve always been done that way. (Rev. Lisa Bovee Kemper)

UUCC has done a fair amount of work over the last few years on mission, vision, and governance, so we have a good starting point to either validate or refine. At the same time, The COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and the way the ongoing presence of the novel coronavirus in our midst has had a significant impact on pretty much every institution, and religious communities are no different. Part of our work during the interim period will be to pay attention to the specific impacts on this community and layer that knowledge and reflection around trends within the congregation into the interim process.

What’s Happening Now

Thanks to all who attended the Interim Town Hall meeting on Sunday. As promised, we’re sharing the full narrative interim report, the slides, and the summary of the listening sessions this past spring for your review. If you didn’t make it to the meeting, we hope you’ll take the time to review the information. Rev. Lisa, the board, and the transition team are all happy to answer questions if you have them.
One of the most common questions we got leading up to the meeting was “How are we doing?” with this interim thing – even wondering what grade UUCC would get. The short answer is that all is well. You’re doing a good job! The longer answer is (predictably)… longer.
Overall, Rev. Lisa noted in the presentation on Sunday that there isn’t a single checklist or equation we can use to evaluate the transitional period. Engaging in the interim process together is the most important thing we can do – and the process of being in transition is non-linear and a bit messy, which can feel frustrating and disconcerting. Part of the process is starting with the five areas of focus (Heritage, Mission, Communication, Leadership, and Future) and as the interim progresses, refining those areas into more specific goals. Rest assured you’re on the right track, and as the board and the transition team continue to work with Rev. Lisa to break the refined goals into actionable steps, we’ll be sharing more updates and ways you can participate in the process.
For quick reference, UUCC’s current interim goals are:
  • Engage more with grief/loss around recent events (including departure of ministers, pandemic changes, and recent conflict) 

  • Continue post-shutdown work of re-engaging and re-envisioning ways to build community and strengthen relationships 

  • Clarify roles, responsibilities, and accountability relationships throughout the organization 

  • Increase accessibility, clarity, and transparency of communications 

  • Prioritize implementation of congregational covenant 

  • Explore and implement shared ministry model 

  • Increase congregational awareness of and engagement with mission, vision and ends  
  • Revisit the vision statement and accompanying materials – particularly the appended list of “Vision Questions” 

4/27/23 UPDATE

Hopefully, many of you participated in one of the group discussions we held during March and April to help in our transition work.

We focused on the question “What aspect or aspiration of UUCC motivates you to attend services or be an active participant in the life of our community?” and pictorially the takeaway from that is this word cloud:alt=""

Making connections with others is central to our identity, and cultivating those relationships through events like our Sunday service/coffee hour and community-building events, and service to others such as volunteering on our RE, music, and program teams.

A number of other important points and topics were raised; you can read the full report at this link. If you missed the opportunity to participate we continue to solicit your feedback through this link, and expect to have continued dialogue and discussions as we continue our transition.