First
Parish Unitarian UniversalistFrom Your Minister
February 2012
This month I want to tell you about your Committee on Ministry (CoM). There are 3 members of this committee. They are (in alphabetical order by first name) Jim L., Larry C. and Laurie B. And they are not just for the minister!
Our CoM focuses on all of the ministries of the congregation. The members share the responsibility of tracking the heartbeat of ministry within the congregation; how the members take care of themselves and each other, how the lay ministerial leadership serves the congregation; and how the called minister serves the congregation. They seek to understand, assess, support, and advocate for robust ministry throughout the context of congregational life.
Here at First Parish, the committee serves as a supportive group for me, and it addresses any specific concerns that come to it, but its larger role is to focus on the various ministries within the church, such as leadership development, nominating committee, RE, caring circle, membership and so on. The CoM helps me see my role as collaborator and co-creator (with you) of the quality of ministry at First Parish; they round out my perspective.
First Parish is fortunate to have members on the CoM who can leave personal biases at the door, who can work in a confidential but not secretive manner. The committee meets with me monthly over dinner, and we talk about the health of the congregation, who needs support, how we are all doing in making "church" work.
Where the Parish Committee oversees the operations of the church, the CoM oversees the quality of our relationships. We will be able to create new ways to enhance our communication and ways of working together from ideas born in this committee.
That's why it's important that you communicate to them your thoughts, concerns, complaints, and suggestions. We can't make anything perfect and we can't satisfy every need all the time, but we certainly can enhance the ministry of the congregation when we work together.
Happy February! Buffy