Recently I and three other KVUUC members attended a webinar on the subject of leadership in small congregations.   A good deal of attention was focused on transitioning from what are called  “family congregations” to “pastoral congregations”.  In church organizational parlance “family congregations” are generally up to 50 members.  Typically they function like a family and the key leader is a matriarch or patriarch who makes or concurs on all primary decisions.  “Pastoral congregations” have memberships from 51-150 members and revolve more around their minister or ministries.

Our KVUUC membership hovers around 50.  Cynthia, our undisputed matriarch, often expressed her highest wish that we flourish in size and service after her departure.  It would be a good time to seriously pay attention to our reason for being, that which distinguishes us from other voluntary associations in the Kittitas Valley.  I say that on authority of Rev. Robert Latham whose book about transitions in UU congregational life, Moving On From Church Folly Lane, lists these maxims of churchdom:

1. The ultimate social power of a congregation is commensurate with its measure of focus on its religious mission.
2. The most profound form of community is created by a common commitment to a noble and transcendent purpose.
3. If a congregation is fulfilling its mission it cannot stop growing.
4. The greatest power to create social change derives from a common commitment to a common focus.

 

Those who have not committed to memory KVUUC’s central purpose may wish to recall our Mission Statement, revised in 2013:

We gather as a liberal religious community to provide a safe haven to celebrate diversity, to foster intellectual, ethical and spiritual growth, and to care for our Earth. We practice our beliefs by serving the larger community in the spirit of justice and compassion.

We also adopted a Statement of Vision:

Kittitas Valley UU Congregation will be a light in the valley.

Here’s to our mission and vision—may it be so,

Rev. Bill