The Parish Committee recently approved the creation of a strategic task force that will implement a process for congregational reflection on ministry and community engagement, in the context of emergent societal trends. The goal of the task force will be to provide context and content for the development of the congregation’s next five-year strategic plan.
There are important questions to be asked.
- How can we be relevant to a younger, more diverse constituency?
- How can we continue to thrive as a congregation as church attendance declines at the national level?
- How can we continue to provide meaningful support and community to our members while adapting to the new realities?
The work of the task force will be to hold as many conversations as possible, inside and outside the community. We will consult members, estranged UUs, local non-UU residents, UUA leaders, and cultural thought leaders. Using these conversations, supplemented by research and analysis, our goal will be to develop a framework for understanding our collective ministry and opportunities for growth.
This will be an important and exciting process as First Parish is clearly at an inflection point in its evolution. The task force will be an opportunity for all of us to reflect on our congregation, our ministry, how we connect to each other and to our broader community.
In addition to reporting its findings regularly to the Parish Committee, the task force will provide regular updates here on the First Parish blog, and elsewhere as appropriate.
The task force is in the process of recruiting members who will work on conducting research and interviewing people inside and outside the congregation. If you would like to discuss participating – either as a member or to contribute ideas, we would love to hear from you! Please contact Tad Staley or Tony Cicala.