February 2, 2014: The following was posted on the MSC's Bulletin Board at church.

  

 

             

Congregational Survey: What We Heard

On the MSC’s table (under this bulletin board), you will find the tabulated data you gave us via the Congregational Survey. Feel free to look through it!

“What’s the WORST mistake our new settled Minister could make?”

Below, we’ll show you how you answered this question in your Congregational Survey. Then, we’ll show you how we answered the same question, when we were asked to respond to it in our 17-page job-posting document, the “Congregational Record” (CR).

In the Survey, we received 89 responses to this open-response question! A Phrase Cloud of your respones looks like this:

You can see from this graphic, that some your remarks were stated in the negative (“arrogant” or “dictatorial”) while others were from a positive perspective (“appreciate” or “approachable”).  Not surprisingly, the word “change” was everywhere: change is inevitable; change may be frightening; change should be incremental; change may be enervating; and change IS coming!

Here are some of responses to our survey question, in your own words:

·        “Failure to consult sufficiently with the lay leadership on practical matters and about the future direction of the church.”

·         “Being close-minded and shutting people out.”

·         “Failure to understand and appreciate our history; failure to appreciate the diversity of spirit, belief, views, traditions, etc. among us; being close-minded and/or unapproachable.”

·        “Alienate current membership.”

·         “Be divisive in the pulpit with too strident a tone and/or attitude in the sermons. Tom and Barbara always challenged us to be better, but never scolded us like children, or said ‘do this or else.’”

·        “Be afraid to be themselves.”

·        “Not listening to the congregation and making too many changes. Change is good and welcome but we need some continuity to retain older members and grow the church; arrogance and condescension is a close second.”

·         “Fail to work really hard on his/her sermons.”

·        “Not being open and socially and emotionally connected and not delivering an organized, well prepared and stimulating Sunday service.”

·        “It would be a huge mistake if the new minister came in and tried to impose a bunch of things either in belief or practice on this congregation without first taking some time to find out about what we have been doing and why. I don't think we would respond well to a dictatorial leader or a know-it-all.”

·        “I can't imagine a more challenging task than taking on a Unitarian church ministry in this century. I would offer only a heart-felt "Bless You" to anyone who comes in!”

In responding to this question in the Congregational Record, your MSC wrote:

“Perhaps the worst mistake would be to impose change without having heard and understood and valued the long and deeply-held traditions and history of our Church.  Nearly 75% of respondents to our recent survey suggested, each in his/her own way, that this would be the single-most significant error a new Minister could make.  We hope our new Minister will make substantial effort and take time to get to know us, to ask questions, and to honor our heritage as s/he helps us navigate to and through the next stage in the life of our congregation.” 

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This is the final article in our series about the Listening Sessions and Survey. Your thoughtful and deep participation in these discernment exercises helped us understand your interests and preferences. We hope we've represented our congregation accurately and fully. We're grateful to you and we thank you.

--Ministerial Search Committee: Jesse Anderson, Alison Barrows Ronn, Jane Beckwith, Noel Cary, Shannon Kirshenbaum, Diane Mirick, Lee Reid