The Board of Directors for LUF for 2009 - 2010:

David Belrose, President / Bert Blaauw, Vice-President / Heidi Wahl, Secretary / Rob Van Wyck, Treasurer / At Large members: Christine Meronyk, Paulene McGowan, Rosemary Burris, Margaret Wanlin,Sophia Gubbins.

NEWS from the BOARD January 2010

Albert Einstein held to three rules of work: 1. Out of clutter, find simplicity. 2. From discord, find harmony. 3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

As we move into 2010, the board is working on plans for an ambitious year. We will be presenting a budget on January 11 that calls for a substantial deficit. However that deficit will be more than offset by the projected surplus form 2009. With two staff in place to administer the Fellowship and run the Religious Exploration program, we are looking follow up on our work of the past year. We plan to present a strategic plan to the congregation on February 8 that will build on previous work over the past decade, with particular emphasis on Building Our Strengths.

Building Our Strengths
Following up from the Assessment of Congregational Health survey, Building Our Strengths has focused on four of the relational characteristics of an effective church: Dynamic Worship, Missional Objectives, Connecting and Caring, and Relational Groups/Programs and Activities. There were interesting developments coming from that work.

COMMUNICATIONS - We already have a lot of strengths that are not well understood by some of our members and friends. Communication came up as a vital element for building community, and building strength in each of the areas of relational characteristics we explored. We need to let people know what we are about, what we do, how they can be involved. Some ideas that were floated: Communications coordinator or committee, Use of newsletter, E updates, orders of service, web site, advertising, e-mail, letters, cards, Phone tree for important events, Personalized contact (letters, e-mails to individuals), Notices (contacts for care needs, use of Events in Faith in newspaper.

WORSHIP (SUNDAY SERVICES) - This area was explored both by the Dynamic worship group and by the Missional Objectives group. Based on comments in the survey and other analysis, there is a recommendation that WORSHIP be considered as our prime missional objective.

Each of the reporting groups made recommendations for building strengths, and some of these ideas are already being acted upon. There is a lot underway and many ideas for more things to be done. It must always be remembered that time and energy are limited so expectations need to be realistic (some members are older and less active, some are young and tied to family and careers). While the work done so far has looked at relational characteristics, the issue of our physical space continues to be a major challenge. We fail to live up to our principles and values by remaining in a space that is not accessible. I believe we are also limited in the possibility of growth in numbers by the size of our current space.

The Board will prioritize the work that has been done and give the congregation a chance to provide feedback at the February 8 meeting and after. This will be incorporated into a strategic plan for the coming year or two. It is time for us to move forward again into our second half century.

For More Information on Our Fellowship's Leadership Click Below. Who Is Who At The Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship