Searching for the future

The Frenzy of the Sticky Dots (aka ‘Searching for the Future all-congregational workshop…)

It started on Friday evening as 16 facilitators-to-be met with Carole Czujko and immersed themselves in the process of Searching for the Future.  They came from work, from orchestrating complicated childcare arrangements, and from a distance dodging early weekend traffic.  They shared dinner, stories, hopes and visions that would be multiplied 6-fold over the next day. 

By 8:30 Saturday morning people started to pour in, filling the sanctuary, foyer, and patio, and the room began to buzz in anticipation of the day.  People recognized friends and familiar faces, and exchanged murmurs of satisfaction while eating a healthy array of breakfast food and drink.

Kate, Doug, and Carole then met with all of us, setting the tone for the day in sentiment and song, and we divided into smaller groups of 10-12.  We started with a sharing of personal reflections of our connections at UUSS, then answered questions ranging from the more reflective (“If this congregation went away next week, what would we miss?”, “What is the purpose of this congregation, anyway?”) to the more specific, which focused on our needs (including the needs of new members and visitors) over the next 5-10 years.  We translated the answers of these questions into vision and covenant statements.

We paused for a very tasty lunch and were able to enjoy fresh air, lovely spring weather, and further lively conversation as we discussed topics related to the morning.  People commented about being touched by the richness and depth of connection that were related in the morning introductions, and by the respectful and generous way we listened to each other.

The afternoon was devoted to brainstorming about short term and long term goals, culminating in “the frenzy of the sticky dots” as we individually placed our limited number of color-coded dots by the goals we supported the most.  (After the official workshop was over, other congregants who were unable to attend the workshop were also asked to share their voices by adding their own sticky dot votes).  Overall, energies were steady, and most people stayed to the end as we shared our hearts and minds with each other, and shaped our vision of our future. 

As this goes to press, final distillations of the vision and covenant are in progress, and further sticky dot voting is continuing.  We are off to a great start at harnessing and directing our collective vision.  It will take a little while to condense and group our short and long term goals into a manageable form.  Meanwhile, people are signing up to be a part of the implementation (Vision Into Action) team.  If you would like to contribute to this process (in whatever way you like – let your area of interest be known), contact either Barbara Gardner or Barbara Hopkins.

The journey and the destination are one, our chorus of voices is breaking into song once again, and together we are shaping our future!

THANKS TO ALL!!!!!

(and particular thanks to the following people, who generously gave their energy, time, and talents in order to make this workshop happen:  Kimberly Ayers, Christine Bailey, Taylor Carey, Joyce Chadd, Tina Chiginsky, Elaine Cooper, Carol Doehne, Barbara Gardner, Barbara Hopkins, Linda Hoganson, Rich Howard, Ginny Johnson, Fran Kennedy, Doug Kraft, Judy Lane, Michael Laughlin, Sally Lewis, David Libby, Janet Lopes, Lisa Malkin, Candy McMorris, Dave McMorris, Armando Molina, Jeannine Newcum, Fran Oyafuso, Kate Throop, Christine Webb-Curtis, Margaret Wilcox, Kathryn Young.)