Part V: 1998-Present
The end of the 1997-98 Fellowship year was a major turning point for
UUFES. Roderick Forsman conducted his last worship service as lay
minister on June 21st. He had led his first UUFES service on October
3,1982, over 15 ½ years earlier. His formal role as lay minister had
begun July 1, 1987. The retirement occasion was followed up with a
lively gathering at the Reeds' home in Freedom.
Over all those years, the worship services had benefited from sermons
written by some of the denomination's best ministers. Sermons were
selected for their variety of views, issues, and quality. They were
available to Rod either through personal correspondence, subscription or
in published collections. Among the more frequently appearing sermon
authors were: Robert Senghas, Richard S. Gilbert, John Hay Nichols,
Terry Sweetser, M. Susan Milnor, John Cummins, John Buehrens, and John
W. Cyrus.
The ending of Rod's lay ministry was a point of transition to
professional ministry. At the Annual Meeting of UUFES in May, 1998, Dr.
F. David Fisher was welcomed as Acting Minister by unanimous vote. The
Governing Board was instructed to negotiate a written contract with him.
Dave stated that he intended his tenure as minister to be for one year,
"to be extended if necessary to two years." The final motion
of the Meeting was an expression of appreciation to Rod Forsman for his
thirteen years of service to UUFES.
Looking back four years later, the transition proved to have served
as a powerful stimulus for the planning and reorganizing of our
programs, and energizing a broader participation by the membership.
Starting September, 1998 the Fellowship began meeting every Sunday.
Worship services are held on the first and third Sundays. Lifespan
religious education and social justice programs are held on the
alternate Sundays. Fifth Sundays are the occasions of intergenerational
services. There are more frequent special events. The number and variety
of social events has increased. The Program Committee under the dynamic
leadership of Dick Cary created an exciting calendar whose offerings
were planned out well in advance. The speakers have given us a diverse
array of high-quality topics and abundant mental stimulation.
In September, 1998, Dr. F. David Fisher began his tenure as Acting
Minister. Dave is a retired psychiatrist who had earned a Masters in
Divinity degree from The Starr King School, prior to deciding to enter a
medical career. The high point of UUFES' transition to professional
ministry was Dave's ordination by the congregation on January 10, 1999,
bestowing on him the title Reverend. This event was historic not only
for Dave, but also for UUFES. It was our first ordination. Several
distinguished guests participated in the joyous celebration: Rev. Jim
Norman, District Executive of the NH/VT District; S. Arnold Shields,
District President; Rev. Art Vaeni, Minister of the Starr King
Fellowship in Plymouth (and a guest seminarian speaker when we were
meeting in the Conway Village Congregational Church), Rev. Christoph
Schmauch, President of the Clergy of the Eastern Slope; Rev. Kathy
Merrick, Minister of the Lovell (ME) UCC; Rev. Dr. Duncan Howlett,
Minister Emeritus of All Souls Church, Unitarian, Washington, D.C.
Dave served us effectively for two years. This was the maximum tenure
that he had promised. His sermons enriched our understanding of
Unitarian Universalism, deepened our appreciation of UU Principles,
sensitized us to gender issues, and called us to higher levels of caring
and civility. His pastoral services were deeply appreciated. As a
reminder to him of his hours of service to UUFES, Dave was given a
"literal" hourglass which he promised he would not use for
Scrabble games. Dave has moved to the Fort Lauderdale area with his
partner, Paul Alpert. He is deeply missed by all.
The Search Committee, under the able chairmanship of Malcolm Reed,
brought two ministerial candidates forward to conduct services in July,
2000: Deane Perkins on the 9th, and Daniel Schatz on the 23rd. At a
Special Meeting of the Fellowship on August 6, 2000, a majority of the
membership voted unanimous approval of the Governing Board's
recommendation to call Daniel S. Schatz to be our next minister, on a
half-time basis.
Dan began his ministry with the Fellowship in mid-September with a
sermon exploring adventures - of our free faith, of thought, and of our
life together as a community. A light luncheon replaced the usual
refreshment hour following the service.
In order to better support that adventure together as a community, a
group met with Jim Norman (D.E. for the NH/VT District) on November 21,
2000 to articulate the respective responsibilities of the minister, the
congregation, and shared responsibilities. The group consisted of
representatives of the Governing Board, Ministerial Committee, and Dan
Schatz. Recognizing that the bottom line of successful community is open
communication between the minister and all members of the congregation,
the following list attempted to synthesize their ideas into coherent
form:
Responsibilities of the Minister:
- Lead worship, including sermon, 1st Sundays of the month
- Help
lead and construct 3rd Sunday services
- Provide professional pastoral
care (such as getting to know the congregation, visitation, counseling,
being on-call)
- Maintain strong denominational ties (including NH/VT
District, UUA, worldwide)
- Offer resources and, where appropriate,
suggestions to Governing Board and Committees
- Provide ceremonial
services (such as "match, hatch, and dispatch" a.k.a.
marriage, birth and death)
- Represent UUFES in the community (e.g.,
Clergy of the Eastern Slope)
- Continue on a path of professional and
spiritual growth
Congregational Responsibilities:
- Participate in the life of the congregation (such as attend
services, offer support and care to one another, committee work, social
events, enjoy UUFES)
- Make policy decisions for UUFES (including
bylaws, long-range planning, physical facility, etc.)
- Finances (such
as budgeting, canvassing, and fundraising activities for financial
support of professional staff and other expenses)
- Create 2nd, 4th and
5th Sunday services
- Provide for lifespan religious education
(children and adults) and childcare
- Social action projects
- Take
care of administrative/secretarial tasks (for example, UUFES telephone,
newsletter, web site, Sunday bulletins, UUA and NH/VT paperwork and
dues)
Shared Responsibilities:
- Communicate honestly with one another; manage interpersonal
conflicts
- Provide leadership, mutual moral support
- Plan for the
future
- Spread the word of UUFES
- Integrate new members
- Adult
religious education
Dan's Ordination to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry was held on
October 28, 2001 at the Lake Ossipee Conference Center in Freedom. The
ordination sermon was delivered by The Reverend Dr. Kenneth Torquil
MacLean, former UUA Trustee-At-Large and Minister Emeritus of the Cedar
Lane (MD) Unitarian Universalist Church. That is the church of Dan's
childhood UU upbringing. The ceremony was followed by a dinner enjoyed
by the large gathering present, which included many eminent dignitaries.
Dan's contractual commitment was changed from half-time to 2/3rds
time in the late fall. Dan announced in March, 2002 that he would be
leaving UUFES at the end of July to begin a fulltime ministry to a
larger congregation in Pennsylvania. This news came as a shock to nearly
everyone, who had come to love Dan and to look forward so eagerly to his
excellent sermons and musical performances. A going-away party was
hosted by the Reeds after the Sunday service on July 21st.
The Fellowship promptly addressed the question of whether to hire an
interim minister, or to "go it alone" with lay leadership
during the interim that a search committee would need to find desirable
ministerial candidates. On May 22nd, 21 members of UUFES met with
Rosemary Smurzynski, Acting District Executive, for an informational
forum about Interim Ministry. She presented the pros and cons very
clearly, and expressed her belief that hiring an Interim is the
preferred option.
The Governing Board held its July monthly meeting, well-publicized,
in the evening of the 23rd so that members could attend and express
their views pro and con . Prior to discussion of the Interim question,
JoAnne Rainville presented information she had gained from a Search
Committee Workshop at UUA Headquarters in Boston. The amount that we
have budgeted for a 2/3 time minister is far short of the UUA
guidelines. There was vigorous discussion about strategies for finding a
minister whom we can afford, as well as the option of digging deeper in
our pockets to get closer to the guidelines.
According to President Elizabeth Rhymer's report printed in
Inclinations (August, 2002), "the meeting ended with a
brainstorming exercise, listing the pros and cons of hiring an interim
minister. At the end of the evening, most attendees were leaning toward
"going it alone" this year, putting money saved toward other
UUFES goals such as land/building acquisition & future minister
salary, and pressing forward with our search for a permanent minister.
Some of the reasons people were not enthusiastic about hiring an interim
were the cost, some doubts that we'd find a suitable part-time
candidate, and a feeling that the tasks that an interim could help us
with we're already doing or have done. However, I received at least two
'pro interim' emails from members who were not able to attend the
meeting. The Board will continue to discuss how we will proceed at our
next Board meeting, August 27th."
And continue to address it they did! An Interim Ministry Poll was
sent out to all members and friends. An astounding 75% of members
responded, as well as a number of friends, for a total of 41 replies.
Some people wrote simply with their vote of yes or no. But the majority
wrote at length, explaining their vote as well as their feelings about
ministry in general, getting our own home, membership, and many other
issues. Each member of the Board studied these detailed replies
carefully. In a letter sent to all members and friends, which included a
verbatim compilation of the comments and votes received (with
identifying attributes removed), the Board stated "What struck us
as we read your words is the truth of everyone's opinions, even when
those opinions were the opposite of what others had said. We have taken
every reply to heart and we honor your sincerity and dedication to
UUFES" (Board letter, 9/29/02).
The results of the poll were nearly an even split pro and con interim
ministry. At its September meeting, the five Board members discussed the
poll results at length, then set aside their own personal opinions in
order to take a good look at what they felt was best for UUFES at that
time, given the congregational feedback and the Board's understanding of
the overall picture. The decision was made not to hire an interim
minister. In its letter dated September 29, 2002, the Governing Board
listed some of the reasons it came to this decision: "(1) Hiring an
interim when half of the congregation is opposed to having one would be
detrimental both to the minister and to the congregation; (2) It would
take a few months to get one, using up part of the one-year term s/he
would serve. This would significantly delay the search for a called
minister; (3) The Program Committee has lined up excellent lay and
professional speakers for months ahead, and it is believed that this
quality can be sustained or improved over the next year or more; (4)
Given the dual pressing needs of ministry and housing, both of which are
expensive, the lower expenses without an Interim will save money that
can be put toward the dual goals; (5) Excellent committee leadership and
energetic committee activity are maintaining the strength of UUFES as a
lay-led fellowship while the search is on for a called minister. The
hope is for a called minister in the pulpit by the fall of 2003."
Meanwhile, the awareness was growing among the congregation that we
are continually ministering to one another, in very significant ways, in
all of the activities in which we participate. One important type is the
Small Group Ministry, sometimes known as covenant groups. The primary
goal of these groups is to promote intimacy and spiritual growth in a
supportive setting apart from Sunday services and committee meetings.
Examples are the two Evensong groups and their spinoffs, Seanachie and
Et Tu (see discussion of these in Section C below), the Circle of Eight
dinner groups, and basically any of the social gatherings.
The Spring Breakfast/Brunch, placed on the calendar just after Spring
Solstice and before May Day, has become an annual event. It is sometimes
called the William Ellery Channing Brunch, and usually takes place at
Whittier House in West Ossipee. There was a special version of the
brunch held on April 16, 2000 as a potluck Seder, in keeping with our
ongoing exploration of the world's great religious traditions.
Masterminded by Paul Alpert, Dave Fisher's partner, each participant
family was given a recipe to prepare which would be an authentic item in
the traditional Seder meal.
In the fall of 1998 (September 12-13) we gathered again at Doug
Leathem's beautiful Kezar Lake lodge, this time with a worship service
on Sunday morning, followed by a discussion of the UUA program
"Fulfilling the Promise", lunch, and review of UUFES'
Five-Year Plan.
A highlight in the social calendar has now become a tradition: the
Annual FirstSunday-In-July Picnic at the "Reeds' on the River"
in Freedom, NH. Barbara and Malcolm Reed share their beautiful
surroundings on the Ossipee River and manage always to provide ideal
weather too for the event.
"First Fridays" at Runnells Hall were initiated on December
7, 2001. These are community-building evenings with a potluck dinner,
followed by various activities: music; game playing like cards, board
games, and the like; conversation; sometimes a presentation such as
Debby Cary's February talk and slide show on her experiences in Kuwait
from 1993-1995. The First Friday Potlucks are a regular event.
The Snowfest every March is hosted by Bob Young, whose property backs
up to the National Forest and the trail going up to South Moat Mountain.
Sometimes with a co-host, Bob puts on a wonderful meal. His home-baked
breads and pea soup are without parallel. People bring their
"skinny skis" and snowshoes, and enjoy nature and each other.
Last year (2002) the rain and sleet kept everyone indoors, but people's
spirits were not dampened in the least.
A reading group, Books and Issues, was also organized by Bob Young
and ran for a few years. However, the level of interest declined to a
point where it was no longer worth doing.
Several of our members participate in the social and educational
activities of the Inclusive Moose, an area group which works to combat
homophobia and gender discrimination. They sponsor films and book
discussions, and enjoy dinner events.
The Ferry Beach Retreat on the first or second weekend of September
has become a highlight of the church year. During each of its past four
times the weather has been perfect. "Ferry Beach" is a
Unitarian Universalist Conference Center with lovely facilities located
in Saco, ME. The most recent Retreat was described in Inclinations as:
"Community building and reconnecting with other UUs [usually
another congregation is there also]; Indulging in amazingly scrumptious
food; Enjoying perfect weather and a gorgeous beach; Participating in
Joan Sherman's birthday (her daughter, Carrie, was with us to help
celebrate); Joining Joel [Rhymer] for a never-to-be-surpassed nature
walk in Ferry Beach State Park; Cheering for Ellie and Mary's [Rhymer]
hula hoop routine at the talent show; Seeing Naomi [Lubkin] wide-eyed as
she watched the talent show; Flying kites with Mal [Reed]; Meeting
Milford U-Us and their new minister, Barbara Liscord; Creating pastel
pictures with Joan [Sherman] and stenciling with Barb [Reed]; Swing
dancing with John [Hancock] and Erica [Hunter]; Finding fairy houses
with Willie [Mork]; Star gazing with Bob Fisher." Several of these
scenes are available for viewing on our website www.uufes.org.
- October 1999 to February, 2000: Five-Part Series "Ethics: An
Exploration in Personal Morality". (#1) Authority - Can We Be Good
Without God?, led by Dave Fisher and Barbara Reed. (#2) Motivation -
Doing the Right Thing For the Wrong Reason, led by Brenda Taylor and
JoAnne Rainville. (#3) Responsibility - The Difficult Art of Doing Good,
led by John Hancock and Kathryn Burnell. (#4) Situation - What is Going
On Here Morally?, led by Peggy Erskine and Dave Fisher. (#5) Does the
End Justify the Means?, led by Judie Johnson and Bob Young.
- The
series which followed this was "Honoring Mother Earth: Experiences
in Native American Spirituality", led by Doug Leathem.
- Fall,
2000: Three-part series on our Unitarian Universalist philosophy, called
"Say Your Unitarian Universalism".
- January Through June,
2001: Members of UUFES gathered each 2nd Sunday to determine Our
Philosophy of Religious Growth and Learning, our goals, and ways we
might measure those goals. The end product, summarized below, is subject
to change and growth just as are the individuals who participated. It is
intended to serve as a guidepost for planning future lifespan religious
education offerings:
Definition of Religious Growth and Learning: Religious growth and
learning is a lifelong process of discovery - discovering who one is,
what one believes (which can and will change) and learning how to be
effective in community.
Goals For Religious Growth and Learning: Spiritual (Grow spiritually
as well as numerically/Develop questioning minds/Expose all ages to many
ideas as they relate to religion and expand upon them/Put our religious
concepts into practice/Find freedom to seek our own goals in our own
ways, without intruding on others' searches). Community building (Come
to a greater sense of ourselves as a group/Build a membership of
different age groups/Have greater interaction amongst age groups/Come to
greater diversity/Make friendships, forming a caring community).
Organizational (Increase ministerial involvement in religious
education/Utilize UU curricula for children and adults in the best way,
gauging the interests of the congregation).
The remainder of this document (see Inclinations, September, 2001)
spelled out specific Methods of evaluating our experiences so that we
can learn from our efforts and improve the quality of religious growth
and learning at UUFES.
- Evensong: An eight-week series of gatherings
in which participants explore their spirituality through sharing
thoughts, experiences, doubts, and beliefs. In practice, this was
reduced to a six-week series. At each meeting, the group followed an
order of service with the central event being a sharing time during
which everyone listened attentively and without interruption to each
other. Evensong offered people the opportunity to listen, to speak of
what mattered to them, and to be with one another in respectful ways.
Barbara Reed organized and led the two different series held thus far,
the first group in Fall, 2001, and the second in Winter, 2002. Both
groups decided to continue meeting beyond Evensong. The first, called
Seanachie, meets twice a month on Thursday evenings. The second, calling
itself Et Tu, meets monthly on Thursday forenoons. Each meeting is
organized around a discussion theme such as friendship, laughter, love,
hate, guilt, reverence, touching, death, etc.
- A Women's Spirituality
Book Group was launched in Fall, 2002.
- October, 2001 Through May,
2002: Every 2nd Sunday featured a sermon by six of our members and a
minister on one of the UU Principles. The series was introduced by an
overarching introduction by The Rev. Dr. Duncan Howlett. The following
presentations completed the series: Dick Cary - "The Inherent Worth
and Dignity of Every Person" Dave Fisher - "Justice, Equity
and Compassion in Human Relations: Our Tradition and Post-9/11
Options" Rod Forsman - "Valuing Others and Encouraging
Spiritual Growth" Rick Friend - "A Free and Responsible Search
for Truth and Meaning" Ed Wright - The Right of Conscience and the
Use of the Democratic Process in Our Congregations and in Society At
Large" Rev. Mary Edes - "A Humble Walk; A Lofty Goal"
Brenda Taylor - "Respect For the Interdependent Web of All
Existence of Which We Are a Part"
- February, 2002: Three weekly
sessions presented by Rev. Schatz on "A Faith of Questions -
Understanding Unitarian Universalism.
- Monthly "Movies With the
Minister" were part religious education, part socializing - a
wonderful mix.
- A curriculum workshop series on The Welcoming
Congregation began in November 1998, led by Dave Fisher. This is a
UUA-produced program designed to heighten our awareness of the
destructiveness of homophobia, and the need for UU persons and
congregations to openly embrace the humanity of gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, and transgendered persons. Many of our UU folks have felt
their lives changed by this workshop. A year later, the Fellowship voted
affirmatively on 12/5/99 to become a Welcoming Congregation.
In addition to these adult activities, of course, there is the
ongoing program for children. The Lifespan Religious Education Committee
has made significant progress in providing a quality program for our
children. Of course, a program can accomplish little if there are no
participants, or sporadic participants. This has been a problem which
has thwarted the good efforts of our R.E. leaders over the years. That
problem has lessened significantly. There are twelve children
represented among our member families, ranging in age from about 2 to 15
years, and most of them are in attendance fairly regularly. Diana
Talkington is our paid staff person who works mostly with the older of
the two age groups, while a different volunteer each week works with the
younger of the groups. A young man, Don Swift, has been hired to provide
child care. The L.R.E. Committee has been very busy in planning the
curriculum for children's religious education and assuring its quality.
Two recent chairpersons have stepped down. Joy Maidment was
regrettably unable to continue in that position after she took over from
Deborah Frock. Deborah had chaired the committee for several years. In
the last three years of her tenure, which ended December, 2001, Deborah
had been serving simultaneously as L.R.E. Committee Chair, teacher, and
acting Director or Religious Education.
In May, 2000 UUFES received a grant of $3,300 from the Lewis Downing
Trust (from the Concord NH UU Church) to assist us as we grow the
Fellowship. A few months later, President JoAnne Rainville received word
that the Fellowship was receiving a grant of $2,000 from the District
Chalice Lighter Program. In their announcement they stated: "Being
a small congregation which has moved in just a few years from a lay-led
group to ordaining one of your members and providing a small salary for
that person, we believe you have exhibited potential for a congregation.
We note that you have gone from twice a month services to weekly
services and have a strong program committee. Just when things are
moving forward your minister is ready to retire. If you can bring flame
to these embers perhaps we can have another strong congregation in our
district. We offer this help to bring a regular part-time minister in
for the professionalism this provides. We are particularly interested to
note the geography of our two-state district and the location of our
present congregations seeing that a UU presence in the area of the
Eastern Slopes would allow a liberal presence to many presumably in
need." Grants are not given without the considerable effort of
individuals who prepared the application materials. Recognition is due
to Doug Leathem who promoted the Chalice Lighter Program, and to JoAnne
Rainville, Brenda Taylor, and John Hancock for preparation of the
application.
In spring, 2001, the UUA awarded UUFES a $5000 grant in matching
funds for fundraising, specifically to be used for outreach. The
advertising line in the 2001-02 budget was increased to $6000. The plan
was to conduct three radio campaigns of daily ads, each one about two
weeks in length, spaced out over the year (early fall, early winter,
spring). Again, this came about through the tireless efforts of JoAnne,
Brenda, and John. As an aside, all grant-writing activity, Governing
Board meetings, and the meetings of several committees during the
two-year presidency of JoAnne Rainville were held at the home of JoAnne
and Brenda. For everyone involved, that home became "UUFES
Central".
The Annual Yard Sale held late June netted $1400. In August, JoAnne,
Brenda and Kathy made an on-the-spur-of-the-moment effort to clear out
some more items from the inventory, and sold another $230 worth. Beth
Bonanno spearheads the sale each year. Roger Burnell (Kathy's
father-in-law) generously loans his home and driveway for storing sale
items before the sale and space on the sale day. His prime location in
Conway Village helps make the sale a success. The previous summer, sale
receipts were $1132 which, when matched by the UU Funding Group, brought
in a total of about $2,265.
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee sponsors a Guest At Your
Table Program each fall. The Social Concerns Committee conducted a
service for GAYT on October 27, 2002, led by Sandra Carr and JoAnne
Rainville. Fifteen members/families were signed up, raising a total of
$720 for the UUSC.
Barbara Reed initiated a one-person fundraising project in March,
2001 which is ongoing. She designed a stained-glass medallion which is
produced by an artist in Maine. It is a circular window-hung piece
featuring a flaming chalice against a mountainous background that
represents the "eastern slopes"; thus, it may be thought of as
our logo. Several members have bought one. It makes a lovely gift.
Barbara also has tiles, teeshirts and notepaper with the flaming chalice
logo. These are sometimes on display at Sunday services. Profits go to
UUFES.
Each year the Social Concerns Committee sponsors a book donation
service in late April. The one in 2001 collected a huge selection of
books - from gardening, poetry, philosophy to children's literature -
which were then donated to the Chocorua Library. Each book bore a
nameplate that advised readers it was a gift from UUFES. The collection,
worth about $1700 retail, allowed the librarian to select books of her
own choosing, for a like amount of money, per a matching grant policy.
The annual pledge drive conducted last April made an effort to visit
members in their homes in an ALL UUFES CANvass. The canvass raised a
pledge amount of $44,984, a 19% increase over the previous year and a
new record. The mean pledge amount was $1000; the median, $670; the
range, $100 to $4500. Over 91% of the 46 member units pledged, as did
three nonmembers.
Finally, mention should be made of how UUFES has dealt with the
familiar tradition of "passing the plate." Nearly every year
at Annual Meeting the issue comes up, a motion is made, and soundly
defeated. This scenario itself has become the tradition. At the last
meeting in 2002, the motion "to pass the plate during morning
services" received one vote in support.
During the first two weeks of March, 2001, the Long Range Planning
and Finance Committees teamed up to conduct interviews of about ½-hour
each with nearly all UUFES members and friends. The goal was to provide
an opportunity for each person to speak honestly and confidentially in
their own homes about what they feel is right or lacking in the
Fellowship, as well as expressing their visions for our future. The
essence of all their thoughts and opinions were presented at a Vision
Quest service held on March 18th.
A Mission Statement attempts to portray how a Fellowship defines
itself and its purposes. Two years ago the Governing Board noted that
our existing Mission Statement had been articulated more than 7 years
earlier, in 1994, when the membership was much smaller. It was clearly
time to reexamine our mission and formulate our statement of it to
reflect accurately what UUFES wants to be and to accomplish. A large
turnout of members and friends met in the late fall, 2001 to begin the
process of revision. The rich output of their efforts that day was given
to the Long Range Planning Committee to fashion into coherent form.
The LRPC presented its final version to the Board the following
February. The Board accepted that version and placed it on the warrant
for Fellowship action at the Annual Meeting, May, 2002. After a brief
discussion of the congregation's central role in determining the main
elements of the Mission Statement before them, it was adopted
unanimously:
The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Eastern
Slopes is to be a welcoming congregation of people of good will who
unite: · To encourage and support spiritual and intellectual growth in
children, youth and adults · To be a living model of respect for
diversity and differences, encouraging the free expression of thoughts,
ideas and beliefs · To provide a caring community in which individuals
and families come together in friendship, respect and joy · To act on
our Unitarian Universalist principles to improve out community, locally
and globally, through social action and outreach
This past year witnessed the marriage of two UUFES members, Erin K.
Wright and Howard Stanten.
At a Special Meeting on December 6, 2002, Dick Cary and Rod Forsman
presented information about what the Long Range Planning Committee has
accomplished in its efforts toward the goal of a future home for UUFES.
The two of them and Rick Friend have visited the UU societies at Durham,
Plymouth, and Sanford (ME) to see how they acquired their church
buildings, size and space characteristics, costs of construction and
maintenance, and financing. A retired architect, Dick has sketched
preliminary plans for what UUFES would need as we grow. He has estimated
a total of 4000-6000 square feet, to include a 40' X 40' sanctuary and a
fellowship hall which would house a dining area, kitchen, library,
minister's study, bathrooms, and children's R.E. space.
A key element in planning is location. Last year Rod made a map of
our catchment area of Western Maine and N.H., and placed pins in the
specific locations where members and friends reside. The result made
evident one clear fact: our present location at Runnells Hall in
Chocorua is the geocenter of the wide demographic spread of the
congregation. Conclusion: we need to try to keep our location as close
as possible to where we are now.
It turns out that a former member of UUFES, now living in
Massachusetts, owns land off Route 113, east of Runnells Hall. Rod has
been corresponding with him for nearly two years. The Committee has
presented some different options to him, and the one currently
approaching the negotiation stage is a 5.02 acre parcel on the north
side of Route 113, about 6/10 mile east of Runnells Hall. Test pits were
dug late last fall, and possible site locations have been considered.
A straw vote was held among the two dozen or so attending the
meeting, and the vote was unanimous in favor of proceeding with our
present efforts.
Yet another congregational survey was carried out in December 2002
because of the Search Committee's need to offer fully up-to-date
information about UUFES to prospective ministerial candidates. Fifty
people responded. Females outnumbered males 2:1. Almost half of the
respondents are 60 or older. Almost half hold post-graduate degrees.
Only 16% are lacking the bachelor's degree. 56% are married or have a
live-in partner. There are 10 children in the religious education
program. Family income ranges between <$20K to over $150K. The most
frequently chosen reasons for continuing to attend UUFES are: UU
beliefs, fellowship, and worship. These three elements plus spiritual
growth and celebrating common values were selected as the most important
aspects of congregational life. The majority want the minister to preach
twice/month. Of the 16 specific item components of a service, the six
selected most frequently as important are: sermon, 44; candles of
concern, 36; chalice lighting, 33; children's story, 30; coffee hour, 28
(!); and singing by congregation, and meditation, 25 each. Almost 80%
want a fixed format of Sunday Service with variations for special
Sundays.
The remainder of the survey items dealt with content and objectives
of the worship service, ministerial functions, and ministerial
administrative role and leadership style.
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