Saturday evening we will celebrate Cathy Cartwright-Chow’s 15 year ministry here at First Unitarian and her 30 years service to Unitarian Universalist congregations. We will send her off into retirement from full time work, to her son’s wedding in Malaysia and to welcome her first grandchild. This is another major milestone for the church. If you have not yet done so, please let us know that you can join us for the celebration.
(cathysretirement@firstunitarianportland.org).
Many of you already have heard the news that Cassandra Scheffman has been selected as our new Director of Religious Education. Cassandra is so well qualified, with a Masters Degree in Education, and so knowledgeable about the church, having worked in Adult Programs, the Learning Community and Social Justice. We could not have found a better candidate to demonstrate the power of working across disciplines and in collaboration.
This hire allows us to take another significant step toward the mission-driven ministry that your Board of Trustees and I have identified as a primary objective. We will certainly continue having and offering “programs.” But our great programs have, in significant ways, come to determine the ministry of First Unitarian. In the mission driven church, the programs serve the mission of the church and opportunities are valued to work collaboratively.
This is called “de-siloing.”
Think of the rally we held last September on Main Street as a group of us marched to offer our religious witness downtown on the side of Love. Think of Main Street on that afternoon, with children and youth part of an intergenerational church community, committed to justice, and with music bringing us together and stirring our spirits.
In the mission driven church, our ministry with children, youth, families and adults all serve the goal of faith development…Life-Span Faith Development. The task is to help us all live lives of integrity and joy in our very complicated world. Doing that takes involvement from many programs and many of our talented staff and lay leaders.
The coming year will be another transitional year. We are not yet ready to make final decisions about structure. But I do want to share the approach we are taking this year to make this move toward the mission driven goal.
Associate Minister Tom Disrud, will continue to have broad pastoral and programmatic responsibilities. But he will also shepherd the transition of our Adult Programs toward the Faith Development focus. This will include the current Adult Programs classes and retreats, but also the work of membership, small group ministry and what we have been calling Congregational Life. I will be picking up much of his supervisory responsibilities to give him the time and attention to do this well. Kathryn Estey will also be assuming some of the many administrative tasks that Tom has handled.
Acting Assistant Minister Mary Gear, who has been involved with both Adult Programs and the Learning Community this year, will focus solely on Religious Education and our Family Ministries. She will supervise Cassandra and Nicole Bowmer with the goal of sustaining our large program while we, at the same time, assess the possibility in some new approaches. Mary will report directly to me.
Tom and Mary clearly will be working closely together. They will be supported by a new Transition Team of lay leaders as we explore ways we can deepen the connections and spiritual development we offer…across the lifespan. I will take part in a new Faith Development Staff Team where coordination and collaboration can grow.
Needless to say, Dana Buhl will be in frequent conversation as we continue the process of building a justice-consciousness throughout our ministry.
This is a transitional year, as I said. It will require flexibility from us all. We have not even settled on some of the language we will come to use. Will we call this part of the broad mission driven effort “faith development” or “spiritual growth”? Cassandra was hired using the “Director of Religious Education” title. What about the “Family Ministries” language? There are many questions.
We also continue in hiring mode, searching now for support for Tom (as Cassandra rapidly transitions to her new role), support for our Justice Ministry (again with Cassandra making her shift), but also additional support in each of these areas and in Religious Education in order to make this transition work.
The very Good News is that we are well on the road to putting a deeply grounded, deeply talented and deeply committed team of leaders in place to show the way.
Blessings,
Bill