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UNITARIAN
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| August 2004 |
Dear Baltimore-Washington area religious professionals and lay leaders, Since our May letter, representatives from the Baltimore Washington Growth Planning Committee (GPC) and from the Joseph Priestley District have had the enriching experience of visiting 22 of the region’s 27 congregations to brief them on our progress, exchange views, and recruit task force members. The GPC has now formed task forces that will develop multiyear plans for the four growth strategies it has identified. Here, along with a description of the strategies, are the co-chairs who have agreed to lead the associated task forces (asterisked co-chairs are members of the GPC):
The task forces are due to submit their plans to the GPC on Nov. 12. Although the task force work has begun, the development of the strategies will continue until the GPC submits its final plan to the congregations between March 15 and April 30 for their adoption. Critical to this undertaking is the involvement and investment of the congregations and individual UUs in the area. So please send the name of anyone you know who has a strong interest in contributing to the development of these strategies to Gregg Forte at gforte@mac.com. Committee representatives will next be visiting the area’s congregations between Jan. 15 and Feb. 28 with a draft of the multiyear growth plan. One of the most pointed challenges we received during the congregational visits was to state a larger purpose for our strategies. In short: Why grow? Here are some aspects of an answer: Pick one of our principles, any one. Now see whether a UUA member congregation could affirm and promote it, as it has covenanted to do, without a vital engagement with the wider community. Our history is rooted in both independent thought and a reaching out to heal the world. So for reasons of our past, but also of our present and future, our UU congregations must go beyond ministering to themselves. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning and encouragement to spiritual growth demand the enrichment of our faith community with a greater diversity of cultures, religions, and life experiences. Respect for the interdependent web of which we are a part surely demands that we reach out to help sustain that web. We cannot promote the democratic process in society at large, nor the inherent worth and dignity of every person, nor justice, equity, and compassion, nor a peaceful, just, and free world community if we remain a small, elite denomination. Let us replace the passive notion that “if you are like us you’ll join us” with an activist, outward-looking invitation to “come join us in healing the world.” We need strategies to shed our light farther and wider, to promote our universal vision of a whole and healthy world, to accommodate more people in our congregations who want to share in our passion and our vision. Please help advance the notion in your congregations that the UU message is a message to the wider world. We welcome your thoughts on the question “Why grow?” Please send them to us at one of the e-mail addresses listed below. In faith, Rev. Rebecca Cohen (Accotink), Co-chair Gregg Forte (Arlington), Co-chair |
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