Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Pottstown

In last month’s column, the feedback from the fellowship survey was presented. As was stated, the feedback from the survey was taken very seriously by the Board of Directors at UUFP and we attempted to incorporate the feedback into the goals that we set for the upcoming fiscal year. These goals help to ensure that the Board makes decisions, including financial decisions, that help us to deliver on our mission: nurturing spiritual journeys, embracing diversity, celebrating community, turning values into action.

The following are the goals that the UUFP Board of Directors have set for the new fiscal year that starts July 1:

1. Ensure that UUFP remains a viable religious community.
   a. Manage finances responsibly.
   b. Continue to invest in updating our building.
   c. Create long-term plan for major improvements.
   • Roof maintenance
   • Sanctuary ceiling
   • Sanctuary floor
   • Sanctuary wall tiles
   • Replace flooring in other areas (kitchen, entrance, minister’s office, etc.)

2. Ensure that technologic capabilities continue to support and enhance the entire
   UUFP experience.
   a. Conduct needs assessment of our technologic capabilities. Needs assessment should include input
   from UUFP Committee Chairpersons.
   b. Create a short-term and long-term investment plan.

3. Deliver Sunday Services that are in alignment with the UU Principles and the
   UUFP Covenant
   a. Increase Worship Committee budget.
   b. Identify speakers whose talks are well received by the fellowship and book them out as often as they are willing to come to our fellowship.
   c. Continue to get feedback on speakers and presentations.
   d. Ensure there is a clear link to UU Principles for every Sunday Service.

4. Invest in Religious Education
   a. Children’s RE
   • Roof maintenance
   • Hire a Nursery teacher
   • Provide budget for RE teacher
   • RE Committee to work with teachers to develop a Parental Agreement
     b. Continue to build out and fund Adult RE programs.
     c. Continue to build out and fund RE program for teens.

5. Enhance Community Awareness of UUFP
   a. Continue to hold and advertise events that can include the surrounding community.
   b. Provide budget for communications.
   c. Communications to always include wording that states that we welcome people of
   all races, religions, genders, sexual orientation, etc.

These goals are the next step of our journey, based on our progress towards this year’s goals. At
the upcoming Annual Congregational Meeting (scheduled for Sunday, June 2, after services), we will review our accomplishments for the year as well as vote on the leadership team and budget that will keep us moving forward. Please plan to attend this important meeting.

With Gratitude, Linda

“Receiving feedback. does not mean that I am the worst person that ever lived. It only means that someone cares enough to tell me how to improve.” ~ Joseph Folkman

The Board of Directors of the UUFP asked members and friends to complete a brief survey to help us think about what areas to focus on as we continue to strategize about how keep our fellowship thriving. I want to thank everyone (all 27 of you) who filled out a survey. The written feedback was especially helpful in determining what action steps to take. I want to share the top line results. Please keep in mind that the Board used this to assess the feelings of the entire congregation. While the congregation is made up individuals, each with unique perspectives and points of view, the board needed to step back and look at the overall input and trends. That does not mean that any negative feedback is disregarded. We will use this feedback as a filter to ask ourselves how to be more improve on a specific topic.

As a reminder, people we asked to score the following statements with Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither Agree or Disagree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree:

Approximately 80-85 percent of respondents scored Strongly Agree or Agree for all statements. However, there were individuals who responded with Strongly Disagree or Disagree for all statements. These scores, along with the written feedback, enabled the board to identity the following areas to focus on:

Thank you to all who responded. Thank you for caring enough about UUFP to provide the feedback. Please keep the input coming–don’t wait for a formal survey. If you have any suggestions, please discuss them with a member of the Board.

“Be the change you want to see.”

With Gratitude, Linda