Focus groups still need your voice!

Your search committee is here, and we are listening.”

 

Your search committee is pleased to note “Voices of the UUCK” is on schedule as we continue to gather thoughts, ideas, stories and data for a comprehensive packet that will tell the story of our church for ministerial applicants.

All individual interviews with a sample of lay leaders and staff have been complete, notes Voices leader Becky Cline. And focus groups with a sample of committees, boards and general membership, as well as specific groups like parents of young children, are continuing through July 23. Focus groups are still open for signup by e-mailing Becky Cline; individual sign-up times listed below, are:

• Open-invitation group: Saturday, July 15, 1-3 p.m., Fessenden Hall. (Please sign up by noon Friday, July 14.)
• Parents of young children: Sunday, July 16, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Fessenden Hall.Special note: Child care is available. (Please let Becky know when you sign up, also by noon Friday, July 14, if you are bringing children.)
• Parents of youth/middle schoolers: Friday, July 21, 7-9 p.m., Fessenden Hall. (Please sign up by noon Thursday, July 20, and bring your youth to the annex for their own focus group and pizza!)
• Youth/middle schoolers: Friday, July 21, 7-9 p.m., Annex. (Please sign up by noon Thursday, July 20.) Pizza will be provided!

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FAQ: Is the interview the same as the survey I keep hearing about?

No, the interview is a pre-cursor to the survey that will be distributed later this summer. The survey, while much more detailed, will include numerous closed, short-answer questions, while the interview is a smaller number of open-ended questions, which will allow individual voices to emerge. Each member and friend of the UUCK is being asked to participate in both, as both are important in preparing the document that will most authentically describe our beloved church for ministerial applicants.

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“I hope a lot of parents show up for our group,” Religious Education Coordinator and mother of two young children, Colleen Haines Thoele, told the committee. “It is so important for parents and caregivers to share their hopes with this committee. Not just so that our voices are heard, but the voices of our children, too.”

Folks unable to attend one of the focus groups may pick up a paper questionnaire, which contains the same questions being asked in face-to-face interviews and groups. Questionnaires will be available in Founders Lounge after worship this Sunday, July 16, or by contacting Voices coordinator Becky Cline. Questionnaires should be returned to any search-committee member by July 23.

Becky, along with the full search committee, wants the congregation to know how grateful the committee is for all participation. Not only did staff and lay leaders readily agree to be interviewed, but several church members agreed to help with facilitating, note-taking and recruiting for the interview and focus-group processes. Shout-outs to Elaine Bowen, Don Easterling, Bonnie Harper, Kim Homsher, Debra-Lynn Hook, Kathy Kerns, Patty Miller, Susan Poole-Wilke, Carolyn Andrews Schlemmer, Susanna Smart, Shana Jane Steinhouse, Colleen Haines Thoele, and of course, Becky Cline, for their help.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead

 

Your ministerial search committee members are:

     Kathie Slater, chair
     Becky Cline
     Don Easterling
     Saul Flanner
     Bonnie Harper
     Debra-Lynn Hook
     Kathy Kerns
     Rod Thompson
     Gene Wenninger