TJ Connection - Fall 2002

“Bring your gifts and talents to sustain and strengthen this dream, which is sacred to so many of us, for we are now keepers of the dream.”
Adapted from Singing the Living Tradition.

Less than two years ago in February 2001, a gathering of approximately thirty individuals traveled from Mid South District, Florida District, Southwest District and Thomas Jefferson District to participate in a training by Dr. Helen Bishop in Orlando, FL. While we were enjoying our balmy weather in sunny Orlando, Dr. Bishop was facing tumultuous winter snows in her attempts to fly into snowbound Chicago. The weather proved an insurmountable obstacle to Helen's plans. But the determination of the four District Executives proved more formidable than Murphy's Law. The DE's, once learning of Helen's dilemma, quickly revamped the training agenda in an overnight marathon and managed to deliver quite a respectable training to the participants. In doing so they modeled what every good consultant faces, "be prepared for the unexpected."

Earlier, the four District Presidents gleaned the idea of district consultants from already existing models in districts where they were successfully functioning. The District Presidents, in turn, passed on the directive to their District Executives (DE's) to "make it happen." The collective power of four DEs with such a mandate from their boards and their own collaborative efforts produced results in less than a year. These DEs were challenged to create a different service delivery system in their districts that invited skilled consultants to work with the DEs to deliver quality consultation services to congregations.

So how has the experiment worked? Each District reports resounding success. Here in TJD, six consultants have provided fourteen trainings since their inception the summer of 2001. Their consultations have primarily included board retreats (9) with a focus on planning and team building, start up weekends (3) in the fall and winter for congregations with new ministers, and financially healthy congregations (2). More recently we have developed resources on strategic planning, sabbatical consultation, systems and size theory, and covenanting. They have also assisted with some ministerial exit and transition interviews.

Every consultation, whether it is a board retreat or training, includes an evaluation component. We want to know how we are doing and ways to improve. If our evaluations are any indication, then we providing quality consultation at fees that are gentle to congregational budget.

Comments from participants:
"I liked the openness and willingness to deviate from the agenda to serve the needs of the group;" " I liked the exercises and group activities;" and "I like that we accomplished what we started out to do."

Financially Healthy Congregations
Folks in general and UU's specifically do not usually like to talk about money. Yet in a recent workshop titled, Financially Healthy Congregations, participants indicated that they liked the following:

Ø sharing information that has worked or not worked for other congregations and learning about what information to present when canvassing and getting familiar with resources from UUA and TJD.
Ø different resources and ideas people brought with them
Ø dynamic discussion - new ways of thinking about fiscal issues
Ø role playing and sharing ideas
Ø power point slides and having printed materials to go back home with
Ø group sharing of what worked

Winning Combination
The right topic and competent trainers elicit comments such as:
Ø high energy presentation
Ø handled audience and interaction well
Ø presenter knowledgeable and well prepared
Ø articulate and receptive
Ø easy going style and pleasant personality

We thank you for the opportunity to serve you and invite your continued partnership. Contact the District Executive at Qrahman@uua.org to learn more about the Healthy Congregations Consulting Team and to schedule services.

TJ Connection - Fall 2002

Healthy Congregations Consulting Team - Making a Difference

Healthy Congregations Consulting Team -
Making a Difference