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Table of Contents
Fall
Leadership Conference
District
President’s Column
Qiyamah’s
Corner
Ministerial
Matters
Lifespan
REflections
Accepting Allies
Chalice Lighters
General Assembly
TJD Board
Retreat
Don't Sleep on
the Dream
District
Calendar
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President’s Column
An Invitation to Building Community
By Dr. Leon E. Spencer, District President
In August, the Thomas Jefferson District Board held our retreat at The Mountain. Our retreat provided us with an opportunity to do team building, start our strategic planning process, recovenant with our District Executive, and enter into a covenant with The Mountain. It was a full weekend. We had an opportunity to welcome new members of the Board and to say goodbye to our secretary, Carol Flake, who resigned but remains committed to building community. The Board appointed Leslie Trew to serve as Secretary and Adele McLean to fill the Board position left vacant by Leslie. The Board expressed its thanks and appreciation to Carol Flake for her service as secretary. For me, Carol has been a constant reminder about the value of community and the importance of community building. As I think of our work at the retreat, I view it as community building. Community involves ownership, friendly association and fellowship. There are common interests, values and goals.
Doug Van Nostran, a member of the TJ Healthy Congregation Consulting Team, skillfully led us through examining our mission statement and strategic planning process. Our mission statement and strategic plan are important parts of community building. They are our "identity documents" that reflect who we are and who we wish to become and how we plan to get there.
We would like to develop a process that will allow for "ownership" by congregations. Please let us know if you are interested in getting involved in the process. A Strategic Planning Committee beyond the Board will be appointed. We invite you to share your, suggestions, thoughts, and ideas.
Another aspect of community building is covenanting. We had the opportunity to re-covenant with our District Executive. This was a part of the evaluation process between the District and the UUA who are co-employers of Qiyamah. This process allowed us to examine our relationship, to appreciate our work together, and to promise to continue to use our Principles and Purposes as guidelines for our work together.
The District's relationship with The Mountain is special. We have many shared values, connections and relationships. We recognize how our missions are different and similar and we affirm our shared values as communities. The TJ District is the first district to enter into a covenant with The Mountain. In our covenant, we pledge to "Accept one another's commitment to acting from the best possible motives. Remain engaged with gentleness and respect. Honor our responsibilities for upholding the
spiritual values, traditions and rituals of our respective organizations. Serve as resources to one another as needed and as appropriate. Work together to create, build and strengthen community. Be committed, through our work together, to strengthening our UU communities so that they in turn can be more effectively engaged in and contribute to the transformation of the larger world."
It is our intention to build community with our congregations, and we invite you to get involved with community building in the district. Please let us know about your vision for the district and please volunteer your time and skills to serving on a district committee. We invite you to feel free to contact me, any board or staff member. Community involves ownership, friendly association and fellowship. We look forward to working with you toward realizing our common goals and values to build a strong UU community in the district.
In faith
Leon
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