An Opportunity to Re-examine OUUC Vision, Mission, and Ends
by James Trujillo, Board President
We need your thoughts, energy, and knowledge as we explore and align our community to address the greatest needs of Olympia, Washington, and our small planet. The pandemic has put us in a unique position of being untethered in unknown waters. While this can be a little frightening, it also creates an opportunity to explore and discover untapped wells of innovation and spirit.
How will we start this work? In the coming months, your OUUC Board of Trustees will lead a project to update the OUUC vision, mission, and ends. These documents have not been revisited for several years. With our minister Rev. Mary Gear now well settled, it seems the perfect time to take a fresh look at these important Congregational declarations. A compelling vision, a clear mission, and clear end statements will help the congregation determine our direction over the next several years and will guide Rev. Mary in allocating church resources and staff priorities.
The Board has selected consultant Jake Morrill to design and develop, in collaboration with the Board, a process that will engage the full OUUC congregation of members and friends. The project will begin in January 2021 and aims to produce an updated vision, mission, and ends by May 2021.
Let me introduce you to Jake Morrill. Since 2003 Jake has been the Lead Minister of Oak Ridge (Tennessee) UU Church. He is a licensed Marital and Family Therapist and a former Chaplain in the US Army Reserve and a former Executive Director of the Appalachian Institute for Creative Learning. Jake holds an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School as well as an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. A support team of three associates will be helping him in this project. For more information on Jake, check out his website at https://www.jakemorrill.com.
Jake has already started coordinating with the Board and Rev. Mary and has laid out a draft timeline and plan for our work together. He will contact many of you to learn more about your dreams and aspirations for OUUC. I promise you will be hearing a lot from Jake and the Board as we proceed! We will publish regular updates and explanations– be sure to look for them or find our progress highlighted on our webpage.
As Board President, I’ll be the Board’s point person on this project. Please send any questions or comments to me.
This is one of several important pieces of work the Board is tackling in the remaining four months of our tenure. The Board is also leading a charge on re-evaluating our fiscal year/church year alignment and taking actions to enhance our revenues. Look for updates as well as opportunities to have your voice heard.
