A Still More Excellent Way - Update
Proposal affirmed; the journey continues
by Rev. Dr. Stephen Austin, Board of Directors
December 2007
This has been an interesting journey. Someone recently re-marked that we as UCC’ers love to use that word – journey. Well, it’s been particularly relevant for us as a Conference over the last two years, and doubly so for these past 12 months.
At the recent September portion of our 2007 Annual Meeting, the motion was made with regard to our Conference restructure that the Annual Meeting “…affirms the proposal from the Board of Directors entitled ‘A Still More Excellent Way: Transforming our use of Massachusetts Conference Resources for Vitality and Covenant’ (September 2007 revision); that it encourages all MACUCC members and clergy to participate in the new directions outlined therein; and calls on the Conference to realign our resources in the most effective way to nurture local church vitality and the covenant among our churches.”
And to the Board’s delight, it passed overwhelmingly.
As we address “next steps” in this ongoing process, the Conference Board of Directors, program commissions and staff will all be strategizing in the coming months about their specific response to the adoption by the Annual Meeting of the proposal. The Board will meet on Dec. 1 to begin crafting a plan of action.
Through the work of our Goal Develop-ment and Resource Allocation committee, we have already met with Conference staff regarding creating and setting outcome-based benchmarks for ministry effectiveness evaluation. Staff are also beginning to figure out their own next steps in other areas
The two things that remain most important to us to convey to you, the Conference, are these:
(1) That A Still More Excellent Way is primarily meant to convey the alterations of our approach to Conference ministry, based on things requiring change – and is not presented to you as a comprehensive document recommending an entire overhaul of the Conference. The things that are working well, we have no intention of changing.
(2) It doesn’t end here – not at all. As your Board of Directors, and in concert with Conference staff, we will be regularly assessing the effectiveness of this proposal and its components as it is implemented throughout 2008; and we will apply regular, rigorous evaluation of our work together during that time. Your input will be critical for us to
properly evaluate this proposal’s viability. We mean it when we say that this proposal is not an endpoint, but the next stage on a shared journey of transformation together.
On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank the members of the Listening Process Steering Committee, and to express our appreciation to all who attended the listening sessions, and to those of you who provided feedback at the June meeting and the September hearings.
We feel, as a Board, that we have been blessed with a spirit of hopefulness, energy, enthusiasm, flexibility, expectation, and the desire to grow into the next chapter and expression of our Conference’s life – and we are looking forward to seeing what God will do with us, and through us, and inside of us.
July 26, 2007
A letter to the Churches, Associations, Clergy and lay leaders of the Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
From: Jim Antal, Conference Minister & President
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Greetings of grace and peace in the name of the One who gives us hope and power.
I’m writing to thank you for your feedback, to bring you up to date on our Conference discussions about our future, and to invite your further involvement.
A month ago we gathered as a Conference (in Connecticut of all places!) for a robust and rewarding “Part One” of our Annual Meeting. Our major focus was the draft of a paper from the Conference Board of Directors: “A Still More Excellent Way – Transforming our use of Massachusetts Conference Resources for Vitality and Covenant.” I want to thank all the delegates and guests for your enthusiastic participation in those discussions and for the thoughtful written feedback you generated at your tables, along with the additional feedback you provided through the web site and some letters.
As soon as Synod concluded- (and by the way – wasn’t Synod fantastic! I strongly recommend that every UCC member listen to Bill Moyers’ keynote presentation which is available in streaming video on www.ucc.org) - the Board began to gather your feedback so that it could be taken into consideration as we move towards a final revision of the paper.
Looking ahead, the final version of this proposal will come before the Conference for a vote at “Part Two” of our Conference Annual Meeting on September 29 in Worcester. We anticipate that this document will be available on or about September 4, 2007.
On September 8, 9 and 16 the Conference Board and Executive Staff members will host informational hearings to discuss the proposal and respond to your questions (see below.) After reading the final version, I hope that anyone with a question or comment will take advantage of the opportunity for conversation and clarification which these informational hearings will allow. At this point it will be too late to make any further changes to the document. Our hope is that before being asked to vote on it, everyone will have an opportunity to have their questions about the paper answered.
Informational Hearings for “A Still More Excellent Way”
In closing:
- Thanks for all your input through the 32 sessions of the listening process, the web site feedback, your letters and the annual meeting conversations.
- Please register for our Annual Meeting (Part Two) on September 29. You may register at http://www.macucc.org/annualmeeting/part2.htm
- Look in your email for the final version of “A Still More Excellent Way” on our about September 4.
- Consider attending one of the Informational Hearings listed above.
In the hope that you are enjoying a restorative summer, I am
Faithfully yours,
Jim Antal
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The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal ,
Conference Minister and President
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
1 Badger Rd.
Framingham, MA 01702
508.875.5233 fax 508.875.5485
www.MACUCC.org <http://www.macucc.org/>
"Nurturing local church vitality and the covenant among our churches"
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June 8, 2007
The Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Conference, UCC, today released the Board's proposal to the 208th Annual Meeting (being held June 22, 2007), titled “A Still More Excellent Way.”
A link to this document has been emailed to all current Annual Meeting delegates, clergy and churches, except those for whom we have no email addresses. If you have delegates or clergy in your church without email addresses, please do your best to provide them with a print copy of this plan prior to Annual Meeting. (Delegates will receive a copy at the meeting; however, they are encouraged to read the proposal in advance). Also, you may want to forward it to other staff or key lay leaders in your congregation.
At the meeting, delegates will be invited to discuss the proposal with others at their tables. They will also be invited to respond in writing to the following questions:
- What do you find exciting in this plan?
- How might you, and others from your local church, participate?
- What might be added or modified to make the plan stronger?
- What else would you like the members of the Conference Board of Directors to know about your response to the proposal?
Between June 22 and July 13, clergy and members of our churches will be invited to respond to the same questions via this website. At the second part of the Annual Meeting, in Worcester on September 29, delegates will be asked to approve a final version of the proposal.
Thank you for your assistance in conveying this information to leaders in your church!
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Download the NEWLY REVISED
"A Still More Excellent Way" (September, 2007, revision) 
Hear a report on the proposal given to the June Annual Meeting by Board of Directors Chair Will Sencabaugh.