Small Congregation with a Minister
Case Study #2 session #1
The congregation has 80 adult members that they reported to our UUA. The
congregation is meeting Sunday mornings in a church that they have owned for 50 years.
They have 14 children and youth. This congregation is 55 years old. It was started as
part of the Fellowship Movement.
The space they meet in is old and beautiful. It had been a Lutheran church but 50 years
ago the congregation bought it. They paid cash. They hold no mortgage. There is ample
space for any program they might want to develop. The sanctuary holds 300 people.
They have 8 rooms in the basement, 5 rooms in the office wing and 4 rooms in the Board
wing, ample bathrooms and parking. However, there is very little green space around
them.
An endowment was set up 40 years ago and had grown to $1,500,000. The endowment is
set up so that the congregation can use only the interest. Pledging had not been high in
the past and the congregation depended on interest to supplement the operating budget,
however this issue had been addressed during the Interim period and pledging is up.
Now this year of economic crisis the interest is non-existent and the endowment itself lost
money.
They have not always been Fair Share but have made an effort in the last several years to
make sure that they are now.
The congregation is located right downtown in a good-sized southern city of 780,000
people. There is a University in the town only blocks from the church and most of the
members of the congregation work or have worked at the University.
The Minister, Rev. Pat Seer, is their third called minister and is at fair compensation.
Rev. Seer has been the pastor to this congregation for 2 years. During Rev. Seer’s
ministry the congregation has grown, 6 new families with children have started attending.
These families make up the 14 children in the budding RE program. During the Search
Process the congregation expressed that its deepest desire was to have a vibrant program
for children. The Start-up week with their District Executive was good but things were
said that troubled both Rev. Seer and the DE during the timeline discussion – they never
really felt that they got it all out.
This congregation was very active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. They were
a sanctuary for civil rights marchers. They offered a place to rest and/or sleep. They
provided food. During the heaviest marching and police brutality the church was
firebombed. The congregation proudly rebuilt the office wing. Their minister at that
time, Rev. Jim Taylor, was very out-spoken and pro-human rights and civil rights. He
was quoted in the newspaper often. He also received death threats. The last straw for
him was threats made against his children. This ministry lasted 2 ½ years. His picture
hangs in the foyer.
Small Congregation with a Minister
At the same time people who worked at the University and members of the congregation
were singled out, harassed, bullied, threatened and run off. The congregation rallied
around them and helped to support them as they found places to go.
When the Vietnam War became a controversy far too soon on the heels of the civil rights
movement the congregation split. They had no minister during this period.
Their second called minister stayed 8 years but few people talk about her other than to
say she was not as good a minister as Rev. Jim. They say, “She just couldn’t cut it. We
never really trusted her.” There were rumors of missing funds but nothing was ever
uncovered. She was dismissed but no one can really say much else about her dismissal.
They went without a Minister for several years and then after a District Workshop on
growth the leadership approached the Executive Director. They agreed to enter into a
two-year interim that was very productive. One of the things they accomplished was to
spruce up the 8 rooms in the basement so that they could start a children’s program.
Everyone understood that the stairs were an issue.
They also have a well-developed Growth Plan that includes hiring a ¼ time DRE and a ¼
time Music Director. They have a ½ time Administrator. The Growth Plan includes
increasing the Administrator’s time in the next five years until this position is fulltime.
Part of the growth plan is to put in an elevator.
There are two UU congregations in this town, this one and the one that split off. Both are
under 100 members and neither has a vibrant children’s program.
Assignment #1 Objectives
The Shared Values of this body of Elders - our role is as Unitarian Universalist Elders
witnessing these events happen in another congregation
Come up with three core values from the “Experience of the Holy” process
Write values based mission statement
Introduce the roles that we will be using for the next three days; facilitator, recorder,
reporter, time keeper and process observer
Case Study #2 session #2
Give out Handout #1 go over it with them
Introduce the matrix tool go over it with them - they fill out the problem side as they read
the case study.
In order to keep the Growth Plan on schedule the Operating Budget for this year needed
to be $140,000. This budget included the hiring of the ¼ time DRE and a ¼ time Music
Director. After the canvass of the 58 pledging units the figure came in at $80,000. In the
past the leadership would have helped to make up the difference with the interest from
the endowment. They went back to the congregation and explained the reality of this
Small Congregation with a Minister
budget. They held another “Can I do More” campaign and raised another $25,000. Then
a generous anonymous donor gave another 10.000. The leadership felt that they had
raised as much from the congregation as they could. The budget is at $115,000. Cuts
needed to be made. They cut out the new positions that totaled $25,000. They also
revised the Growth Plan to put off the planning for an elevator for another year – thinking
that the congregation had stepped up as much as they could.
The six new families have been very excited about the possibility of a Unitarian
Universalist community that could serve them. The other congregation in town has no
space for children and youth. They were very pleased with the space that was remodeled
and dedicated to a children’s program, even though one of the children has special needs
and must be carried up and down the stairs. These families have a lot in common; they
are all home schooling their children, and at least one of the adults teaches at the
University. They are all making substantial pledges to the congregation. The adults want
programs for themselves as well as their children. They are running the RE Program.
The are tired and feel they need some professional help.
They were delighted with the fact that the congregation had a growth plan. All of this
had been discussed in the path to membership before they joined.
When the original budget was presented to the congregation the new families stepped up
and made higher pledges. When the revised budget was presented they were all very
disappointed that the staffing money had been cut. They were counting on the hiring of a
DRE. They also want the discussion of an elevator to continue.
When no compromise could be found they became very upset.
Bill, one of the new members, went to Rev. Seer and told him that he believes he and the
others were lied to. He thinks that their pledges were made with the understanding that it
was for the Growth Plan that was in place. He thinks there has been some
misappropriation of funds and that the congregation should demand an audit.
When Rev. Seer does not act quickly enough for Bill he goes to the Board President,
Mary. He tells her the same thing.
When Mary does not act quickly enough he goes to the Chair of the Finance Committee.
When the Chair does not act quickly enough he sends out an email to the entire
congregation and suggests that no one pay their pledge until this matter is addressed. He
hints at “the irregularities of the past”.
Mary’s phone starts ringing off the hook.
Assignment #2 Objectives
Using the matrix
From what you have learned today identify Systems Thinking Concepts
Small Congregation with a Minister
S-elf-differentiation
H-omeostasis
I-dentified Patient
F-amily (Extended family field)
T-riangulation
Case Study #2 session #3
Handout #2 and the Second part of the Matrix
Board President, Mary calls an emergency Board meeting to devise a plan of action and
response.
When the Board arrives at the church for the meeting there are twenty people waiting for
them who are insisting they be heard.
Mary tries to hold it together but the meeting gets out of control quickly. She tries to go
into executive session but the crowd won’t leave. Mary adjourns the meeting.
Later Mary learns that one of the Trustees had called Bill and told him about the special
meeting and even though it had not been a secret meeting as far as Mary was concerned –
it had been presented to Bill in those terms.
Mary calls Bill. She tries to be calm and to listen but that only seems to exacerbate the
issue. Bill begins to yell and finally says – that he is sure Mary is in on the take, just like
that minister in the past. – Mary is floored. Bill hangs up on her.
Four days later Mary receives a letter from Bill with a CC to an attorney demanding the
return of all pledge money that the congregation had received from the undersigned
members. Two of the new families had signed along with three long time members.
Assignment #3 Objectives
Matrix - Add to the S-H-I-F-T if anything new arises and handout part two of the matrix
From what you have learned today identify the issues - do we see any polarities, is there a
technical problem, is there and adaptive issue, are there any size issues?
Make sure roles are assigned
Make sure they know to bring their Leadership Inventory for tomorrowCase Study #2
session #4
Rev. Seer speaks from the pulpit about covenantal behavior. The sermon is well received
by the 40 people attending the service, none of whom are the new families. Rev. Seer
fears they have lost all of them.
After church Mary and Rev. Seer meet in the office for about an hour. They decide to see
if there is some help that they might get from the District.
As they are leaving they hear people downstairs. It is the four new families that did not
sign the demands. They had a key and wanted to get together so that they could discuss
Small Congregation with a Minister
what is going on. They are all very upset and feel confused and that something is going
on that they don’t understand. Rev. Seer and Mary meet with them and try to answer
their questions.
Assignment #4 Objectives
Identify from the case study people with a lack of self-differentiation and people with
self-differentiation - do they see anyone who has examples of both?
Have them get out their Leadership Inventory - discuss how they will apply what they
have learned to help them function at a high level