The North Unitarian Universalist Congregation Newsletter November 2007

“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up someplace else”…Most of us have heard this piece of thumbnail wisdom in a variety of contexts (e.g. job hunting, organizational development), but it often gets lost in the flood of information being considered or in the crisis of the moment and is almost never considered in isolation. We are fortunate at this point in our growth that we now have an opportunity to consider this simple question: Where do you want NUUC to go? or What is your vision of NUUC in five years?

The catalyst to review and establish our collective vision is the Building Exploratory Committee’s consideration of our space and our anticipated needs over the coming years. The BEC has solicited information from ten architects and are now in the process of reviewing their qualifications. While all of the architects have provided beautiful and compelling presentations of their qualifications, what they do not have, but will seek to learn from us, is our collective vision of NUUC and its future.

As a beginning of the process, the BEC has solicited ideas from the various program committees to better understand how our current space affects them and what would help their committee fulfill its mission within NUUC. To get each of you thinking about this, below are some of the thoughts and visions the committees have provided:

• Adequate office space....separate offices for Administrative Assistant, for RE/Youth Programs, for Volunteers, and at least one more for additional staff member

• Reception space for up to possibly 300 sounds good--although in terms of rentability, a more formal space, or at least a space from which we could more easily clear of not pretty things (TV, Photocopier, bulletin boards) would make the biggest difference.
• Improved sound system with a control booth for technician
• Large nursery space.
• At least five classrooms capable of holding 12-20 children; one a dedicated Youth space
• Moveable seating in the sanctuary to allow reconfiguring pews for larger or smaller events, e.g., summer services.
• At least one or more large well lighted spaces for activities such as yoga and fitness or an indoor retreat.
• All spaces should have hookups for computer video presentations, internet access, and DVDs.
• A larger screen TV for large groups to be able to see.
• Adequate space to accommodate fair trade coffee sales as well as an area to set up the occasional “special” sale of items (ex. T-shirts etc.). 
• An area to sign folks up for things such as CROP walk or Guest at Your Table along with a table and be able to have conversations about these projects.
• A dedicated coffee hour area that includes a counter or bar area with commercial and professional equipment.
• A “market place” room including a UU bookstore.
• Expanded and usable kitchen
• Outdoor play equipment for children
• Choir Rehearsal Room

Beyond these expansions of our existing services additional ideas have included: pre-school and/or day care service, senior services and meal programs. The joy of this process is that there is no limit as to what we can imagine; we do not have to simply look through a straw of what we have in the past and project it into the future, but can look beyond and outside of anything we have done before.

This is our opportunity to dream about our future. The dream will be a collective dream, but each of us will have a part and from our individual dreams, a collective vision of our future will arise, something greater than its individual parts; a vision of our community, our faith and our commitment to this religious vision.

Each of you can contribute and I look forward to hearing your ideas. Please feel free to share in whatever way you are most comfortable. We will also have community opportunities to discuss our vision and I hope everyone can participate and help form our future together.

In faith and hope,
David J. Petras