Nov 13 : Update from Phil

 

Church Conflict Update November 2020     Dear Members and Friends of FCUCC:   I want to bring you up to date on recent developments regarding our church conflict over the departing pastor policy:  ·     October 14th - Church Council discussed the Center for Congregational Health (CCH) report, but did not take any action.   ·     October 21st - The Human Relations Ministry (HRM) unanimously voted to repeal the revised departing pastor policy (which had been suspended since June).  ·     October 22nd - Church Council unanimously voted to repeal the revised departing pastor policy as recommended by the HRM. Acknowledgement was made that the process was problematic.  ·     November 4th - the Moderator convened a small group of volunteers to review the three possible processes described in the CCH report on page 20, and recommend the best one for our church. This group was comprised of Ed Argue, Steve Hogenboom, Dawn Kucera, Linda Laderach, Stephanie Lowder, Karla Miller, Diane Rhoades, and Phil Taylor.                  The processes they considered were:              (1) A “lay-led” process              (2) A “consultant and leadership team-led” process              (3) A “consultant-led” process  The group agreed on the following recommendations for Church Council consideration:   ·     Select the “lay-led” process as the best one for our church. This process requires member involvement and also respects our church autonomy. Please note that our autonomy is subject to our covenant with the WNC Association, the Southern Conference, and the national UCC. ·     Follow the CCH report recommendation to create a committee of trusted people as the leadership team. We have not established how this team will be created. ·     Use the consultant’s report as the basis for useful information on areas of disagreement and/or misunderstanding among our members that will need to be addressed in this process. ·      Develop a process for members of the congregation to release their hurt feelings and forgive each other for past actions.  This will allow us to focus on the future and get a fresh start on working together.  ·     Inform the congregation on a regular basis of all steps being taken. If any new policies are developed, the congregation will be consulted and vote on them. ·     The group noted that the pandemic currently makes it impossible to hold an in-person congregational meeting. We’ll need to explore other options.  On November 11th, Church Council voted to accept all the recommendations.  The next step is for church leadership to create the team for the lay-led process and recommend goals and topics to address as we work to create our fresh start. Church Council will approve team members, goals and topics before any work in the process begins.  I will keep the congregation informed of our progress; you will have the opportunity to comment on our plans before they are implemented. Please watch for future Constant Contact messages as we move forward in our conflict resolution process.  Phil Taylor Moderator