Unity Church of Tucson

In recent issues of Expanding Horizons, I have been writing about Unity of Tucson’s Extended Leadership Team. In fact, this was one of our main topics of discussion at our fall retreat in September. We have had some wonderful ideas and activities come into reality in recent months, such as the Peace Festival and Unitics activities, demonstrating the strong leadership and willingness to serve that contributes to making a great congregation. Other evidence of increasing volunteerism has also been noticed and appreciated.

We received excellent input from members of the congregation at the Information Sharing Session we held in July, and I summarized the input obtained during that session in my previous article.  However, I believe there are still great ideas, opportunities for training, and pockets of talent that have yet to be revealed, and we would love to hear from you. A copy of the survey we used in July is included as an insert in this issue of Expanding Horizons, so please take a few minutes to fill it out and return it to us.

At the July session, I also presented some information on what types of things we look for in a board member. I mentioned at that time I would publish the list in a future Expanding Horizons article, so here it is. If you aspire to serving on the Extended Leadership Team or board, see if there are any items that resonate with you or if there are some training or experience opportunities that would help you manifest your goals.

Be a Truth Student
Have read Lessons in Truth by H. Emily Cady
Have read other Unity and New Thought
books/tapes/videos
Attend classes here or at Unity Village
Participate in group study sessions
Attend Sunday service regularly
Embrace and consistently apply Unity principles
Pray/Meditate
Tithe
Practice the Presence of God
Be grounded and centered in your oneness with God
Be committed to serving the congregation
Be involved in church activities, such as volunteering, committees, attendance at events
Be a Team Player and Consensus Builder
Be a good listener
Respect the time and opinions of others
Be willing to support the decisions of the board
Be sure the time commitment and board issues, such as financial, personnel and policy decisions, will not interfere with your spiritual growth
Board Meeting every month
Count the Sunday offering, with help from volunteers
Attend the spring church consultant training session
Attend the fall strategic planning retreat
Attend periodic committee and other board meetings (program development, publicity, community relations, executive committee, endowment fund board, health ministry board)
Read monthly committee and activity reports
Conduct annual internal review of procedures in January or February
Periodically review and revise policies and procedures
Attend/Participate in annual meeting of the membership in February
Follow up on action items identified during the monthly board meeting
Preparing reports (meeting minutes (secretary), financial balance sheet (treasurer)
Participate in email discussions of topics with other board members between board meetings
Have experience on other boards (church, work, NFP, etc.)

-Tom Kelley, Board President