Organizational Development and Administration

Continuing education has been key to my leadership work in congregations. Ministry in the 21st century requires new ways of thinking. The UUA offers a wealth of resources to assist ministers and congregations as we navigate the ever-changing religious landscape. I am grateful to that the UUMA expanded the Excellence in Ministry Institute to provide intense continuing education opportunities. I have been fortunate to be able to attend every Institute since its inception. The educational offerings have been varied and valuable. One year, I participated in a governance and leadership workshop with Susan Beaumont, Adaptive Leadership, Prophetic Leadership in a Digital Age, and with Marlin Lavanhar, Power With Love: Leading with vision, raising the money to achieve vision, collaborative leadership, power within a multicultural community, and effective UU justice-making.

My developmental work with UU Chattanooga included working with their stewardship team each year. I’ve been fortunate to work with UUA stewardship consultants Bill Clontz and David Rickard and continue to draw from their wisdom in my leadership work with congregations. I work closely with Stewardship teams and Finance Committees throughout the year.

In Chattanooga, the governing board studied Governance and Ministry by Dan Hotchkiss. Each board member was assigned a chapter to study and present. We gathered for an all-day retreat to share outlines and insights. It was invaluable to their organizational process as they prepared for their future with a new settled minister.  In Chattanooga and Gainesville, we worked with committees to refine their roles and responsibilities and identify goals. In Chattanooga, the form below was created to assist the Finance Committee in their budgeting process as well as inspiring committees to pay close attention to their mission and goals.

I’ve led Harvest the Power and Serving with Grace workshops with lay leadership and work closely with Leadership Development Teams and Finance Committees to offer guidance and inspiration.