features

Planning for emergencies and the unthinkable

From one of our April feature stories, now available online at UUA.org:

Is it possible to imagine that an armed intruder could show up on Sunday morning at one of our congregations, inflamed about our inclusiveness or a particular justice stance we’ve taken in the community, and proceed to do us harm?

It happened in 2008 at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Then the Newtown shootings made us think about it again. However, given everything else we have to worry about, is this something we really need to spend time considering? Or is the possibility of this kind of mayhem so remote that it will never rise to the top of our list of things to be concerned about?

The Rev. Aaron Payson votes for remote—and he votes for planning for it. That’s because he understands that safeguarding against armed intruders should simply be a part of a much broader safety plan that every congregation should have. He estimates that less than 20 percent of UU congregations have such a plan.

Go to the full article.

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Leadership starts with ownership

From November’s InterConnections feature story, now online at UUA.org:

There was a time when “leadership development” in a congregation might have referred primarily to the nominating committee’s assurance that “We know you can do this,” as it handed a committee assignment to you.

Times have changed. Congregations today generally try to be more deliberate about training leaders and prospective leaders. Toward that end, the number of leadership development opportunities available to them has grown. Congregations are creating their own, other leadership programs are available at General Assembly and through the UUA and district offices, and organizations such as the Alban Institute offer still more.

Nominating committees themselves are morphing into leadership development committees in many congregations. “Leadership development is one of the top two or three things that lay leaders want from us,” says the Rev. Dr. Richard Speck, district executive of the Joseph Priestley District. That can range from information about board leadership to the basics of running a committee, he adds.

Go to the full article.

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