Traditionally, your Board utilized their August meeting to conduct a retreat during which they participated in team building exercises and determined specific goals to guide their activities for the coming year. This year the Retreat was broadened to include Chairs of standing committees, past Board presidents and OCUUC staff; in all, we had 30 church leaders participate. The September Board meeting processed the input from this half-day Retreat in order to determine our annual goals.
These two meetings have illuminated the importance of leadership within our congregation. We are certainly fortunate to have members who are committed to sustaining and nurturing OCUUC – and yet we would like to see our pool of leaders expand. And to this purpose, we are excited to offer Harvest the Power in January-February 2025. Below is an explanation from Rev. Judy Tomlinson about this program. I hope you will consider becoming involved.
- Kathleen McFarlin
Leaders shape the future of our church.
That’s a pretty powerful statement. And because it is true, we at Orange Coast want our leaders to have the skills, values, integrity, and creativity it takes to build the church we dream about. Harvest the Power is a unique and highly effective program designed to build leadership and create a talented community of leaders. The program equips them with a practical understanding of how organizations work. It helps them experience leadership as both challenging and rewarding. It instills in them the capacity to meet challenges head on and solve problems.
For the last two years, the Board has had the vision to build the leadership of OCUUC. Now it is coming to fruition with the implementation of Harvest the Power. As we expand our leadership, we expand our shared ministry.
If you would like to explore your leadership potential and contribute to the future of our church, it’s easy to learn more. Simply pick up a Harvest the Power brochure at the church. Then, join the Harvest facilitator team, Rev. Judy Tomlinson, Sharon Loeschen, and Nancy Loughrey, at an Information Session. Those sessions will be held on Sunday, October 27 after the service, and on November 13 at 7:00 on Zoom. Or you can contact Rev. Judy at RevJudy@ocuuc.org.
- Reverend Judy Tomlinson
Kathleen McFarlin is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's Board President.