Council of Committees News

What’s good about how we are using The Call and the UUCUV web site? What options do we have for improving our use of these? Who is our web site for? The Council of Committees (COC) discussed these questions at our September meeting. This was a way to follow up on last year’s Congregational Conversation about communication and to move toward planning.

Katharine Fisher Britton explained that The Call will have a focus or theme for each month, such as “Goals” for the October issue, “Ministry” for November. These themes, in part, reflect the Board’s goals for 2009-10, which in turn are inspired by UUCUV’s mission, vision, and Strategic Plan. She encouraged committee chairs to submit articles relating their work to the theme or goal featured each month. In this way, our communication more clearly conveys UUCUV’s big ideas, as well as information. The Call’s overall mission is to “inspire, inform, and build community.”

Although UUCUV’s web site (www.uucuv.org) has so far been primarily used to make us more visible to the wider community, the COC had a lively discussion about moving toward more internal uses of the site. Suggestions include discussion blogs, an online bulletin board, password-protected sections of the site where committees and other small groups can “meet,” and an online calendar. If we had password access for members and friends, then we could publish The Call on the web page instead of sending it out via e-mail. (See communication update for more information.)

In response to enthusiasm for an online calendar, our webmaster, Dan Mendelsohn, added one to our web site, and Sparrow Alden entered information from the Meeting House calendar. Committee chairpersons, with the calendar password, are now able to schedule meetings and events directly through the web page. Anyone can see what’s happening at UUCUV, not only for this month, but far into the future!

Rich Greenlee shared the Social Responsibility Committee’s plans for a new approach to UUCUV’s charitable giving. (See ???) This was a great example of how important communication is when we launch a project, especially a project new to the congregation. One idea is to provide links from the UUCUV web site to the web sites of LISTEN, COVER, and the Good Neighbor Health Clinic, with whom we’ll be working this year. Through these links, we can contact the agencies directly to sign up for current volunteer opportunities. Rich is hoping, too, to begin a blog about social justice issues. Please watch for a growing Social Action section on www.uucuv.org.

With planning tools in hand, each committee chairperson considered how UUCUV’s media could be optimally used for his/her committee’s goals and projects. We hope to communicate our biggest ideas—our “why,” as well as our “who, what, where, when.”