January, 2016 update: RESULTS are in!
SEE some Cottage Meeting results here. It’s a protected page, so you’ll need the password, which you can get on our bulletin board at church or by emailing us at search@uucantonny.org.
In September and early October, the MSC held 17 Cottage Meetings, which gave us invaluable input from 117 people in our congregation. One meeting was held at Partridge Knoll (independent-living apartments), one meeting was for our church staff, and another was held for the Youth Group. All other meetings were open to UU Canton members and friends. Congregation members generously opened their homes to host meetings and provide us with snacks.
At these meetings, we asked four questions:
1. We are in the midst of change in the life of our church community. What are you excited about and what frightens you about this change?
2. What four words or phrases would you use to describe this congregation to a prospective minister? To prospective members? To a close, non-member friend?
3. In a few phrases, what do you envision our church to look like in 1 year? In 5 years? In 10 years?
4. What we’re looking for is the best fit possible for our church. What attributes in a minister do you think are a good match for us? How might we imagine this ministerial candidate in the life and future of our congregation?
A member of the Ministerial Search Committee facilitated each meeting, and participants wrote their responses to the questions above on large index cards (one per question.) Another MSC member served as “scribe,” taking notes on all of the responses. Between those notes and each participant’s four index cards, we came away with a lot or great data!