Second Worship Service
Progress Report

The Committee on Ministry (COM) presented a “Recommendation for Two Sunday Morning Worship Services” to the UUFE Board at its Wednesday evening meeting on May 19. After a question and answer period including con-siderable discussion, the Board unanimously approved the COM recommendation. This means UUFE will become a two-worship services congregation, beginning September 12, 2010. The approved recommendation is the culmina-tion of over 16 months of research, a UUFE congregational survey and related activities by the COM on the feasibil-ity of two services for UUFE.

This included An Alternative Second Service Recommendation, having been presented to the Board of Trustees by the COM on October 21, 2009. After review the Board authorized the COM to move forward with the development of an action plan for a second worship service. The COM, at the outset of this process, agreed to have a broad representation of the congregation participate in the creation of a second service rather than just having the COM acting alone in making decisions and plans on such a major change in the ongoing life of UUFE. It was then–and still is–the belief of the COM, that it will require the interaction of all UUFE committees to assure the success of adding a second UUFE worship service, much the same way the current UUFE 10:30 a.m. worship service has evolved and been successful for nearly 50 years. Realizing this the COM formed an All Committee Chairs’ Action Plan Task Force (CCAPTF), inviting committee chairs to actively participate in developing and establishing a second worship service recommendation for Board review. A series of four scheduled two-hour Saturday morning forums with the CCAPTF, were conducted by the COM, including one in January, two in March and one in May.

The consensus reached by the COM/CCAPTF at the conclusion of the fourth forum on May 1 was an agreement to present to the Board for its approval the, Recommendation for Two Sunday Morning Worship Services, at the UUFE Board meeting, May 19. Item number four in the recommendation is: The COM will conduct its next UUFE Town Hall Meeting, to discuss the Board approved, Recommendation for Two Sunday Morning Worship Services, on Sunday, June 6, after the coffee klatch following the worship service. Everyone participating in UUFE life is encouraged to put Sunday, June 6, at approximately 12:15 p.m., on their calendar as an occasion they won’t want to miss.

This is an opportunity for your comments and questions, with answers from the COM. Communications follow-through for two Sunday morning worship services, beginning September 12, including this June Focus announcement on the UUFE Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, June 6, will also include announcements in, Ron Gill’s E-Updates for the weeks of May 23, and May 30, in the orders of service and through announcements from the pulpit on Sunday May 23 and Sunday May 30. A posting will also be made to the UUFE Web site which will be carried through the summer. UUFE announcements over the summer will be made by repeating the "two services coming" information in the July, August and September issues of the Focus and in Ron’s five, E-Updates, for the five weeks in August and first week in September functioning as a continuing communications run up to the start of UUFE’s two Sunday services, and again in the Sunday orders of service for August as well as the first Sunday of September, plus Sunday morning service announcements, again from the pulpit, on June 6, through September 5. Additional announcements will include, but not be limited to, news bulletins on the front doors of the main foyer and the new doors of The Gathering Place. The Communications Committee will be preparing news releases for the Michiana media outlets. Also important will be the changing of our main outside sign just before September 12, showing the correct new information about our two worship services.

William T. Becker
May 21, 2010
Chair, Committee On Ministry