840 Sandwich Road
East Falmouth, MA 02536
508-457-0449

Long Range Plan

On 2005 August 26 at a special business meeting, the Fellowship voted unanimously to adopt a new Long Range Plan.

Summary of the Plan

Key: RE stands for Religious Education. DRE stands for Director of Religious Education.

Membership: We will increase our membership 6-7% annually, from 172 in 2004-05 to 244 in 2010-11.

Budget: We will increase our budget from $156,000 in 2004-05 to $220,000 in 2010-11.

Compensation: We will increase the compensation of the Minister and DRE up to the minimum UUA fair compensation standard.

Minister: We will encourage our minister to support our goals through promoting religious education for all ages, developing a pastoral visitor program, providing leadership for community service and social justice work, facilitating membership growth, and playing an active role in administration and communication within the congregation.

Religious Education: We will expand the RE program and volunteer support in order to strengthen nursery care, to double children's RE, to support the youth group, and to enhance RE for adults.

Music: We will expand the music program with more performances (including increasing the Choir Director position from 26 to 36 weeks), an expanded music library, more use of supplemental paid musicians, and a youth choir.

Building Maintenance: We will reserve funds for building repairs.

This summary was prepared by Larry Ladd, August 26, 2005.

Full Text of the Plan

Final

FY 2005

UUFF 5 Year Plan

We have taken a little more than 1 year to develop this proposed plan. During this time we have had a survey and large and small meetings with members who are concerned with our future. In addition, there has been movement in the areas that are under discussion.

We have already added an administrative assistant who is a great benefit to the UUFF. We have just hired a new Choir Director which has provided excitement and high expectations for the UUFF in general and Choir in particular. Our Membership Committee has implemented improved ways to greet and involve visitors to the UUFF services. The Housing and Grounds Com will form a task force to review building usage, modifications and expansion. The Ways and Means Committee is investigating new types of fund raising activities for the UUFF.

In addition the Housing and Grounds will explore approaches for ³Greening² of the UUFF. This was not even discussed in the Long Range Plan and is therefore an example of a further characteristic of the Plan. This document is a view of the future and a plan for accomplishing our presently recognized goals. However, it is not intended to be a limit to our ability to move forward into new areas. One way of describing it is as a living document, that is intended for guidance and which encourages continuing expansion and planning as we go forward.

We are a Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship that is a liberal religious community drawn from a wide diversity of thought and belief. We affirm and promote the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our purpose is to support and enhance each persons individual spiritual journey to give meaning and purpose in their lives. We are proud of our heritage of being a new Fellowship in an old New England tradition. As a Welcoming Congregation we offer programs and activities to all who would journey with us. Through social action we reach out to support those in need in the wider community. Our closely knit community provides care and support to all within our midst in times of joy and sorrow. By working together we provide the financial resources that support our staff, programs, building and grounds.

To that end we will:

1. Offer quality Sunday services addressing congregants need for meaning and purpose in their spiritual lives, and presenting historical and developing UU positions on issues of importance to our lives.
2. Offer a Lifespan Religious Education program providing a liberal religious education for children, youth and adults.
3. Offer a broad variety of musical and artistic programs to enhance the religious experiences of the Fellowship.
4. Affirm the principles of Unitarian Universalism through community service, social action and social justice advocacy that promote peace, human rights, and environmental protection.
5. Offer pastoral care and pastoral visitor programs.

As we prepare to plan for the next 5 years for the UUFF, we find that we are looking at the intersecting of a number of prior commitments, on-going, growing programs, and potential new activities that will cause a substantially greater financial drain on the fellowship. In addition, many of the committees through which the UUFF operates find that they are understaffed and in need of new members.

One solution to this challenge is for the UUFF to grow. Assuming a similar makeup of the congregation, a 6% net growth of the membership for each of the next 6 years should provide a balanced solution to both our financial and personnel needs. At this point, we will be at about the maximum membership that our fellowship building can accommodate and the next 5 year plan will need to deal with that issue.

Although the growth rate is only a reasonable increase over the growth in the recent past, it is worth considering carefully. Perhaps as important as the rate is the fact that regardless of the rate that we grow, when we change from a fellowship of around 170 to one of about 240 members, there will be a significant change in the nature of the organization. It may be difficult to know everyone who you see on a Sunday morning.

We face the conundrum of having commitments that will require increasing budgets, a desire to minimize the increasing financial drain on the congregation, an increased number of active members that make our activities work and a strong appreciation of the interactions with a relatively small membership group. Our proposed solution is to have the membership grow which should take care of the first three desires. The fourth desire will be addressed through increased programs such as adult education, small group ministries, women's institute and a book discussion group.

As important as the program areas that are increasing our budget are the program areas that will increase the effectiveness of the UUFF and aim to include everyone comfortably. The projected increase in adult education and small group ministry should be particularly important in this effort. With this growth, we will need to establish 1 or 2 new fund raising activities similar to our present ones. Fund raising will need to grow by 40%, but spread over 6 years. We estimate that if we achieve the desired growth, the increase in the needed pledge for the membership will be in the order of the cost of living or inflation increase. The actual annual budgets will still be determined after the annual pledge drive is completed

Since these proposed changes will all have a significant impact on the life of the UUFF, we are briefly presenting each area that will have a significant funding impact as well as those initiatives which we believe will improve the functioning of the organization.

Each of these changes is presumed to be significant. It is important that we put into action the plans that the congregation commits to. As we go forward ,we especially would like to hear from you about other ideas that you feel might add to the UUFF.

The following budget areas are planned to increase at a greater rate than the general cost of living or inflation rate which is taken as 3%. As such, they require an explanation of the activities. The intent is to provide an understanding of why this area is significant and why the rate of increase is increased.

In the budget presentation, these areas are shown as separate items in the Budget Projection Table and the bar chart. The rest of the budget is called base expenses and is assumed to increase at 3%.

MINISTRY

Ministry is the heartbeat of the Fellowship. We participate in shared ministry with our Minister. It is through this shared relationship that we achieve our goals.

In the next five years we will fulfill the goal of bringing our Minister's salary to the minimum UUA fair compensation recommendation for Ministers with membership the size of ours.

With the goal of growing our membership come increased responsibilities for the Minister throughout the life of the Fellowship. Among the areas of increased responsibilities for Minister and ministry are:

1. Religious Services
   In addition to planning and leading Sunday services that provide inspiration and spiritual sustenance, there may be need for the Minister to lead a second or alternative service, i.e. mid-week service or evensong. The number of rites of passages i.e. weddings, memorial services, child dedications will increase.
2. Religious Education
   The Minister will work with the DRE and RE Committee to promote Life Span Religious Education. There will be more need for planning and leading programs of personal and spiritual growth.
3. Pastoral Care
   The Minister will support our caring community through pastoral care visits to persons hospitalized, homebound and in nursing homes. The Minister will develop a pastoral visitor program.
4. Community Service and Social Action
   The Minister will provide leadership to the congregation in its community service and social action work. With the congregation, the Minister will promote and affirm UU Principles and Purposes through advocacy of social justice. The Minister will promote congregational awareness and involvement in denominational affairs.
5. Membership
   The Minister will work with Membership/Friends Committee to broaden its program to include welcoming and hospitality, and assimilation/retention of new members/friends. The Minister will offer opportunities to newcomers to meet with Minister to learn about UU religion 3-4 times through the year.
6. Administration/Communications
   The Minister will be active in the administration of the affairs of the Fellowship. As the Fellowship grows these demands and staff needs increase. There will be need for additional staff meetings. Work with the Board and committees will be continuing responsibilities. Getting the word out to the larger community is necessary to achieving the aims of the five year plan. There will be increased work with office staff and Communications Committee to provide internal and external communication of fellowship events and happenings.

EDUCATION PROGRAM AREA

The UUFF is committed to fostering spiritual growth by providing religious education for members, friends, and their families. Congregational meetings and member feedback to RE and Governing Board members have consistently emphasized the desire for broader religious education programming, particularly for adults. The first goal of the Education Program Area is to enhance and expand religious education programs over the next five years, as described below. The second goal is to increase the salary of the Director of Religious Education (DRE) to the minimum UUA fair compensation recommendation for fellowships of our size. It is very unlikely that there will be sufficient resources to significantly expand the compensation to the DRE beyond the present 25 per week. Thus successful expansion of religious education programs will require increased participation by members and friends.

Nursery Care is a critical component of Sunday Services. Visitors who come to the fellowship need to know that there is a safe and welcoming place for their small children. Many of our new members joined us with infants and toddlers. The RE committee is considering paying members of the youth group to help adult supervisors, but as the congregation grows we will need more adult volunteers to help in the nursery.

Children's RE is a portal to Unitarian Universalism for adults as well as children. A desire to provide religious education for their children major reason young families seek out a congregation and our liberal approach to religious education is an attractive choice to many families who may not come from a UU background. For many of the families that join the UUFF, Children's RE remains a primary identification and anchor within the congregation as they explore other aspects of the Fellowship. The growth forecast in 5-year plan will result in about a doubling of the number of children involved in the religious education program. Accommodating this growth will require additional support for the DRE, additional volunteer teachers, subdivision of the current RE classes into smaller groups, and eventual expansion of RE classes into other areas of the meetinghouse during Sunday service.

Religious education programs for youth can be a bridge between childhood church experience and active participation in the Fellowship as an adult. The DRE has led the group in past years with a member volunteer, however, she has not been able to do so this year as a result of her increased workload in the Children's RE program. The youth program currently suffers from a lack of adult participation; volunteers are needed for an active youth program.

Programs in adult education are a means for new and established members to explore their spirituality and religious beliefs, and can provide a nexus for the development of small-group ministries to help ensure close personal interaction as the Fellowship grows. The RE committee has begun to coordinate adult RE activities in 2004-2005, and plans to coordinate and/or lead multi-meeting seminars as well as single-day courses, retreats, and discussion groups in the years ahead. The growth and success of this program will depend on members taking an active role in planning and leading courses.

MUSIC PROGRAMS of UUFF

In this section, we discuss our views concerning the role of music in the life of the Fellowship. Because musical expressions can take multiple forms, we describe plans for sustaining and increasing the forms that musical expression can take. We suggest incremental steps that can be taken to increase the extent and variety of forms of musical expression and offer quantitative suggestions for supporting these increases. We have attempted to harmonize our projections with the overall budget plan provided in this planning document.

It is our belief that music, rather than being a mere supplement to the ministry of our congregation, is a form of that ministry. For some of our members, music is the primary route to spirituality itself. For some, participation in adult choir is the major portal through which to enter into the wider life of the Fellowship. For a broad group of members and friends, instrumental music, along with congregational participation in the singing of hymns, with the choir as musical catalyst, provides an environment of receptivity for the weekly messages of the Minister. From time to time special musicians, widely available in the area, may supplement the music of the instrumentalist and the choir.

Music can play other positive roles in the life of the Fellowship. By means of special musical events, the Fellowship can introduce itself to the broader Upper Cape community; it can communicate its social concerns and coordinate collective responses for many who would otherwise be unaware of the variety and forms of outreach provided by the UUFF. Additionally, by means of choir exchanges, the Fellowship can engage other congregations and fellowships in joint activities.

We wish to place special emphasis on extending the appreciation of music to the people of all ages. A children's choir is envisaged. The sounds of children singing should be a familiar part of one's visit to the Fellowship. We want to be more receptive to young adults; some congregations have success with weekend coffee houses hosted with the young people taking the lead in organizing and participating in the entertainment. Additionally, all participants in the Fellowship, but young persons especially should be exposed to the rich variety of musical forms that are available. Young people's concerts could serve both to entertain and to educate.

There are no doubt many other ways that music may contribute to the spiritual life of the Fellowship and we shall continue to be receptive to creative suggestions, whatever form they may take. For the present, and to provide specificity to these plans, we offer the following proposals for growth in the musical programs.

The quantitative details for the projected music budget for 2006-2111 are shown on the accompanying spreadsheet. Within the budget parameters provided, it will possible to grow the music program at a modest rate. The duration of the choir year will increase from the current 26 week schedule, with bi-weekly performances to a 36 week choir year by 2010. In 2008 funding will be made available to begin a children's choir led by the choir director. By 2007 the music budget will allow for supplemental paid musicians to be added to a small number of Sunday services. The budget for sheet music will be supported so that a significant music library can be maintained. From time to time the choir will be available to the Fellowship to aid in special fund drives.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

As we have and continue to grow, it has become obvious that we need assistance in the UUFF administration. Providing assistance in organizing events, providing computer assistance in preparing the order of service, newsletters, and dealing with the increasing e-mail/internet needs will be the first areas we focus on. We will still need a dedicated group of office volunteers. Hopefully, this will relieve the minister of many clerical duties and free his time for focusing on his professional activities and the new programs we are envisioning.

In our projected budget we have started with the activity rate proposed by the finance committee as a test for the second half of this year and continued it for following years with an increased rate of activity. It is quite possible that this level of activity will be too little and increases may be needed. We will have to work to determine what the best combination of hours and pay rate will be.

SEXTON

We have an excellent Sexton who is providing high quality professional services. He is also providing his own equipment for which he should be compensated. We expect that as we grow our building maintenance needs will increase.

Therefore, have proposed that this area increases by 5%/year instead of the 3% CPI for the base expenses. This assumes that the building and grounds committee continue their excellent volunteer work in providing maintenance projects.

MAJOR BUILDING REPAIRS

We recognize that our UUFF meetinghouse will eventually require major repair. Items such as a new roof, furnace replacement, and a new skylight will eventually happen. We have estimated the expected remaining lifetime and future cost of repair/ replacement. The fund, Major Building Repair, is intended to provide most of the funding needed when the repair is required. We are not facing any unexpected repair. This is simply planning for the depreciation of the building, the normal wear and tear of living.

Obviously, we cannot precisely estimate the costs with inflation and unusually increasing skilled labor and oil related costs. The plan is to provide a base fund. The rate at which this is funded can be modified as we proceed. The goal is to eliminate the need for a large special campaign when the repairs are needed.

BUDGET PRESENTATION

The budget is shown as a table and also as a bar chart to facilitate comparison and understanding. We have broken the budget down into the elements that we see increasing at greater rate than the general inflation and cost of living rates and the Base Expenses.

DEFINITION OF BUDGET AREAS

Base Expenses: Everything else, such as fuel, power, mortgage, office supplies, building maintenance, insurance, etc. we have assumed will increase at the base inflation rate of 3% and have labeled Base Expenses. This could also have been called overhead expenses.

A big uncertainty that we all have to live with is the potential that the inflation rate changes substantially from the current level. This is really beyond the ability of our predicting, so we have used the current rate.

Minister's Program: This item includes all the direct and fringe costs of employing our Minister. The rates of increase were chosen to bring him into the compensation range that the average minister of our size congregation receives without causing too severe financial strain on our budget.

Music Program: This is the entire budget for music and includes both expected rate increases and increase in the extent of the music program.

Administrative Assistant: This includes both the rate and number of hours expected.

Dre Program: This is the total direct and fringe costs of employing our Director of Religious Education. It includes both increases in rate and hours. This does not include RE supplies, etc.

Major Building Repair: This is a savings fund that will hopefully provide for large expenses related to major building repairs that we can reasonably estimate will be needed in the future.

Sexton: This is the total direct and fringe costs of employing our Sexton. It includes both increases in rate and hours. It does not include cleaning supplies or other building maintenance expenses.

Total: This is the total projected budget for each UUFF fiscal year.

%: Next to each total or budget item is a % figure that tells you by what percentage the value has increased for that item compared to the prior year.

Members: This row is a projection of the membership during our growth in the next six years.

Pledging Units: The projection of the number of pledging units assumes that the congregational profile in terms of single and married people remains the same. Currently the number of pledging units equals about 80% of the number of members.

Average Attendance - H &Amp; L: This row takes a present high and low estimate of our present average attendance at Sunday Services and projects the attendance based upon the number of members assuming that the percentage attending will remain the same. It is included to provide a sense of the impact of membership growth on the Sunday services.