No. We expanded little ones child care hours, we have lots of field trips, and Friday night events for preteens and teens. Big focus on social action, the kids make a meal for the homeless shelter each month.
I think mainly we've been maintaining a healthy congregation and frequently checking back in to think about how we are doing.
We are just starting to do another strategic plan, as the last 5 year plan was 8 years ago now. We are always trying to define and work on our big issues: for example we've completed 2 of 5 big building improvements, and hired 2 very part time folks for specific tasks, but now know we likely will need a third person for another task. (As we grow, it isn't always sustainable to do it all with volunteers, although we definitely rely on our congregation and friends volunteering for most things.)
Roughly in order of most folks to less folks, I think (?)
1. UUs moving to the area, they find the nearest church(es) and check it out
2. Friends of friends
3. Folks who visited the building for some other (non-UU specific) event and decided to check us out
A combo of a dynamic RE Program that focuses on newer young families with. Social justice leaning program for the older teens (and regular family events), a vibrant program/outreach efforts
Oh yeah. When we first moved here the congregation was fairly small, and it has probably doubled in size over the past couple years. The city isnt growing that fast, but I think our new minister and our new focus on outreach has helped tremendously.
Working with many local programs, booths at Pride and the University near us, likely other things I don't know about as well, as I'm more involved in the Pride and University stuff but less in the local programs (thinking of like, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, working with other local churches, pagan outreach, etc).
We have had a number of new, younger families join this past year. Word of mouth is how they found us. We live in a pretty liberal area but have a limited space that holds us back from being able to truly grow. Talk of an addition being added on has been going around...
Yes! Ours is a pretty large and thriving congregation that does a ton of community work. We are sadly losing many of our older members as they pass away. We are having trouble keeping younger families consistently coming back given over scheduling etc.
a combination of social justice work, outreach in the community, word of mouth etc really help
Mine has. From what I've heard from others in the congregation, it's mostly due to the current political situation in the US, the church's activism within the community, and the fact that it's a welcoming congregation (one of the first) in a historically LGBTQ neighborhood.
Honestly, my church is not doing much at all and it makes me sad. I just joined the UU membership & outreach community and I laid out a lot of ideas that came from my childhood Presbyterian church. My mother was a big part of the church and told my UU group of all about the things my mother did.
Unfortunately, the folks in my group are much older and the tend to pop-poo majority of the ideas brought up by past group members. BUT, one of the members loved all my ideas and they just went ahead an reserved a table at the towns Christmas event where local companies/restaurants/organizations share their info. It’s a start and we’ll hope for the best.
Between the Trump bump, our awesome RE director and our newish minister, we're growing.
What is your RE person doing? What are you focussing on? Is there a particular age group?
No. We expanded little ones child care hours, we have lots of field trips, and Friday night events for preteens and teens. Big focus on social action, the kids make a meal for the homeless shelter each month.
What congregation is this? Would love to learn more on what all are doing to grow.
I'll DM you.
Yes. We had like 12 new individuals/families join early last month.
Yes, growing slowly.
I think mainly we've been maintaining a healthy congregation and frequently checking back in to think about how we are doing.
We are just starting to do another strategic plan, as the last 5 year plan was 8 years ago now. We are always trying to define and work on our big issues: for example we've completed 2 of 5 big building improvements, and hired 2 very part time folks for specific tasks, but now know we likely will need a third person for another task. (As we grow, it isn't always sustainable to do it all with volunteers, although we definitely rely on our congregation and friends volunteering for most things.)
Where do new members come from? Is it word of mouth/invitation or people showing up after hearing about you elsewhere?
Roughly in order of most folks to less folks, I think (?) 1. UUs moving to the area, they find the nearest church(es) and check it out 2. Friends of friends 3. Folks who visited the building for some other (non-UU specific) event and decided to check us out
A combo of a dynamic RE Program that focuses on newer young families with. Social justice leaning program for the older teens (and regular family events), a vibrant program/outreach efforts
We've gained 7 new members over the year. So, technically, yes.
Oh yeah. When we first moved here the congregation was fairly small, and it has probably doubled in size over the past couple years. The city isnt growing that fast, but I think our new minister and our new focus on outreach has helped tremendously.
What kinds of outreach are you doing?
Working with many local programs, booths at Pride and the University near us, likely other things I don't know about as well, as I'm more involved in the Pride and University stuff but less in the local programs (thinking of like, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, working with other local churches, pagan outreach, etc).
Ours is pretty stagnant.
We have had a number of new, younger families join this past year. Word of mouth is how they found us. We live in a pretty liberal area but have a limited space that holds us back from being able to truly grow. Talk of an addition being added on has been going around...
Yes! Ours is a pretty large and thriving congregation that does a ton of community work. We are sadly losing many of our older members as they pass away. We are having trouble keeping younger families consistently coming back given over scheduling etc. a combination of social justice work, outreach in the community, word of mouth etc really help
Mine has. From what I've heard from others in the congregation, it's mostly due to the current political situation in the US, the church's activism within the community, and the fact that it's a welcoming congregation (one of the first) in a historically LGBTQ neighborhood.
We’re trying. It’s growing slow.
What are you guys trying?
Honestly, my church is not doing much at all and it makes me sad. I just joined the UU membership & outreach community and I laid out a lot of ideas that came from my childhood Presbyterian church. My mother was a big part of the church and told my UU group of all about the things my mother did.
Unfortunately, the folks in my group are much older and the tend to pop-poo majority of the ideas brought up by past group members. BUT, one of the members loved all my ideas and they just went ahead an reserved a table at the towns Christmas event where local companies/restaurants/organizations share their info. It’s a start and we’ll hope for the best.
What did they poo poo?