President's Column on Resistance and Hope for the Future

This week has been very disheartening from the perspective of anyone who loves our democracy, our constitution, and this country. In all my years, I never thought I would see everything fall apart like it has, our world is upside down. I remain committed to peaceful protesting and doing everything we can to try to spark our legislative bodies into doing their job.

I had to complete this week’s long run on my treadmill and used this time to re-watch 1984. This should be required for all High School Classes to watch and analyze. Our youth need to discuss the ways in which power can bend reality and distort the truth until it is no longer recognizable. “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength”. The more I see our way of life unravel, the more important defining who we are as a congregation becomes. Yes, I am talking about our Mission, our Vision, and our Strategic Plan.

It has become clear as part of our qualitative interviews in the form of user stories and our sprint, that the future of religion and of UUSE may change in ways that we can only begin to fathom. Insights from the user stories assessment:

• While there is some support for the current Mission and Vision we can make it more concise and memorable. There is interest in a broader connection to the larger community
• It’s clear that there must be a link between our Mission and Vision AND our Strategic Plan. We must be able to keep this awareness throughout our committees and programs and provide updates. We need more volunteers, more folks to pick up the leadership banner. In attending to unfinished business, we need to support unbiased debates
• We need to ensure broad congregational participation and incorporation. The vision can focus on an unknown future, but the mission statement needs to be more measurable action-oriented.

The Strategic Planning Task Force had a sprint to work on our path forward. We want broad inclusion in this path, and that means EVERYONE. In times like this, it is important we stick together and decide what UUSE means to us and how to achieve it! There are lots of ideas of what the future of UUSE may look like and how we interact with the community. We are planning on Sprints, Focus groups, and surveys; there are lots of ways for you to commit and have your voice included.

What does this congregation mean to you? How do we ensure we are relevant in the future? How do we reach out and support our broader community? One thing that gives me great hope is that we are poised for a cultural change at UUSE, and we are looking forward to a future that is constructed by each and every one of us. Sincerely,

Trisha Lisle

UUSE President

#MarchNewsletter