CANDIDATING WEEK - The Reverend Scott McNeill

Reverend Scott will be in the pulpit for both services on Sunday, April 17th and on April 24th. Meetings are scheduled throughout the week with many groups from the congregation. A full schedule of the Candidating Week's events is provided below. There are FIVE Activities that are open to any congregational member or friend. These events are asterisked - ** - and highlighted in BOLD. We hope you can plan to attend one (or more!). Sunday, April 17 9:15 AM-12:15 PM Candidate preaches at both services **12:30-1:30 PM Lunch/Open Forum following 2nd service - RSVP to office@uubloomington.org if you plan on attending or call 812-332-3695 4:15-5:30 PM Humanists/Free Thinkers

Monday, April 18 11:30 AM Meeting with MAM 5:30 PM Dinner with Caring Committee 7:00-9:00 PM Chalice Circle Leaders

Tuesday, April 19 9:30 AM Planned Giving/Stewardship/SPF 2:00 PM Leadership Cultivation Committee 7:00-9:00 PM Social Justice Leaders

Wednesday, April 20 10:30 AM Breakfast with Green Sanctuary Task Force 11:00 AM Meetings with Staff and MAM 7:00 PM Board Meeting

Thursday, April 21 8:30 AM Breakfast with the Ministerial Search Committee **11:30 AM-1:00 PM Brown Bag Lunch in Fellowship Hall hosted by Women's Alliance (bring your own lunch) 2:00 PM Event at Bell Trace with members of the congregation **5:30-7:00 PM Potluck Dinner in Fellowship Hall hosted by Choir (bring a dish to share)

Friday, April 22 9:30 AM Candidate attends weekly staff meeting

2:00-4:00 PM Past Presidents meeting **6:00-7:30 PM Religious Education Pizza Party in Fellowship Hall - Childcare will be available - Sign up here if you plan to attend: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409054DAEAC2CA02-relgious

Saturday, April 23 **9:00-11:00 AM Drop-in Coffee Meet and Greet in the Church Library

Sunday, April 24 9:15 AM-12:15 PM Candidate preaches at both services 1:00 PM Congregational Meeting

IMPORTANT!

At 1:00 PM on Sunday, April 24th there will be a congregational meeting to vote whether to call Reverend Scott. All church members are encouraged to attend. There is no absentee or early voting. You must be present to vote. We need at least 156 members present and Rev. McNeill will want at least 95% confidence vote in order to accept this call. The final decision is up to you. We hope that you will join us. 

INVITE to “BEYOND CATEGORICAL THINKING” Workshop

Participate in our Associate Minister Search by attending Sunday, Feb 14, 1-4pm

LUNCH & CHILD CARE PROVIDED

THINK OF A MINISTER.  DON’T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT.  Chances are you thought of both. And distinct images perhaps came to mind. In terms of a minister, what images came to mind? Was it a person of a particular gender, race, or age?

Beyond Categorical Thinking is a highly recommended part of the search process for our

congregation. In finding the person who would be the best match for our minister, we could potentially overlook or even let biases keep us from knowing that a particular person would be the best match for us.

Other congregations have assumed that their ideal minister looks a certain way, and often

ministers who are not white or male or able-bodied or of a particular age or class are discounted and seen as “less than” in some ways.  Ministers in our faith who are people of color, bisexual, transgender, differently-abled, young, old, ethnically different, or of a different class—all of these credentialed ministers still face discrimination as part of the ministerial search process.

In our efforts to find the best match, our Ministerial Search Committee will host a Beyond Categorical Thinking worship service and workshop on February 14, 2016.  Two trainers will come and meet with our Search Committee, offer the Sunday service sermon, and facilitate a 3-hour Congregation and Friends conversation to examine how we can avoid letting prejudice become a part of our search process. This is yet another way to put our faith into lived experience and improve the odds that regardless of identity, we will find the minister who is the best match for our Congregation and will serve us well.

This opportunity allows the entire congregation fuller participation in the search process.  It will allow us to explore our hopes and concerns for a new minister, learn more about the search process, and see how our own history (both personal and congregational) might interfere with our efforts in this search.

This workshop is now 20 years running and has proven very useful and valuable to congregations in the search process. A benefit of our being a Fair Share Congregation is that the UUA heavily subsidizes the cost of this workshop so the Search Committee cost is to secure this workshop was $300.  Please make this a worthwhile investment and join us for this workshop.

So come on Feb 14, 2016 to participate in this workshop our Search Committee has asked for to help in the search process. Our UUA trainer(s) will be Kathleen Robbins and Jerry Cardin, both from our MidAmerica Region.  

Please mark your calendars, show your love for our congregation and plan on joining us.

The Ministerial Search Committee: Barb Backler, Mary Boutain, Craig Coley, Abby Gitlitz, Michelle Monroe-Cook, Amy Taylor, Stuart Yoak.