More than thirty members and friends of First Parish gathered in the sanctuary this past Sunday to hear an initial report from the Scenarios Task Force.
Members of the Task Force began by reminding attendees that the charge of the Task Force is found in the motion passed at last June’s Annual Congregational Meeting to “form a task force that would develop four scenarios for the financial future of First Parish, to be presented to the congregation not later than January 2019”. The meeting continued with a presentation of historical data and trends for membership, pledges, revenue, and expenses. The presentation, which looked deeply at trends for FPS, also included membership trends at area UU churches.
We then had a rich discussion about those trends and what they mean for the future of FPS. Some of the trends are concerning – at FPS specifically and, more broadly, at faith communities across denominations. But the overwhelming sense of the meeting was that FPS holds deep meaning for our members and that we are committed to finding data driven solutions. The point was made several times that opportunities often arise from challenges!
One of the next steps for the Task Force will be to continue getting input from the congregation. This is perhaps the most important part of our work so, if you were not able to attend on Sunday or you attended but have further thoughts, please email us at . We would love to schedule a time to talk. We need your input!
We also encourage you to review the data and analyses on the Village website Scenarios Task Force Group.
The Task Force will make its final report to the congregation on Sunday, November 18, 2018. Following that, the Board of Trustees will lead a strategic planning process that will incorporate the financial scenarios into a long-range plan.