The Mind of the Minister
As the story goes, someone once asked Michaelangelo how he managed to create his massive statue of David. “I took a big block of granite,” he replied, “and chipped away anything that wasn’t David.”
The story exists in many variations. Usually the artist remains nameless. Most of the time, it’s a statue of an elephant. But, if you’ve been involved in any sort of creative endeavor, you probably recognize the sentiment – we start with the block of stone, the lump of clay, the blank page or canvass, the empty stage and slowly, slowly the thing that’s within it emerges. We grasp the potential of the piece and let it take shape with our hands.
There is so much possibility at the beginning of a new project, whether it’s making a sculpture or building a community. There are so many things the stone could be, so many things a community could be and do. But eventually, we start looking towards the essence of the thing – what’s essential.
In the organizational world, that potential gets defined in statements of mission and vision – what are we here to do, and what will the world look like tomorrow because we did it? In the nonprofit world, the conventional wisdom is that, without shareholders to answer to, it’s the mission that “owns” the organization. That is, everything the organization does is done with a sense of accountability toward what it said it was here to do.
The current vision and mission of UU Berks looks like this:
Vision:
An inclusive community that nurtures people’s spirits, supports their spiritual journeys, and serves the cause of justice and love in the world.
Mission:
An open, nurturing community that encourages respect for and knowledge of all spiritual paths, promotes generous giving of time and resources, puts Unitarian Universalist values into action, and acts as a strong voice for social justice.
Conventional wisdom also says that an organization should review its mission and vision every five years or so to ensure it still serves the organization and meets the moment that it’s in. As we approach our 200th anniversary, it seems a good time to start a process of review. While we don’t have a formal process mapped out yet, it’s never too early to ponder the questions that will help us to chip away everything that isn’t the elephant:
What are we here to do, and what will the world look like tomorrow because we did it?
Imagine the possibilities!
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I’ll be on vacation the week of April 13th so Jess and I can attend our daughter’s final graduate recital. I’ll return to the office on Tuesday, April 21st.
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I’ll be continuing my experiment in “minister hangouts” this month, with afternoon tea at 2pm on April 2nd, and “Takeout Thursday” at 6:30pm on April 23rd. Come and join me for refreshment and conversation!
See you in church!
