Considering a new sign for the front of the chapel, studying options for using the church-owned property at 222 Argonne Street, and promoting Adult Religious Education opportunities are among some of the goals included in a strategic plan presented to the congregation via zoom on August 14. See the entire plan here. 

About 25 people attended the zoom meeting, which was hosted by members of the strategic plan committee including Rev. Krista Taves, Board President Carole Glauser and former board members Kalen Ponche-Ciszewski and Steve Mennerick. 

The Board of Trustees is expected to discuss and finalize the three-year rolling strategic plan during its annual retreat scheduled for the weekend of August 16-18. 

The strategic planning process started in December 2023 with a retreat led by Rev. David Pyle, Midwest Regional Lead for the Unitarian Universalist Association, who showed how the board could create a rolling, three-year strategic plan. This method of planning allows the board to tackle big areas such as improving communication through a series of specific achievable goals with benchmarks to be achieved over three years. Each year the strategic planning committee will review the plan to make changes and add new goals. 

This new strategic plan is based on themes and priorities identified by the congregation in meetings with interim Rev. Doug Watkins in 2022-2023, as well as the search committee in 2023-24 church year. These priorities helped the team to decide which areas on which we should focus, Rev. Krista said.

Priority one is EXPLORING OUR FAITH: 

There’s a clear desire to deepen our sense of community, our sense of faith, said Rev. Krista, along with a need to clarify ways that people can get involved at church. The first goal is to expand our adult enrichment offerings and improve communication on how people can get involved. Work is already underway on this goal.  (See the new website page highlighting Adult Enrichment opportunities). 

“In the interest of celebrating successes, that adult enrichment webpage is tremendous,” said Steve Mennerick. “Congrats to everyone who has been moving this plan forward while we are still building the plan.”

Priority two is PROMOTING FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY:

One of the ways the Board hopes to be good stewards of the church is to do an assessment of all of our property including the chapel, the property at 222 Argonne, which is currently a large grassy field, and Bergfried, a wooded property the church owns near Hermann, Mo. 

“People want to know what we are going to do with 222 Argonne which we have had for eight years,” said Rev. Krista. “We have used it to open up our worship services… We need to spend time discerning what we can do with it.” 

During the 2024-25 church year Brian Franklin, Business Manager, will bring together a team to help gather information about three options for this property: conducting a sale of the property, using the property as it is, or planning a capital campaign for development of the property. In the 2025-26 church year, year two of the plan, we would study all of the possibilities and make a decision. Year three, in 2026-27, we would put that plan into action. 

Another goal in this category includes making improvements to the aesthetics of Eliot Chapel, including putting in a new sign for the front of the chapel. Business Manager Brian Franklin is primarily responsible for this goal and will work with volunteers to bring recommendations to Rev. Krista for a final decision, she said.

Under the direction of Brian Franklin, another team will consider the Bergfried property in terms of harmonizing the missions of Eliot Chapel and Bergfried, as well as exploring the revenue potential for the property. 

Priority three is PROMOTING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY:

Goals for this area include making Adams Hall more welcoming by assessing how we use the space, making building improvements like putting in new carpet in Adams Hall (coming soon in Fall of 2024!), holding three intergenerational events this year and creating a team to build community online. 

Priority four is FOSTER A CULTURE OF COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITY:

Goals in this category are centered on strengthening and broadening covenant groups and our pastoral care program. 

Priority five is PROMOTING POSITIVE STAFF/MINISTER/CONGREGANT INTERACTIONS, RELATIONS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

In the first year, we will create a Human Relations committee of the Board of Trustees to make sure we are complying with various labor laws and ensuring fair compensation. In addition, we will implement a new method of evaluating the lead minister. 

Some Questions and Answers

How will the committee report out on the progress of this plan?

The Board is responsible for monitoring the progress of the plan and will hear regular reports from Rev. Krista and Administrator Brian Franklin. In addition, there will be an annual end of year offering where we can share with you what we have accomplished and what remains to be done, Rev. Krista said. 

Congregants are welcome to attend Board meetings in person on the third Wednesday of each month or can look for the minutes of the board meetings posted on the board webpage. 

How can congregants get involved in these efforts? Who will make the final decisions about these changes? 

The person in charge of each goal will assemble a team needed to help reach the goal. Brian Franklin is in charge of several of the goals and will report to Rev. Krista the recommendations that come out of those meetings. Rev. Krista will ultimately be the one to approve all of the decisions. The teams will have an opportunity to voice their thoughts during the process. 

Rev. Krista is then accountable to the Board of Trustees for all decisions that are made. 

How will people find out about these goals if they didn’t attend the meeting? Everyone should know we are addressing the 222 property, Bergfried and changing the sign out front. Can we give it a sexier name than Strategic Planning Committee? (The board decided at their recent retreat that the 3-year Rolling Strategic Plan will be nicknamed “Eliot’s Rolling Roadmap”.)

Under the direction of Communications Specialist Debby Lovell, with support from Mary Meihaus and Dotty Storer, we are building a communications team to help make sure everyone knows about plans.

Who will be in charge of this plan moving forward? 

Current committee members Kalen Ponche and Steve Mennerick will roll off of the committee and the Board Chair-Elect Jennifer Stauber will create a new committee for the upcoming church year comprised of current board members and congregants.