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Visioning the Future of McDougall United Church
On September 13 and 14, 2019, approximately 35 McDougall Church members met to begin the process of identifying a future vision for the Church.
They worked to:
- identify values, challenges, and assets and resources
- discuss options about whether to sell or retain ownership of the church and its property
- identify major actions to address in order to move forward on options
- identify the roles and skills/gifts that will be required of church leadership
As you will see in this report, there is a wide range of actions required. At the consultant’s suggestion, a 90-day plan was developed that would allow the congregation manageable work get started, regardless of which option is chosen down the road.
Key Findings and Next Steps
On October 10, 2019, members (attending the September 13 and 14 meeting) were recalled to receive a summary document of key findings from the Visioning the Future report prepared by consultant, Mark Holmgren, as a result of the September meetings. Two options were identified, and the implications for each option outlined.
As well, three areas of need were addressed:
- Monetizing the Facility
- Leadership
- 90-Day Plan
Congregational Growth and Development
A concern of members was the health and development of the congregation that is central to our life and future together. Therefore, a session concerning Congregational Growth and Development was held on December 1, 2019 following the church service. Areas identified for discussion and exploration were:
MOVING FORWARD: THE FIRST 90 DAYS
On Saturday, February 1, 2020, 26 members of McDougall’s Visioning group gathered to present their research, and to update themselves on the information gathered in the last 90 days.
We prioritized the areas of what was most important to us and McDougall in order to make a decision on the next steps for the next 90 days.
The top four areas to be evaluated in our discussions were: 1) are we financially sustainable, 2) the need to respond to the community, 3) will our decisions represent a good fit for our capabilities, 4) the need to grow the congregation.
The meeting covered the following agenda items:
- Identifying our goals for the meeting
- Reporting on five areas of research during the first 90 Day period: Historic Designation, Building Condition, Financial Health, Congregational/Spiritual Health, Market Valuation of the land/building
- Evaluation Criteria
- Identifying types of change
- Options to consider
- Options by degree of change and complexity
- Impact vs. complexity of options
- More details in handouts: focus, ownership, financial implications, indicators of success, timeline
- Large group debrief
- Exploring the feasibility: things to do
- Things to do
- 90 Day work plan and development
- Final thoughts and next steps
Thank you to everyone who attended and provided their input on Saturday, February 1.
Click here to open the Moving Forward: The First 90 Days Report (PDF) from Saturday, February 1, 2020
Next meeting: Saturday, May 9, 2020, time TBA
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