Most young members attend RE, JRUU, or YRUU

The youth programs at UUFSD are well-attended. Nearly three in four children of members attend age-appropriate programs.

The UUFSD Fellowship has a wide range of age, young and old and in-between

The range of ages in the UUFSD is very wide.

• Nearly one in six members are 12 and under, mostly involved in RE
• One in six are age 13 to 24, many of whom are actively engaged in JRUU, YRUU, and district (PSWD) activities
• Another one in six are age 25 to 44, many with young families
• One in six are 45 to 54
• One in six are 55 to 64
• One in six are age 65 and above

What skills and enthusiasms we want in a minister

There’s a part of the congregational record where we’re asked to summarize the skills and enthusiasms we want in a minister.

 

The Fellowship wants to be drawn out and drawn together, to be inspired to be vibrant, active, and to reach beyond their shorter-term views towards a longer-term, more far-reaching vision.

 

The Congregational Record, submitted to the UUA Transitions department, required us to look across all of the survey and focus group questions to prioritize what we need in a minister. Our instructions were very strict, to only list 4 items as crucial, 4 as significant, 4 as modest, and the rest as other.

 

Here are the results:

• Crucial

  • Community building

  • Leadership development

  • Preaching

  • Worship

These crucial items reflect that, above all, this Fellowship desires a minister that has the skills and interest to pull us together and inspire us.

• Significant

  • Children’s Religious Education (RE)

  • Facilitation

  • Spiritual guidance

  • Stewardship

These four items express what two-thirds or more of the Fellowship identified as important or critical: hope for the future and support in getting there.

• Modest (not the top 8 items, but still rated strongly by more than half of the Fellowship)

  • Home visitation

  • Hospital calling

  • Personal counseling

  • Youth work

These issues reflect the hope that the minister will attend to the personal needs of the Fellowship.

• Other

  • Administration

  • Scholarship

These rankings are primarily based on responses to the congregational survey. Additional consideration was given to those issues stated as most imporant in the focus groups. It was difficult to rank only four items as Crucial and four items as Significant, as many of the listed skills and enthusiasms are considered somewhat important or very important.