It was determined by the Executive Committee and validated by congregational conversations to have a visioning process during the 2010 Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Pittsfield operational year. The initiative was driven in part by need to re-covenant the Religious Education program. It was also undertaken to address the desire to revitalize and grow the size of the congregation following a decline in membership and attendance. The Church had last carried out such a project six years earlier in 2005. That process resulted in the following statement, which is read at the opening of each UU Church of Pittsfield Sunday service.

We are a diverse congregation and aspire to be a force for good in the wider world. We are a safe, loving community that encourages and respects intellectual, spiritual, and ideological growth and exploration

The statement is based on and seems consistent with the established ―Mission Statement‖ of the church.

As Unitarian Universalists, we seek to provide a supportive community for spiritual and intellectual exploration where acceptance and love empower us to develop ethical values and to act on our beliefs.

While both statements eloquently describe the spiritual and social responsibility commitments of the congregation and its commitment to the UUA Covenant; they are too broad to provide guidance to a plan of action. The Executive Committee was looking for new and bold ideas to re-energize the church and to engage the congregation and hopefully new congregants in a vital church community beyond Sunday service and social hour. It wanted an action agenda for UU religious education, spiritual exploration and social responsibility that refocused the church community on the ―Mission Statement‖.

An excerpt from that report serves to describe the process:

The process was carried out over two Sundays with 4 hours of work scheduled for each Sunday (see Schedule of the UU Church Visioning Sessions on pg.5). The first part of Discover was completed on day 1 and the rest of the Discover exercise as well as those for the Dream and Design phases completed on day 2.

The full story of the process and the result of our brainstorming sessions have been assembled and you can download it here:

Final Report of The Visioning Process (4)