Minister's Musing

Rev. Mark Ward
Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville

June 2006

Real, says the skin horse in the children’s story “The Velveteen Rabbit,” isn’t something that happens all at once: you become. The same can be said of ministry. Though I have been your minister now for two years, I am still “becoming” in important ways: I am growing, learning, getting the hang of the many tasks and skills needed to minister to a big, busy church like ours. As part of this learning, I am reviewed annually by the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, the professional credentialing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is a three-year process that, if all goes well, ends with my receiving what is called “final fellowship” as a Unitarian Universalist minister.

The most important input into that review comes from you, from the evaluations that the Board of Trustees and Committee on Ministries have compiled together with my self-evaluation. Those evaluations have been completed, and you are welcome to read them if you like. You can find a copy at the church office. As a result of those evaluations, I have composed a “professional development agreement” that lays out my priorities for the coming church year, and in this column I want to share those priorities with you. This isn’t all that I will be doing, but it is where I plan to devote a significant share of my time.

Counseling and Pastoral Care
I plan to work with our Pastoral Care Consultant for the coming year, the Rev. Sarah York, to develop a program of comprehensive pastoral care for our church, including the training of care givers, coordination with Care Rings, improved communication and better contact and follow-through with members who are in crisis or homebound.

Teaching
I plan to work with lay leaders to develop a more clearly focused program of adult learning and development for our church, including offering classes myself. I will also be a resource for our new Campus Ministry Associate DiAnna Ritola and will look for more ways to interact with children and youth.

Prophetic Outreach
I plan to work with our newly created Social Justice Council in its efforts to broaden and deepen our church’s involvement in social justice work.

In other areas, I’ll develop a calendar of worship for the church year, including a sermon series, and look for ways of providing a greater diversity in worship experiences, including inviting more people into lay worship planning. And I will continue to support our Covenant Group program, which has gotten off to a good start and which I hope will grow this fall. Also, with the growth of our church, our senior staff will need my support.

All this makes for a busy year ahead, and it also will require that I be careful in making choices about how I spend my time. I want to have the time and energy to be fully present for the work I do here, so I hope you’ll understand if I limit my involvement in other areas. That said, please don’t hesitate to contact me or others in church if you are in need. We are here as a community to support each other. That is the way that each of us becomes real.