[Worship] W & M Comm - draft of annual report

[Martha McGovern]

Please peruse and be ready to share suggestions/questions at today’s meeting.

Martha

2020-2021 Annual Report of the Worship & Music Committee

First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta

Members: Adeline Bailey, Peg Clifford, Reverend Kathryn Hawbaker, Martha McGovern (chair), Maggie Meyer, Suzyn Mills, Annie Warmke 

Mission: The mission of the Worship and Music Committee is to collaborate with the minister in planning and presenting meaningful and inspiring worship services of high quality.
Goals:
• Strive to achieve worship services that challenge the intellect, promote spiritual growth, connect emotionally, develop a sense of community, and inspire the congregation to action.
• Bring in speakers and provide services that represent diverse points of view.
• Maintain the quality of the summer services while expanding the variety of offerings to increase attendance and involvement.
• Continue to provide services and activities that promote interaction across the life span (generations) within the life of FUUSM.
• Increase the involvement of the congregation in the musical elements of the service through performances and hymn singing.
• Expand outreach to the community through performances and activities.
• Develop and encourage lay participation.  Continue to recruit lay worship associates and leaders and provide ongoing training for laypersons to develop and deliver effective worship services.
• Strengthen a collaborative style of worship planning among the Worship Committee members, Worship Associates, members of the congregation and the minister, and members of the BRIDGES Program Council.


Highlights of the 2020-2021 Year in Relation to Stated Goals
• Of course, our biggest challenge has been providing Sunday services virtually during the pandemic shut-down.  We are profoundly grateful to Mike Bailey, Ralph Olander, Michelle Wilson, and Kat Hawbaker for their willingness to venture into new technological territory in order to produce a variety of effective services.  
• In terms of worship services, the Committee has endeavored to balance continuity and variety.  We decided to continue organization of services around themes, which this year were “How do we address the paradox of WE?” (January-August) and “How can we be mindful and authentic in cherishing all life?” (September-February).     
• We also have tried to present diverse perspectives.  To that end, 11 services have included speakers or contributors from outside the congregation; 17 services have included voices from within our congregation.   
• In response to requests for continued attention to spirituality and a wider exploration of faith traditions, we have offered at least 13 services with that focus.
• On a monthly basis, we analyzed at least one of the services or activities in terms of our goals.  We identified effective components to continue and improvements to make.
• Reverend Hawbaker held non-Sunday morning observances (Blessing of the Animals, Winter Solstice) and Christmas Eve bell-ringing and Zoom candlelight service events.  
• To promote interactions across the life span, youth have contributed to services on Zoom, and packets of materials have been delivered to families.  Youth also participated in the Zoom Water Ingathering and Ribbon Ceremony, the Community Card Project, and the outdoor decoration of the church fence.  
• Music is consistently identified as a valuable component of the worship services.  We are grateful for Randall Kidder’s competent support and inspiring musical contributions.  Under the direction of Martha Webster, the Choir sang at least once per month – even virtually on Zoom.  In addition, the Special Music Task Team, led by Suzyn Mills and Adeline Bailey, arranged for periodic involvement of other musicians.  
• We continued the holiday service project of sending cards to residents of area care facilities.  The project is meaningful for the congregation, and the residents and administrators of the facilities have sent notes of appreciation.  We thank Adeline Bailey for spearheading the project with consultation with John Maddow and Diane McMichael and in collaboration with Chris Keller.  
• To support the Piano Fund, we still have FUUSM t-shirts for sale.  Profits will be donated to that fund.  
• We continue to encourage broad participation in Worship & Music Committee efforts.  
• For large projects, we have established Specific Task Teams that are composed of at least one Committee member and other members from the general congregation.  The Teams are Aesthetics, Piano, Technology, Worship Associates, Time for All Ages, and Coordination with Buildings & Grounds. 
• The Aesthetics Team (led by Jane Tumas-Serna and Nancy Lee) has designed seasonal decoration for the Sanctuary and has involved congregation members in the processes of installation and dismantling.
• The Coordination with Buildings & Grounds Team (members Maggie Meyer, Nancy Lee, Joe Baker, Roger Kalter, Jane Tumas-Serna, and Rev. Kat Hawbaker) have adjusted to pandemic standards and have continued to maintain order in our church buildings.
• We are continuing to use a team approach to services in which several people work together on planning and presenting the services.  To assist this planning, we have formulated a guide with steps, a timeline, and a default order of service format.  For easy reference, the guide is posted on the FUUSM website.
• With the guidance of the Technology Team (Rev. Kat Hawbaker, Mike Bailey, Ralph Olander and Al Tuttle), we continue to upgrade the quality of audio-visual components of services and to provide services on Zoom and Facebook.  

Thank You
       The Worship and Music Committee wishes to thank the many people who have contributed to the worship services this year and to express our gratitude to the congregation as a whole for its feedback.  The congregation consistently affirms the importance of music in our services.  As Board Liaisons, Nancy Luthy and Katy McDaniel have been supportive and have brought useful perspectives to our discussion.  We deeply appreciate Reverend Kat Hawbaker’s creative perseverance through this difficult time and the determination and technical skills of Mike Bailey, Ralph Olander, and Michelle Wilson.   

Future Plans:  	
We will:
1. honor copyright laws and show respect for composers and arrangers by buying sheet music for all the members of the choir and establishing a library for choir music.
2. continue to gather feedback from the congregation, especially from new members and the Annual Congregational Assessment, and to analyze worship services in terms of our goals.  The input and analysis will guide our endeavors to provide effective Sunday services and outreach.  
3. continue involvement of members and friends by inviting two or three committees or projects to present worship services during the up-coming year.  
4. adopt a new theme for 2021-2022.
5. continue our efforts to improve the organization and storage of materials and supplies for worship and music.
6. continue our commitment to differently styled worship services at non-Sunday morning times, periodically collaborating with other groups to provide those services.  
7. maintain and renew our Worship Associate program.
8. continue improvement of our technology capabilities for both in-church and virtual services. 
9. maintain our attention to fundraising for the maintenance of the piano in the Sanctuary.  
10. continue to collaborate with the BRIDGES program in identifying opportunities for integrating activities throughout the year.  
11. continue to emphasize the music component of our worship services.
12. continue to expand our use of new worship resources.
13. increase awareness and use of recorded services, which are available on the website or on Facebook.

Budget
   Our budget proposal reflects our continuing attention to the inclusion of presenters with diverse perspectives and of musicians, the addition of a paid Choir director, a lower cost of maintenance of pianos, the improvement of sound, recording and projection technology, and the purchase of worship resources, sheet music, and storage/organization supplies. 

Attendance
   During the 2020-2021 year, average attendance (adult and child) per Sunday service was  ???_.  Please find church records of the Sunday attendance numbers of adults and children attached below.   
   
   
Respectfully submitted,  
Martha McGovern




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