2008/09 MCUUF Worship Team Charter

Mission:

The mission of the MCUUF Worship Team is to research, plan, coordinate and implement quality worship services, designed to support membership’s expressed worship service needs.

Goals and objectives:

The goals and objectives of the worship ‘services’ are to:

  • Support membership spiritual practices
  • Support membership cultivation of interpersonal skills
  • Support community initiatives for positive social and environmental change
  • Incorporate a diversity of subjects and spiritual perspectives sufficient to provide a broad spectrum of learning and experiential spiritual opportunities

The goals and objectives of the worship ‘team’ are to:

  • Continually engage the membership at large for ideas for worship services.
  • Produce 52 Sunday services in the period July 1, 2008 through June 29, 2009.
  • Expand the circle of trained service celebrants
  • Provide a minimum of 12 original content sermons given by ministers of the Pacific Northwest District Preaching Supply.
  • Provide a minimum of 10 “guest” sermons given by various Faith representatives, community leadership or other speakers deemed (by the Worship Team) to serve the expressed worship service needs of the membership.
  • Provide a minimum of 2 services produced by the Children’s R.E. or YRUU or a combination of both.
  • Organize the remaining services (+ or – 28) using Fellowship membership and or friends as resources to produce:
    • original sermons
    • readings
    • taped or pod-cast services
    • alternative program formats i.e., discussion, meditation, music; special events etc.
  • Serve the Fellowship as the central clearing house for coordinating worship service element information i.e., keeping a master calendar, coordinating with supporting teams such as music, service set-up, membership and religious education.
  • Control worship service expenses not to exceed the annual approved budget (currently $7,800).
  • Provide and administer a forum(s) for critique and evolution of worship services for the purpose of monitoring service relevancy to expressed Fellowship service ideals.
  • Maintain a core group of trained worship service celebrant/production volunteers of 4-6 people of which a majority will be full members of the fellowship and an additional 4-6 people trained to serve as celebrants for Sunday worship to insure the ongoing successful production of services.
  • Maintain worship service attendance records.
Resources:

Annual Budget: $7,800

Volunteer Staffing:

  • Worship Team Membership:

    Attend bi-monthly, quarterly and annual Worship Team planning and administrative meetings and/or working sessions. Represent the Worship Team with Fellowship Members. Engage in ongoing discussions with members/friends regarding the services, their preferences, likes, dislikes etc. Participate in ongoing research and development of prospects for lay speaker recruitment. Stay current with UUA guidelines, trends, issues and policies as they relate to Worship. Participate in ongoing research and identification of current global and or community events, social and cultural concerns that may need to be incorporated into MCUUF Worship services.

  • Speaker Recruitment:

    Involves identifying and researching sermon topics, identifying speaker candidates, researching speaker references, contacting speakers and negotiating engagement to speak, coordinating initial speaking arrangements, and coordinating with monthly worship team coaches and service celebrants. Maintaining financial records of speaker and musical fees and, communicating with the Fellowship treasurer. Following up speaking engagements with thank-you notes and or other communication needs.

  • Speaker Home Stay Coordinator:

    Identifying and coordinating over-night lodging options for out of area speakers.

  • Worship Team Meeting Coordination

    Planning, researching and preparing agendas, keeping minutes of meetings, following up on individual meeting assignments.

  • Worship Team Liaison

    Coordinating communication to and from the Worship Team with other Fellowship Teams, committees or related persons who may have occasion to interact or participate in the Worship Service production ie., Music Team, Set-up, Membership, Board of Directors etc.

    Coordinate communication with the Administrator for general Worship Team newsletter announcements.

  • Service Evaluation Coordination

    Initiating and coordinating weekly evaluation process for services, summarizing team member comments and maintaining an evaluation diary for use by the Worship Team and Board of Directors. Initiating and coordinating ‘calls to action’ to respond to the need for immediate service procedure/set-up changes.

    Organizing an annual Worship Service Focus Group work session to review the annual services overall effectiveness and to explore and recommend changes as necessary. (see note at bottom)

  • Service equipment and supplies administration:

    Periodically review the storage cabinet, organize and replenish materials as needed. Insure the “Emergency handbook of scripts and sermons” is accessible and easily adaptable.

  • Monthly Worship Service “Coach”

    Provide oversight for one or two month’s worth of consecutive services per year, to insure celebrants, speakers and musicians have necessary materials to produce their service or portions thereof. Coach celebrants as needed. Provide oversight to obtain monthly newsletter worship service information from service participants (celebrants, speakers etc.) during month of coaching duty insuring that participants get information to the Administrator in a timely fashion.

    Serve as emergency back-up for celebrants during month of coaching duty. Attend all services during month of coaching duty or designate an alternate. Be on hand at the facility where the service is being held, by 9:45 a.m. during month of duty to insure that set-up occurs properly and celebrant is supported. Be prepared to step into celebrant role in case of emergency or no-show.

  • Annual Budget and Charter preparation and updates

    Prepare the annual Worship Services budget, prepare recommendations and justifications for annual presentation to the Board of Directors. Update the annual charter and submit to the Board of Directors.

  • Celebrant

    Serve the Fellowship as a celebrant approximately 12-13 services per year. (based on a Worship Team consisting of 4 members). Coordinate with speaker, music team, monthly service coach and Fellowship administrator. Provide oversight for the organization and development of the weekly order of service. Insure that the order of service details are sent to the Administrator not later than 10 days prior to the pending service. Set-up the worship service staging (altar) for services. Clean-up from service – hymnals, orders of service, podium etc. Count offertory and turn over to Treasurer. Follow-up on after service requests for information from service attendees.

  • Celebrant Training and Worship Coach orientation

    Document, coordinate and administer training for new celebrants as needed. Provide orientation for new Worship Team members and review their responsibilities for Coaching celebrants.

  • Worship service attendance documentation

    Document and log attendance records for the Fellowship weekly Sunday services.

Worship Team Membership:

The Worship Team will maintain a core group of trained worship service celebrant/production volunteers of 4 to 6 people of which a majority will be full members of the fellowship. WT members may opt to extend service for up to 3 consecutive years. At the end of 3 years, WT members will be asked to take a minimum of one year sabbatical.

NOTE: An annual Worship Service Evaluation Focus Group meeting will be held in February. Notice of the meeting will appear in the January newsletter with date, time, place and a call for volunteers to participate in the guiding and directing of the focus of future worship services.