October 8, 2023

Last weekend the Governing Circle and the Coordinating Circle had their retreat. The goals that we committed to fell into two groups – those we would tackle and complete this year, and goals that we might start this year, but that are really long-term goals, maybe 5-year goals. Each heading that I will share with you has many pieces under it. Our major goals are: Grow the Church (there is a long list here, and communication is among them), OWL (Phyllis Thayer and MaryAnne Winniford are responsible here), Find a New Home (this maybe a long-term goal with several iterations). Keep your eyes out for additional information on each of these as the year progresses.

We were blessed with the presence of both Rev. Crystal and Rev. Sarah Schurr. Rev. Schurr brought us a tool that I feel can make a real difference in our organization and how we know and understand ourself. It is called RACI: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed. Our circle structure can be confusing, and responsibility for certain tasks and projects opaque. RACI will help us clarify those. As we update our circle information, all members will be able to see in the member area of each circle a list of the circle members and who holds which roles (Leader, Facilitator, Secretary, Delegate). This helps everyone know who to talk to, about what, in each circle. However, there are some tasks that do not appear in this information, and that’s where RACI comes in.

Here’s a hypothetical example. We are members of PJALS. The RACI for this may look like: The Responsible person is Lannie MacAndrea, the Accountable person is Kathryn Alexander as Leader of the Governing Circle, the Consulted folks would be PJALS, Lannie McAndrea, and others with an expressed interest in PJALS, and the Informed will be those with an expressed interest in PJALS, and the congregation in general. The Governing Circle will be creating a RACI for PJALS and for FAN (the Faith in Action Network that we have joined) at our next meeting, and that information will be available in the members section so anyone with an interest in either will know who to talk to about either one. As we grow into this practice, this will help all of us better understand the structure and flow of responsibility in our church.

In a related bit of news, we are retiring the Healthy Community Circle. Touchstones will be managed by Frances Goodrow, working with the Leadership and Development Circle. When that RACI is completed, it may look something like: Responsible – Frances Goodrow, Accountable – Linda Moulder (Leader of Leadership and Development), Consulted – Kirt Loadman-Copeland (Head of the Touchstone Project), Informed – current members of the Touchstone Groups and the Congregation.

I hope these examples showcase the benefits of using RACI. By clearly stating who is Responsible for doing the work, who is charged/Accountable with making sure it happens, listing out who needs to be Consulted and who needs to be Informed we will not only better understand our structure, but we will also improve our communication, which was a chosen goal, under Grow Our Church, for this year from our retreat.