The whole weekend felt like we were working together. It was exciting discussing what our visions are and what we would like to see happen at VUU. I enjoyed getting to know people in our group. Seeing the children march through with their art projects was also a very nice touch.

Thanks for giving us an opportunity to give meaningful feedback on what was, in my opinion, a fantastic weekend. The SFTF committee and the Board did a great job of planning and executing the event. It was great to get to know better some of the people I see every week, and to discuss where we are as a community and what we dream for our future. As a facilitator, I had a blast. I can't wait to see the fruits of our SFTF labors!

Thanks for putting up an evaluation and for this forum. There were parts that were excellent -- and fun -- and parts that didnt work all that well. I really enjoyed listening to other VUUers; there were times i wished the facilitator would listen more to us about how we wanted to do things. The infomraiton on congregational priorities for capital campaign, short term , and longer term goals was invaluable. I think the sundya morning part should have been a lot shorter and with more time for people to reflect and incorporate these "covenant ideas" into a worship service. We didnt need to just keep trying to reach "consensus"... goodness... our group just gave up after the second round and went with whatever.... the first two rounds were fine, but then we should have stopped it, opened the mics, reflected on what it means to have a covenant and etc.... nothing worshipful, nothing philosophical or meaningful or thoughtful about that part even though the ideas that came out of it were fine.

overall, i think this was a very good thing for VUU to do!

Although I did not participate in the groups (I was doing the food) I could sense the excitement of the process. The last time we did this process in 2002 it focussed us on our goals and what was needed to get there, namely, more space. So when more space fell into our laps in December of that year we were able to act with one mind. SFTF has once again focussed and energized us, paving the way for action to meet new goals. The sticky dots give a real quick picture of where the energy is--paying down the mortgage, balancing the budget and getting an assistant minister. The other thing the goal sheets tell us is that we do have agreement on a lot of things--many items showed up on all the goal sheets. The Sunday process was amazing! Not only was it fast and efficient, it showed us that we do share a set of values, even if we falter along the way. I hope the excitement spreads to the rest of the congregation. There was a good cross-section representation, so I think it will. I can see why this process should be done at least every 5 years. I also noticed a lot of dots on the kitchen items. The kitchen has been a constant topic since before we moved here, so that came as no surprise. I hope we can finally convene a group to discuss the VUU name. This had less dots than other things, but like the kitchen, it is a long-standing issue. And, if I say so myself, the food was great--just need more bread next time!!

I thought it went very well and the format made it easy to go through the vision, mission and goals. My group (GO GROUP 4 YEAH!!!) was very enthusiastic and ready to work together as a team. Everyone had so many good ideas! It did feel a little rushed at times but I don't think anyone would have wanted the day to be any longer, so that was ok.

Erin M.

Everyone in our faciliation group and everyone I spoke with was energized by this experience. I valued making new friends and learning more about people I've known for awhile and just generally having fun together in the larger group. Going into the next fiscal year with a VUU vision, mission and prioritized goals direct from our community thrills me.