SERMON

Have you ever been interested in a movie, perhaps a syrupy love story, an exciting action packed thriller, or a scary monster story, then heard negative reviews from your friends and seen it panned in the papers? Then decide to take a chance and go anyway, perhaps because it has a favorite actress or actor in it who will make it worth your while even if it isn't any good and to your surprise you discover you enjoyed it? I feel sort of like that when I talk about how enjoyable, satisfying and rewarding involvement in the committees can be.

When I was a member of the Unitarian Church of Oakland, I was approached to be chair of the finance committee. At that time, I had no plans for ministry and had little interest in finances. I had always looked askance at those who filled their minds with these meaningless numbers. Worship committee? Yes! Serve on the board? Oh sure - not the finance committee. I think maybe they asked me because I was a well paid engineer and usually you get a good pledge out of your finance committee chair. After some thought, and really as a favor to my minister and the president of the congregation, I said yes. I had no idea how to run a finance committee but I figured with an engineering degree I ought to be able to balance the numbers. Plus I was fresh back from the Pacific Central District's leadership school and eager to try out my new leadership skills And overall, I had a lot more fun and gained more satisfaction than I had expected. And now that I serve you as your minister, I appreciate much of what I learned there as I try to be a responsible steward of my spending and participate in the budgeting and fund raising process.

Many people take for granted that serving on a committee is a burdensome chore. Most of us lead busy lives and don't have much energy to spare. Everyone has their stories of the boring committees they have served on with inept leadership which didn't seem to do anything worthwhile. Some have had the other problem. They have heroically chaired committees or led groups with low commitment and support from the general membership. Most have participated in a group which had one or worse two members who made the work unpleasant because of their disagreeable temperament or their inability to work constructively with others. And sometimes a great committee can be put together to try to solve a difficult, if not impossible problem. Any effort expended gets washed away by the problem's intractability. In the worst case, a few persevere in the face of difficulty then become discouraged when their efforts are not recognized or appreciated. Without getting too specific, I expect all of us have had some bad experiences serving on committees.

Bad experiences with committees though, are not the best way to evaluate their value for meaningful participation. It would be like playing with some unskilled musicians, making an unpleasant cacophony and deciding to abandon the instrument. Or like playing on a poorly led and organized baseball team and then deciding to abandon the sport. A young and inexperienced musician or baseball player may do just that. I tried playing violin in second grade for a week on a lousy instrument and quickly gave it up. The only time I got to first base as a kid in my one summer participating in a local softball league was when I got hit by the ball. If I had had a more positive early experience things might have been different. The musician who has participated with professional musicians who know how to play together or the baseball player who has played on a winning team know that there is more possible even if they have a bad day. The same is true of committees. Good committee leadership and skillful participation can create an experience of group creativity which is tremendously rewarding.

I believe the most satisfying experience of membership in a congregation comes from involvement in its inner life. Coming on Sunday just touches the surface of meaningful involvement. There is only so much opportunity to socialize and make connections after the service during the coffee hour. To really begin to get to know people, one has to make social contacts other than on Sunday morning. Serving on committees is an excellent way to get to know others who have similar concerns and interests. Just sitting around a table and chit chatting before the meeting begins can be enjoyable way to begin that process. Every member and friend of this congregation is an interesting person with a wealth of experience to share. I have yet to meet a dull, boring person in this congregation. I don't know if that is just because we are Unitarian Universalists but whatever the reason, there are a great many wonderful, interesting people sitting all around you.

Sometimes I've found myself in a group for the first time and everyone goes around the circle and introduces themselves briefly. In this superficial exercise, little meaningful information generally gets shared and I am tempted to think that this group won't worth my time. Then, as time goes by and people begin sharing from the heart with each other, I'm amazed. Could these be the boring lifeless people I thought I was sitting with? They have joys, sorrows and struggles like mine! They share some of my desires and aspirations. When we really meet each other, we touch something sacred and profound: the human spirit we share. This kind of meeting happens with the help of good committee process.

Unless you have served on a well oiled and finely tuned committee, you may not know good group process is very enjoyable. At the very minimum, every well functioning committee is pleasurable. Often having coffee or a sweet treat during our Fellowship Board meetings adds this dimension. Our membership committee rewards itself after its meetings by going out to lunch. The Religious Education committee sometimes digresses into personal stories and interests. There are many ways to make the process of doing the necessary work of our Fellowship fun.

For me, one of the most enjoyable and energizing dimensions of committee work is group problem solving. When good processes and techniques are used, the group shares ideas. One person sparks the next until a problem that seemed impossible can now be solved. That kind of group creativity is not only satisfying for each participant, but it also brings the group closer together building the energy to implement the solution. This dance of the individual with the group, of the one and the many--moving closer then farther away--is the core of the process of creation which drives evolution forward. I believe the reason why successful participation in groups is so stimulating is because the group members are literally participating in the creative evolutionary process which shapes all of life.

I'd be kidding you if I promised that this happens all the time. I believe it can happen much more often than it does in most committees and there are techniques to help. Yet even if a group fails at this process, the very failure itself can be useful to the participants as they begin to see the ways their participation interfered with the group process. The fruit of group failure can be self-knowledge and growth if the group members take time to courageously examine their actions.

Being a student in 1985 at the Pacific Central District leadership school taught me a great deal about how powerful attention to group process can be in energizing committees and transforming its members. Witnessing the processes of a group and their effects on each member came like a revelation from the gods. At the end of each group exercise, we analyzed our process to see what we could learn. The group process became like a mirror for the participants to see themselves more clearly and how they could modify their actions to help the group work together more skillfully. By the end of the week we had developed individually as we created a rewarding and satisfying committee experience together.

The reason to invest energy in improving a committee's process, beyond the obvious good of making it more pleasurable for the committee members, is facilitating making something you care about happen. Doug Wyckoff, Craig Bell, Dave & Nancy Johnson, and I wanted a playground for the kids and have been working together with support from the congregation to make this possible. The congregation in the first year of my ministry here realized we would need more space and settled creatively on the deck solution as conceptualized by the Expansion Committee. The Bazaar we do each fall is tiring but also a wonderful rallying event which brings us together as our seasonal residents arrive. All of these have been energizing projects for the congregation as well as the committees. The desired result of our time, energy and money invested in committees is meaningful participation in our religious community. Deep in our hearts all of us desire to be of use.

The key to effective committee function are the leaders. This morning we honor three members of our congregation who have worked hard to create meaningful opportunities for participation. There are of course many other talented leaders in this congregation, but these three are finishing long terms of service to the congregation and must be recognized.

Miriam Lang, has for a long time been a supporting column of our congregation serving as our coordinator of the kitchen and our refreshments after the service. She has also served the as secretary for the Board and been faithful Fellowship gardener. Our most faithful Fellowship gardener of course is the second person we are honoring today: Charles Miller. Charlie has coordinated work on our grounds for the last twelve or so years. Just about every improvement to our grounds has his fingerprints on it. Charlie has also served on the Board, the Name Committee, the Expansion Committee and I'm sure many others over the years. I know his leadership of Conversation Among Friends makes it the enjoyable experience that keeps them coming back for more all these years it has been in existence. Others have tried to duplicate it and I suspect Charlie's steady hand at the tiller is what makes this group work.

Finally we appreciate our outgoing President Rhoda Bernstein. Doug, you have a tough act to follow. I have greatly appreciated Rhoda's skillful leadership of our congregation and her gift for running our Board meetings almost always getting things done by noon. Rhoda has a great talent for organizing and keeping on top of the many details required for the smooth functioning of this congregation. With the faithful support of Vice President Wilma McDonall, she has served us well the last two years.

I invite them to stand and come forward now. Florence Mercer has composed a poem for each of them which she will now read and present them with a copy.

Copyright (c) 1997 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore. All rights reserved.