This year, our congregation is embarking on a process to create the vision and strategic direction of the church for the next five years.  

As a result of this work, we will have a vision of the church in 2032 and a plan to get ourselves there. During this time, we will reflect on where we’ve been, articulate our current strengths and opportunities, and imagine a future for ourselves in the larger community. This is generative, energizing work!

Three Steps

Three steps will get us to the Strategic Plan:

1. Congregational Summits: A representative cross-section of the congregation has been invited to participate in a 2-day event to bring together the collective energy and resources of our congregation to discern our possibilities and commitments for the future. The result of the summits will be the identification of strategic directions for the congregation and the creation of Action Planning Groups to address them. The list of Action Planning Groups will be announced at the end of October 2026.
2. Action Planning Groups: Participants will develop an action plan based on a strategic direction in which they have an interest and a passion. Each plan will explain the desired outcomes and milestones along the way. Plans from each group will be handed off to the Steering Committee in February 2027.
3. Create Strategic Plan: The Steering Committee will take the individual action plans and combine them into a single multi-year plan to accomplish each goal. The plan is due to the congregation in April 2027.

Who Is Leading?

The Board of Trustees and Rev. Alison have designated a Board Strategy Committee to oversee the creation of the process and the development of the strategic plan. The Board Strategy Committee has designated a Strategic Planning Steering Committee to facilitate the congregation’s participation. The process is guided by Larry Peers, a national consultant with congregations and religious organizations and has recently served as the minister of the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, DE. Larry guided our congregation’s Strategic Planning process in the 1990s.

How to Participate

This year, the Action Planning Groups will recruit in late October and early November. If you’d like to volunteer for one, email strategicplanning@firstunitarianportland.org.

Next year, we’ll start implementing the plans that we develop this year. There will be many opportunities to participate and contribute. Watch the Front Steps eNews, this webpage, Sunday slides, and tables in Social Hour.