Many people in our congregation are wanting to better understand the Transformation Experience (TE) and what Unity Center hopes to get out of the process.  I think a good way to describe the program is that this is largely a process-oriented experience.  Over a three-year period, this process will help us to clarify who we are, our mission, vision and core values, and will support us in fulfilling more of our unique potential as a ministry. There isn’t a defined outcome that will be imposed on us by anyone from the outside. The intent is not to make us into something we’re not, but rather help us discover more about ourselves and then to live more fully into the unique expression that God is calling us forth to express.  With the support of consultants and a few structured processes, we should all grow spiritually through the experience and our ministry will be even better because of our collective growth.  And of course, the more of us that participate, the greater the benefit will be.

Here is a snapshot of where we are in the process so far and what is coming up-

o A Leadership Group (LG) to provide the overall coordination for this program has been formed and  has met  several times. The LG consists of our full Board and additional people – Tommy Messinger, Jim Connelly, Pat Barnett, Ted Steinberg, Deborah Williams, Kim Chapman, Rev. Aliza Bloom and Bill Dishongh, Belinda Lightheart, John Hawthorne, Donald Smith, Mary Kennedy-Smith, Patty Walters, Steve Latham and Tom Thomas.

 o We had our first weekend visit with our Church Consultant/Guide Mark Weaver on December 11-13, 2009.  26 participated in part or all of the weekend.  In addition to getting to know each other and engaging in some fun, interactive learning exercises we discovered how many ways we are exhibiting our core values.

o Susan Beck will be with us March 5-7.  She will be taking us into the next steps around our Intentions, Objectives and Core Values.  Some of you may remember Susan’s dynamic and interactive approach when she was with us in September 2008.

o Mark Weaver will be making his second visit to our ministry April 9-11, 2010.  Mark will be leading us through more experiences to help us in appreciating our past and learning more about the foundation upon which we are building for the future.

o Within the next few months we will have a group of people within our congregation trained to facilitate small group conversations about our ministry.  These will be called “Conscious Conversations” and the purpose is to elicit information about what people appreciate, and dialogue about your hopes and dreams for our ministry. 

o Another group that has been formed is the Evolutionary Council.  They have two primary responsibilities. 

#1- They will be the facilitators of these “Conscious Conversations” that will take  place in small groups of about eight-10 people each. 

#2- They will also “map what is”; in other words, identify how we want to measure our growth and progress through the Transformation Experience process.  We will benchmark where we are now so that we can assess our progress along the way and at the end of the three year commitment.  Jane Chopp and Scott Hammel will co-lead the team comprised of  Lisa Hammel, Jane Demars, Patty Walters, Dean Olson, Jan Olson, Valerie Cary and Matt Richardson.

o In addition to all of this, the Enlightened Leader webinars are providing learning opportunities for everyone that wants to participate.  The presenters are top-notch professional trainers who have been involved in Unity for a long time.  They offer us the opportunity to be exposed to some cutting-edge ideas and professional seminars that you would pay hundreds of dollars to attend anywhere else. 

Our Leadership group is committed to attending all four sessions each year.  The sessions are free and open to everyone in our community.  You may come to one or more of the sessions that are offered quarterly over the course of the year.

 o  The first Enlightened Leader webinar, “What is Enlightened Leadership?” was held on December 3, 2009.  We had 25 people attend with a number of others participating remotely.  The next webinar scheduled is:

Thursday, February 18 at 7 PM - “Spiritual and Emotional Intelligence: 
What is Required for Conscious Evolution” with Cindy Wigglesworth.

*After each live presentation, these programs are archived on the website for viewing.

**The pre-session activity is on the website, www.TEInteractive.org.  If you still need a user name and passcode, please contact the office by phone or email.        

 512-836-6372 or unity@unitycenteraustin.org.

Please feel free to speak with any of us in the Leadership Group if you have questions or suggestions. The best way to give your input is to come and participate – please join us!

Blessings, Rev. Aliza

 

 

 Upcoming dates: 
         

Thursday, Feb 11	Leadership Group Meeting with Mark Weaver @ 5:30 PM
Thursday, Feb 18	Spiritual & Emotional Intelligence, Cindy Wigglesworth, Webinar @ 7 -9 PM
Fri-Sat March 5-7	Susan Beck will take us into the next steps around our Intentions, Objectives and Core Values
Thursday, March 18	Leadership Group Meeting Conference Call with Mark Weaver @ 5:30 PM
Fri-Sat, April 9-11	Mark Weaver Weekend
Thursday, May 13	Webinar #3 @ 7 PM  Judith Lukomski; Charting the Course of Change: Navigating with Logic a
Fri-Sat, July 9-11	Mark Weaver Weekend

Thursday, Aug 12	Webinar #4 @ 7 PM  Brian Like Seaward; Stand Like a Mountain, Flow Like Water: Reflectioins on Stress and Human Spirituality.
Fri-Sat, October 22-23	Mark Weaver Weekend