MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT There has been a lot of talk around the Fellowship about growth – how we are experiencing it and how we hope for more. Growth sounds good, but sometimes the changes that come with growth are uncomfortable for us. It is not just the Board that is concerned about growth; many groups within BuxMont are working to encourage and manage growth of all types. Loren Mead has listed the five types of growth in More Than Numbers: The Ways Churches Grow, as defined below. I think if we evaluate ourselves in each of these areas, we are making progress in them. 1. Numerical Growth (Growing the Numbers) The effort to recruit new members and retain existing members in order to increase the membership rolls. The reality is that if we don’t increase our numbers, we will wither away and die. 2. Maturational Growth (Deepening the Faith) The ability of a congregation to challenge, support and encourage each one of its members to grow in the maturity of their faith, to deepen their spiritual roots, and to broaden their religious imaginations. 3. Organic Growth (Increasing internal stability) The tasks of building the community, creating organizational structures, managing conflict, nurturing leaders, developing practices and processes that result in a dependable, stable network of human relationships. 3. Incarnational Growth (Engaging in loving action in the community) The involvement of the congregation in the world, or the ways in which the congregation wants its faith to make a difference in the world. 4. Associational Growth Growing awareness of the importance and relevance of involvement in cluster, district, regional, and national activities related to our Unitarian Universalist Association. Let me know of your concerns about BuxMont's growth. Judy Mitten, President Board of Trustees