Appreciative Inquiry “The Dream Summit”

“Appreciative Inquiry” is the study and exploration of what gives life to human systems such as persons, teams, organizations or communities when they function at their best. This approach to personal and organizational change is based on the assumption that questions and dialogue about strengths, successes, values, hopes, dreams are themselves transformational. Our Appreciative Inquiry was conducted in November 2009.

Church buildings were one of the Summit’s focus points and highlight what the congregation hoped for in 2009.

Dream Theme Four: Facilities Our beautiful and functional new church reflects not only our growth but our dedication to “total site planning” and debt reduction in recent years. The size and flexibility of this new facility promotes and accommodates still further growth of both congregation and staff. Its architecture is considerate of, even inspirational to, the surrounding community. It is environmentally green, ADA compliant and has special features for youth and older members. The sanctuary and the social hall are designed, furnished and equipped to perform their respective functions in support of church life with style and flexibility. We even have a small chapel for meditation and small ceremonies. The grounds provide not only plentiful parking but a youth recreation area, a memorial garden with columbarium, a large labyrinth, a community garden, and 3 a parsonage. Long-range plans envision development of a residential community around the church complex.

The PDF version of the report is five pages long.

Long-range or Strategic Plan?

Wayne Clark, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s former Director of Congregational Fundraising Services, encourages every congregation to have a long-range plan, or as he prefers to call it, a strategic plan. “Long-range planning implies that you start with what you have and build from there,” he said. “Strategic planning is more of a clean slate approach and is less confining.”

Developing A Site Plan

UUA Next Steps Visit

This is a brief summary, you can download the full 25-page Next Steps Report in PDF format.;

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruses, NM (UUCLC) engaged UUA Congregational Stewardship Consultant Bill Clontz to conduct a Next Steps Visit and to prepare this report. The visit focused on the congregation in all areas, with emphasis on stewardship and on considerations for potential capital improvements. This report contains observations in areas of strength, challenges, recommendations, and supporting material. Bill met with over 80 leaders, staff, and members in a series of 12 meetings. Bill
attended Sunday services and the Roundtable and provided an initial verbal report of the visit to the leadership. The visit schedule is at Appendix A.

Steps Taken to Prepare for Possible Capital Improvements

A rather long and extensive appreciative inquiry based approach was conducted some years ago to engage the congregation in capital program considerations. More recently, evaluations have been and are being conducted on the state of current facilities and feasibility of proceeding with new construction.
A long-range plan exists, and is quite thorough in its treatment of building and facilities issues. It is somewhat dated now and has not had a rigorous review and update. It generally does not address larger aspects of congregational life outside the capital improvements issues. The capital project now awaits further decisions as to whether it will go forward at this time and if so, with what priorities.

Begin The Site Plan

A strong master plan provides a road map for future growth for a site or complex. The goal of a good Master Plan is to find reasonable current development while keeping in mind the need for future development.

Site Planning Process

Identified in early documents as the Site Preplanning Work Group

Master Site Plan Work Group, History and Accomplishments

The Master Site Plan Work Group continued the work begun by the Building Feasibility Work Group (see Appendix A).

Congregational Vote, February 15, 2015

By vote, the congregation directed the Master Site Plan Work Group to begin developing the Master Site Plan with MNK Architects.

Members

Susan Bagby, Tom Dormody, Haney Pearson, Lyn Pearson, Marie Sauter, Rod Sauter, and Susan Wells.

Defined Tasks

1. Conduct requirements analysis for church programs:
   • Meet with all paid staff, all committee chairs, and other persons identified as having particular knowledge about church program requirements.
2. Direct the scheduling, advertising, and conduct of any meetings related to the project, including congregational meetings with MNK Architects.
3. Other duties defined by MNK Architects as necessary for the successful completion of the project.

Accomplishments

The group’s first meeting was in March 2013, when it began planning the conduct of requirements analyses designed to provide MNK Architects with good information about the church’s programs, space needs, and desires for more space. Two requirements analyses were completed and submitted to MNK in July and August of 2015.

Beginning in August of 2015, MNK conducted four on-site Congregational input meetings and during this period, the MSP Work Group met five times with MNK in El Paso. These meetings were for the purpose of making suggestions for the conduct of the information gathering meetings and subsequently to help MNK make accurate assessments of the information gathered. The last of the congregational input meetings was held on October 18, 2015. MNK will present the final Master Site Plan on November 8, 2015.

Requirements Analysis

Congregation and Staff Survey

This report describes a survey of Members, Friends, and Staff of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las
Cruces, New Mexico (UUCLC), designed to capture opinions about church spaces and how they impact the congregation and the mission of the church. The survey contains a combination of quantifiable and essay questions; together, they express the views of survey respondents on what works, what doesn’t work, and how spaces might be improved. Those views are summarized in this report The Congregation and Staff Requirements, July 14, 2014; it is a 133-page document.

Summary

Buildings and grounds can be improved –

Respondents want better audio visual (A/V) and Internet (Wi-Fi) capability in all buildings; better heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); and more secure storage that is designated for specific purposes. They want better signage to entice people to visit the church and help them find their way around the property. The church needs more parking and better lighting to, from, and in parking areas. Grading needs improvement throughout the grounds to remove slopes that are difficult for people to negotiate and buildings need to be more accessible for everyone, regardless of their physical capabilities. Respondents want shade, seating, beauty, meditativeness, and utility from the nearly four acres that comprise UUCLC’s property. They want the entire property to tell the community who we are and why we’re here.

Respondents want storage closets for specialized purposes, such as, telephone and network equipment,
garden tools, banners and flags, church archives, auction and sale intake and storage, infrequently used
equipment such as our commercial oven and mixer, and hazardous materials.

The Sanctuary should be larger —

In July 2015, church records show 215 active members and friends. Every Sunday, between 145 and 150 adults and children come onto the campus for worship services and activities.

Respondents want one service where we can be in community with the entire congregation. In addition, they want a sound booth in the back of the Sanctuary to accommodate better audio/visual equipment
and end the disruption caused by having the A/V controls in the front of the church. The minister, music director and choir members (as well as the congregation) want more and better designed performance space at the front of the church, without the hazard of a raised platform for the podium and plenty of room for musicians.

Respondents want more room, quiet ceiling fans and a much quieter Sanctuary that is not disturbed by
ambient outdoor sounds and noises in the Lobby. While the Zia, stained glass, new paint and TV monitors were applauded, they don’t go far enough in creating a comfortable, welcoming, and worshipful/meditative space.

New space should include natural elements that foster both worship and meditation, comfortable seating with space to store hymnals, contribution envelopes, and personal items, and places to temporarily store things like walkers, wheelchairs, and coats.

The Lobby should be larger —

Respondents attending services want a gathering place that is not a cramped and noisy bottleneck. They would like a book store for Unitarian Universalist brochures, books, t-shirts, etc. There are many spaces where this would work, but a gathering area seems like good space for this purpose.

Roundtable has outgrown its space –

The Roundtable discussion group is a popular activity and could
be an even greater outreach program if it were given more and better-designed space. Those who attend
Roundtable want assisted listening capability and more comfortable seating that allows all attendees to see the speaker and engage with one another.

Religious Education space is inadequate for both children and adults –

Respondents want to return the Religious Education Building to the children and they want more and better equipped classrooms in a building that is both functional and secure. The children, their parents, and their teachers want spaces to learn, play, and worship/meditate, both indoors and outdoors. These spaces should be designed for children with child-height water fountains, toilets, sinks, and counters.

Respondents want a designated, quiet infant room and a lounge for teens. Adults would like a lounge that is equipped with an A/V feed from the Sanctuary.

Space for adult fellowship –

Respondents think adults need their own fellowship hall and a commercial kitchen – a space large enough to hold most or all of the congregation for meals, classes, and large meetings.

The hall must have good performance space, excellent acoustics, and adequate storage for kitchen and dining equipment, tables, chairs, and more.

Space for Meetings and Adult Enrichment classes is too limited –

People who attend classes and meetings want rooms designed for those purposes. The spaces should be numerous enough to avoid too many space conflicts. Each space should have complete A/V and Wi-Fi capability and good lighting and HVAC. These spaces should be sufficient to hold private meetings without interruption or the chance of being overheard.

Each room should be set up permanently with comfortable tables and chairs, and adequate storage and
electrical outlets.

The staff needs more space –

The Director of Music and the Sexton need offices. The office manager needs a private office and both staff and congregation want a separate reception area. The minister needs an office with better private storage, a closet for robes and coats, a private powder room, and a separate entrance that is easy for people to find. There should be additional office space for conducting financial and membership-related
activities. All offices must be in close proximity to facilitate both communication and collegiality. Office
spaces must be easily accessible by everyone in the church; no tight doorways, ramps, or blocked paths to
offices. The copier needs its own space so that it is easily accessible by everyone without disturbing employees.

Lack of space is a barrier to enjoying and growing the church –

Overall, there is a need for more space. The lack of worship and fellowship space, an inadequate Kitchen, poor or non-existent landscaping, and confusing and disconnected buildings are a barrier to both enjoyment and growth.

In summary, the respondents desire a more comfortable and welcoming aspect that reflects Unitarian
Universalist principles and fosters our mission both in the church and the greater community. They want our buildings and grounds to be an asset to the community. Worship, fellowship, education, and business spaces should be dedicated to those purposes and designed for function and aesthetics. Increased attention to worship, meditation, and memorial spaces will be welcome. Our children are our future and we want them to have safe and welcoming spaces where we can be with them and help them learn and grow into a new generation of Unitarian Universalists.

Committees and Groups Survey

Our committees and groups had a great deal to say as expressed in this long summary. The full report, Group and Committee Requirements, is an 85-page document.

More space for meetings, activities, and storage–There are 46 active committees and groups in the
church and they need more space for meetings, activities and storage. They need better access to information Technology and Audio/Visual equipment and they are overburdened, both physically and temporally, by the need to continuously setup and tear down rooms to suit their requirements, move equipment from one area of the campus to another and into and out of storage rooms located far away from their activities. There are significant barriers to successful programming and yet they somehow manage to develop and host an incredible array of events and activities. It requires us to ask ourselves, “What could they do if they have better space and access to technology?”

Many shared space conflicts–We were able to identify 116 activities and events, some of which repeat
several or even many times throughout the year and some are mentioned by several groups. As you may
imagine, this level of activity results in conflicts for space and overcrowding. In fact, 72 percent of the
committees and groups reported 1 to 5 or more shared space conflicts each year. Most of the conflicts involved the Great Room, Library, and Lobby and were either scheduling conflicts or conflicts due to proximity to noisy activities. In some instances, groups occasionally changed the time or location of their regularly scheduled activities in order to avoid conflicts with other groups; in other words, they voluntarily gave up their preferred time and location to avoid conflicts.

Inadequate meeting space–The Great Room, Library and Lobby are prime meeting spaces, while RE classrooms are much less desirable because they are cramped, furniture is not comfortable, and ventilation and temperature are poorly controlled. People using the Great Room for classes and meetings complain about the acoustics of the room and the fact that it’s a pass-through and far from private; it’s noisy and busy. It goes without saying that if there are meetings in an RE classroom or the Great Room, then these spaces are not being used for children’s activities, and ultimately, it’s our children who will grow the church. The Library is in the greatest demand, although there are a number of issues with the space. It is a pass-through, which means meetings and classes can be interrupted when people come into the space to use the copier or looking for other meetings – and why wouldn’t they, when there are signs clearly stating it is the “office.” Other complaints about the space include poor ventilation and temperature control and most importantly, lack of privacy. Many people who think the library is good meeting space miss a significant point – the library is not really meant to be meeting space, it’s just the best that we have available at this time.

Inadequate privacy for meetings–Privacy challenges were stated as a problem by several committees
and the minister. It is difficult to conduct private conversations about finances, personnel issues, or in the case of ministerial counseling, very sensitive and private personal issues.

Lack of space is a barrier to program development–Groups were asked to identify special requirements. Overall, there is a need for more space. Meeting rooms, fellowship space, sanctuary, lobby, gallery, office space, and kitchens are perceived as undersized for the congregation, which averages 145-150 people on campus every Sunday. Lack of space, inadequate equipment, and a substandard kitchen are barriers to committees who wish to expand their programming: Religious Education, Fellowship, Social Action, and
Membership, to name a few.

Inadequate storage space–Another widespread need is for more storage space, preferably dedicated to
single groups and secured so that only a designated group or person has access to the space. UUCLC has what might be called a “creeping storage problem.” For example, most of the closets in the RE Building classrooms have been overtaken by committees or groups with very little space left for their intended use—classroom supplies. Many committees also have a desire for adequate, dedicated filing cabinets for their supplies, reports, and archives.

More and better designed spaces throughout–In summary, there is great need for more and better
designed spaces that are dedicated to specific purposes. The committees and groups believe they, and the church, could benefit by taking greater advantage of Information and Audio/Visual technology to streamline and enhance meetings, adult and children’s classes, Roundtable, and worship. The congregation and wider community could benefit by well-designed fellowship, meeting spaces, and a commercial kitchen.

The responses of the committees and groups reflect what we learned from the Long-Range Plan and the
Dream Summit that “Retaining and integrating new members is a vital activity and prime opportunity to secure the future,” [and we need to] “Remove barriers to growth…The church allows growth to happen by removing impediments such as inadequate sanctuary space, inadequate parking, and too few services…”

Final Report to the Board of Trustees

You can download the complete 12-page Final Report to the Board of Trustees, November 1, 2015, in PDF format.

Executive Summary

Planning without action is futile; action without planning is fatal.

 Unknown

On October 23, 2015, MNK Architects presented the congregation with a draft Master Site Plan for the church property. Costing and building phases were also discussed at the meeting.  

The identified and unidentified costs for achieving all of the visions and dreams of the congregation are daunting, but we think that with good strategic planning, long-range planning, and stewardship these dreams can be accomplished within a reasonable time period.

This report contains seven recommendations that we hope the Board will accept in the spirit in which they are offered – a desire to fulfill the church’s mission and vision. They are based on our review of First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque building project documents, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Next Steps Visit Report by Bill Clontz, information gathered by the Master Site Plan Work Group in conversations with committees and church members, and the space programming surveys we conducted in the summer of 2015.

We encourage the Board to maintain forward momentum on achieving the goals defined in the Master Site Plan. We recognize that this is a great challenge, but UUCLC has overcome great challenges in the past and grown stronger as a result.

Final Site Plan

Developed in 2015 by MNK Architects, Inc.