Charter Adult Activities
Mount Vernon Unitarian ChurchCharter of the Adult Activities Committee
1. Purpose
To provide vision and logistical support for adult activities that meet members’ interests.
2. Type of Committee and Program Area
Standing committee in Our Home Community program area.
3. Membership
Membership will consist of three to five members with the Program chair from Our Home Community, Minister, and DRE serving in an advisory capacity.
4. Chair
Chair is selected by the Committee members from amongst their membership.
5. Activities, Duties and Responsibilities
a. Goals:
1. To support existing adult groups and assist in the creation of new groups, per members’ interests.
2. To promote increased visibility and expand participation in adult groups by generating publicity about scheduled activities.
3. To generate comparative data about membership interests, growth, and further needs.
b. Structure:
• Definition: Adult Activities are groups pursuing a common interest, accomplishing a task, or providing friendship and social support. They are distinguished from Adult Religious Education classes by the absence of a formal curriculum and formal class format.
• Adult Activities are volunteer-run, with support from the church office and professional guidance from the Director of Religious Education and the Minister. New groups can be established at any time. The Adult Activities Committee provides guidance and support to new groups, as well as to on-going groups that request assistance.
• Distinction between the function of the Adult Activities Committee and Adult Religious Education: The Adult Activities Committee is part of Our Home Community while Adult Religious Education is part of Religious Education.
c. Program Management:
Support for existing activities consists of the following:
1. Assist leaders with logistics: sign-up sheets, coordination with main church office on scheduling and space, work sheets if special set up needed; sign-up sheets for year-round activities, and activities with open “enrollment.”
2. If an activity is discontinued for lack of interest, conduct exit interviews: what worked, what did not; how can we improve logistics and quality of activities. Provide recommendations to church committees/leadership as applies.
d. Support for future activities consists of the following:
1. When new groups seek to form, direct new leaders to the appropriate Program Council coordinator.
2. Provide new leaders with basic information about logistics, the process of requesting space for meetings, and for promotion.
e. Collect participation data and provide data to the church office and the Membership
f. Development:
1. Contact group leaders periodically;
2. Compute participation data in December and June.
g. Marketing and Outreach:
1. Assist with announcements in the Windmill, OoS, and E-newsletter.
2. Update the website as needed.
3. Produce an Adult Activities brochure twice a year, Fall and Spring.
h. Event Coordination:
In addition to on-going or seasonal groups, Adult Activities helps organize one-time events at MVUC that specifically target adult members, such as Wednesday Fellowship. The mission of these events is to meet spiritual or community-building goals for adult members. Child care is available.
6. Authority Delegated or Retained
Adult Activities has no budget. Brochures of activity were produced in the past with in-house resources. To minimize costs, a limited number of Fall and Spring brochures are produced with in-house resources, for visitors. Members are encouraged to use the website for listings of Adult Activities.
7. Annual Plan and Assessment; Recruiting and Community
The Committee shall meet at least once during the first quarter of the Church year, and approve a written plan with priorities for Committee activities that is consistent with its charter and supports the mission, vision and goals of the Church. This annual plan shall be provided to the Program Council by September 1 of each Church year. The Committee also shall assess its activities, budget and charter on an annual basis, and provide an annual report and any recommendations to the Program Council by March 1 of each Church year. The Committee shall seek to build community through its membership recruiting.
Primary author(s) of this charter: Kim Cullen Cobb
Date this Charter was approved by the Program Council: May 11, 2010
Date this charter was reviewed and approved by the BOT: June 8, 2010