There was a lot I liked about this board meeting. It was still our version of the Boston marathon, but at least there were fewer 7:00 am meetings. More importantly, it felt like some of the changes we have been attempting to make in governance over the past few years were finally starting to happen:
- the Shared Vision, or Ends, of the Association moved from esoteric rhetoric to something alive and guiding our efforts
- we considered new ways of looking at old issues, such as the Ministerial Fellowship credentialing process
- financial processes put in place to protect us when things are not so great, such as the policies of the Endowment Committee, and the formula used for the payout, are working
- a Justice GA that was exciting and truly different was taking shape in front of our eyes
- we were able to come to agreement on the grubby part of by-laws changes that would downsize the board while strengthening democracy
- we began tackling something we had been admiring from afar since the Summit on Excellence in Ministry: is there mutual accountability between the Association and our two "identify schools", Meadville Lombard and Starr King?
