Provided for historical reasons and research purposes. Don't read if you are prone to confusion, as we've since evolved and adapted this framework.

After many months of hard work and study, through input on your behalf and from the input of others no longer as active in the Young Adult Group, the Bridge Committee has - as per instructed by last year's Visioning & Structuring Weekend Conference - created an organizational structure for YAG. This email is the first presentation of our results to you, the group at large.

The structure we've formulated is very much a similar creature to how YAG exists currently, only with greater depth and definition. We have looked at the needs of the group and defined positions to help us all operate more smoothly and with greater stability as years go by and people come and go within YAG. Our aim was to create a structure that will help propagate the Young Adult Group forward into the future, to survive the inevitable turnover of members, and come out through all the change unscathed. We want to leave tomorrow's YAGers in a greater position of strength and wisdom.

So on to the structure:

Positions:

We have defined various job descriptions of positions to best meet the weekly needs of YAG. Each has its own unique responsibilities to keep the ball rolling, and time frames and check-ins to avoid burn-out. Most importantly, these job descriptions are a record of the things that need to happen for the group to operate under the conditions we wish to implement. At the center of all these positions will be The Wheel Committee, a group of four to six people whose job it is to support the people who have taken these roles and make sure their comfortable in they?re responsibilities.

Wheel Committee: 4-6 people Desired Results:

• Committed people who feel appreciated and supported in their work are gracefully meeting the changing needs of YAG.
• New people are finding their ways into leadership positions. The Wheel Committee will be made available to these new motivated YAGers.

• Keep in mind our mission statement and our UU principles.
• Commit to being a part of the Wheel Committee for a specific period of time, at least four months.
• From Leadership Continuity in UU Young Adult Programs by Riley McLaughlin, July 2000:
  • Expect and prepare for transition.
  • Share leadership, recruit and support new leaders.
  • Stay in touch with organizations and allies with long-term stability.

• Draw upon the rich offerings of YAG itself as well as the congregation as a whole.
• Rely on each other.
• We have ministers who care that our group works well.
• We have a budget.
• Leadership Continuity in UU Young Adult Programs by Riley McLaughlin, July 2000.
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, p. 174, on delegation.
• The UUA Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministries (YACM).
• The Continental UU Young Adult Network (CUUYAN).

• The Wheel Committee will check-in with the other groups regularly (every few months) to see how they are doing, to check for burn-out and to assist as needed.
• The Wheel Committee will hold (or delegate someone to plan and hold) an annual business conference in April to evaluate, with input from YAG, how well the needs of YAG are being met by the structure described here.
• As a result of the evaluation, the Wheel Committee will determine what changes to make to the structure of YAG or whether YAG is better served without a structure.

Key Holders: up to 4 people

Desired Results:

• Event facilitators are easily able to gain access, with advanced notice, to the church building for their events.

• Let the Wheel Committee know if you are planning to stop being a key holder so they may help find a new key holder.
• Return keys to the church office before an extended absence.
• It?s a good idea to have your contact information available on the calendar or other YAG communications.
• According to church policy, ?Key holders should be members, contributing friends, or, as exceptions, other persons known to the church office as having an affiliation with and a commitment to being at First Parish (on our mailing list and active for more than 6 months on a committee, etc.).?

• The church office (fphsq@aol.com, 617-876-7772) handles the distribution of church keys.
• The Wheel Committee is your friend.

Checking In:

• As needed, check in with the Wheel Committee.

Librarian/Historian: 2+ people Desired Results:

• The YAG bulletin board has current information relevant to the YAG mission.
• Newcomers have a useful and informative flyer available to them.
• The job descriptions and a list of YAG leaders are up to date and kept in a safe place at the church.

• Commit to at least four months.

• The Wheel Committee.
• The church office.

• The Wheel Committee.

Liaison to Church/Sunday Announcement/Activity Outreach: 2 people

Desired Results:

• Communications from the church get directed to the appropriate YAG entity.
• YAG announcements get made to the congregation.
• YAGgers with interests beyond YAG find their ways to groups or activities that address those interests.
• The YAG budget gets submitted to the church each year.

• Commit to at least four months.
• Be prepared to be a celebrity and answer lots of questions.
• Already involved actively in the church-at-large as well as YAG.

• The YAG annual budget sheet.
• The Wheel Committee.
• Other YAGgers.

• Check in with the Wheel Committee.
• Check in with various church entities to see that YAG is visible and can be contacted.

• Information flows easily from those with information to YAG members.

• Commit for at least 4 months.
• Remember our mission.

• E-mail list serve cambridgeyag@yahoogroups.com.
• The Web.
• Mailing list kept by the church office.
• Directory.
• Bulletin Board.
• The Wheel Committee.

• Check in with the wheel committee and with YAGgers.

Planning Meeting: 1 person (with backup from Wheel) Desired Results:

• A planning meeting happens at 1pm on the 2nd Sunday of every month during which activities for the following month are planned.
• A calendar of events is available to YAG.

• Commit to 4-6 months.
• Include other people in the process so that they can learn the ropes.

• The Communication Group. They are responsible for inter-YAG communication.
• The Wheel Committee. They can assist when assistance is desired.
• List of previous activities. It can help spur ideas at planning meetings.

• Check in with the Wheel Committee.
• Check in with folks at the planning meeting.

Worship & Spirituality: 2+ people

Desired Results:

• YAGgers have visible opportunities for spiritual practice and development available to them.

• Remember our mission.

• Ministers.
• Intern ministers.

• Check in with the Wheel Committee.

We'd like to thank the following people for major contributions over the last two years: Sarah Gibb, for starting this ball rolling; Samira Mehta, for major assistance with the survey; Rich Zitola, for infusing us with the idea of consensus cell structures; Kimberly Pasley, Jesse Lex, and Stephen Weinberg for their help in planning and running The Visioning & Structuring Conference, and for all the others who pushed us into the clear. Without their support and energy, we would not be here presenting this all to you today.

We thank you for your patience, trust, and enthusiasm,

Cynthia Bradley Young
G. Zachariah White
Jen Rosenbaum
Justin Lake Behan
Christana Larson Wille