We are midway through the 25th year of existence of the Northern Virginia Ethical Society. Where do we go from here? What should be our goals for the next 25 years?
In an attempt to answer these questions, we are guided by our Long Range Plan, which a group of NoVES members put together several years ago. The Plan made two primary recommendations. One was to institute a regular system of gathering and analyzing data to help improve our ability to attract new members and retain existing members. We are making good progress on that recommendation through our recent conversion of our financial records from a loose leaf binder to a computerized accounting program and to the maintenance of important Society information on our website. We recognize that we still have a way to go and are always looking for computer savvy volunteers to help in this effort (hint, hint!).
The second major recommendation was to focus on building the enrollment and quality of the Sunday School and related activities, which historically has been the driving engine behind NoVES growth. While we have always had a strong Sunday School program with committed parents and teachers, our Sunday School has recently experienced a substantial increase in students. Perhaps this is happening as a result of the strong outreach effort we have been making and/or the Board’s decision this year to do away with suggested tuition. It’s an exciting time for our Sunday School as we look forward to further growth.
Another recommendation of the Long Range Plan was to focus on adult education. For the past several years we have presented a varied program of adult education courses from the Philosophy of Felix Adler to Non-Violent Communication. We plan to continue our emphasis on adult education courses in the coming months and years. Other recommendations were to improve Sunday Platforms, add colloquy, and improve outreach by increasing our advertising and social action programs. We’ve made substantial progress in these areas thanks to the efforts of many dedicated NoVES members and staff.
To make further progress in implementing our Long Range Plan, which may also one day include a full-time Leader and our own building, we need to have a membership that’s financially committed to the Society. Pledges account for the vast majority of the funds we use to cover the expenses of our meeting place, compensation to our Leader (and this year our Leader Intern) and Director of Religious Education, and the costs of our newsletter and other programs and services. Please keep this in mind during the upcoming Pledge Campaign, which will begin on April 19.
We recognize that in this current period of economic distress, some of our members are facing unemployment or severe cuts in their income. To be able to maintain our current programs and services will require that those of us who can do so increase our contributions to make up for those who can no longer contribute. Our pastoral counseling and Caring Committee services will become even more important, as they provide support to those members of our community most severely affected. The economic uncertainty may cause some members to want to postpone their pledge decisions. Please do not do this. If your economic circumstances should change in the future you can always reduce the amount of your pledge. You can discuss your situation with me or our Treasurer, Sven Sinclair. Confidentiality will be maintained. Naturally, if your economic circumstances should improve, we would welcome an increase in your pledge. As mentioned earlier, this year the Board dropped the request of parents for a separate Sunday School contribution. We hope that you will take that change into consideration when deciding on your pledge amount, and will be generous in helping our Sunday School thrive.
What if you are not a Society member? If you value having a voice for Ethical Humanism in Northern Virginia and enjoy having our programs available to you as an occasional visitor, we would appreciate any financial support you are able to provide. You may send your check for whatever you consider appropriate to NoVES, P.O. Box 984, Vienna Virginia 22183.