Roles
Wellspring Leadership Team (WSLT)
Role: Wellspring Leadership Team (WSLT)
Purpose
The WSLT drives the annual Wellspring cycle at Foothills. It recruits and supports facilitators, manages participant enrollment, coordinates with staff, and ensures continuity of the program year over year.
Membership
The team is composed of Wellspring graduates who volunteer to serve. The team reflects on its own makeup each January and discerns whether to invite new members or rotate off. The WSLT is functional for a focused period each spring/summer, typically meeting 4-6 times between spring and August.
Current and past members are tracked in PCO: Wellspring Leadership Team Members
Onboarding New Members
When new members join the WSLT:
- Ask staff to add them as Wellspring PCO Group Type Managers in PCO Groups
- Ensure they are editors in PCO, have access to PCO Forms, and can send emails
- Add them to the Shared Drive
Key Responsibilities
- Facilitator recruitment and finalization (Feb-March)
- Mentor assignment for new facilitators (April)
- Participant recruitment and enrollment (April-May)
- Second-year offering discernment and coordination
- Hosting the Wellspring Annual Gathering (March)
- Opening retreat coordination (August)
- Facilitator check-ins (January, October)
- Short-term group planning (September-December)
- Shared Ministry Covenant annual submission (May)
Communication
The WSLT communicates primarily via email and texts. Wellspring groups themselves communicate via PCO.
See Also
Sources Facilitator
Role: Sources Facilitator
Purpose
Sources facilitators guide small groups through the year-long Wellspring Sources (or Love at the Center) curriculum. They create and hold space for spiritual deepening using the Circle of Trust model.
How Facilitators Are Identified
Facilitator candidates emerge from current Wellspring participants. The process begins in January when the WSLT hosts check-ins with current facilitators, and candidates are identified in February.
During Sources sessions, participants may be invited to write down 1-2 names of people from their group who they think might be a good facilitator. Personal invitations from WSLT and current facilitators follow.
Expectations
- Facilitate group sessions according to the UU Wellspring curriculum
- Maintain a daily spiritual practice
- Work monthly with a spiritual director, spiritual companion, or spiritual friend
- Use PCO Groups to email members, plan events, take attendance, and share resources
- Send welcome emails to group participants before the retreat
- Attend UU Wellspring facilitator training
- Register on the UU Wellspring website
Support
Each new facilitator is paired with a mentor from the WSLT who serves as a resource, sounding board, and cheerleader throughout the year.
Facilitators also receive:
- A participant reflection journal as a welcome gift
- The Quick-Start Guide for New Facilitators
- Access to UU Wellspring facilitator resources
- Check-in meetings with mentors in October and January
Volunteer Form
Facilitation volunteers fill out the Serve Form under "Adult Spiritual Deepening."
Growing New Leaders
Facilitators are encouraged to help develop the next generation by identifying participants who demonstrate an aptitude for supporting group process and engagement.
See Also
Facilitator Mentor
Role: Facilitator Mentor
Purpose
Mentors are experienced Foothills Wellspring facilitators who are paired with new Sources facilitators to provide guidance, encouragement, and practical support throughout the facilitation year.
Assignment
WSLT identifies mentors in April and pairs them with new facilitators.
Responsibilities
- Welcome new facilitators and establish the mentoring relationship
- Share the Quick-Start Guide for New Facilitators
- Present participant reflection journals
- Orient new facilitators to resources on the UU Wellspring website and PCO (June/July)
- Check in periodically to offer support and help problem-solve
- Host formal check-in meetings with facilitators in October and January
- Collect feedback from facilitators via the Group Health Check
- Consult with ministerial staff lead if additional guidance is needed
- Support short-term offering facilitators (Nov/Dec) in accessing curriculum and PCO
See Also
Ministerial Staff Lead
Role: Ministerial Staff Lead
Current
Rev. Sean Neil-Barron
Responsibilities
- Sends facilitator recruitment email over their name in February
- Handles UU Wellspring billing to obtain curriculum passwords (June and October)
- Assesses financial support funds and communicates with participants requesting assistance (May)
- May meet briefly with retreat attendees to encourage/inspire (August)
- Available for consultation when WSLT or facilitators need additional guidance
- Participates in Shared Ministry Covenant annual review