Commissioned Lay Leaders at WS
The Commissioned Lay Leader Program is The purpose of the Commissioned Lay Leadership Program is to strengthen local
congregations in the Ohio Meadville District by strengthening their lay leadership. To this end, selected and qualified lay individuals are given special training and mentored experiences so that they may learn to serve their own societies more effectively. Individuals who satisfactorily complete the study requirements and are approved by the
Ohio Meadville District Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the Commissioned Lay Leader Committee are entitled "Commissioned Lay Leader" (CLL).
At West Shore, The Commissioned Lay Leaders Program is part of the Path to Leadership Program. Currently West Shore has two Lay Leader Candidates, Doris Matthey and Anne Osborne.
For more information about how to become a Commissioned Lay Leader, talk with either Doris, Anne, one of the ministers or visit the Ohio Meadville District's website: www.ohiomeadville.org/committees/cll.html.
Doris Matthey
Doris Matthey has been a Unitarian Universalist for 34 years. She is a native Clevelander who joined the denomination in Tallahassee, Florida. She currently is a member of WSUUC as well as of Urban Hope, a UU presence in the city. Doris’ professional life has been primarily in the area of Mental Health and Aging. She started new programs serving older persons in Florida, Georgia, and Cleveland.
Doris has served in positions of leadership in four UU congregations. She is currently studying to be a Commissioned Lay Leader at WSUUC. In that role she leads the Pastoral Care Team and is co-coordinator of the Interfaith Hospitality Network initiative at WSUUC. She is a member of the WSUUC Queers and Allies group as well as the Social Action Committee.
Doris serves as member of the Steering Committee of Urban Hope as well as the Shared Ministry Group of Cleveland’s Near West Side. She is happy that her retirement life uses her education and experience in service to the WSUUC community.
Anne Osborne
It was early 2002 when I first walked through the doors of West Shore UU Church. I realized that first Sunday morning that “someday” this would be my new spiritual home, but did not know I would join the church eight weeks later, and could never have envisioned where the path of membership would take me. If anyone had told me at that time that I would one day serve on the Board of Trustees, and later become a candidate for Commissioned Lay Leader, I would have looked at them in wide-eyed wonder, thinking they must have mistaken me for someone else.
Having long ago given up my Presbyterian dogmatism, I wandered in the spiritual desert for many years. When I finally joined Al-Anon as a result of my husband’s drinking, I didn’t realize that this was the beginning of my spiritual reawakening. Some time after his death, I joined a Buddhist meditation group, which gave me further insights. And then I moved to Westlake, and discovered West Shore.
As I gradually became involved in various committees and participated in many programs and classes, my spiritual and emotional growth took root. I gained more confidence, I found good friends, I became increasingly grateful for the presence of West Shore UU in my life. When we adopted our new mission statement “to inspire more people to lead lives of meaning and purpose”, I realized that this is what the church had been doing for me.
As part of my Commissioned Lay Leader work, I hope to begin an Addiction Ministry at West Shore, so that we can help to remove the stigma of addiction and become a truly welcoming community for people in recovery. I also plan to continue my involvement with diversity work (Inclusivity Ministry) and membership. And so my spiritual journey continues, as I find new ways to grow and to serve.