Approved Board Minutes – November 27, 2007- 1 -

WestShoreUnitarianUniversalistChurch

Board of Trustees Meeting

November 27, 2007

Call to Order: A regular meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:00 P.M.

Officers present: Karen Kircher, President; Steve Meka, Vice President; Gary Knutsen, Treasurer; Anne Osborne, Secretary; Marie Grossman, Immediate Past President.

Trustees present: Gary Aprile, Connie Bollin, Jerry Knasel, Gary Kustis, Roy Prentiss.

Trustees absent: Stuart Fordyce, Suzanne Rusnak.

Ministers and Director of Lifespan Faith Development present: Wayne Arnason, Kathleen Rolenz, (Parish Co-Ministers);Neal Anderson (Intern Minister); Kathy Strawser (Director LSFD)

Ministers and Director of Lifespan Faith Development absent: None

Guests present: Drina Nemes (Nominating Committee)

Opening: Karen Kircher lit the chalice with a reading by Wayne Arnason.

Steve Meka gave the opening reading.

Motion to approve consent agenda items: The consent agenda, as amended, passed unanimously.

  • Approval of October 23, 2007 BOT minutes
  • Acceptance of November 13, 2007 Executive Committee minutes
  • Approval of Jerry Knasel as interim Membership Chair.

Motion to accept resignation of Trustee: A motion was made by Karen Kircher and seconded that we accept the resignation of Stuart Fordyce. The motion passed unanimously.

Motion to accept financial review: A motion was made by Anne Osborne and seconded that we accept the 2006 and 2007 financial reports of Hilary Beatrez. The motion passed unanimously.

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Book Discussion:

Steve Meka led the discussion of “Breakout Churches” Chapter 4, The ABC Moment (Awareness, Belief, Crisis). Comments included:

  • Crisis does not have to be conflict.
  • We need to face facts with greater intention and analysis.
  • We need to look beyond numbers, and there may be explanations for “unpleasant” numbers, but we do need to pay attention to the facts. The dashboard is helpful for this.
  • It is hard to look at one’s own congregation objectively, especially if it is not suffering dramatic decline.
  • Our risk in renovating our building, our efforts at radical hospitality, and trying to attract a younger crowd have laid the foundation for good things to happen, but we have not yet seen the fruits of those efforts.
  • We must never confuse faith that we will ultimately prevail with not facing the facts, however brutal they may be.

Time for congregants: No congregants addressed us.

Consent Agenda:

The Trustees approved the consent agenda as amended:

  • Appointment of Jerry Knasel as interim Membership Chair, as Kim Stanuch resigned for personal reasons.

Resignation of Trustee:

As noted in the motions, the Board accepted the resignation of Stuart Fordyce, who felt he is not able to live up to his own expectations as a Board member, especially since his move to Oberlin. It was noted that he appreciated working with the Board and really loves the church. The secretary was asked to write a note to Stuart expressing our thanks and appreciation. The question of whether we need to replace him will be discussed at the next Executive Committee meeting.

Work on Ends Statements/ Purpose Task Force:

Marie Grossman led a discussion of “Service to others within our congregation, our local community and the world beyond”, the fourth of our second-level ends statements. The comments will be reviewed by the Purpose Task Force.

Publicity:

Karen Kircher reported that Suzanne Rusnak is working with a group to generate publicity for church events. Board members Connie Bollin and Roy Prentiss are also participants of the group. The hope is to saturate the appropriate media with information about what the church is doing.

Thank you:

Karen Kircher asked that we note in the minutes a thank you to Bob French for the planter he designed and constructed to help protect the rotunda artwork.

Policy Task Force / Perpetual Calendar for November:

Gary Kustis led a discussion of policy governance issues which the Board was scheduled to revisit.

  • EL Policy #6.6: “Display memorial plaques, signs or other devices in the building or on the grounds with names of donors of Memorial gifts without Board approval.”
  • As this is a sensitive issue in our congregation, it may make sense to continue to require Board approval, even though it borders on micro-management.
  • We will delete the word “memorial”; the policy should apply to other gifts also.
  • Board approval would not be required to honor members for non-monetary gifts, such as the Social Justice Awards. Those would be simply a matter of reporting to the Board. (It was noted that policy EL #6 refers to asset protection.)
  • GP #3.8.d: “Develop, monitor and maintain a strategic plan and the ends of the Church.”
  • Our last strategic plan (05-07) has not been updated.
  • It would appear to be the role of the ministers to develop the plan and present it to the Board. This would necessitate a by-law change.
  • Reports by the Executive should be scheduled in the perpetual calendar for Board monitoring.
  • LNK #4: Fundraising
  • We need to look at the old language to see if it still works.
  • Do we want ministers to have fundraising authority within certain dollar limits?
  • Is there any kind of fundraising the Board does not want ministers to approve?
  • Perpetual Calendar
  • We should tell Gary Kustis if anything needs to be tweaked or changed.

Finance Report / Update on Bazaar and Auction:

Gary Knutsen reported that pledges for October were ahead of budget.

As noted in the motions, the Board accepted the 2006 and 2007 financial reports of Hilary Beatrez.

The auction earned about the same amount of money as last year. The bazaar did quite well. It was noted that all Fair Trade profits will go to our micro-credit bank, and all profits from the Faller’s Ethiopian goods will go to the Ethiopian students. These two amounts total about $2,100. Final figures from the auction and bazaar are not yet available.

Karen Kircher asked that the minutes reflect a Thank You to co-chairs Mark Holloway and Cil Knutsen.

Ministers’ Report:

The Ministers discussed the following matters:

  • The second service experiment will continue once a month for the rest of the year, and will be open to the public. Attendance will be monitored.
  • They are looking at developing a three year cycle of monthly themes.
  • Kathleen is working with the membership committee to develop a strategic process for nurturing leaders.
  • Neal is excited by the Inclusivity Ministry, and has an appointment with the Ministerial Fellowship Committee for credentialing.

Director of Lifespan Faith Development Report:

Kathy Strawser noted the following items:

  • We will not have a large Christmas tree in the sanctuary this year, due to the age of the provider, the lack of younger people helping in the past, and the time-consuming task of creating large ornaments for it. She would appreciate feedback.
  • On Intergenerational Sundays the back two pews in the center section will be designated as reserved for families.

Karen Kircher congratulated Kathy for being chosen as district chapter president of LREDA.

December Retreat:

The retreat will be held at the church December 8, 2007 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and will include a working lunch. Topics will be policy governance, purpose, how to read a financial statement, and the possibility of becoming an anti-racist congregation.

New Business:

Wayne announced that Joe Schafer resigned from the Child Care Center Board, so we need to think of a new nominee.

The UUA Large Church Conference is being held in Louisville, KY March 13-16, 2008. Anyone interested in attending should contact Wayne or Kathleen.

Closing: Steve Meka gave the closing reading from UU pastor Michel Schuler.

Karen Kircher extinguished the chalice with a quote from Mario Andretti.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:15 P.M.

Anne Osborne, Secretary

Date of Approval: January 22, 2008

Attachments

Board of Trustees meeting minutes, October 23, 2007

Executive Committee minutes, November 13, 2007

Discussion questions for Development of Ends Statements re: Service to others, undated

WSUUC Finance Committee minutes, October 17, 2007

WSUUC Investments and Cash Flow Statement, October 31, 2007

WSUUC compiled financial statements, October 31, 2007

WSUUC designated fund activity, year ending June 30, 2008

WSUUC Financial Statements, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2007 and 2006

Parish Co-Ministers’ Report to the Board of Trustees, November 20, 2007

Director of Lifespan Faith Development’s Report, November 27, 2007

West Shore Child Care Center Notes, undated