Wy'east UUC Board Meeting April 04, 2022
Wy’east UUC board meeting April 4, 2022
Attendance:
In-person: Lana Q, Moderator, Ruth J, Vice Moderator, Ariana L, Treasurer,
Ron T, Membership chair
Via Zoom: Rev Craig M, Hank H, Diane A
Reverend Craig announced the sad death of long-term member, Barbara Ross.
Minutes March 7, 2022 reviewed and approved
Standard Reports. See details attached to agenda
Minister: Craig expressed his gratitude to be honored as minister emeritus upon his retirement. Craig has served since 2016.
Membership: Ron reported that Mabel is sending cards in response to joys and concerns.
Hank purchased 15 additional pages for the membership book. Thank you!
RE: Kate is working on the appropriate wages and hiring a child care person to help on in person Sunday services.
Treasurer: Ari stated that Feb. and March income is on track to stay within the budget.
Worship Committee: Lana plans to contact Linda M to discuss the Fall in person set up and tech requirements. Lana consulted with Pro Light and Sound to improve the tech set up at the in-person services.
In-Person Services at the HSC/CFPA:
We will continue the RSVP procedure which Linda M has outlined and follow the CFPA guidelines.
Ruth expressed the concern that we need to consult congregation members concerning covid related safety guideline prior to any changes.
Ron will consult with Michael at CFPA to discuss missing items, if we are allowed o to offer coffee and snacks, and if CFPA is collecting contact info each day.
Bike and Build: Craig mentioned that this organization usually looks for organizations that have their own building.
Canvass:
Hank reported that we have $61,344.00 in pledges. There is potential for a possible $9560 more for a total of $$70,904. This will cover the part time admin cost and quarter time minister.
Hank reported that the intern at Willamette Falls Church may be interested in the quarter time minister position, but she has one more year of internship. And there may be a possibility of interest by a retired minister at Rose Villa. The committee has contacted all local ministers but received no response.
Lana expressed her gratitude for the effort and progress of the canvass committee .
General Assembly:
Ruth will send a follow up message via Wy’east chat to offer to contribute some scholarship money for anyone who wishes to be a delegate. No one has shown interest this year.
Lana plans to send a message suggesting other ways to connect and become involved with visiting UUs during GA
Part time Administrator Position: Linda M, Hank H, and Ruth J have drafted a job description. And will begin to advertise. Anders will create a new digital address: admin@wyeastuu.org to receive responses.
The board decided and approved that the administrator will report to the vice moderator.
Ari stated there was adequate money in the budget and hiring a quarter time administrator can be done ASAP. It was determined that only board approval will be necessary to hire this person.
Wy’east Email usage: WEB Site
The board expressed their gratitude to Anders for expertly managing the WEB site, Chat, and Mail Chimp for so many years. He stated that Tode O and Mathias Q have the password to these. He will consider what part of these duties could be assigned to someone else.
Anders reported that we have 2 main emails: Chat and Mail Chimp. The recipient list for Mail chimp is much longer and includes more than Wy’east UU members and friends. Only Linda M and Anders have access.
It was suggested that official announcements from the board on chat have a special logo.
Bylaws:
Ari reported that the changes to the endowment fund committee, proposing the finance committee as a standard committee, and allowing official board approval via virtual meetings be presented to the congregation at the budget meeting on May 8,2022 and voted on at the congregational annual meeting on May 22,2022
ConsolidatedCommunity Credit Union::
The current signers are the board members: Lana Quackenbush, Ruth Jenkins,Arianna Lambie, Linda Burk, and Mark Alter
Next Board Meeting: Monday May 2,2022 at 7:30pm at the Rose City Presbyterian Church conference room and via Zoom.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10pm
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Burk, Secretary
Worship Committee Report-
1. We are working on a summer calendar now and are operating on the assumption that we will continue our current rhythm of offering an in-person experience on the 1st and 3rd Sundays in July and August (the Interdependence Day Picnic will be one of those)
2. We are operating under the assumption that it seems likely we will be entering the fall without a minister. We are working on some plans to engage with the congregation about what that might look like. Mathias is crafting a communication that will go out later this month and we are thinking about a listening session to engage with people maybe in June (after the congregational meetings are held and the budget decisions are clear). A draft of that communication is below.
3. I have provided Ari with some budgetary guidance based on how we might approach a church year without a minister. You can see it HERE.
4. It is in my view far too early to make any clear decisions about in-person or virtual moving forward, but our plans to offer multiplatform worship through summer strike us as being in line with the current needs of our congregation. The Worship committee will be beginning to engage September and beyond speakers next month so some visioning or decision making about in-person offerings would be helpful. That said, if we are going to be without a minister for the year, remaining virtual at least some of the time, makes it possible for the committee to engage UU ministers from all over the country rather than limiting us to folks who are local. Remaining in a reliable multiplatform rhythm could in some ways make the added speaker acquisition process a bit easier.
Thank you all so much for the work you are doing to keep the wheels on the bus.
In community,
Linda Macpherson
Here is a draft of that proposed communication:
Having completed a successful multi-platform worship, and with Rev. Moro's departure planned for the end of the church year with plans to transition to a quarter-time minister, the time has come for an inclusive conversation about how worship will look going forward. Your Worship Committee is considering a variety of related questions, including:
- What proportion of our Worship services should have an in-person element?
- How often should we commit to our Worship speaker being a minister
- Are there alternatives to traditional worship we should consider incorporating into our regular worship schedule in lieu of a traditional worship service such as Communal Community Service, a Sunday Social Gathering or collaborating with the cluster congregations?
These are just a few of the questions on our minds, and we are equally interested in the questions and possibilities we have not yet conceived. Wy'east belongs to all of us, and while your active participation on the Worship committee is always welcome, we need your voice and input in this conversation that could shape the new norms of our Worship services for years to come. Please email lindaCmacpherson@gmail.com or mathiasquackenbush@gmail.com to share your thoughts, and stay tuned for word of additional forums in the coming months to discuss together."