UU
BUSINESS MEETING
FEBRUARY
15, 2015
PRESENTER: Kathleen McKinney, Board Chair
Attendance count taken. 27 members were in attendance. It was determined we had a quorum.
One Year Experiment to Hire a !/4 Time Non Permanent Minister
The Minister Feasibility Report
determined that the expense for this minister would be in the area of $22K if
approved which includes certain benefits.
We already have $19K in savings, and $11K needs to be raised by a pledge
drive to cover half of the minister expense. The other half will be taken from the
$19K, and there will still be money left in savings for any unforeseen
expenses.
The minister will be required to
perform 8 or 9 sermons per year, and other duties as specified. The goal is have a minister in place
sometime this summer.
Research
Kathleen spent many hours
communicating with
the Rev. Jeanelyse Doran
Adams, Director of
Congregational Development, Western Region, and Rick Davis of the Salem UU
Fellowship and learned the research shows that without a minister (shared
leadership) the following usually is true:-
Fellowships did not grow
The group becomes insular
It becomes difficult for new
people to find ways to offer their gifts and talents.
Burnout occurs.
The purpose of hiring a
minister is to support growth
Kathleen discussed a culture change. Points she covered were:-
Put structures in place to allow
voices to be heard.
Put fears
behind us.
Kathleen noted that ÒgrowthÕ was identified as a positive goal in the 2013, 2014 Strategic Plan, as well as the 2014
Board Retreat.
Questions, comments and answers
Kathleen invited questions and
comments, which were submitted as follows:-
Q. Will minister decide
RE Curriculum?
A. What we want, we
will decide.
C. The speed
of the process seems very rushed!
A. Reverent
Jeanelyse does the leg work, and she thinks
time frame is feasible. especially since we would be hiring a contract minister
(part time), and not calling
a minister (full time permanent).
C. We
will be looking at a minister to do many things, not just speaking.
C. A
positive is that we could get to know the minister and determine if he/she
would be
somebody we would want to continue a relationship with.
C. Regarding
money. We could have an auction.
Q. Is
there a group in place for a pledge drive?
A. Not yet.
Q. Timeline
for raising money?
A. Pledge
drive will be done while process is happening.
Q When
will this person be on board?
A. Sometime
this summer. The feedback
received indicates that we are attractive to many
people, however, we need to find a good match.
C. We
would hope the person chosen will work collaboratively
with other ministers.
A. We
will give candidates a package so they will know who we are and our expectations.
Q. Are
certain names on the list?
A. There
isnÕt a list at this time.
Q. Do
we want to do this at this time? Is
there something lacking with us?
A. Growth
is our goal.
C. We
need a percentage of the pledge in the bank before hiring takes place.
Q. Will
hiring a minister take finances away from the RE program, where
needs are not currently being met, or
will a minister enhance the program?
A. New
families look for RE
programs. (New
families mean growth.) Sometimes a minister
can influence growth and consequently larger budgets.
C. We need new
young families for growth.
C. Rick Davis commented that he devoted so much time to us, because
he thought it would
be in our best interests. However, we need to stop relying on him so
much and
find our own solutions.
After much discussion on the
method of voting, and wording of the motion, it was decided to make a motion as
follows:-
To hire a ¼ time minister
for a one year experiment, with an amendment that 70%
of the additional $11K be raised prior to the hiring.
The motion was made by Nakota Ashstarte, and
seconded. The motion carried.
A vote was taken. There were 34 votes
which included 7 proxy votes.
32 were ÒyesÓ votes, and 2 were abstaining votes.
THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT
1:30 pm.