Unitarian Fellowship of  McMinnville

Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

 

 

The meeting was held via Zoom and called to order at 6:30 PM.

 

Present: Ken Moore, Lewis Brown, Kris Gabrielsen, Susan Marrant, Cheryl Martin, Meghan O’Flaherty, Nancy Schick

 

Cheryl lit the chalice.

 

Board member check-in

 

Ken asked if we should resume our study of Leader Lab. We plan top  pick up where we left off before the virus shut-down.

 

Treasurer’s Report:  Cheryl Martin, Treasurer

 

UUFM has – as of April 30 –  438,743.85.

Our Fidelity account at Headwater has risen 10,000. Our net loss has been 13,000. The Fidelity account stands at 355,228,21.

 

Checking balance: 35,152.89    

Reserve funds: Money Market Fund: 46,185.82    Building Fund: 2024.04

 

We are currently are operating under budget for this fiscal year. We are not paying rental fees to the Senior Center, and we are not paying as much for speakers as budgeted. We expect to have around 5,000 more than we expected. We are in the process of deciding where to put the extra funds. Cheryl suggested rolling it into at the money market fund.

 

Income from all sources for the year: 49,049.84.

Pledges still owed for the year: 4,500.

 

Nominating Committee Report: Ted de Chatelet

 

Ted highlighted the following:

Our job is to vet people for leadership positions

The congregation is burning out. It has been difficult to find someone to chair the Board.

This is a crucial time for our fellowship.

If we hire a new minister, we need good relations between the Board and the minister.

 

The Nominating Committee recommends that they would like to postpone Board elections for 6 months. They also propose adding a co-chair to work with Ken during this time. The Committee feels that this period of transition is a good time to do this.

This year, Meghan, Susan, and the seat held by Shanta are scheduled to rotate off the Board.

 

The Nominating Committee also feels that we need to look closely at the work load of the Board Chair. Since the chair has so many responsibilities, we have difficulty finding a person to chair the Board. Having a co-chair would be better for the health of the fellowship.

 

The Board discussed what changes might need to be made to the by-laws in order to facilitate these changes. Cheryl suggested that if we decide to have two co-chairs, those terms should be staggered.

 

Pledge Drive Update: Kris Gabrielsen and Ken Moore

 

We did not make our goal of 59,000. We received 44 pledges totaling 48,180. This is not surprising given the current financial crisis brought about by the coronavirus.

 

Kris suggested that we might want to postpone hiring an administrative assistant and a religious education director. Ken replied that religious education is a key part of our missions; he would like to see us at least partially fund this position. Cheryl reminded us that we will need to tighten our belts.

 

May 31 Candidate Sermon and Fellowship Business Meeting:

 

We talked about the method we will use to vote on the minister candidate at the business meeting on May 31.  We plan to use the app Election Buddy.

Concerns were raised about how best to enable members to attend the service and the business meeting and vote. We decided to enlist the help of  the committee that is currently making checking-in calls to members. All members will be contacted via phone. Callers will remind them about the events on May 31. They will ask members if they plan to attend and if they have access and are familiar with Zoom. Callers will submit a list to Meghan of all members who need technical assistance.  We will work to ensure that all members get the assistance they need.

 

Other Items

 

• Susan asked if we have seen attrition among our members since we are not connected in the same way we were before the virus.

 

• We discussed if we need to offer PayPal as an option. Rob Tanner will check into this and another payment site.

 

• We will soon need a new worship chair. Ken is gathering names of those who might be interested.

 

• We are looking for a chair of the Finance Committee. We also discussed whether the treasurer should be a board member. Treasurer is such an important and time-consuming position; perhaps the treasurer should not have to attend board meetings. Cheryl will continue as treasurer and Board member until June 30.

 

• Sinell and Jerod Hartley will be in charge of planning the simplified services. ( Did I get this right??)

 

• A question was raised: how do we learn about the fellowships’s sense of opening up
  face-to face services and other gatherings. (UUA has since extended the recommended date for returning to face-to face gatherings for several more months.)

 

• We discussed whether the Committee on Shared Ministry should be reinstated. Kris said that if this happens, we need a clear statement of what the relationship of the fellowship and the minister is. If we hire a minister, we will make a decision on this.

 

• The Board has received a generous donation from a member who wants the funds to be used to help members in need of assistance during this difficult time. We will be alerting members to the existence of this Personal Assistance Fund. The Board will gratefully accept additional donations. We invite any member who is in need of assistance to contact a Board member.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45.

 

Submitted by Nancy Schick, Secretary