UUFM Board Meeting Minutes
Monday, September 28
The Zoom meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM.
Present: Ken Moore, Suzanne Teller, Rev. Margo Rinehart, Dominique Bjorlin, Bettie Egerton, Kris Gabrielsen, Cheryl Martin, Nancy Schick
Absent: Lewis Brown
Chalice Lighting
Check-in
Approval of Minutes Suzanne moved to approve the minutes of the August 12 Board meeting. Cheryl seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Board Retreat We revisited the “when to have the retreat” dilemma. Two dates were proposed: Thursday, October 8 from 5:50-8:30 and Sunday, October 18 from 1-4. The retreat will be held at Cheryl’s workplace. Ken will bring the heater.
Edible Landscapes Bettie Asked how we might involve UUFM in this project. She suggested we might adopt boxes at the Alpine St. site. Plants must be edible and pre-approved. Bettie would like a $100 donation for each box.
Background: Edible Landscapes is a 501(c)(3) organization which was started by the UUFM Earth Justice group and Congregations for Climate Change.
Ken wondered if the Social Justice Committee could help with this project.
Cheryl noted that Earth Justice has $350 in its budget. There is also $200 in the Social Justice account and another $150 for workshops.
There is some confusion about whether Social Justice and Earth Justice are still active committees. Bettie will look into this.
Written material Kris asked if it should be standard procedure to have all material designed for distribution to the congregation proofread before it is sent. She recommended that we add a statement to the policy manual to require “proofreading of any significant output.” The Board would be responsible for designating who will be a proofreader.
There was discussion about whether this requires a change in policy. Rev. Margo believes that we need to put a policy in place. Kris and Nancy will work on this.
Hiring: issues and updates We discussed the pitfalls of hiring a member for a church position. Ken said that a member-hire “loses his or her church.” Sarah Schuer (sp???) at UUFM advises not to hire a member. Rev. Margo pointed out that hiring a member can be problematic. Suzanne reminded us that we may need flexibility in hiring, especially for childcare. It is often difficult to hire someone from outside the congregation for childcare. She suggested that if we hire a member, there should be a time limit to the hire, with the possibility of rehiring.
This discussion ended without resolution.
We briefly discussed if there is need for additional tech help.
Re: Religious Education Anna Barsotti is serving as RE Chair and RE Coordinator on a volunteer basis.
Financial Report Cheryl presented the financial report. Data is through August 31.
Total income for the month
Total assets: $468,251.13
Checking: $47,357.10
Money Market: $46,208.10
Building fund: $2,034.87
Fidelity: $372,650.21
Income for August: $10,190.36
Expenses for August: $4209.92
Cheryl reminded us:
When users of Amazon designate us a beneficiary through Amazon Smiles (sounds like a dental practice), we get some money.
When members and friends donate to UUFM via Pay Pal, a 3% service charge is subtracted from the donation.
Since we are not meeting face-to face and passing around a real collection basket, very little is being donated to our charity of the quarter. Cheryl wondered if we should promote these donations more aggressively. Bettie noted that in Florence a representative of a designated charity would speak to the congregation. Rev. Margo said “a culture of generosity” will be discussed by the Worship Committee.
Cheryl gave an audit update. Ted and Denise are working with Buffy on the audit process. They want to ensure safeguarding of documents.
Minister Report Rev. Margo plans to develop a “living document” with goals for shared ministry. This is made more difficult due to Covid. Margo meets monthly, virtually, with other UU clergy. She is in touch via email with some other clergy in McMinnville. She is starting a group for ministers new to ministry.
By-laws We went over the proposed by-law changes precipitated by our having co-chairs. Language was changed in the by-laws to add co-chairs. By-law changes will be reviewed by past chairs before moving toward membership approval. Suzanne will review by-laws to insure correct form, punctuation … Cheryl reminded us to consider non-binary people in our language. Suzanne will change pronouns to “they.”
Other concerns
Congregational Coordinator and Personnel Ken thinks a Board member should be responsible for personnel issues. Others are not sure about that. Cheryl thinks whoever fills this position should also be on the Finance Committee. Cheryl will check with some members to see if they are interested.
The next Board meeting will be on October 26 at 6:30.
Submitted by Nancy Schick, Secretary