UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION OF COLUMBIA

Board of Trustees

Minutes of March 18, 2015 Meeting

Attendance

Regina Moody (President), Marc Drews (Co-President Elect), Patty Drews (Co-President Elect, Chair Membership Committee), Sandy Chubon (Secretary), Bob Whitaker (Treasurer), Members at Large: Richard Culler, Caroline Eastman, Gareth Fenley, Janet Swigler, Tim VanDenBerg; Neal Jones (Minister).

Absent: Ivy Coleman and Robin Scherer (Past Co-Presidents), Dot Brown (Chair Finance Committee).

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Regina Moody at 6:36 PM.

Chalice Lighting

Neal Jones lit the chalice and provided a reading.  Trustees re-affirmed our Covenant and checked in.

Approval of Minutes

The original version of the minutes of the February 18, 2015 meeting were revised and re-circulated to Board Members before tonight’s meeting.  Tonight Sandy agreed to a suggestion to re-order some content in the final version.  The amended and re-ordered minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s Report

At the end of February we were 2/3 of the way through our Fiscal Year.  We continue to do well in collections and generally we are not going over the budget in expenses.  We continue to have a positive variance.  We are lagging behind the amount we anticipated from fundraising.

Staff Reports

The reports from our staff were accepted.

Standing Committee Reports

              Membership Committee  –  Patty Drews reported that plans are underway for the Committee Fair after the service on Sunday, April 19.  About ten committees have signed up to have a table at the fair.  It was suggested that we might call it a ministry fair or an opportunity fair, emphasizing the opportunity to serve our congregation.

Social Action Committee  –  Mike Sullivan is trying to have an activity sponsored by the committee each month.

Leadership Development Committee  –  Trustees noted the urgency for this committee to identify Chairpersons for the Social Action and CYRE Committees.

Ad Hoc Committee Updates

Facility Assessment Task Force  –  Richard Culler reported that the group continues to have difficulty finding dates when they can all meet.  They are having dialogue over e-mail.  They may need at least one meeting to crunch data.  Richard is trying to identify a commercial contractor to look at the building.  They contractor he had approached is a residential contractor and this job is probably over his head.

Staff Compensation Study  –  Janet Swigler reported she sent the requested materials to Denise Rimes, the district/regional consultant but she has not had any response yet.  She will call a committee meeting when she hears from Denise.

UU Coffeehouse  –  Mark, Tim, and Steve Fisher will be working together to convert the UU Coffeehouse to an independent entity, either a LLC or a 501 (C)(3).  They can begin work after April 15.  Tim thinks we should take charge of the process and the decision; we should tell Steve what kind of entity we want the Coffeehouse to be and work with him to accomplish that.

Again Regina asked for an inventory of the equipment designated Coffee House.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Young Adult Group

Iuuenes, the new Young Adult Group, has changed its name to “One and All” (OAA).  The Adult Religious Education Committee (ARE) has agreed to subsume this group; OAA’s budget requests and allocations will come through the ARE Committee. OAA is to report to the ARE monthly including a description of their activities and expenditures.  Nancy Shillington-Perez will function as an ARE liaison to the new group and Morgan Gauthreaux Hanes will attend ARE meetings as a liaison from OAA.  Other than this supervision/communication, OAA will function independently of the ARE.

Revising the UUCC Website

Devon Hicks has added to his agreement to upgrade the web site that we need to pay a monthly hosting fee.  Currently our web site is free.  The Technology Committee needs to participate in the decision about a host.

Clarification of Waiver Procedure

Regina developed a procedure for use this year to clarify who is on the waiver list.  It has been reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the Board, the Minister, and the Administrator.  The procedure is attached as Appendix A.

Regina emphasized that the list is highly confidential, names are to be known only by those with a need to know: the Minister, the Administrator, and the Executive Committee of the Board.

Disruptive Behavior Policy (2006)

Regina gave some history of the Disruptive Behavior Policy (DBP).  The task force who developed the Safe Congregation Policy initially planned to incorporate the DBP in to their policy but they removed it before the Safe Congregation Policy was approved in September 2014.  Tim VanDenBerg and Buzzie Kelly have done some work on revision the DBP to conform to the new policy format.  They now question whether the DBP should be a stand-alone policy or a part of the Safe Congregation Policy.  Tim moved to table further discussion of the Disruptive Behavior Policy and revisit the Safe Congregation Policy to consider addressing disruptive behavior as an addition to or a modification of the existing Safe Congregation Policy.  Caroline seconded the motion.  Discussion of the motion: Neal pointed out that we blended two policies, one for the whole congregation and one for CYRE, into the Safe Congregation Policy.  It does not mention disruptive behavior; it does cover sexual abuse.  The current DBP assigns the responsibility for handling incidents to the Board; Neal suggested having the Shared Ministry Committee handle those incidents rather than the whole Board.  We have an incident report with the DBP and two other incident reports in the Safe Congregation Policies.  It was suggested that those reports might be combined into a single form; perhaps a specific form is needed to report sexual abuse incidents.  The motion passed.  The Disruptive Behavior Policy was returned to Tim and Buzzie with the intent that it be merged into the Safe Congregation Policies and Procedures.

NEW BUSINESS

Reorganization of District/Region of UUA

Regina gave us a web site to read about the reorganization of our district of UUA.

Religious Identity Statement for Publicizing UUCC

Mike Sullivan, Chair of the Social Action Committee, collaborated with several community organizations recently to present a movie at the UUCC about eating ethically.  The community group which publicized the event asked for a copy of our mission statement to use in advertising.  Mike thought our Mission Statement would not be meaningful for outsiders so he and Neal constructed one using some of our principles: “The UUCC is a progressive religious congregation that affirms and promotes the dignity and worth of every person; a more just, equitable, and compassionate society; and respect for the independent web of all existence.”  Mike asked the Board to consider/revise the statement.  Trustees said this statement does not capture what is distinctive about Unitarian Universalism, it could apply to many Christian churches.

Trustees developed this

Media Description for Publicizing UUCC

              The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia is a progressive and inclusive religious

               congregation that affirms and promotes a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the

               dignity and worth of every person; a more just, equitable, and compassionate society; and respect for

               the interdependent web of all existence.

Marc moved that we approve this media description.  Bob seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

UUCC Governance and Ministry

Regina talked about how we might proceed for the remainder of our fiscal year and the coming summer.

• We have our policies formatted consistently and posted on line. We will need a system to keep that updated.  Regina and Buzzie do not plan to do any more work on it this year because there is no time to do so.
• The Staff Compensation Study is underway and we are currently waiting for a response from the UUA district consultant.
• The Facility Assessment has begun and we need to be ready to follow up on their recommendations.
• We are working with Devon Hicks to ensure that the language on our website mirrors our structure.
• Our organization plan comes from our bylaws, based largely on committees. There are packages from the UUA for congregations to use to conduct self assessment.
• Currently we have no procedure/process to evaluate Neal. We had used the format required by the UUA credentialing process but we have no instrument/process since he is credentialed.
• We lack ways to take the pulse of the congregation.
• We do not have a vision statement.
• We need a better understanding of committee responsibilities; people tend to create their own.
• We can look more at other congregations to learn how they have revitalized themselves and we can borrow ideas from them.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 PM.

Action Items

Below are action items to be followed up at the next Board meeting.

1. Richard Culler will report on the work of the Facilities Assessment Task Force.
2. Janet Swigler will report on the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Staff Compensation.

The following action items need to be addressed before the end of the fiscal year.

1. Ivy Coleman will report on the policies for the use of a flat screen TV in the social hall.
2. Marc Drews will report on the conversion of the UU Coffeehouse to an independent entity.

Minutes recorded by
Sandy Chubon, Secretary

APPENDIX A

Waivers of the financial contribution requirement, both for new and continuing Members, may be recommended by the Minister or the Membership Committee Chair and approved by the Executive Committee of the Board. A waiver may allow for a member to contribute less than the minimum amount, or not at all, depending on the circumstances. The Board Secretary shall report the waivers to the Treasurer as a matter of record. The Executive Committee of the Board shall renew waivers annually upon renewed recommendation by the Minister or the Membership Committee Chair.  All consideration of waivers shall remain confidential.                                                       UUCC Bylaws, rev 2/11/2015

Determination of the Waiver List

Procedure

Annual review and renewal of current waivers

Neal contacts each individual on the current list by March ___ to determine if they desire to renew their waiver.

• If an individual does not wish to have their waiver renewed for the next fiscal year, they will indicate this to Neal. (Such a decision can always be revisited if personal circumstances change for the better.)
• Neal gives the Board Secretary all requests for renewals, including any pertinent comments. The Executive Committee confirms these names and sends the official list to Neal, the Administrator, and the Treasurer.

• Neal is responsible for notifying the Member that their waiver has been renewed for the upcoming fiscal year.

• In the unforeseen event that a waiver is denied by the Executive Committee, Neal will so notify that individual and report to the Administrator. (An official change in membership status resulting from non-payment of the financial requirement will follow the procedure established elsewhere.)

How to acquire a waiver

• Neal may become aware of a Member’s difficult financial circumstances (through a third party, Membership Committee Chair, etc.) Neal would then suggest to the Member the option of a waiver.
• A Member, in conversation with Neal, may directly request a waiver due to exceptional circumstances.
• The expectation is that such conversations occur early-on during canvass time so that waivers may be determined and in place for the upcoming fiscal year, and avoid the embarrassment of continued requests for submitting a pledge.
• Waivers may be requested at any time during the fiscal year and be granted for the entire period or until the Member can resume making and fulfilling a pledge.

• In any case, Neal will inform the Board Secretary of the requests. The Executive Committee confirms these name(s) and notifies the Administrator and the Treasurer while copying Neal who will then notify the Member.

Dissemination of the waiver list

• The waiver list is confidential.
• Only the Minister, Administrator, and Executive Committee of the Board have need for the waiver list.
• The Administrator will maintain the up-to-date list in the confidential documents of the church. (Prior lists may be securely archived in electronic form.)
• Any casual reference to a waiver list is unacceptable.
• The Treasurer or Administrator will be responsible for providing the canvass committee with the names of Members from whom pledges will be solicited. (This list will not include those Members with active waivers.)
• The official list of UUCC Members and Friends must be updated routinely and so provide a reliable record.
• No committee, including Finance, Membership and CYRE, nor staff other than the Administrator should have access to the waiver list, electronic or print. A Member who has a waiver is considered a full Member, and their name should appear as such on any published Membership list.

Executive Committee: Regina, Marc, Patty, Bob, & Sandy

With review by Neal and Andrea

2/25/15