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Minutes 09/15/2009
Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2009
Board Members Present: Chuck Segall, Barbara Bradley, Maureen Harrington, Kim Littell, Laurie Albright, Frank Wardega, Tom Gibson, Esther Bockhoff, George McGaughey
Staff Members Present: Rev. George Buchanan, Rev. Daniel Budd
Guest: Maryellen McNulty; Terry Robbins
1. Opening: Kim Littell called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Laurie Albright provided the opening words followed by a reading of the Board Covenant.
2. Approval of 6/16/09 Minutes: The minutes of the June 2009, Board meeting were read and approved with no changes. The Board minutes are on file and are posted in the church library and are also available on the church website.
3. Open for comment/new business: Mary Ellen McNulty used this spot to speak about Open Doors and that First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland is trying to start its open version of Open Doors, but for high schoolers. She addressed a few questions from Board members concerning this. She stressed that it is not First UU’s Open Doors, but rather an affiliated program at another church.
Barbara Bradley then addressed the Board to urge participation in a program that will take place after the October 25, 2009, service to mark the “350 International Day of Climate Action.” This will be further addressed by the Committee for Ministry on the Earth. First UU will be one of at 350 UU churches and thousands of groups world-wide acknowledging the need for reduction of CO2 parts per million from the current level of 385 down to the hoped for 350.
4. SLT Reports: Rev. George Buchanan presented the Administrator’s Report on behalf of Doug Aubin. Rev. George Buchanan then presented his Minister for Religious Education report, and Rev. Daniel Budd presented his Parish Minister’s report. There reports are on file and are posted in the church library as is a copy of the current church operating budget summary.
Highlights from Doug’s report: Work on the library is now finished, and construction on the lower level is now complete but for a few spots, and is ready to go for Sunday School. New drinking fountains are on their way and will be installed soon. New light bulbs were installed around the building and it has resulted in a substantial savings to the electric bill: from $1,100.00/mo to $840.00/mo. A defibrillator has been purchased and will be installed on the lower level across from the maintenance office. All staff will be trained on how to use this unit. Laurie Albight then suggested a survey be taken of the congregation to find out who among the congregants is also trained on using such a device. Estimates are currently being received in regards to upgrading the elevator. Finally, the audit of the church’s finances has been completed and it was a good audit.
Highlights from George’s report: There are continuing discussions on the healthy congregation seminars, and asked if the book Healthy Congregations could be read and discussed at future Board meetings. This was met with approval. Rick Schmitten is the Youth Religious Education (YRE) Committee Chair for the 2009-10 church year. George reviewed the education goal set at the Board Advance and stated that minds must be challenged. George has some seminars scheduled for late September for the mind and the heart. He defined a “mind event” as an event that increases one’s awareness for something, and defined a “heart event” as an event that increases one’s connections to others, and defined a “spirit event” as an event that increases or betters one’s relationship to one’s higher power. George’s goal is to increase the heart and spirit portions of Adult Education.
Highlights from Daniel’s report: Good attendance for Ingathering Sunday. The Archives Committee is up and running again, with new additions Jim Wickert and Chuck Segall, and continued work by Carol Gensert and Linda Homans. The Archives are in the process of being moved from their current location in the
Tom Gibson commented here about the music presented at Ingathering Sunday and how the last song in particular seemed to work very well with the congregation.
5. Treasurer’s Report: Everything looks to be in order. The pledges are coming in, but slow. Some rentals are late, but they will pay. It was pointed out that all the Social Justice budgets have been combined into one heading of Social Justice, and the figure of $38,400.00 more accurately reflects our work, and this amount is one to be proud of. At this time, revenues are running slightly ahead of expenses. Currently, the Investment Account has a balance of $1,280,708 as of August 31.
Esther then explained how the expenses are broken down:
- 66.56% of the budget is for personnel expenses.
- 14.4% of the budget is for programming.
- 12.4% of the budget is for building and grounds.
- 6.66% of the budget is for administration.
The church finished the just concluded fiscal year with a $2,306.22 deficit, but then
added that for an institution of our size, that deficit is legally considered $0.00. She added to Doug’s report about the audit, and that the audit was excellent. Our money market fund is being switched to a new account that will pay us a higher return. She concluded with comments concerning our efforts going towards “Green Company investing.” Efforts are underway to review what we already invest in to see what kind of “green” work they do, and that the Investment Committee will meet with our fund manager, Craig Hardy, in October.
6. President’s report: Kim reviewed the Board goals set at the Advance in August:
- The First Unitarian Church of Cleveland will provide the environment for adults to learn and grow as moral, religious and spiritual beings. The SLT will implement this and report to the Board.
- The First Unitarian Church of Cleveland will have Sunday services which engage and involve more members of the congregation. The SLT will propose ways to put this into effect. The proposals will include more effective intergenerational Sunday worship services and could include a redesign of our Sunday morning program.
- The First Unitarian Church of Cleveland Board of Trustees will promote the church by doing at least one (1) visible service project per year.
A motion was made to adopt these goals, and the motion carried unanimously.
Kim has some people in mind to chair the Stewardship Committee and should have someone soon.
Kim and Maureen Harrington attended the Ohio-Meadville District (OMD) President’s Day Meeting. There is some marketing money available for churches, and it was discussed pooling money for marketing. Websites are going to be reviewed as well for better use as a marketing tool.
The church got a “Thank You” card from the OMD for being a Fair-Share Congregation.
Finally, there was some discussion about creating a Standing Committee for the purpose of reviewing Policy Based Governance (PBG).
7. New business: No new business.
8. Membership: Terry Robbins arrived at this point to provide a brief update on the Membership Committee. She pointed out that new name tags have been created, which include the city of residence for the member. The Welcome Table has been moved to a more visible location. They intend to get to newcomers quickly and stay with them-“Pew Buddies.” There were several guests and newcomers this past Sunday at Ingathering Sunday and they found about First UU through several means: the website, friends, and the new “To Search and To Serve” banner.
9. Closing: Laurie Albright provided the closing words and the meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Chuck Segall, Secretary, Bd. of Trustees, 2009-10