First Universalist Church of Yarmouth, Maine

Meeting of the Board of Trustees

November 27, 2007 6:30 – 8:45 PM

Board Members Attending: Eric Uhl, Anne Turner, Will Truesdale, Barbara Trentacosta, Marge Titcomb, Sue Myers, Jane Makela, Diana Levin, Rev. Jennifer Emrich, Roger Comstock, Jane Cleaves, Jenn McAdoo. Also attending: Rudy Gabrielson

Absent: Jeff O’Brien.

The Meeting was convened with a reading by Reverend Jennifer.

Reports:

• Religious Exploration Council: Rudy reported the content of the September 15 RE Council Retreat. Council members discussed their primary responsibilities (vision/goals/objectives, special events coordination, curriculum oversight, teacher recruitment and administration). They also clearly outlined the responsibilities of the RE Director and the Minister. The Council covenants to be engaged & responsible, assume the best intentions, be open-minded and have fun. The Council is seeking a Board liaison to the RE Council.
• Minister’s Report: Rev. Jennifer submitted a summary of her activities. Highlights included addressing some of the goals from the September Start-up session and celebrating continued high attendance at Sunday services. Among her activities, she pointed out 11 pastoral care sessions; this is a large number for one month of a minister’s time. Members of the Board thought that might be “stored up” demand due to the transition between ministers.
• DRE Report: Jenn reported on the programs currently happening amongst the youth (exploring creation theology, jr. youth meeting with residents of Friendship House, Coming of Age learning about other faith traditions and sr. youth gathering ideas for social justice work.) The Family Forum and Minister’s Tea have been implemented. Jenn and Rev. Jennifer will ask the Faith in Action Team to consider funding their expenses for the Safe Passage trip from the Outreach Reserve Funds.
• Treasurer’s Report: Roger’s report shows that we are in good shape for the year. Our cash balances are adequate and, due to early payment of pledges, we show a slight surplus to date. Roger pointed out that there are some new lines on the Budget vs Actual report: the Sinking Fund is money set aside to pay back the furnace loans (this appears also on the All Funds report); a Bldg Maintenance Reserve is now established; a new line under ‘Board’ will catch unforeseen expenses throughout the year.

Buildings & Grounds Report: Will has called some cleaning companies but has no estimates yet. The parsonage work continues (connected the heat vent). Will volunteered to take the trash to Yarmouth’s Recycling Center weekly, saving the church $500 annually in trash collection service.

• Steeple Committee: The Committee has completed a two-part letter campaign soliciting more support for the final phase of the project. Arron Sturgis has explained that the total cost of the project has increased $10,000 due to the rising price of copper. Roger asked if the workmen will cover the base of the spire before it snows; Jane will ask Arron.
• Faith in Action Team (FIAT): Anne reported that the committee has conducted congregational conversations with many different groups, seeking responses to an inquiry about public ministry for our church. Anne also initiated a discussion about Jenn and Jennifer’s request for Safe Passage funding, seeking Board feedback before FIAT meets to consider this request; a straw poll amongst the Board members revealed that most members present (7) recommended using the Outreach Funds; the suggestion was made to see if the Sunday School Reserve Funds could be tapped; 2 members objected to using Outreach Reserves for this unbudgeted expense and suggested fundraising to cover the expenses. Dick Woodbury will give Anne the guidelines for using the Smith Fund for outreach. The Board agreed that a percentage of the annual campaign this year will again go into the Outreach Reserves.

Visioning and Planning:

Part One: Jennifer led a brainstorming of all church committees. We listed: Welcoming (Diana), Welcoming Congregation (Jeff), FIAT (Anne), RE Council*, Canvass*, Building & Grounds (Will), Committee on Ministry*, Finance (Roger), Endowment*, Denominational Affairs*, Clam Festival*, Holiday Fair*, Steeple (Jane M), Nominating*, Personnel*, Library*. It was noted that several committees have liaisons to the Board in place (names in parentheses following each committee), but many (those with asterisks*) still may need liaisons on the Board. [Worship Weavers, Partner Church, Choir, Caring Connection, Small Group Ministry, Inter-Faith, Adult RE, Good Reading Bookstall are all groups, rather than “committees”; they do not have liaisons to the Board.]

We then listed components of a good committee: having a mission/charge/easily communicated passion; a chair; complementary strengths & mix of personality types. In establishing a good committee, the Minister, DRE, Board president and church leadership can help identify potential committee members. A cross-section of the congregation might include youth, elders and new members; Welcoming Committee can help identify the latter. Term limits should be clearly defined and within committees there should always be “training up”–developing the next leadership.

Part Two: Working from the Proposed Board Goals for FY08, Marge led the Board in reviewing progress.

• The list includes goals associated with: relating to our committees (liaisons), leadership development, document completion, communication, follow-up from the retreat and joint Board/Minister work.
• In November we’ve focused on one of our goals: developing a Building & Grounds Committee—and Marge explained the steps necessary to complete this goal. The Welcoming Committee completed a meticulous audit of the church spaces and practices to provide input to B&G; this list needs to be followed up. B&G needs a budget and a process to initiate the work to be done. The work consists of (a) addressing the immediate needs of the building, (b) addressing the building’s aesthetics [a subcommittee], (c) maintaining the grounds, and (d) developing a long-term stewardship program.
• Another goal to take up is to develop a plan for leadership development. What do we want to support? Do we want to support members to attend GA? How will we build a budget for such leadership?
• In the area of communications, there was a Congregational Conversation related to Faith-in-Action in November. Marge will write a bi-monthly column in Channels. An explanation of the various district awards was passed out for Board members to consider; Board members should send recommendations for district awards to Marge by email; the deadline is January 11.
• In December, we will address defining our purpose as a Board (is it to lead and inspire OR to support?) and clarify our role relative to the congregation’s mission. In addition, we will continue the discussion of our governance structure based on our goals and size.

Action Items:

• The Board discussed and agreed to pay Barlow/Dowd a $300 honorarium. This expense, along with other Board-approved items which were not budgeted for, now appears in monthly reports. We need to determine if we’ll have a discretionary line item for such expenses on future budgets.

• The Board set the mid-year meeting for noon on January 27, 2008.

The next Agenda Planning Meeting will be at noon on Thursday December 13.

The next Board Meeting will be Tuesday December 18.

Respectfully submitted by Barbara Trentacosta, Board of Trustees Clerk