Before we get to our regular monthly meeting recap, the Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the members of our three new committees, formed in response to recommendations issued by the Trust & Reconciliation Committee earlier this year. We are deeply grateful to each person who has volunteered. Thank you for sharing your time, energy, and skills to these efforts and our community. For members of the congregation, please watch for opportunities to participate or provide input as each committee fulfills its charge!
Group Relations Workshop Committee
- Jennie Fitzpatrick (Chair)
- Kevin Daniels
- Becky Reese
- Chase Farmer
- Barbara Wright
- Ken Crandell
- Katja Fort Rhoden (Board Liaison)
Mission/Vision/Covenant Review Committee
- Melanie Whelan (Chair)
- Gregory Seidman
- KP McLaughlin
- Lindsay Thompson
- Tina Horn
- Jenny Afkinich (Board Liaison)
Covenant of Right Relations Committee
- Robin Hessey (Co-Chair)
- Charles (Scotty) Scott (Co-Chair)
- Ashley Brizzo
- Mark Brooks
- Ned Tillman
- Kevin Mercer (Board Liaison)
Board Meeting
The Board of Trustees met on Tuesday, October 12 for our regular monthly Board meeting. We practiced relational meeting techniques as our spiritual practice.
Beloved Community Committee—Kelly Blake, Chair of the Beloved Community Committee recapped some of the processes and recommendations from the Committee. One of the first considerations was whether to focus on anti-Black racism or more broadly on all oppression. The Committee decided to focus on anti-Black racism and conducted interviews with the leaders of various UUCC Committees, groups and teams, with a focus on leaders from the Anti-Racism Team.
The committee is completing a list of recommendations grouped under various headings, i.e.: Organizational Development, Business Practices, Worship and Music, Advocacy and Legislative Action, and Outreach and Education. Some specific recommendations include having UUCC participate in community events, branding/embedding the concept of Beloved Community into every service, and doing more to reach out to marginalized communities.
Bauder Education Center Funding—UUCC has fulfilled its pledge for $25,000! Thanks to all who contributed to this important community project!
Administrative Limits Policy—The Board received and discussed the annual Administrative Limits Report from the Executive Team. Board members raised several questions about specific clauses, including defining some terms, bonding for certain personnel, preparing multi-year budgets, protections for volunteer staff, and council budgets. There was general agreement to consider updates and edits to the policy.
At next month’s Board meeting, two additional policies will also be discussed—the Board/Staff Linkage Policy and the Governance Process Policy. The Board agreed to identify and review recently updated polices from other UU congregations, focusing on congregations that are practice policy-based governance and have passed the 8th principle or resolutions like our Beloved Community Resolution. The Board plans to share potential edits with the congregation for feedback and comments after the November Board meeting.
Open Questions—The concept of Open Questions offers Board members an opportunity to practice visionary, deep, future-oriented thinking—one of the key duties of the Board. These are big questions that we will discuss over time in Board meetings. Over the past few months, the Board has been brainstorming potential Open Questions to consider for this year and has settled on three. The Board will also find ways to engage the congregation in the conversation, so stay tuned for opportunities to participate in the discussion!
- How shall we become a congregation inspired to work within our community for environmental justice?
- How will we create a culture of stewardship at UUCC?
- How can we as a congregation move forward toward creating beloved community and what difference do we want to see? How will our words be brought to life within our congregation?
On a final note, the Board has agreed to move next month’s meeting start time up, as there will be no meeting in December. For those wishing to attend, the meeting on November 9, 2021 will begin at 6pm.
As always, if you have questions or comments, you may email the Board at board@uucolumbia.net!
One Comment
Suzanne Henig
Many, many thanks to the new committee volunteers, to the Board, and to our staff for taking on all this important work!