All Souls Community Church

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

July 27, 2003

Members Present: Mike Arents, Gordon Arnold, Dennis Benoit, Roger Gilles (recorder), Herman Sullivan, Ursula Williams. Members Absent: Sherry Batzer, John Belaski, Sue Belaski, Linda Mohney, Dan Schneider, Jackie Vines.

I.          Introductory Functions

A. With only six of the twelve Board members present, no official business could be conducted.

B. Minutes of 5/28/2003 meeting were distributed. They will be discussed and approved at the August 16 Board retreat.

C. The establishing of times needed to complete the meeting/agenda items within two hours was deemed unnecessary.

D. The appointing of action item recorder, process observer, and timekeeper was deemed unnecessary.

II.        Organizational

A. We reviewed and discussed the 2003-04 calendar, including the time and place of BOT meetings. However, because the bylaws call for assent of the “majority of the Board” regarding time and place of meetings, no decisions were made. We agreed to return to this discussion at the BOT retreat.

B. We discussed the agenda for the August 16 BOT retreat, which will focus on discussing Board priorities for the 2003-04 church year and discussing ways to act on these priorities. Based on the Strategic Plan, discussions of the Executive Committee, and discussion at this meeting, we agreed on eight key general issues:

§ establishing consistent record-keeping practices

§ improving internal church communication

§ supporting the religious-education program

§ facilitating member involvement in social action

§ pursuing facilities and a called minister

§ continuing to develop short- and long-term vision, including budget needs

§ continuing to develop the organizational structure, including staff roles

§ assessing our affiliation with the Unitarian Universalist Association

III.       Financial

A. D. Benoit reported on the June financials. We discussed the need to clarify several items, including the revised RE and Music budgets. We also discussed the question of purchasing employer insurance; since it is already a budgeted item, we agreed that no discussion was necessary on this and that the insurance should be purchased.

IV.       Programs

A. M. Arents reported that the Program Council met July 27 after church. The group reviewed its membership and discussed the council’s roles and responsibilities. The current makeup of the Program Council is as follows:

Mike Arents, BOT VP-Programs, Chair

Cindy Schneider, Chair, Religious Education

Vicki McConnell, Chair, Music Program Committee

John Belaski, Chair, Covenant Groups

Sandy VanDragt, Co-Chair, Community Life

Evelyn Leeman, Chair, Newcomers

Arents also noted that Bob and Mary Blackwell, and Marge Gilles, will be taking responsibility for a new Volunteer Table once a month on Sunday mornings—which will act as a storehouse of information about volunteer needs and opportunities.

The Program Council will meet again after church August 24.

V.         New Business

A. We considered a proposal from Lisa Kemmis to donate the August 10 offering plate to a neighborhood literacy project she’s supporting. The kickoff celebration for the project was scheduled for August 19. We recalled that the original intention of the Board was to donate one plate per month during the regular church year to a charity of some kind, not necessarily during the summer months. But we liked the idea of supporting this proposal, and based on the June financials we felt confident that we could afford to donate an August plate. D. Benoit moved to designate the August 10 offering plate to the Belknap-Lookout Literacy Project. The motion was seconded by H. Sullivan. Given the lack of a quorum and the time constraint, R. Gilles agreed to communicate the motion via e-mail to all BOT members. The motion was approved via e-mail vote.  In our concluding discussion, M. Arents suggested that the BOT should generate criteria by which to evaluate proposals to donate monthly offerings. He agreed to draft such criteria for consideration at the August 16 BOT meeting. 

B. We considered a proposal from Carey Compton to use church funds to invest in a locking bookcase that could serve as a kind of rolling library for the RE program. We concluded that this should be treated as an RE expense, and that Carey should use the RE budget to make such a purchase.

VI. Closing

Adjournment.

Corrected 09/01/03 by Jackie Vines