From the Committee on Ministry

Join us for Congregational Conversations Our Congregational Conversations are just a few weeks away. We are delighted by the enthusiastic response to this effort. If you haven’t signed up yet, there is still room, and we are hopeful that you will join us. It is vital that all of us are part of this important conversation. The focus groups are scheduled for Saturday, February 20; Sunday afternoon, February 21; and Monday evening, February 22 and will take place here at church.

You may recall that during the fall of 2014 the Committee on Ministry conducted a survey — something we thought of as a continuing conversation with our congregation. Though the response was small, we learned some of us are happy with our church and some of us were disappointed and unhappy. And we were reminded that all of us, regardless of the level of happiness or the issue at hand, love this church of ours.

In an effort to continue this conversation and better understand our concerns, we are working with UUA Regional Congregational Life Staff to convene a series of Congregational Conversations — one-hour focus groups designed to help us evaluate these concerns. These Congregational Conversations are part of UUA-endorsed steps toward bringing our community to more open communication, compassion, and healing and toward better understanding our joys and concerns.

The Congregational Conversations will consist of focus groups of 8 to 10 people, led in conversation by Regional Staff who are experienced and skilled in facilitating groups. These focus groups will not be led by members of our congregation. Focus group questions will be open-ended, designed to provide members the opportunity to communicate their concerns. Ground rules will provide guidance for fair, respectful communications. After the focus groups have been convened and completed, UUA Regional Staff will prepare a written report reflecting what we said during the focus groups, and will provide recommendations for our next steps. The report will be made available first to the Committee on Ministry and the Board and will then be shared with the congregation.

Please stop by the Committee on Ministry table in Forbes Hall after services for additional information and sign up.

If you know that you will not be able to attend any group in the times available, please contact committeeonministry@uusm.org and we will set up a one-on-one conversation for you with our trained UUA facilitators. Please bring your children; childcare will be provided.

Let us come together to honor one another in this beloved community of ours. As Rev. Rebecca said, your voice is vital to the success of our Congregational Conversations and will significantly shape our future together.

— Committee on Ministry

Money Resolutions Endorsed by the Board

The Board of Directors and the Committee on Money have come to unanimous agreement on the wording and substance of the proposed congregational resolutions to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Money. All members of the Board voted in favor of endorsing the resolutions. These resolutions are now jointly recommended by the Board and the Committee on Money.

Agreement followed weeks of meetings of the Committee on Money with the president, the treasurer, and others. A final hour of discussion and collaboration at the January 12 Board meeting with representatives of the Committee on Money provided clearer wording of the resolutions that achieved agreement.

Clarity was needed that only the congregation, at a Business Meeting (annual or special) held according to the bylaws, may authorize changes to the purposes established for each reserve fund by congregational resolutions, as reflected in any use, transfer, or withdrawal of funds from these reserves.

The authority of the Board to use the funds of any (congregational) reserve account for their defined purposes was affirmed. Also, Resolution IV provides that other (Board) Reserve Accounts may be established and managed by the Board to provide for other contingencies as well as for clear reporting of other approved or anticipated expenses of $5,000 or more.

— Steve White

From Our Pledge Team: 59 Raise Their Pledges; More Needed to Balance Budget

The 2016 Pledge Campaign kicked off in October with 9 house parties graciously hosted by members of our congregation. The purpose of these parties was several fold: (1) to get to know each other better and build community, (2) to talk about what nurtures us in the church and what we can do better, and (3) to talk about how our financial contribution or pledge supports our congregation. These house parties were attended by approximately 60 members and friends. Although each party was slightly different based on the number of people attending (from 4 to 12) and how the host led the meeting, the feedback that we received was overwhelmingly positive. People enjoyed the opportunity to be together (with food and drink, of course!) and to share their feelings about what they loved about our congregation. If you weren’t able to attend one of these parties, you may be able to experience this kind of gathering in the future — the Pledge Team is considering having them again next year.

The Pledge Campaign this year also included a drive to donate the entire Pledge Team’s operating budget ($2,000) to the Westside Food Bank. We donated $5 for every pledge card turned in, and, $10, $15, or $20 for every pledge increase of 3%, 5%, or ≥10%, respectively. Because of the congregation’s generosity (including 59 members/friends who increased their pledge), at the end of the campaign, we had collected $1,425 for the Westside Food Bank and $280,804 in pledge commitments! At the end of the year, we also “roll-over” the pledge of any member in good standing who did not turn in a pledge card (this practice is church policy). This year, 52% of members pledged and the remaining 48% were considered roll-overs. When we include these roll-overs, our pledge commitments are approximately $396,000. However, if we are conservative with the numbers, and consider that 15% of actual pledges will not be collected (in a typical non-profit, the fulfillment rate is 85 to 90%), our “dependable” pledges are actually $336,600, which will fund more than 50% of our typical budget. Way to go, congregation, and thank you for participating in our pledge drive this year!

— Your Pledge Team:  Barbara Gibbs, Gretchen Goetz, Kit Shaw, Kim Miller, Beth Brownlie, Jacki Weber, Abby Arnold, and Rev. Rebecca Benefiel-Bijur

Thank You to All 2016 Pledgers:

Eve and Bill Ahlers, Kenneth Alexander, Beverly Alison, Farrokh and Garland Allen, Abby Arnold, Jeremy Arnold, Kirk Attebury, Bettye Barclay, Francois Bar and Alison Kendall, Susan Bickford and Daniel Nannini, Jonathan and Rebecca Bijur, Harvey and Sheila Bjornlie, Edna and Phillip Bonacich, Teri Bond, Bonnie Brae, Leslie Beauvais and Ed Brand, June Bray, Anita and George Brenner, Christopher Brown, Helen Brown, Beth Brownlie and Bryan Oakes, Alan and Amy Brunell, Patrick Burrows and Nancy Shinno, Leonard Cachola, Karen Canady, Teresa Castelli, Jessica Clay, Kathy Cook, Cynthia Cottam and Tom Early, Rebecca Crawford, Dorothy and Phillip Curtis, Steven DePaul and Beth Rendeiro, Janine Venable deZarn, Bob Dietz and Ellen Levy, James and Emily Duckman, Melinda Ewen, Sanna Egan, Sarah Edgington, Joe Engleman, Michael Eselun, Jan and Bruce Ferguson, Olga Felton, Dwight Flowers, Resa Foreman, Roberta Frye, Vicky Foxworth and Jeff Pressman, Clayton Fosset, Norbert Gallery and Rima Snyder, Steve Garboski, Catherine Gentile, Barbara Gibbs, Wendi Gladstone, David and Gretchen Goetz, Marion Goldenfeld, Melissa Goodnight, Patricia Gomez, Raymond Goodman, Janet Goodwin and Karl Lisovsky, Elaine Gordon, Rayma Greenberg, Lucy Hahn, Alice Hall, John and Sharon Hart, Sarah Mae and Hugo Harper, Nora Hamilton, Charles and Christine Haskell, Denise Helton, Leon and Nicole Henderson-MacLennan, Emily Hero, Gerry Hurst, Carl Hoppe and Diane Fletcher-Hoppe, Larry Howard, Nancy and Glen Howell, Mark Huberman, Jay Johnson and Rachel Sene, Cynthia Kelly, Barbara Kernochan, Margaret and Yacoub Kharraz, Phyllis and Robert Kory, Geralyn Lambson, Kris Langabeer and Debbie Menzies, Carl and Ann Levken, Anne MacQueen, Katie Malich, Eileen and Michael McCormak, Joyce and Warren Matthews, Laura Matthews, Richard and Patricia Mathias, Patrick McGuire, Patrick Meighan and Amy Thiel, Ralph Meyer, Kim Miller, Liam Mina, Diane Monteith, Jerry and Sue Moore, Francine and Stuart Moore, Helene and James Morison, Toshi Nakajima and Wendy Snyder, Susana Nierlich, Bryan and Beth Oakes, David and Kitsy Olson, Christine Ong, Vilma Ortiz, Tony Patel, Dan and Karen Hsu Patterson, Rhonda Peacock, John Penney, Jo An and Tom Peters , Ernest Pipes, Allen and Ruth Potts, Barbara Powers, Joan Reitzel, Leslie Reuter, Rick and Peggy Rhoads, Norman Richey and Beverly Shoenberger, Carol Ring, Elaine Roark, Scott Roewe, Anne Saldo, Kit Shaw, Andrea Steffan, Temitope Sonuyi, Marguerite Spears, Diana Spears, Dorothy Steinicke, Isabel and Bayard Storey, Susan Stoyanoff and Steve White, Ellen Stuart, John Sussman, Christine and Mark Rizzo Suarez, Jila Tayefehnowrooz and Mansour Ariomandi, Pamela and Rick Teplitz, Erika and Steven Valore, Linda Van Ligten and Greg Woods, Kay Ward, Jacki Weber, Jennifer Westbay, Jesamine Winston, Joanna Woods-Marsden, Edward and Patricia Wright, Stephen and Sylvia Young, Michael Young, Joan Zierler, John Zinner

Quotes About Vocation:

Bettye Barclay has provided this list of quotes about our ministerial theme for February. Daily quotes also appear in the weekly electronic announcements.

Week 1. I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, dangle from it limp wherever it takes you. —Annie Dillard

Week 2. If you find what you do each day seems to have no link to any higher purpose, you probably want to rethink what you are doing. —Ronald A. Heifetz

Week 3. It is not more vacation we need — it is more vocation. —Eleanor Roosevelt

Week 4. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle. —Steve Jobs

Week 5. Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. —Confucius