COMMITTEE ON MINISTRY:
Congregational Assessment

One purpose of the Committee on Ministry is to consider the health of our church community. In recent months we have become aware of conflict and unhappiness among members of our church. In an effort to better understand these concerns, the Committee on Ministry is working with UUA Regional Congregational Life Staff to convene focus groups designed to help us evaluate these concerns. These one-hour focus groups are scheduled for Saturday, February 20 to Monday, February 22. The focus groups will be led by Ken Brown, our UUA Congregational Life Staff member, and multiple UUA Regional Consultants.

The focus groups are part of UUA-endorsed steps toward bringing our community to more open communication, compassion, and healing. Everyone is encouraged to participate in order to ensure a fair, representative, and compassionate process. 

From a historical perspective, a year ago 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 from a few courageous people there was and continues to be unhappiness among us. And we were reminded that all of us, regardless of the level of unhappiness or the issue at hand, love this church of ours. In the months since, we have heard from more of our members and friends, and conflict, unhappiness, hurt feelings and sorrow continue to be important issues.

The initial UUA-led assessment will consist of focus groups of 8 to 10 people, led in conversation by Regional Staff. 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. There will be many focus groups, scheduled over many different days and times, to accommodate all who wish to participate. After the focus groups have been convened and completed, UUA Regional Staff will prepare a written report reflecting what we told them during the focus groups, and they 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 throughout January for additional information. We will be there every Sunday, and there will be many other opportunities to learn about this important, nurturing endeavor.

Let us come together to start the healing process and honor one another in this beloved community of ours. Respectfully submitted,

— Committee on Ministry: Leon Henderson-MacLennan; Barbara Kernochan; Margot Page; Tom Peters, Co-Chair; Sue Stoyanoff, Co-Chair; and the Reverend Rebecca Benefiel Bijur

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON MONEY:  
December 6 Meeting Summary and Recommendations

81 ATTEND TOWN HALL MEETING ON MONEY; YOU CAN SEE THE POWERPOINT BEFORE THE FEBRUARY 14 VOTE.

On December 6, the Board, led by our president, Patricia Wright, presented a PowerPoint summary followed by discussion of the proposed motions prepared by the C on $. Ron Crane, David Olsen, Vicki Foxworth, and Steve White from the C on $ were present and responded to questions.

To recap, the background of the formation of the Committee on Money (C on $) evolved as our church received some very large and unique bequests and donations over the past five years or so. There were two types of bequests: 1) the member leaving us the money “directed” or restricted what it could be spent on, and 2) the member leaving or giving the money did not restrict its use, generally called “unrestricted reserves.” At the May 2014 annual meeting, the congregation voted to appoint the C on $ to research, evaluate, and make recommendations as to how we should handle these unique financial donations.

It was noted that approximately half of the $880,000 we originally had in unrestricted reserves has already been spent or is now set aside to pay for projects already approved by the congregation, such as the $80,000 set aside to update the lighting and sound system in the sanctuary. (Note: A separate accounting is being prepared setting forth the expenditures of the prior unrestricted reserves.) Although some of the funds were spent on much delayed repairs and maintenance, it is projected that there will be approximately $430,000 of the “unrestricted reserves” left by June 30, 2016.

In summary, the PowerPoint highlighted that, if the C on $ resolutions pass, there will be an endowment and four separate “reserve funds” created as follows:

TYPE OF ACCOUNT AND INITIAL ALLOCATIONS
1. Catastrophe reserve - $150,000 with a goal of $750,000
2. Capital building reserve - $50,000 with a goal of $250,000
3. Contingency reserve - $30,000 with a goal of $30,000
4. Endowment Fund - $150,000 with a goal of $2,000,000
5. Budget deficit reserve - $50,000 (for 2016-17 fiscal year)

A lively discussion, with comments, questions, and answers followed. There were several questions regarding the large deductible for the earthquake insurance coverage. The explanation is that UU Santa Monica is lucky in that we are “grandmothered in” for earthquake coverage for the main church building. However the deductible for earthquake coverage is 25% of the damage. (The Cottage cannot be covered by earthquake insurance as no insurance carrier will provide coverage for commercial buildings in California.)

There were questions regarding the use of these funds for the past several years to make up a yearly deficit budget. In May 2015 the congregation voted to use another $52,000 for the current fiscal year (which ends on June 30, 2016), and the Finance Committee and the C on $ anticipate in their motions that we will need at least another year to work towards a sustainable budget at our church where our annual income closely matches our budget. Members expressed concern that we are using our unrestricted reserves to supplement our annual budget.

Several questions pertained to the implementation of the endowment, and if, as a congregation, we could “undo” the endowment if we need the funds or change our minds. The C on $ representatives confirmed that our congregation can dissolve or withdraw principal from the endowment by a 2/3 vote of the congregation. The C on $ explained that the amounts in the reserve accounts could be moved or changed by a vote of the congregation or by the Board, depending on the amount of money being rebudgeted.

Patricia Wright took the lead in preparing the PowerPoint and worked in collaboration with the C on $ representatives, Ron Crane (chair), David Olsen, Ken Alexander, Vicki Foxworth, Leslie Reuter, and Steve White (recording secretary for C on $) as well as Kim Miller, Treasurer. Steve White drafted the voter summary for the C on $ resolutions. 81 people attended the town hall meeting.

Copies of the Committee on Money resolutions and voter summary as well as the PowerPoint itself are in the church office. If you would like this information sent to you by email attachment, please request it from Nurit Gordon in the church office. Everyone is encouraged to review these documents now and well in advance of the February 14, 2016, business meeting vote on the Committee on Money’s resolutions. Anyone with further questions may direct those to any member of the C on $, or Kim Miller .

— Kim Miller

Numbers at the UU Church of Santa Monica

One way of measuring the health of our church is to consider quantitative indicators of financial status, membership, and attendance. These kinds of measures cannot replace qualitative indicators: do congregants feel fulfilled, happy, and satisfied with the direction of the church? Nevertheless, numbers can be helpful.

PURPOSE. This report, which is available on request from the church office, presents numbers for membership and financial status from 2008 to 2015 and for attendance over time from 2011 to 2015. These numbers address whether these indicators are declining, stable, or increasing.

SUMMARY: First, attendance shows a slight decline between 2010 and 2014. Membership and pledges are relatively stable between 2010 and 2014. Second, rental income and other giving have increased. Third, expenses have increased rapidly and consequently there are larger deficits. Fourth, there is an increase in income given per member and even greater increase in expenses per member.

IMPLICATIONS: Based on these numerical indicators, the church appears to be stable but is not growing in membership or attendance. Stable pledge income has implications for the kind of spending plan that the church implements. Because pledges are not increasing at the rate of expenses, it would be prudent to decrease expenses. On the other hand, the question of how to cut expenses (which would likely affect staff and salaries) is beyond the scope of this report.

— Vilma Ortiz

FROM A MEMBER OF OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE:
When Will We Adopt a Sustainable Operating Budget?

A sustainable church budget is important because it doesn’t push problems into the future. When we spend more on operating expenses than our current income, we must withdraw money saved from prior years’ income or inherited previously. That is not prudent because future bequests are unpredictable. Bequests are best used for endowments, contingency reserves, and building (“capital”) improvements.

During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, we took about $60,000, or $5,000 per month, from our legacy (bequest) funds to pay our regular operating expenses. We’ve been doing this since 2008-2009, the year of the Great Recession, when we spent $2,445 per month on income shortfalls. We’ve gotten in the habit of doing so — living beyond our means — every year since, except for 2009-2010.

At our congregational meeting in May, we voted to approve and accept a budget that will require us to take up to $52,000 more from our one-time legacy funds by next June to pay recurring expenses.

However, as of November 30, we were on pace for a projected $87,000 deficit by June 30, $35,000 more than the Congregation has authorized. While we work and hope for a major improvement in pledging, fiscal year-to-date pledge receipts through November 30 are more than $10,000 lower than for the previous three years! Prudent management says that spending savings for current expenses only makes sense when there is a specific plan in place to get back in balance as soon as possible after a sudden shock. However, our leaders have advocated that we must maintain the vitality of our church and enable it to grow, regardless of our deficit, by maintaining the current, growing level of expenses. We’ve tried that for five years and it hasn’t worked — all trends are down.

To my knowledge, 18 months after the $72,000 deficit budget was approved in May 2014, specific plans for reducing expenses or increasing revenue have not yet been proposed or developed. The Garden of Eternity has been the only significant new or increased source of revenue, with 14 bricks at $500 each sold to date in addition to Ray Goodman’s initial $10,000 gift. Pledges have not increased over the last six years and membership has decreased yearly for the last 10 years. Annual expenses have steadily gone up.

Everyone knows that balance requires cutting expenses and/ or increasing income. Cutting expenses is hard when most of our budget pays for staff costs and fixed operating costs, but cutting had to be done in 2008 when the Great Recession of 2008 suddenly dropped our income. For me, cutting staff is a desperate measure when there are no other options. If we had not had legacy money in the bank, we would have had to cut staff for the last 18 months, or indeed for the last six years!

However, there are other options which have been used in the past and need to be considered. None are easy, as they are all worthy expenses, but we may prefer them to cutting staff or programs. It makes no sense to me to spend one-time money on recurring, annual expenses on a continuing basis. Let’s face reality, now, not later! 

We currently send $25,000 per year in per-member dues to the UUA and the UUA district/regional offices. We have worked hard for years to bring both closer to 100% of our “fair share” per member, and are proud to have done so. Does it make sense to keep spending one-time bequest money to pay annual dues?

We generously and fairly approved $15,000 in staff raises for the current fiscal year, even though we didn’t know the total cost at the time. Does it make sense to spend one-time bequest money to pay for both this year’s raises as well as next year’s raises on top of this year’s?

We have had a wonderful Facilities Development Committee with volunteer professionals leading it for the last several years. This has been terrific, helping us recover from decades of deferred and neglected maintenance.

• We raised $200,000 to replace the leaky roof over the Sanctuary while bringing the north wall of the Sanctuary up to earthquake standards.

• We used $233,000 of Drew Still’s bequest to improve our administrative offices.

• We have used $200,000 of other bequests on building and campus (“capital”) improvements,

• Over the last seven years, we invested more than $630,000 in building improvements.

• This was on top of about $2 million raised by previous capital campaigns.

However, during these same seven years, we used $244,000 of bequest money (average of $35,000 per year) to pay for ordinary operating expenses! Do we really want to approve a third massive deficit of $50,000 or more for 2016-17 this coming May?

If all our operating expenses are considered vital by our congregation, why have we, the congregation, not raised enough money and made sufficient pledges to pay for them at any time over the last several years?

Our leadership must do more toward building financial support for their spending plans, or scale them back.

The choices are hard, but only get harder each passing year. I ask every member of our church community to consider our options to get us back on track to being a financially healthy and sustainable congregation. Let’s take action now, not later.

— Steve White

The Pledge Team will donate:

• $5 for every pledge card turned in by December 20

• $10 for 3% increase in your pledge

• $15 for 5% increase

• $20 for 10% or more increase

(We have collected $1,150 to date for the Food Bank)

Please take time now to make a financial commitment to our beloved community at a level that is deeply significant for you. And many thanks to all who attended house parties!

With gratitude from your Pledge Team:
Beth Brownlie, Barbara Gibbs, Gretchen Goetz, Kit Shaw, Kim Miller, Jackie Weber, Patricia Wright, Advisors: Abby Arnold, Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, Rev. Tera Little

UU SANTA MONICA MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WITH PLEDGES FOR 2016 RECEIVED IN DECEMBER:

Abby Arnold, Kirk Attebury, Francois Bar and Alison Kendall, Bettye Barclay, Rebecca and Jonathan Bijur, Harvey and Sheila Bjornlie, Bonnie Brae, Leslie Beauvais and Edward Brand, Christopher Brown, Helen Brown, Patrick Burrows and Nancy Shinno, Leonard Cachola, Teresa Castelli, Kathy Cook, Cynthia Cottam and Tom Early, Rebecca Crawford, Dorothy and Philip Curtis, Steven DePaul and Beth Rendeiro, Janine Venable deZarn, Bob Dietz and Ellen Levy, James Duckman and Emily Linnemeier, Sarah Edgington, Sanna Egan, Joe Engleman, Michael Eselun, Melinda Ewen, Jan and Bruce Ferguson, Dwight Flowers, Resa Foreman, Clayton Fossett, Vicky Foxworth and Jeff Pressman, Roberta Frye, Norbert Gallery and Rima Snyder, Steve Garboski, Barbara Gibbs, Wendi Gladstone, David and Gretchen Goetz, Marion Goldenfeld, Patricia Gomez, Melissa Goodnight, Janet Goodwin and Karl Lisovsky, Rayma Greenberg, Alice Hall, Nora Hamilton, Charles and Christine Haskell, Denise Helton, the Henderson-MacLennans, Emily Hero, Lawrence Howard, Glen and Nancy Howell, Mark Huberman, Gerry Hurst, Jay Johnson and Rachel Sene, Cynthia Kelly, Barbara Kernochan, Margaret and Yacoub Kharraz, Geralyn Lambson, Ann and Carl Lekven, Anne MacQueen, Katie Malich, Joyce and Warren Mathews, Patricia and Richard Mathias, Laura Matthews, Patrick Meighan and Amy Thiel, Ralph Meyer, Kim Miller, Liam Mina, Francine and Stuart Moore, Jerry and Sue Moore, Helene and James Morison, Susana Nierlich, Beth Brownlie and Bryan Oakes, David and Kitsy Olson, Vilma Ortiz, Tony Patel, Dan and Karen Hsu Patterson, Lorenzo Pelayo, the Rev. Ernest Pipes, Ruth and Allen Potts, Barbara Powers, Joan Reitzel, Leslie Reuter, Carol Ring, Elaine Roark, Scott Roewe, Anne Saldo, Kit Shaw, Catherine Gentile, Temitope Sonuyi, Diana Spears, Marguerite Spears, Andrea Steffan, Dorothy Steinicke, Isabel and Bayard Storey, Susan Stoyanoff and Stephen White, John Sussman, Jila Tayefehnowrooz, Pamela Teplitz and Rick Teplitz, Linda van Ligten and Greg Wood, Jennifer Westbay, Jessamine Winston, Edward and Patricia Wright, Michael Young, Joan Zierler, and John Zinner.

December Festivities

Friendly Beasts Christmas Pageant, led by Kris Langabeer

Christmas Eve Services