All
Board/Council Retreat
●August 13, 2005
Board Officers:
Johnson, Bruce L., President Present
Rempel, John, Vice-President Present
Wetzel, Ed, Treasurer Absent
Middleton,
Mike, Secretary Present
Board Members
Boland,
Katie exp. 2006 Present Stanis, Suzanne exp. 2007 Present
Byer,
Greg exp. 2006 Absent Wiesinger, Eric exp. 2007 Absent
DeRocker,
Joy exp. 2006 Present Dunkin, Ray exp. 2008 Present
Miller, Babette exp. 2006 Present Hansen,
Carol exp. 2008 Present
Bartley,
Brian exp. 2007 Present Merriman,
Evans,
Sarah exp. 2007 Present Spencer,
Council Members Present
Murphy,
John Council Chair
Dwyer,
Helen Council
Secretary/Touchstone
Cummings,
Norma Council Member-at-Large/Channing
Club
Griffith, Debi Council
Member-at-Large
Mulkey,
Jennifer Council Member-at-Large
Basson,
Joan Grounds/Memorial Garden
Basson,
Rodney Endowment/Grounds/Memorial
Garden
Curtis,
Dick Community Outreach
Granger,
Meredith Sunday Services
Hirsch,
Mary Berentes-Tripp
Fund
Killingbeck,
Don Budget
Killingbeck,
Judy Bookshop
Lawrance,
Bonnie Caring
Miller, Tom Annual Canvass
Page, Fern Historical Records
Perry, Jane Jessy
Wallin Heywood
Sands, Elsa Membership
Schrementi,
Jim
Swinford,
Gerry Fine Arts
Yumibe,
Jenny Choir
Others Present
Clear,
Bruce Minister
Renner
Clear,
Craig,
Bonnie Office Administrator
Sibert,
Tom Capital Campaign
Bruce L. Johnson, President of the Board of Trustees, called
the Retreat to order at 10:05 A.M. The
group recited the All Souls’ covenant.
Bruce Johnson thanked all those present for attending, Jane Perry for
helping to arrange the location for the meeting, and Bonnie Craig for helping
to set up and bringing items from the church.
1. Richard Atwater
provided an update on the efforts of the Building Renovation Committee. The final version of the organ repair
contract is finished. Mechanical and
electrical drawings have been finished by the architect and are being sent to
the general contractor. After looking at
many options, the final design is the design by Roger Schneeman
from several years ago.
Richard
described the scope of the building project and showed drawings of the planned
project.
Some
problems include:
a.
Current
fire codes insist exit stairwells must have either sprinkler systems or
fireproof walls. Also, newly constructed
space has to have a sprinkler system.
That means the building also needs a new water main to be brought in
from
b.
The
church will also need to redo electrical and gas lines. We currently have four different electrical
meters. These will be combined into one
meter.
c.
The
church building does have some asbestos, which was expected because of the time
period in which the building was originally constructed. The asbestos will be either removed or
encapsulated.
David
Wright is serving as our expert on the sound system. He suggested turning off the humidifier in
the choir loft during the service. He
also suggests a panel above the speaker to help remove the “dead zone” that
exists at the pulpit for sound.
The
library has been reroofed this summer.
The
organ will be removed in spring, 2006, to be rebuilt by Reynolds Associates in
The
major construction will be done in summer, 2006. The project should be finished around
September, 2006.
The
BRC committee is aware of a leak in the sanctuary and is working on it. They are also trying to add insulation and be
energy efficient whenever possible.
Joan
Basson suggested that we cancel Summer Services for
2006 to help with construction. That
idea will be discussed at the September
board meeting.
2.
Tom Sibert gave a Capital Campaign
report. The total amount pledged is
$1,097,217. This includes pledges,
grants, general donations, etc. Martha
Easter-Wells told us to expect to receive 95% of that amount. We have received $234,584 to date. The endowment is still considering its
donation to the project.
We
have a Capital Campaign Finance Committee who will handle the money as it comes
in and will also determine how to finance the project as we wait for the pledge
money to be collected.
It
was suggested that we ask for capital campaign donations from new members,
although Martha Easter-Wells recommends that we do not do that. It was also recommended to note those who
have identified All Souls in their wills and become part of the Channing
Society.
Rich
Atwater explained that the project will continuously be revised to make the
most of the money we have.
John
Murphy pointed out that we need to also think about the shortfalls we have in
the operational budget.
Martha
Easter-Wells’ advice helped achieve such a successful low cost capital
campaign.
Tom
said there were 173 pledging units for the Capital Campaign. He then briefly discussed the Income and
Expense statement that was handed out.
3.
Bruce Johnson broke the group up into five different working
groups. Each group discussed a different
aspect of church life: Community Within, Community Without, Management and
Operations, Education, and Physical Facilities.
Each group was given a list of issues relating to each group that was
determined in 2002. He challenged each
group to prioritize those challenges and develop 3-5 “action items” to address
during this church year, asking the questions:
·
What
is the challenge?
·
Why
is it important?
·
What
ACTIONS will be taken?
·
Who
will do the actions?
·
Who
will track the actions?
·
How
much will it cost—in terms of time and money?
Johnson asked the groups to rank
each action item twice—low/medium/high—for both time and money [e.g. low in time/ high in money;
or high in time/medium in money, etc.]”
Education –
presented by Brian Bartley
a.
Change
the language used to be more all-encompassing.
Use “Lifespan Education” language instead of “Adult Education” and
“Religious Education.”
b.
Expand
knowledge of and use of libraries. One
way to do this is to add community chair tags to name tags so people will be
able to talk with the chair about a specific community. Other ideas include having book reviews in
the bulletin (suggested by Helen Dwyer and Brian Bartley), building an
additional bookshelf in the library, and updating and revising the catalogue
system (suggested by Helen Dwyer and Brian Bartley).
c.
Begin
using the new curriculum “The Sheltering Spirit, “ which will be used in the
2005-2006 church year. R.E. teachers
will be using this new curriculum.
d.
Have
a Committee Fair in the Social Hall, which would allow people to learn more
about each committee and sign up to become a member of committees. It was discussed to have this on Sunday,
September 25. It was also suggested that
we spotlight a different committee in each bulletin, and that committee can
then set up a table in the sanctuary during that time. This Fair will be coordinated by John Murphy
and the Committee Chairs.
e.
Nancy
Renner Clear suggested bringing someone new into the service to listen for
acronyms or other items that are used.
Often, we assume people know what we’re speaking about when they do
not. We need to become more aware of our
language and make sure it is welcoming to visitors.
Community Within – presented by Don Killingbeck
a.
Set
up Small Group or Covenant Group Committee to begin a small group program. Attempt to offer as many different options
for small groups as possible. The people
who have already volunteered to be on this committee are Mike Middleton, Tom Sibert, Debbie White, Mary Hirsch, Ray Dunkin, Katie
Boland, Bruce Clear, and Don Killingbeck.
b.
Strengthen
the Caring Committee. Some ideas include
i) arranging transportation for shut-ins through
current members, taxi service, or limo service, ii) having a Caring Box in the
Social Hall for people to share their joys and concerns, iii) developing a list
of people who would be willing to make visits, iv) have regular pulpit and
bulletin announcements and/or pew cards encouraging people to share their joys
and concerns.
c.
Increased
visibility needed for church events.
d.
Have
the choir sing the first verse of newer hymns so the congregation can
familiarize themselves with the hymns.
Meredith Granger will discuss with Courtney Crouse-Sutton, Director of
Music, regarding this idea.
e.
This
group unanimously felt that services should be held in the summer of 2006
regardless of construction. Perhaps All
Souls could combine with UUI or another community UU church for these
services. Meredith Granger will discuss
this with Ken Kern.
f.
The
Council leadership was encouraged to find ways to increase the percentage of
Council members who attended Council meetings.
Community Without – presented by Dick Curtis
a.
One
out of eight high school students at
b.
Develop
greater public relations presence.
Perhaps allow a time for committees to discuss work/activities happening
during the service. One committee could
present in each service.
c.
Develop
a partnership with another church, perhaps an inner city church. Meet together for initiatives and swap
speakers.
d.
Get
involved with the Spirit and Place Festival.
Dick Curtis will speak to someone at the
e.
How
can we allow the community to use the church building without fees? Perhaps we should offer a latchkey program
for students for a couple of hours after school during the week.
Management and Operations – presented by John Murphy
a.
Budget
and Salary- It is unacceptable that staff salaries are so low and we don’t give
our fair share to the UUA and Heartland District, and committee chairs often
fund their own activities. The Board and
Canvass Committee will try to develop ways to increase pledge levels. Bruce Johnson mentioned that the Canvass
Committee will increase the level of personal contact during the next pledge
drive/annual canvass.
b.
Involving/Attracting
younger members- Redo the bulletin board.
Perhaps run an ad in college newspapers promoting the church. Dick Curtis recommended having a coffeehouse
in the evening with a live jazz group for younger people. Elsa Sands and the Membership Committee along
with the rest of the Council will work on the issue of involving and attracting
newer members.
c.
Social
Activities/Cooking- How do we get someone to coordinate food for activities
such as Something for Everyone, memorial service receptions, dinners,
etc.? This should be the responsibility
of the Social Activities committee.
Perhaps we should look at hiring a caterer or part-time cook for these
events.
d.
MAPA
(Ministerial Advisory and Performance Appraisal Committee) needs to be
reactivated. Bruce Johnson and John
Murphy will reactivate MAPA this fall.
e.
Could
committee chairs be asked to submit names to the Nominating Committee for
possible chairs and involvement?
f.
Revise
and update bulletin board. Perhaps use
the UU church in
g.
John
Rempel suggested getting outdoor concerts or indoor
music events to be held at the church.
Physical Facilities – presented by Jim Schrementi
a.
Outside
of Building/Grounds- i) We need better visibility of
both 56th St. sign and the church building. We need a bigger sign with room for more
words that also has better lighting. We
need better lighting for the church in the evening. The Fine Arts Committee needs to work on
this. ii) We need more trimming and
pruning. iii) It is dangerous to cross
b.
Sanctuary-
i) Could areas where it is easier to hear be
highlighted through a map and the use of personal hearing devises be encouraged
more? The ushering committee may need to
get IDs from those signing out the hearing devises. ii)
This group felt it was very important to keep the sanctuary as close to
its current look as possible as sound issues were addressed. iii) Could the curtains in the front of the
sanctuary be cleaned or replaced? iv)
Could we get seat cushions for the pews?
c.
Housekeeping-
i) the sanctuary needs to be cleaned more
thoroughly. Some may need to help Milton
Parks do this. ii) Make the stage
available instead of using it for storage.
iii) The church does not have
enough storage space. The basement needs
to be cleaned out. Everything will need
to be moved from the basement for the building renovation project. The Board and Council will work on that. iv) Could we create space for the Senior High
class in the basement? (The group
expressed concern about supervision.) v)
Plastic tubs can be purchased for committees to use to store Social Hour
materials. Babette
Miller will purchase these and get reimbursed by committees. vi) Channing Club may help with housekeeping
or Patricia Scott should be contacted as she is the Housekeeping Chair. How can we plan to have someone do this in
future years?
Bruce Johnson adjourned the Retreat
at 2:45 P.M.