ALL SOULS UNITARIAN CHURCH BOARD MEETING

January 9, 2008

 

 

Board Officers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Murphy, John

President

Present

 

Bartley, Brian

Secretary

Present

Sibert, Tom

V President

Present

 

Middleton, Mike

Treasurer

Present

Board Members

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dunkin, Ray

Exp 2008

Present

 

Griffith, Debi

Exp 2009

Present

Hansen, Carol

Exp 2008

Present

 

Most, Richard

Exp 2009

Present

Merriman, Sharon

Exp 2008

Present

 

Basile, Frank

Exp 2010

Present

Spencer, Gary

Exp 2008

Present

 

Burns, Linda

Exp 2010

Present

Basson, Rodney

Exp 2009

Present

 

Fox, Lucia

Exp 2010

Present

Brunner, Bob

Exp 2009

Present

 

Wendt, Caroline

Exp 2010

Present

Others Present

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear, Bruce

Minister

 

 

 

 

 

Clear, Nancy

Director of RE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Call to Order

Declaring a quorum present, President John Murphy called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm.

 

Minutes of December 2007 Meeting

            Minutes of the December 2007 Board meeting were approved without objection as corrected (ie removal of Executive Session details).  

 

Minister’s Report (Addendum 1)

            Bruce presented his report.  No discussion.

 

DRE’s Report  (Addendum 2)

            Nancy presented her report.  Carol Hansen made the observation that Nancy is being left as the sole person to set up RE breakfasts and other tasks.  She made a request that Nancy be given assistance from other members of the RE committee.  This was given general assent by the Board.

 

2007 Operating Financial Update (Addendum 3)

            Mike Middleton presented the Income and Expense Statement for 2007, Un-audited.  He reported that it appears as though there will be a net loss of approximately $100 for 2007.  He stated that he expected to have the final I&E Statement next month.  Acknowledgement was given to everyone who contributed to hitting the 2007 target budget.

 

Endowment Report (Addendum 4)

            Mike Middleton presented his report to the Board.  Mike gave an explanation of the Endowment purpose and limits, historical notes, the spirit of the Endowment and a six year perspective.  He also explained that he and Rodney Basson are the co-chairpersons of the All Souls Endowment.  There was general discussion regarding the definition of an endowment and the legal uses allowed.  In particular, the uses allowed if All Souls encountered a financial emergency.  Sharon Merriman stated she had questions regarding this, would investigate, and report to the Board.   

 

Custodial Accounts Disposition (Addendum 5)

            Mike Middleton presented a report on the Custodial Accounts and how planning for consolidating accounts was proceeding.  A discussion was held regarding the means by which an account accrues money and how the accounts are used by individual groups at All Souls.  Further discussion regarding the Administrative account ensued.  Both Bruce and Nancy explained how this account was utilized and the necessity of maintaining a certain amount in this particular account.  A motion was made by Sharon Merriman to move the Administrative account to the Budget as a line item.  The motion was withdrawn when Tom Sibert recommended that the Treasurer, with oversight from the Board, continue to make the necessary decisions regarding the accounts.  The request was made to have the Treasurer present an annual report to the Board regarding the disposition and balances of the Custodial Accounts. 

 

Ministerial Sabbatical Grant Application Progress

            Tom Sibert gave a verbal report on the progress of obtaining a grant to fund a sabbatical for Bruce Clear.  The grant amount is $30,000.  He gave an overview of the committee’s work to date including:  the proposed sabbatical time frame (April 2009 to August 2009), the venue for the sabbatical (half time in Europe and half time in the Massachusetts Bay area) and research (life of Edward Everett).  Tom also informed the Board that an application for other grant monies in the amount of $15,000 is being pursued and would go toward funding church activities while Bruce is on sabbatical.  The results of the grant proposal(s) should be known by May 2008.

 

The issue of a sabbatical for Nancy Clear was raised during the discussion of Bruce’s sabbatical.  Carol Hansen reported that the RE committee had already approved a sabbatical with pay for Nancy based on her long term service and competence in the administration of the RE department.  Since All Souls has a rather unique situation, in that the RE Director and Minister are married to one another; Frank Basile made the motion that Nancy be granted a sabbatical with pay that coincides with the one for Bruce. The motion was approved by unanimous consent.   

 

Stewardship Committee Proposal for Supplemental Pledge Campaign (Addendum 6)

            Ray Dunkin presented a proposal for supplementing the 2008 budget.  This has been named the “13th Month Stewardship Campaign”.  An insert into the Sunday bulletin and an announcement is planned for January 13.  Ray made the motion to accept the campaign as outlined on the insert.  This was seconded by Sharon Merriman and approved by unanimous consent.

 

Avoiding Budget Shortfalls (Addendum 7)

            Bob Brunner presented his report on avoiding budget shortfalls.  He gave guidelines for a successful canvassing.  His key point is one that incorporates “…an every member, face-to-face pledge canvass.”  Following a general discussion about methods of canvassing and past attempts, overall agreement was expressed by the Board.  Bob was thanked for his work on the report.  No further action taken.

 

 

 

Other Business

            Tom Sibert brought up the issue of the end of the Capital Campaign and the current mortgage that will need to be addressed in the future.  General discussion ensued.  No further action was taken.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:03 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Brian J. Bartley

Secretary to the Board