by Nathalie Edmond, President, Board of Trustees
The Board continues to meet regularly to assess the church’s financial future and plan for our annual meeting. The Board has voted to have the annual meeting virtually June 7th. The bylaws that were voted on in June 2019 allow for more options for having annual meetings. There are logistics to work out in terms of voting but the Board is excited about continuing to find new ways to connect virtually.
A current major focus of the Board is reviewing the proposed budget for the 2020-2021 year. There are many questions such as how long physical distancing will be in place, what kinds of programming will we need, how much staff will we need, and when construction will begin for Capital Campaign project. The major source of income for the congregation is pledges. The Stewardship campaign currently projects pledges similar to the previous year, and yet we know there are many unknown factors related to people’s employment in the coming months.
The Board is exploring ways to be fluid over the next year related to our budget needs. One of the things that the current Board is very thankful for is the legacy of previous leadership that has contributed to a healthy reserve and financial picture. The Board is working with the Finance and Personnel committees to identify fixed costs that we should plan for and expenses that may or may not be possible depending on our financial picture in the coming months. One idea the Board has been exploring is moving towards a program based budget. That is a budget that takes our line item budget and focuses on the major programs we want to support. While we are financially healthy the Board encourages all committees and ministries to minimize expenditures for the coming months.
The Board is also working with Nominating committee to develop a slate for the coming year. The Board has approved a one year task force that will be focused on evaluating the current functioning of the Nominating committee and ways that elements of Growth Through Service (identifying people’s passions, what might feed them spiritually, ways they may want to connect with others in the congregation, and leadership opportunities) can be incorporated, and ways to develop leaders.
The Board looks forward to Rev. Kim’s return and is thankful for everyone who stepped up in recent months to help our congregation navigate the sabbatical and early of days of pandemic. To highlight just a few – Sabbatical team; Worship Associates; Treasurer team involving Finance chair, Congregational Administrator and Treasurer; Pastoral Care/Caring ministry; all the behind the scenes work that happens related to communication via website, social media and emails; Personnel team; Faith Action Ministry; Religious Education; those who have provided music and singing; and all the small groups that have continued to meet virtually.
And we are all wishing Rev. Sue well as she transitions out of her role as Minister of Congregational Life for now.
Feel free to join part of the next Board meeting via Zoom. The Board meets the second Wednesday of the month from 7pm to 9pm. For Zoom info, or to connect with the board about your questions or concerns, feel free to email board@uucwc.org.