Council Notes
Personnel (Dale)
Mike Bennett is interning with Rick as production coordinator, will take the role full time in February. The team is using ProPresenter instead of Powerpoint for services now. Hired a pianist (Laura Stephens). Recruiting team members - if you are interested or know someone who is, please speak with Dale.
Safer Congregation (Dale)
Updating current policy to address new items. Need input from Molly then will forward to Board for review.
QUUmmunity (Dale)
Renewal for Welcoming Congregation status is in progress. Requires viewing six sessions of a recorded presentation in small groups (in someone’s home, not at church).
Treasurer (Stan via Dale)
If you would like to receive the monthly budget report please email treasurer@asuuc.org or call Stan at 970-222-3784.
Auction (Sandra)
Net income thus far $19,354.80. New to UU shop closes at end of December. Next meeting is January 5 to begin planning next auction!
Social Justice (Sandra)
Immigration 101 (Phyllis Dunn) presentation resulted in 23 volunteers signing up to help that group. Educating Children of Color (ECOC) summit scheduled January 25; Regina Walters will be speaking. Will have a $1000 scholarship for the winning student. MLK All People’s Breakfast on January 20. Free event, opportunity to facilitate the discussion portion.
Dismantling Racism (Yvonne)
Campaign for ASUUC to adopt the 8th Principle, looking for congregation vote in 2025.
Will present a four-session anti-racism training in February-March. Board and Council are invited to participate. Will arrange childcare if needed by attendees. (Still working to increase the number of childcare providers; possibly train teens)
Sunday Service Leaders (Kathleen)
This group actually involves six teams, three lead by staff, three by members. (Diagram of how the teams interact with the Minister and congregation.) The Service Leader Team - planning topics for services, e.g. Trangender Remembrance Day, Anti-racism, etc. Recruiting more members for the Sunday Service and Aesthetics (environment) groups. Aesthetics team sourcing less irritating (allergenic) candles and oil for the chalice. If you have announcements for the start of service please send to Ron.
Lay Pastoral Ministry (Sonia)
Policy and procedures approved by the Board. All background checks for the team have cleared. Next meeting will be about commissioning the team in January.
Social Media/Web (Katie)
New website has launched!! Please check your team’s contact web form to make sure emails are received. Still looking for a way to upload documents (like receipts for vouchers).
Met Kat and Will Crow re: tutorial and guides for team members to update web pages. Will offer classes in January if needed. Will start the Social Media campaign in January. Please use the form on the website to submit content for a social media post. Searching for a new web hosting service (owner of current tithe.ly platform does not align with UU values).
Membership (Rev. Ron)
Nine new members joined in the last class; next class in February. Last potluck has been rescheduled for January 25. Patty, who does a fabulous job, is recruiting a new team lead.
Adult Programming (Rev. Ron)
With Bobbi Poole, have formed a new team and will ask for a budget line in next fiscal year; recruiting team members.
Team on Ministry (Wendy)
Have a good team and productive discussions. Confidential nature so nothing to report.
Nominating Team (Jo)
Will ramp up activities in January, looking for eligible members who may want to serve in elected positions. Will consider vision as well as governance in the search. Looking for suggestions and nominations if you have any.
Youth Group (Ben)
Currently 4-8 youth attend regularly, had 12 attend the overnight event, and may have 15-20 total on the roster. Fundraisers over the past year have raised more than $1,700 so far; next one is the chili cookoff on January 11. ($5 per person, $20 max per family). For the Young Adult group, Jen Keating and Alex are the contacts.
Building & Grounds (Jenn)
Choir loft/minister office conversion making progress. Need to discuss the type of use for the old office/meeting room; no need to move music files for Kai. Accessibility was the top of the survey responses so will be the big project for 2025. Bell tower storage - we are planning the space and drafting a policy. Will likely involve requesting training to access the space (the attic is tricky). Interested in participating in revising the Sanctuary policy. Need to dispose of the furniture that was removed from the choir loft. If your team needs a piece and has a place to store it, or if you are interested in rehoming any of it, please let a member of B&G know.
Safety & Security (Dan)
Recruiting 4-5 volunteers to help on Sunday service and other gatherings. Team completed First Aid training. Team completed hostile incident training with CSPD, allows each to carry pepper spray Discussed where fire extinguishers are located. Request to share a map of the fire extinguishers, escape routes, and basic info regarding the distress buttons (kitchen, at AV desk? others?).
Events (Bart)
Have a Celebration of Life on Saturday, two weddings in 2025. Recruiting new members, and it could be a paid position for event coordination. Will post the contracted position (not staff) on the website.
Care Team (Betsy)
Team has 8 members, typically 3 or 4 are available at any one time. Delivered 40 meals this year, all paid for by team members. Sent 60 cards. Made 15 visits to assisted living/rehab centers. Would like to ask Council for help delivering meals if the Care Team is not available - will email the Council list. Discussed using an in-kind donation receipt for those buying meals to allow a tax deduction (for members) and tracking budget needs (for the church).
The Lay Pastoral team needs a private space like the new meeting room to meet regularly.
Finance (John)
Drafting the policies and procedures. Will have a congregation update in January before the next pledge drive begins. Will provide a calculator to estimate a suggested pledge amount based on income, number in the family, etc.
AV Team (Andy)
Team is meeting next month. Using ProPresenter instead of PowerPoint; provides more flexibility for service. Transitioning production coordinator to Mike Bennett. Recruiting new team members. Andy will be trained on more of the production tech, but really needs 2.5 people to run a smooth service.
Bylaw Task Force (Dale)
Thank you to all for participating in the By Law interviews. Themes of those responses: lack of clarity of organizational structure, what policies are needed. Looking to revise Article V and Article X to address those needs. Envisioning a Governance Committee to address issues, develop structure.
Governance (Ben)
The Board officially formed the Governance Committee at the last meeting. Looking for 1-2 more members. Drafting an organizational chart.
Tech Task Force (Ben)
Searching for more accessible tech for teams to use. Formed last fall: Glen, Karen, Kathleen. Goal is to resolve frustrations with MS-Teams, will consider team needs, look for solutions, provide documentation on tech tools. Recruiting “Tech Ambassadors” to help the congregation use the tools available. (Not to be confused with the Tech Team: Karen, Kate.) Looking to get church-owned accounts on Google Drive for teams to use - right now considering Drive and Teams as addressing two separate needs.
Discussion on Council (Ben & Dale)
Charter Proposal in flux as the leaders discuss what groups will be represented on Council. Some expressed concern of scheduling too many meetings, a Town Hall just before the all congregation meeting. Discussed a proposal to alternate monthly meetings between Council and all-congregation Town Halls. Better Town Hall attendance with food, fun, and childcare provided, and scheduled after Sunday service. Looking for a Senior Ministry Team to take some of the logistical burden off Board. How can the Council improve and continue communication? Patience needed - these are big, methodical changes to address concerns heard in the By-Laws interviews.