MDUUC October Board Buzz

October 22 Board Meeting

The MDUUC Board meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month.  All are welcome to attend. Below are some highlights from the meeting. 

Green Committee 

Apples! Pears! Persimmons! The Green Committee proposed working with The Urban Farmers (theurbanfarmers.org) to plant fruit trees on the MDUUC campus hillside. Church members and friends will be invited sponsor a fruit tree with a donation of one hundred dollars ($100) per tree. The Board approved Memorandum of Understanding with the Urban Farmers.  Additionally, the Board approved the fundraising request from the Green Committee.

Economic Justice Task Force

The Board approved the formation of Economic Justice Task Force and co-chairs Elizabeth Copley and Bob Lane.  The Economic Justice Task Force is part of the Social Justice Council. Annette Schmidt was approved as the Chair of the Racial Justice Committee.

Finance Committee

Bill Clark, Chair of the Finance Committee, presented the fiscal year highlights for 2012/2013 for MDUUC. Details will be in the November Beacon.

Peter Kappelhof, Chair of the Facilities Committee, gave a brief review of facility plans for the year.  A formal report will be available at the end of November.

Office Changes

Changes in the office administration were approved.  Marie Arce was appointed as Acting Congregational Administrator and Shaun Smith was appointed Facilities Administrator.  The Board authorized a search for additional office and facility support personnel.  LouAnn Silveria’s employment with MDUUC has ended.

Task Force Formation

The Board formed two new Technology Task Forces: One task force (chaired by Carol Sue Cain) will review the technology infrastructure in the office and propose a plan for upgrade and a second task force (chaired by Les Polgar) will review the current data-management system and propose changes.

Youth Report

The Youth reported that they are working hard on the “Haunted House” which was held on Sunday October 27, 2013.

Recent Events

Jeff Galanti reviewed feedback from the Leadership Retreat.  The retreat was well attended and feedback was positive. Slides from the retreat will be added to the Board website.

Kristen Taylor and David Platt discussed the feedback from the Committee Fair which ran smoothly this year and was also well attended.

Notes: Congregational Forum on September 8th

The Board held its first of four Congregational Forums on September 8th.  The Board is hosting these forums to give church attendees an opportunity to ask questions about work the Board is doing and activities that impact the church.  Over 60 people attended the September forum.

There are a lot of “Congregational” terms concerning meetings:

Congregational Forums – There will be four a year; there is no set agenda.  This is a meeting were church attendees can ask questions about issues and the Board can update the congregation on interesting (or mundane) matters.

Congregational Conversations – These are focused meetings – devoted to one topic.- such as installation of solar panels or the upcoming conversation on the Covenant of Right Relationships.

Congregational Meetings – These are scheduled meetings to be held twice a year; one in January and one in June.  They generally include topics about the state of the church and members may vote on various proposals such as the budget or election of members of the Board or Nominating Committee.


Topics Discussed at the Congregational Forum on September 8, 2013

Covenant of Right Relationship

The Committee of Ministry is reworking the Covenant of Right Relationships and will be holding congregational conversations in the Fall to gather feedback.

Peace Center

The Peace Center is a separate non-profit organization devoted to promoting Peace, it is an important part of the heritage of MDUUC, founded by Andy Balzo, and many of our members have been active leaders in the peace center. Both Bob Olson, Board President and LeslieTM have meet with Peace Center representatives to discuss MDUUC reclaiming the space currently occupied by the Peace Center.  The Peace Center has been working since last Fall on relocation plans and has agreed that moving to a new location is a win-win for both groups.  Even though the Peace Center will not be located at MDUUC, the new contract will still retain many of the components that currently exist; such as using MDUUC as a meeting space and being able to holding non-profit events here.  The MDUUC Peace Committee will continue to work and support the Peace Center.  The space that the Peace Center currently occupies will be reconfigured for office space.

Church Governance and supporting documents

Documents that outline the governance of the church, calendar for the year, goals, Board norms and more have been posted on the Board website.  (https://sites.google.com/a/mduuc.org/members/governance)

Youth Membership

The LEAP Committee is working on a proposal to support Youth Membership.

Internship Suspension 2014-2015

There was discussion on the proposal to suspend our formal internship for the 2014-15 congregational year.  Leslie as the supervising minister made this request after the staff evaluations last year brought home the need for her to devote more attention this year and next to supervision and structuring for the staff and David.  Suspending the internship for next year will allow more time this fall when the internship selection would need to occur and more time next year to continue to work on increasing the capacity of the staff, especially in the area of administration. The discussion on this issue has been heard and considered deeply and to provide some of the benefits of internship, Leslie has proposed that the six preaching slots which have traditionally been reserved for the intern be offered to alumni of the MDUUC internship and that seminarians be offered the opportunity to teach classes at MDUUC to provide new and fresh perspectives.

MDUUC September Board Buzz

Fall always brings so many activities to MDUUC.

September 24 Board Meeting
The MDUUC Board meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month.  All are welcome to attend.  Below are some highlights of the meeting.  As you can see, there are many interesting activities coming up!!  I hope you can attend some of them.

Suspension of Formal Internship in 2014-15  

Much discussion has been had on the proposal to suspend our formal internship for the 2014-15 congregational year.  Leslie as the supervising minister made this request after the staff evaluations last year brought home the need for her to devote more attention this year and next to supervision and structuring for the staff and David.  Suspending the internship for next year will allow more time this fall when the internship selection would need to occur and more time next year to continue to work on increasing the capacity of the staff, especially in the area of administration. The discussion on this issue has been heard and considered deeply and to provide some of the benefits of internship, Leslie has proposed that the six preaching slots which have traditionally been reserved for the intern be offered to alumni of the MDUUC internship and that seminarians be offered the opportunity to teach classes at MDUUC to provide new and fresh perspectives. 

Leadership Summit

The Leadership Summit was held on September 28.  This year, the special guest speaker was Linda Laskowski former PCD representative.  She talked about the driving forces that are influencing faith formation. Other interesting agenda items were: a discussion of the state of the MDUUC; building personal management skills; how to manage conflict; critical issues facing MDUUC.

Committee Fair The MDUUC Committee Fair will be held on October 6 after both services during the coffee hour. This event helps communicate to the congregation the great work committees do; it is also a good way to connect with people who may be interested joining your committee. Please contact Kristen Taylor or David Platt.

Jim Scott, notable UU composer in a concert benefiting the Trinity Center
Mora Mattingly (Music Committee) and Mary Fenelon (Social Justice Council) presented plans for a collaborative effort to raise funds for the Trinity Center in Walnut Creek. The groups will be hosting a concert on November 24 at 3pm featuring Jim Scott, notable UU composer from the Paul Winter consort in the MDUUC Sanctuary.  Trinity Center is the only homeless respite center in Walnut Creek.

Covenant of Right Relations

The Committee on Ministry is working on updating the Covenant of Right Relations and is reviewing covenants from different UU congregations.  The committee will have a rough draft covenant in October and will be holding two congregational conversations to gather feedback in October and November.  The final version will be presented for a vote at the Congregational Meeting in January.

Ministers Learn Modules on Driving Forces in Faith Formation

Ministers learning module was an overview on the significant driving forces influencing faith formation.  More details can be located at http://www.faithformation2020.net/ff-2020-driving-forces.html

Youth Report

Youth participated in the Youth and Young Adult Programs committee meeting on Sunday September 22 to review the proposal for youth membership.   They are planning this year’s haunted house warned the Board that they have a very scary Fairy Tale Theme.

What is involved in developing the budget?

Board Treasurer, Carol Sue Cain, reviewed the process and timeline involved in putting together the budget.  This document is available on the Board web page on the MDUUC community site.

Balasz Scholar Hosting 2014-15 

The board approved hosting the Balasz Scholar for 2014-2015. The Balázs Scholars Committee at Starr King School each year brings a Transylvanian Unitarian minister (and family) to study for a year at the school and the Graduate Theological Union. The San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and MDUUC Churches take turns acting as host church.