The following board members were present:Gene Pusateri, Tim Raridon, Lanore Jones, Lisbet White, Judy DeGenova, John Shartle, Louisa Berger, and Re. Joseph Boyd ( ex-officio).
Rev. Joseph opened the meeting with a beautiful poem by Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things.” Then we all checked in.
Consent Agenda Minister’s report
Minutes of the previous meeting Treasurer’s Report
Gene moved to accept these reports; Tim seconded the motion; motion passed.
Ongoing Business
Website Development – Louisa, Lola Lewis, Sarah King and Rev. Joseph have been reaching out to find people to help with the website. Louisa reported that the website survey provided good feedback.
8th Principle – Sarah Lowry, Gary Davenport, and Carole McWilson had a discussion about the work of Evely Burnette who is the co-founder and CEO of Third SpaceAction Lab.Carole believes Ms. Burnette’s work around the issue of anti-racism may be of interest to the board and suggested we ask Sarah Lowry to the next Board meeting to discuss this.
SanctuaryAccessibility Lisbet met with Jon Locketti fromAdolph Johnson & sons about getting an estimate for the work. Jon feels they can do the project this summer. One question was are we willing to move the organ to install a built-in ramp to the chancel? Further discussion will take place at the June Board meeting. Rev. Joseph suggested that we should try to accomplish at least one project this summer.
Janitorial Services Louisa has had no response from JCC. John and Gene will check on other janitorial services.
PPP loan – nothing new
New Chalice -A final design has been chosen and a plywood mock-up will be brought to the church in the near future. We have made a deposit of 50% of the $500 cost to the artist.
Partner Church Our team met with Karen Litsinger from the church in Pittsburgh. We need to determine what region, India, the Philippines, or Transylvania we want to focus on.
New Business
GiveAway the Plate wording We decided to change the wording from 100% of the offering back to 100% of the non-designated offering, which is more accurate..
Baby Gift for Sarah – Louisa will find out what Sarah still needs from her registry. We will spend up to $100 for a gift from the church.
DRE search – discussion deferred to later in the meeting.
Generative Discussion
Transitioning to in person worship; strategic planning; UUYO Advisory Committee report A team composed of SueAlexander, Jan Elias, and Ralph Malmar met and made good suggestions to the board.
Andy Crabb joined us for this discussion. The following plans are in place:
1. Worship will be virtual throughout the summer.
2. In June, small, church-affiliated groups (10 or less) can meet in person; maintaining the on-line option for these groups is strongly encouraged..
3. In September , worship services and RE will be hybrid.(Both virtual and in person.)
4. For those who are vaccinated, masks and social distancing are not required. For those who are not vaccinated, who are immunocompromised, or under 12, we strongly recommend they continue to attend virtually. If they attend in person, we request that they wear masks and social distance.
The board emphasized that those who attend virtually who are not local or who are not able to attend in person feel welcome and that they are an important part of our community.
After the transition, all services and meetings will continue to be hybrid. Some small groups have already started to do that. We will learn as we go. The book group learned that they need another microphone for the hybrid meeting to be successful. The board discussed making such a microphone available for in-person small-group gatherings at the church. We can provide training for the group leaders who want to do hybrid groups.
Annual Fund Contribution – Louisa reported that if we raise our contribution from $7,000 to $7,500 that would be an increase from 67.3% to 75% of what we are asked to contribute. Our goal is to increase the percentage each year. Louisa moved that we do so; Lisbet seconded the motion. Motion passed.
DRE search Rev. Joseph has received resumes from 2 highly qualified individuals who have expressed interest in becoming our DRE. One candidate is internal; one is external. We need a team to help with this decision. The following members were recommended for the team: Susan Miracle, Ryan Streyffler, andAmber Munger. Judy will represent the board and contact prospective team members and set up Zoom interviews. The recommendation of the team is due to Lisbet and Rev. Joseph by June 10.
Housekeeping
Thank UU’s – SueAlexander, Jan Elias, and Ralph Malmar.
The next meeting will be June 17, 2021 at Gene Pusateri’s home. Roles for the next meeting:
Thank UU’s – Louisa Secretary – Judy
Facilitator – John Time Keeper – Gene
Process Observer – Lanore Bits from the Board – Tim
Reminders
Talk about Pledge Drive at the June meeting. Invite Sarah Lowry to attend the June meeting.
Remind Jon Locketti to have a formal proposal ready by the June meeting.