All Souls Church Unitarian Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 27, 2020

Trustees Present Libbie Buchele, Vice President MJ Crom, Secretary Joe Feuer Rev. Rob Hardies, Ex Officio Bob Jayes Erika Landberg Neil Manzullo Mark Regulinski, Treasurer Cathy Torttorici Esther Strongman Trustees Not Present John Schuettinger Staff Present Traci Hughes Congregants Present Alan Abramson Wavenly Bryant Maya Hermann Zach Morrice Marleise Pastore Derek Robinson Paula Shoecraft Pamela Sparr John Strongman Jalisa Whitley Convening Libbie convened the meeting at 7:01 pm. Chalice Lighting and Reading Rev. Hardies shared a reading. 4-2 Approval of consent agenda

• Items on the consent agenda included: o Approve April 2020 minutes. o Approve sending ballot created by the Ad Hoc Committee to Administer Ballot

Voting to the Congregation. (Attached.) o Approve Laura Dely, Kirk Freeman, Jose Luis Sanchez, Kathy Mulvey, Craig

Dylan Wyatt and to serve as All Souls’ delegates at the UUA’s General Assembly in June.

o Authorize the Board President to sign contract with the Interim Minister selected by the Interim Minister Search Committee. See report of the Interim Minister Search Committee. (Attached.)

• Amend – add Erika to item 3 • Motion to approve the consent agenda.

o Moved, seconded, approved unanimously. 4-1 Approval of Agenda (attached)

• Motion to approve the agenda. o Moved, seconded. o Remove Treasurer’s Report. o Approved Unanimously.

4-3 Election of President and Vice President

• Nomination of Libbie for President. o Moved, seconded, no discussion, approved unanimously.

• Nomination of Neil for Vice President. o Moved, seconded, no discussion, approved unanimously.

• Libbie noted the reason for Nadine’s departure – her time-consuming and absolutely essential COVID-1-related work for the FDA. We deeply appreciate everything she has done for the Board – our strong sense of fellowship is largely due to her efforts. We will miss her.

4-4 Discussion of Reports from Senior Minister and Executive Director (Attached)

• Senior Minister Report o The Board invited Rob to join us for our Board Meeting in June. o We briefly touched on ways to make the pandemic worship experience more live

and intimate. By Homecoming Sunday staff hopes to be livestreaming services from the sanctuary, which would continue indefinitely even once in-person worship is possible again.

• ED report o We received an update on pledge numbers.

▪ There are 266 voting members who have not yet pledged – we hope that they may contribute.

▪ Currently we’re ahead of where we were this time last year. ▪ Traci noted the need for consistent messaging – the campaign has gone

well and we still hope to reach our goal. o The drive to call non-pledging members is ongoing.

▪ Consultants we’re working with will be winding down by June, but we can continue the drive and continue to call it Your Love Counts.

4-5 Discussion Agenda: Approve Budget for FY20-21

• Mark explained the budget’s organization and the logic behind the numbers.

• We reviewed FY20 actual income and expenses. o Optimistic that the PPP loan will end up being a grant and we won’t have to pay it

back. o Actual results from April changed projections regarding building expenses.

▪ Could fund more expenses through Shively. o Our UUA contribution was modest.

• We reviewed the latest draft of the budget, comparing the most recent numbers to versions of the budget that the Board had previously seen.

o Core donations and contributions likely to remain the same. o Investment income uncertainty – numbers need to be vetted.

o MYSA plans to open in the fall – because of their small student numbers, they can socially distance in our space.

o Planning to host weddings in Spring 2021. o 7% disbursement from endowment, rather than 5%. Board judged that an

extraordinary disbursement was justified this year, and there’s even more need for one in the coming fiscal year.

▪ This year’s disbursement is one of the factors that will allow us to have a surplus this year (FY20).

o Core program salaries. ▪ Jubilee director transitioning to an on-call basis.

• Does not mean that Lenard or Jubilee is going away (move the number to make that clear).

▪ Current plan is to pay babysitters and nursery workers after the planned April 2021 reopening.

o Operations budget reflected big changes – totaling $125,000 savings. ▪ Evening receptionist position eliminated. ▪ Custodial services positions eliminated.

o Furloughs ▪ Do we want to pay people to do no work for 10 months?

• Another framing – paying them to remain available to us when we need them. Keeping their institutional knowledge. Avoiding hiring and training expenses when we reopen.

▪ Could we repurpose them to work on congregant communications or fundraising?

• Only with their consent – can't require them to do work so far outside the job responsibilities they agreed to.

• Currently all staff are working full time, working hard to sustain the church in its new form.

▪ Partial furlough? • Could still be devastating economically for lower-income earners.

• The Board needs consensus on two questions: o Do we approve 7% disbursement from endowment? o Do we favor keeping everyone employed or furloughing staff?

• Motion to approve a 7% disbursement. o Moved, seconded, passed unanimously

• Motion to keep all staff without furloughing at all. o Moved, seconded. o Discussion:

▪ Proposed amendment – maintain operational staff salaries at the current levels but accept proposed reductions in the mothball budget to core program salaries.

• For clarity, this means approving the change to the Jubilee director’s salary and the babysitters’ and nursery workers’ pay.

▪ Amendment passed by a vote of 8-1. o Motion as amended passed unanimously.

• Extended discussion of what the budget presented to the congregation should look like. o Can’t assume that possible budgetary saviors, like the PPP loan becoming a

grant, will come through. o Presenting a deficit budget to the congregation may inspire people to pledge.

4-6 New Business

• Confirming when and how we will announce selection of new minister to congregation. o After the 8th of June, by email.

4-7 Next Meeting

• Email Neil if you have an agenda item for next meeting.

• Next business meeting will be the 3rd Wednesday of June (the 17th). • We will meet Wednesday, June 3rd briefly to vote on final budget to send to the

congregation. Meeting Summary On May 27, the Board of Trustees:

• Elected a new Board President, Libbie Buchele, and a new Vice President, Neil Manzullo. We extend our thanks and appreciation to the outgoing President, Nadine Bowden, who resigned due to COVID-19-related job responsibilities.

• Examined the proposed FY2021 budget, discussing the suggested adjustments in the most recent draft and setting parameters for the budget that will be presented to the congregation.

• Voted to maintain operational staff salaries, regardless of their ability to work during church closures, while making limited cuts to core program staff pay.

• Voted to approve a 7% disbursement from our endowment in FY20-21. Adjournment

• Motion to adjourn at 10:02 pm. o Moved, seconded, approved unanimously.

Respectfully submitted, MJ Crom Secretary Additional Attached Reports

• Security Committee Meeting Notes • Transformation Team Report

Board of Trustees Agenda

May 27, 2020

Zoom Access Info:

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81727919600?pwd=MUUzY0ljck5aRzhkSklQZWVTSXpzZz09

Meeting ID: 817 2791 9600

Password: 508348

Dial-in number: 1-301-715-8592

Virtual dinner/fellowship: 6:30-7:00PM

Business Meeting: to begin at 7:00 PM and end no later than 9:00 PM

Submitted Reports:

1. Security Policy Committee, Status Report 2. Transformation Team, Status Report (note request to reschedule postponed March meeting) 3. Ballot Voting Committee, Item 4-2(b) 4. Interim Minister Search Committee, Item 4-2(d) 5. Senior Minister Report, Item 4-4 6. Executive Director Report, Item 4-4

Chalice Lighting and Reading (5 minutes) (Lead – Rev. Hardies)

Item 4-1 Approval of Agenda (5 minutes) (Lead – Libbie)

Item 4-2 Approval of consent agenda (5 minutes) (Lead – Libbie)

a) Approve April 2020 minutes, which are available here: https://aschurch.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/ASCBoardMeetings/EWlOP0iW01ZGj5_p3Pz9UeQBsZlqawwg1cJntLGxuia13Q?e=8zdWRl

b) Approve sending ballot created by the Ad Hoc Committee to Administer Ballot Voting to the Congregation. The ballot is available here: https://aschurch.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/ASCBoardMeetings/Ea0pRw1ZbElMsNlkvdHFtk0BroY6Y2Y8bAKI6m6Nw50BCw?e=slguIF

c) Approve Laura Dely, Kirk Freeman, Jose Luis Sanchez, Kathy Mulvey, and Craig Dylan Wyatt to serve as All Souls’ delegates at the UUA’s General Assembly in June.

1. They’ve registered to attend UUA and have indicated to Justis Tuia (chair of the Denominational Connections Committee) that they would like to serve as delegates to General Assembly.

2. All Souls can have up to 20 delegates at General Assembly. d) Authorize the Board President to sign contract with the Interim Minister selected by

the Interim Minister Search Committee. See report of the Interim Minister Search Committee for more information.

(Note: no task review needed.) Item 4-3 Election of President and Vice President (5 minutes) (Lead - MJ) Item 4-4 Discussion of Reports from Senior Minister, Executive Director, and Treasurer (15

minutes) (Lead – report authors)

Discussion should be limited to items that the Senior Minister, Executive or Treasurer have requested input on from the Board as whole or information needed by the Board to fulfill fiduciary or supervisory responsibilities. Whenever possible, questions should be sent to the relevant party before the meeting, At the discretion of the responding party they may respond via an addendum to their report or orally during the board meeting.

Documents to review:

• Senior Minister’s report;

• Executive Director’s report;

• Treasurer’s report.

Item 4-5 Discussion Agenda: Approve Budget for FY20-21 (75 minutes) (Lead – Traci and Mark)

Background: per our bylaws, the Board of Trustees is responsible for having a budget prepared for each fiscal year, and for holding a hearing on this budget. (Bylaws, Art. XIII, Sec. 2) The Congregation must adopt this budget, and will do so this year via ballot. The budget hearing will be held on May 31.

Document to review: updated FY20-21 proposed budget

Discussion questions (please think about before the meeting, and some/all may be discussed at the meeting): (1) Keeping in mind that in some recent years the church had a modest surplus that

added to our cash reserves, what level of a deficit (if any) are you comfortable with recommending in a budget?

(2) How should the Board consider the PPP loan/grant that the church received, even though it will not show up as income on the budget?

(3) Closing a deficit a. How much should the Board recommend the Congregation tap into reserves

(e.g., endowment, bank account balance, etc.) to narrow the deficit? b. Should the church try to access the operating reserves currently held by a

bank as collateral for the mortgage, and use those reserves to narrow the deficit?

c. Should the Board write-off or modify the repayment terms of the loan it had taken from the Shively Endowment (a church endowment used for capital improvements) to pay for HVAC repairs?

d. Is the Board willing to recommend an extraordinary measure (e.g., long-term physical closure of the building) to narrow the deficit?

(4) In thinking about further cuts to the proposed budget, how does the Board ensure that short-sighted decisions are not made out of panic, and how does the Board ensure that the church has adequately budgeted money to keep people connected to the church?

(5) What level of increased generosity can we expect from the Congregation (e.g., closing the pledge gap, exceeding the amount of expected pledges, etc.)?

(6) Who is responsible for taking the lead on messaging about the status of fundraising, and how should we ensure that our message is consistent?

Proposed Board action(s): (1) Tentatively approve budget to send to Congregation for a vote on the June 2020

ballot, pending the budget hearing. Item 4-6 New Business (5 minutes)

This is for items not on the agenda that need to be addressed before the June Board meeting.

Item 4-7 Next Meeting (2 minutes) (Lead – Neil)

Reminder about date of June meeting and time to raise any issues you anticipate needing to place on the discussion agenda.

Affirmation Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.

Adjournment

Executive Director Report (ED) Board of Trustee Business Meeting – May 27, 2020 _________________________________________________________________ Paycheck Protection Program

On May 14, 2020, All Souls Church received an U.S. Small Business Administration Loan in the amount of $226,825.00. The loan is as a result of the church’s application to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through Industrial Bank of Washington (IBW). IBW holds the operating account for the church. The funds must be used within 56 days of the loan deposit into the operating account and will effectively end on July 8, 2020. The funds can only be used for the specific purpose of paying employee payroll and health benefits, utilities and mortgage interest.

The overall impact of the PPP will be the same as a restricted donation. The accountant for the church is closely tracking payments from the loan so that All Souls may immediately apply for loan forgiveness. The ED expects most, if not all, of the loan to be forgiven. Should repayment be required, the interest rate on the loan is 1% with principal and interest payments in the amount of $12,764.89 paid monthly. The interest rate is fixed.

Business Continuity Claim

On April 1, 2020, the ED filed through Selective Insurance, a business continuity claim. On April 28, All Souls Church received notification that the claim was denied. It was the determination of the property claim handler that the policy held by the church does not cover “loss of use.”

Audit

Field work for the audit of the 2019 financials began on May 15, 2020. To date, all field work is being handled remotely, and is being conducted by Ubelhart, Rogstad & Associates, P.C. This is the same firm that conducted the review of the 2018 financials. The audit is scheduled to end mid-July so that results may be reviewed by the Board in advance of submission to FVC as required by the mortgage loan terms.

Your Love Counts Campaign/Pledges

As of 5/22/20 the Your Love Counts campaign generated $1,017,404 in pledges from 384 units. This is great progress, thanks in large part to the Stewardship and Fundraising Committee and the members of the Board who pitched in to make calls to the congregation. It is important to note that in April of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, core donations are well above $100,000. The congregation has been very generous, and we’ll continue to need their help to reach at least the nearly $1.3 in revenue generated in 2019. The Your Love Counts Campaign will formally wind down June 30th.

Senior Minister Report May 2020

Saying Goodbye During the last six weeks of my ministry at All Souls, my primary focus is on saying goodbye to the congregation. A “good” goodbye is an essential task in a ministerial transition, allowing the congregation to celebrate the ministry we’ve shared together, and to look to the future. Due to the pandemic, our goodbye is not what we had imagined. Nonetheless I have been gratified by the emotional connection and beauty present in the opportunities we’ve created. Here are some ways we’ve been saying goodbye:

• We have scheduled five goodbye “happy hours” on Zoom, all of which have reached capacity, as well as zoom calls with some other groups in the church.

• Congregants have submitted goodbyes in both written and video format, which will be collected and shared with me. The deadline for submission was Monday 5/25.

• I’ve participated in several intimate Zoom services that have allowed congregants and me to see one another “live” and “in person” one last time. These include: May vespers, the May 24 Child Dedication Service, and the (forthcoming) May 31 Graduate Recognition Service.

• Lots of “goodbye” e-mail correspondence and phone calls with congregants.

• My sermons on May 17, 31 and June 7 are all designed to facilitate a goodbye and prepare the congregation for ministerial transition.

• We will conclude the goodbye with the June 8 Ritual of Gratitude and Love on Zoom.

• The staff and I will say our goodbyes after June 8. I’m grateful to Betsy Quilligan, Danielle Garrett, Brenda Barron, Michael Milano, Meredith Higgins Hargrave, Judy Leaver, the staff, and the many “happy hour” hosts for helping create these goodbye opportunities, and to the congregation for their participation. Other Ministerial Transition Tasks I had conversations with two of the three finalists for the interim ministry position, and correspondence with other applicants. The interim minister and I have had one conversation since her selection, and we are planning a series of conversations after June 8. As the board and I agreed, my public ministry to the congregation ends on June 8. For the congregation at large, that is my last day as senior minister. However, between June 8 and June 30 (my last day on payroll) I will be holding transitional meetings to share knowledge with the Interim Minister, ED, clergy team, staff, archives team and our UUA liaison Rev. Megan Foley. If the Board wishes, I will also be present for its monthly June business meeting. But not the June congregational meeting.

Experimenting with Worship In an ongoing effort to serve the worship needs of the congregation, our worship team has begun experimenting with different ways for us all to share a lively, dynamic Sunday morning worship experience. For instance, last week we produced a video service and delivered it to congregants’ inboxes by 9 am on Sunday, as usual. But we invited folks to watch the service (if possible) no later than 10:15 am on Sunday. While watching the service at one’s leisure throughout the week is convenient, we also want to keep people in the habit of “coming to church” on Sunday. We then invited the congregation to join us at 11:00 am on Zoom for a Child Dedication Service. This special service allowed us to gather live and “in person” for one of the cherished rites of our church (we blessed 12 children!), and then linger after with the staff and fellow congregants for “coffee hour.” I estimate that between 600 and 800 people (350 screens) attended the Zoom service. People seemed to relish the opportunity to experience a part of worship live, and to see and connect with one another. The worship team will continue to experiment with ways to build in opportunities for “live” worship interaction, while also maintaining a high-quality worship experience. These experiments will build toward what we anticipate will be our “new normal:” livestreaming service every Sunday from the sanctuary. Stewardship and Budget I have continued to work with Traci and the Stewardship Team over the last month on the “Your Love Counts” campaign, including participating in the successful Your Love Counts Town Hall on May 7. I’ve also had discussions with Traci and others on the FY 21 budget.

Final Report of the Interim Minister Search Committee At the January 2020 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board created an Interim Minister Search Committee and asked the Committee to use the UUA’s interim minister search process to find an interim minister who would serve at All Souls for the next two years. Esther Strongman led the Committee. The Committee also included two other Board members (Neil Manzullo and Cathy Tortorici) as well as three non-Board members (Tom Buck, Paula Cole Jones, and Bill Rice), and the Committee asked Executive Director Traci Hughes and Minister of Social Justice Rob Keithan to assist the Committee. During February and March, the Committee worked to prepare a Congregational Record, which described the Congregation, its work during the past few years, and the open position. After the Committee posted the Record, ministers began to apply to the UUA for the position during April. The Committee then worked to compile a list of interview questions and to mold the UUA’s sample interim ministerial agreement to fit All Souls. The Committee also met and discussed the qualities its members wanted to see in a minister. Among other qualities, various Committee members wanted to find an empathetic leader committed to collaborative leadership, skilled at preaching, experienced working with people from diverse backgrounds, knowledgeable about governance, and with a clear understanding of the 8th Principle, an ability to delegate, and a willingness to help the church continue its process of transformation and growth, while still bringing their own perspective to the position. The UUA released a list of candidate names to the Committee during the first full week of May. The Committee then reviewed lengthy ministerial records from the candidates and selected a number to interview. Interviews were held during the second full week of May. All Committee members—including Rev. Keithan and Executive Director Hughes—participated in these interviews. While there were multiple compelling candidates, the Committee was unanimous in picking one minister as their top choice. On May 20, Esther Strongman offered this minister the Interim Minister position at All Souls, and they accepted. An announcement will be made to the Congregation in the near future, at an appropriate time, respecting the Congregation’s need to have a good goodbye with Rev. Rob Hardies, as he finishes his long ministry here. The only remaining task is to negotiate the nuts and bolts of the ministerial agreement and have the parties sign it. The Committee recommends the Board authorize the Board President, with the assistance of Committee members and the Executive Director as needed, to negotiate and then sign the agreement with the selected Interim Minister. The Board also must appoint a ministerial transition team, and the Committee recommends this be discussed at the June or July Board meeting.

Ad Hoc Committee on Congregational Meeting and Ballot Voting May 27, 2020 short progress report In summary:

• The ballot process is moving along.

• On May 21, the Congregation received an email that the committee had drafted that included information about ballot voting, Zoom information sessions, and a general schedule.

• At the May 27 Board meeting, the Board should approve the ballot, which will be sent to the Congregation in June. Maya Hermann drafted the ballot, and the committee reviewed it. Approval of the ballot will be part of the consent agenda.

• The committee is asking the Executive Director and the President of the Board to film short (approximately 3-5 minute) videos about what’s happened during the past six months of church life. These videos should be similar to the general introductions given at an in-person congregational meeting. These videos should be ready to post on the website (https://all-souls.org/about-us/governance/2020-congregational-meeting) by June 9.

• The committee is moving forward with the below schedule.

Tentative Schedule:

• May 21 – email sent to Congregation with information about ballot voting • May 27 – Board will approve ballot • May 31 -- Budget Briefing Zoom information session for the Congregation, led

by Traci Hughes and Mark Regulinski. • June 1 – deadline for Congregants to have made a financial contribution to be

eligible to vote • June 9 -- Send email to congregation (with phone calls to those who do not use

email) containing the ballot, information about the ballot, and a link to the web page, which will contain additional information about the ballot and the items on it

• June 14 – LDNC/Officer candidates and Bylaws Zoom information session for the Congregation, led by Maya Hermann/Taquiena Boston (LDNC) and Neil Manzullo (bylaws).

• June 23 -- Ballots due • By June 30 -- Ballot counting finalized and results reported to the Congregation

All Souls Security Committee Meeting

Notes

May 17, 2020

MJ’s partial notes:

● Cathy will be the facilitator of the group (sending agendas and scheduling meetings).

Traci will co-lead, sharing the research and planning she has already done.

● MJ will ask Alice to be our final member, or if she has any recommendations.

● We will make sure the congregation broadly is part of the conversation.

● We commit to making the 8th Principle a part of the process - a relational process, not

just a functional one. An opportunity to live into the beloved community.

○ We'll make sure to include this at the top of our agendas and in any

communications to the congregation

○ MJ will set up a Google Drive folder and send link to others, so we can share

resources.

● We will read We Keep Us Safe by Zach Norris.

● Helpful for Traci to speak with leadership of Knoxville church

Rev. Rob’s notes on process and the 8th Principle:

Security Committee Notes 2020-05-17

Our Overall Approach

We want the process of how we do our work (not just the end goal) to reflect our commitment to

the 8th Principle. We are clear that this is a relational, educational, and spiritual process as well

as a policy-making process. Therefore:

● We will think about and talk about the process throughout our work.

● We will review the characteristics of white supremacy culture and commit to prioritizing

the antidotes.

● We will take a broad view of what “security” means and seek input from a broad range of

sources, especially including congregants most vulnerable to police violence.

● We will read We Keep Us Safe by Zach Norris, published by the UUA’s Beacon Press

February 2020.

When reviewing policies/recommendations from other sources:

1. What do we agree with?

2. What do we have questions about?

3. What do we not agree with?

Resources to Review:

The Memorandum of Understanding with the DC Mutual Aid Network

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YlcgVhHdyg35fNov5O1R1cxgzGPyzg89bKNN2RL3C4Y/

edit?usp=sharing

Part 2: Commitments of All Souls Church

All Souls Church recognizes, affirms, and commits to supporting the critical work of the

DC Mutual Aid Network. We appreciate this opportunity to use our different strengths to

meet needs and build relationships and solidarity in our community. We affirm that this

agreement is a living document and open to changes based on the experiences and

conversations between DC Mutual Aid Network and All Souls Church, Unitarian.

· We will make Pierce Hall available for storage of food and related supplies, to

be accessed on a mutually agreed schedule (known as “Open Hours”).

· We will provide active support for the partnership through the Minister of

Social Justice and additional volunteers.

· We recognize that law enforcement frequently does not keep communities of

color safe and escalates tense situations when they are called to the scene.

In order to ensure the safety and security of both mutual aid organizers and

All Souls staff, we commit to pursuing alternatives to calling the police using

the Showing Up for Racial Justice flowchart [attached as Addendum 1] as a

guide. If alternatives do not sufficiently address the concern, All Souls Church

may call the police as a last resort. When doing so, and throughout the time

police are present at All Souls, they will be asked to address the situation with

the most sensitivity and least force possible.

Building Security and Safety in Churches

https://www.uua.org/leadership/handbook/building-safety

Tennessee Valley UU Church in Knoxville, TN

(Site of shooting in July 2008)

http://tvuuc.org/governance/Section7/PP01402.pdf (Building stuff starts on page 15)

Cathy’s action item notes:

1. Everyone is going to get a copy of the We Keep Us Safe Book and read it before the

next meeting.

2. The Buzzer on the inside door – Traci is going to move ahead with getting a buzzer for

the inside door.

3. MJ will ask Alice Newberry if she can serve on the security committee. If she cannot, MJ

will try to get another name and ask that person.

4. Rob K. will write up his statement about the 8th principle and its relationship to the work

of the security committee. The statement will be included at the top of each agenda to

remind us to keep the 8th principle in mind as we complete our work.

5. Cathy T. was selected to facilitate the meetings. Traci will work with Cathy to “co-lead”

the meetings. Cathy will work with MJ on create action items from each meeting.

6. MJ will set up a google drive for committee members to populate with information they

have about security -

1. Traci will talk to Rob H. about calling the minister at the Knoxville UU church to

find out about their security issues and security policy. If Rob H. is not able to

call the minister Traci will complete this task.

2. Rob K. – UUA policy; Knoxville security policy; White supremacy document

3. Traci – series of articles on security

4. Emily – any past security policies at All Souls

5. Cathy – government active shooter training information

7. MJ will set up future zoom calls.

8. Cathy will set up future agendas and facilitate the meetings.

9. Cathy will create a comment spreadsheet for committee members to put comments in on

the documents.

10. Between now and our next meeting committee members will review the materials in the

drive and make comments on the documents in the comment spreadsheet.

11. Our next meeting will be on June 14, 2020 from 12 – 1 pm.

ALL SOULS CHURCH, UNITARIAN TRANSFORMATION TEAM

Board Update: January 1 – May 23, 2020

Submitted by: Derek Robinson & Pamela Sparr co-chairs

“We…affirm and promote: journeying towards spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

The current moment Our church is in the midst of a ministerial transition and readjusting operations in light of the corona virus pandemic. While these developments bring some challenges, they also bring us some new opportunities to live out our commitment to embracing the 8th Principle at all levels. The vision of the Transformation Team is, working with the board, to enable the transformation of All Souls into a unique community that has identified and moved through the challenges of adopting the 8th Principle at all levels and enjoys living inside of the 8th Principle as individuals, as a community and as an organization. Over the past 18 months, it has become clearer that we as a congregation struggle to imagine the personal benefits of truly embracing its intent. In fact, most of our community cannot verbalize what achieving the 8th Principle would even look like. The work of the Transformation Team is clear and challenging. We have shifted our center of gravity from a focus on healing to supporting structural and cultural change within the congregation. Our newly configured committee is full of energy and excited to move forward.

New team members Due to a combination of turnover factors, such as the 2019 Board elections, personal needs, and shifting leadership in various committees represented on the Team, we experienced significant turnover and welcomed a number of new members in January and February. We celebrate that three of our members from last year have taken Board leadership positions: Nadine Ramos becoming Board President, Libbie Buchele becoming Board Vice President, and Neil Manzullo (YS Rep) was elected to the Board. We are also pleased that Governance Work Group chair, Cathy Tortorici was also elected to the Board. We honor Paula Cole Jones for all of her very hard work in launching the Team and seeing it through its first two years, and are grateful that we will be able to continue to closely collaborate with her as she joins the leadership of the 8th Principle Task Force.

New appointments from the Board and relevant committees are: New Co-chair: Derek Robinson Board liaison: MJ Crom (taking the place of Libbie) Young Souls: Zach Morrice and Jeremy Neff will share the position Religious Education: Merrie Dodson (taking the place of Danielle Henry) ASD: Carol Collins is sharing the position with Nada Petrovic. We are waiting for Silver Souls and LDNC to appoint new representatives.

Our immediate work plan Like most things at All Souls, the corona virus has slowed down work we had planned to do this spring and is forcing us to redesign efforts to accommodate doing our work together on-line rather than in person. We are in the middle of reviewing our plans and reprioritizing projects to develop a 2020 work plan 2.0. That said, we are moving forward on a number of fronts in the next 2-3 months. These more immediate actions are:

• Church Council survey. Based on feedback from some ASC staff, we have been wanting for some time to take an assessment of where different segments of our congregation are in terms of their healing process to ascertain what might still be needed. When we heard that Mike Hill, our Moderator, was going to take a survey before the spring Church Council meeting, and that he wanted to take demographic data as part of it, we asked to partner with him so that we could get some much-needed nuanced input. This also will be a focus of the upcoming Church Council meeting, so we are extremely grateful to Mike for enabling this to happen. Our sense is that once Mike tabulates and analyzes the data, and holds the Council meeting, he will be sharing that in a report to the Board and the congregation. We will have Transformation Team members at the meeting.

• 8th Principle Assessment The timing to conduct this assessment has shifted to begin in July, when Paula Cole Jones’ schedule is freer. She will conduct an assessment with the Board and Board Committee reps, another one with the church staff, and a third with the Church Council. The Board will receive a report of findings from this process with recommendations for next steps. Findings from the Assessment will then inform our work plan. At a recent Racial Justice Collaborative Table meeting, we agreed that it is important for our church to start to develop a “deep bench” of people who can do this kind of assessment, as we will want to periodically undertake it to ascertain where we are in the process and appropriate next steps as well as to celebrate our progress/achievements. We are delighted to report that at least four of our Transformation Team members eagerly volunteered to be part of the first group of people to learn how to do 8th Principle assessments and share this work within All Souls.

• Expanding 8th Principle Training

There is much interest in making training around the 8th Principle available in different delivery formats that would support different communities such as individual, committees, staff, etc. The Jubilee training is recognized as the flagship content and now we need to consider how we expand this work to give more access at flexible times that fit busy schedules, and provide more wrap-around learning to facilitate further growth and skill development. We have formed a working group that will focus on this and leverage the learning assets knowledge and skills that exist within and outside of All Souls. They will be working closely with the 8th Principle Task Force, the ASD and RE Committees. We see this as a vital part of the cultural change and cultural competencies ASC needs to cultivate.

5/21/20, 8:32 PMAll Souls Church, Unitarian - Ballot for Congregational Business

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All Souls Church, Unitarian - Ballot forCongregational BusinessThis is the ballot for voting members of All Souls Church, Unitarian to vote on church business matters requiring a vote of the congregation. This ballot is in lieu of votes that would have been held during an in-person congregational meeting in June 2020 if such a meeting had been possible under public health orders.

Eligible voters are those who have: 1) signed the membership book of All Souls Church, Unitarian; and 2) have made a donation of record of any amount between March 1, 2019 and June 1, 2020. If you are unsure of your eligibility to vote, you may contact Gary Penn at gpenn@allsouls.ws. All ballots will be checked against church membership records to conOrm eligibility before the votes are tabulated.

As of June 1, 2020, there are XXX voting members of the church. A quorum of 10 percent, or XX votes, is required to constitute a quorum for these ballot items. Each question must receive a "yes" vote from more than 50 percent of all those voting in order to be approved.

Information regarding each question on the ballot is available at this link: [link to congregational meeting webpage]

A response is required for each ballot question. If you wish to abstain from any question, you may select "I choose not to vote on this question" as your response.

A ballot must be submitted by June 23, 2020 in order to be valid.

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5/21/20, 8:32 PMAll Souls Church, Unitarian - Ballot for Congregational Business

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Should All Souls Church, Unitarian adopt the budget as recommended by theBoard of Trustees? The budget is available for review at this link: [webpage withbudget] *

Should All Souls Church, Unitarian adopt the bylaws amendments recommendedby the Board of Trustees? The bylaws amendments are available at this link:[webpage with bylaws amendments] *

5/21/20, 8:32 PMAll Souls Church, Unitarian - Ballot for Congregational Business

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Do you suppo! the election of the slate of candidates nominated by theLeadership Development and Nominating Commi"ee? The nominatedcandidates are: Bernard Mustafa, nominee for treasurer; Julia Washburn,nominee for moderator; and Brian Petruska, nominee for assistant treasurer.More information about each nominee is available at this link: www.all-souls.org/ldnc *

Do you suppo! the election of the slate of candidates nominated by the ChurchCouncil for positions on the Leadership Development and NominatingCommi"ee? The nominated candidates are: Jennifer Bruneau, to #ll 1 year of avacant position; Pamela Spratlen to #ll 2 years of a vacant position; XXXXX to #ll 2years of a vacant position; and XXXX for a 3-year term. More information abouteach nominee is available at this link: [webpage with Church Council repo!] *

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