“Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep opens.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
As I begin to write my last column for the Voice I feel a sense of relief and sadness. At the beginning of the church year writing for the Voice was one of my most difficult tasks. I often didn’t know what to say and I would forget that the submission deadline comes as early in the month as it does and end up feeling pressured to get something written by the deadline. But at some point I started to write from my heart and people started to comment to me that they actually READ what I was writing. So now that I am beginning to feel like I have the “hang of it” my obligation is almost over. To those of you who read the Voice, I say thank you. Time is required for the publication of our newsletter and reading it is a way of connecting with one another and what is happening in our congregation.
A few months ago the Committee On Ministry (COM) held a congregational round table meeting to discuss issues pertinent to “volunteerism” in our congregation. The COM has made four suggestions to the Board of possible remedies for volunteer burnout and options to facilitate recruitment of committee members. The Board discussed the recommendations and the consensus is that the recommendations may also be addressed through the Council. We will continue to work together to look at ways to address these issues.
For those of you who attended the Annual Congregational Meeting on May 16, you saw the beautiful stole woven by Ann Shafer to be given by the congregation to Sonya Sukalski in celebration of her ordainment as a UU Minister earlier this year. The stole has been mailed to Sonya along with our continued best wishes.
At the congregational meeting concern was expressed over the fact that there are no line item amounts contributing to our reserve funds. These funds have received contributions through fundraisers during the past few years, but this has not been a yearly occurrence. I agree that it is unwise to not contribute regularly to these funds. The past two years have been difficult financially. Last year the Board was faced with the unpleasant task of reducing many line items to zero. This year we gave no raises to our staff, but decided to refund some of the programs that we drastically cut in last year’s budget. Neither situation is ideal. We do need to look at ways to contribute to our reserve/contingency funds, and as our incoming Vice-President suggested, members are encouraged to take an active part in the budgeting process. The Board wants to plan strategically and practice looking forward. However there are many tasks charged to the Board and input from a finance committee that is actively meeting throughout the year would be helpful. If you have an interest in this process, please speak to me, Dean Carstens, or Larry Schultz. We have an excellent incoming Board taking office on July 1 with Dean Carstens as our president and the Board vice-president, Larry Schultz, will be our new Council chair.
The outgoing and incoming Boards met together at the May Board meeting and we plan to meet together again in June. There is still plenty of work ahead as we continue to look toward and plan for our future.
I wrote in my annual report that I believe we should not put the work of the church on the back burner for the summer. I realize however, that we all need to take a break at times and summer seems to be the traditional season for that to happen.
I hope you all have a chance for some rest and relaxation and that you come back recharged in August with ideas on where you are ready to serve our congregation.
If you have not picked up your copy of the new Membership Directory or 2010 Annual Report, please find them in the church office.
It was a pleasure and an honor to serve as your President. Keeping track of the goings and comings and the pulse of the congregation was made easier with so many dedicated and talented volunteers. Thank you for your contributions in helping to make our church community so vital and interesting. Have a safe and wonderful summer!
Rebecca Howard
2009-2010 Church President
