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Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA |
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This is a summary of the board retreat minutes from the December 8, 2007 meeting. If you have questions about any of the items mentioned, please contact a board member. Please note that items voted on are led by ***
You can download a pdf copy of this summary by clicking here.
Four-District Consultant Proposal: Joan presented a proposal for a “4 District Growth Consultant,” which requires a $3000 commitment for a minimum of 2 years.
**Phil moved that the OMD Board accept the proposal for the “4 District Growth Consultant,” including the $3000 expenditure for the position during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years. Lynne seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.**
Web Site Hosting: The District has space available on its server, which could be offered to website-less congregations within the district, allowing the congregations to have a basic informational webpage. District Administrator Beth C will work on making this service available to our congregations.
Incorporation: The OMD’s Incorporation was inactivated in 1997. The incorporation needs to be reinstated, which will cost $25. Beth C will do the paperwork to make this happen. The OMD also needs a statutory agent for this incorporation, who will receive official correspondence. The agent must be an Ohio resident.
Evans Scholarship: The OMD UU Minister’s Association is assuming responsibility for this scholarship, including how the funds will be disbursed. The fund will be only for scholarships, not for loans. Currently the fund has $8000 in it. The UUMA will initiate fundraising efforts for the scholarship.
Chalice Lighters Program: There are now 431 OMD Chalice Lighters! The Resource Development Team wants to have an annual campaign and has identified March 16 as “Chalice Lighter Sunday” for the OMD. The Resource Development team will work on policies and criteria for administering CL grants. The team will also review Chalice Lighter Grant applications and make recommendations to the board for approval. The OMD board will then make the final decision. Phil, DZ, and Pat S have agreed to assist the RD team on guideline development as needed.
District Reporter: Mary H has retired as District Administrator, but will remain as reporter for the district, contributing articles and compiling District Doings.
OMD UUA Trustee Report: (See written report). Pat S highlighted some items from her report. In particular she requested that liaison’s remind their congregations to vote on the Congregational Poll regarding Congregational Study/Action issues by February 1. The ballot is linked to the Congregational Certification process and the two have the same deadline. She also asked if anyone had heard of any push back from independent affiliates to the UUA, as many former affiliates have recently been turned down. Finally she announced that Rev. Wayne Arnason from West Shore has been appointed to the UUA’s Ministerial Fellowship Committee.
District Policies Update: Changes and additions to the Policies and Procedures made at the August meetings have not been incorporated into the published materials. Beth C will incorporate changes as needed.
Board Task Force on Committee Structure Update: Phil, Karen Z and Beth H comprise the Task Force. Phil reported that the task force will have a preliminary report to the board at the trustees meeting in February and that the final report will be presented at the board retreat in June.
Long-Range Plan/District Identity: The Long-Range Planning Committee will be reconvening in January. The Identity Task Force is working on a tag line and logo for the district. The tag line and logo will help to market and create “buzz” about the OMD. Proposals from the Identity Task Force’s work will be presented in February to the Board.
District Assembly Update: DA 2008 will be held at First Church Pittsburgh. Additional space may be needed and the school across the street from the church was identified as a potential space. It is completely accessible, has an in-house caterer, and space to serve lunch and dinner. Costs for the space aren’t available yet. Larger spaces are needed as attendance and participation at OMD DA increases. Using the school will help the OMD to transition to larger spaces.
Follow-up from the annual program fund meeting: If the number of OMD congregations participating in the UUA APF increase and/or if the amount of money contributed by OMD congregations increase, then more funds will come back to the OMD. The board agreed to take action to help improve APF participation by OMD congregations.
Chalice Lighter Program: Two chalice lighter requests were reviewed. Belleville All Souls Congregation resubmitted their request to help support professional ministry for that congregation.
The second request was from East Suburban Unitarian Universalist Church (ESUUC), who requested the grant to help fund a new stained glass window.
Summer Institute: The new administrative cost policy indicates that OMD programs will provide $5/day/attendee older than 13 years of age to help to cover the staff, insurance, and liability expenses incurred by the program. The administrative charge will be phased in over 2 years for SI. Specifically the charge for SI 2008 will be $3/day/attendee and for SI 2009 it will be $5/day/attendee.
The working relationship between OMD and OMDSI needs to be explored. Two board members will be appointed to join Joan VB and Karen L in meeting with SIPC leadership to explain the interim policy ($3/Day for those older than 13 years for SI 2008) and to support exploration of the vision and mission of SI.
OMD Workshops at General Assembly: Six proposals have been submitted for consideration to be presented at GA. Two programs and an alternate were chosen. These are:
2007-08 Board Goals: The 2007-08 goals were reviewed for progress, which is noted in bold below.
Preliminary Discussion: Budget 08/09: Discussion included general information, assumptions, and costs related to new initiatives. The proposed budget includes a deficit of $15,667, which includes an 80% contribution rate by congregations.
Interim Trustee: The OMD By-Laws call for the Board to fill the vacated Trustee position. A potential candidate from the Columbus area will be contacted. Ideally the person will fill in the vacant trustee position for the remainder of the year and then run for a full term at the next DA in April.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Coulter, Interim Secretary
