June 18, 2021
Dear Members and Friends –
Many thanks to those of you who participated in the recent congregational meeting on June 13. At that meeting, votes were taken on two motions via online poll which remained open for one hour past the close of the meeting. We report on those here.
The first vote was on the recipient of the Sunday plate offering. As previously announced in the Prologue, we are delighted to share the news that New Hope's Early Childhood Care and Education - The Nest, received the majority of votes and will receive 25% of the Sunday plate offering during the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The second vote was on an advisory motion related to compensation for our departing Director of Religious Education. That motion did not pass, by a margin of roughly 2:1. We, the Board and church leadership, acknowledge the spirit of the motion and are committed to moving forward in step with our shared UU values. Members with additional questions about either motion may contact Drew Schrader (drew.schrader (at) gmail.com) or Stuart Yoak (sdyoak (at) iu.edu).
The Board recognizes that the congregational meeting did not offer sufficient time for participants to share questions and concerns about recent changes in the Religious Education (RE) program and the process through which those changes were made. We also know that some congregation members were not able to attend the congregational meeting or attended the meeting but were interested in discussing other aspects of the planned changes to RE (e.g., life faith development opportunities). So that we can hear from you, the Board will offer five open listening sessions:
Monday, June 21, 8-9 pm by Zoom
Tuesday, June 22, 6-7 pm by Zoom
Saturday, June 26, 1-2 pm in person on the church grounds
Sunday, June 27, 4-5 pm also in person on the church grounds
Wednesday, June 30, 6-7 pm by Zoom
We will limit the size of each session to 15 participants so that all who attend have an opportunity to share their perspectives. If we are not able to accommodate all who are interested at the scheduled sessions, we will add others. We do ask folks to preregister for these sessions to keep them to a size where all voices can be heard. Registration details will be published in the Friday Update later today.
Some of the questions that we will bring to the sessions include:
- What went wrong with the process for you?
- What would you hope for in a future process?
- What would you like us to know about your experiences in the RE program?
- How can we move forward most effectively at this time?
Participants will be invited to introduce additional questions and topics.
With deep appreciation for everyone who calls this imperfect and loving Unitarian Universalist community home.
Your board,
Stuart D. Yoak, President
Abby Gitlitz, Vice President
Steven Gilbert, Secretary
Rich Slabach, Treasurer
Julie Lawson, Member at Large
Jane McLeod, Member at Large
Drew Schrader, Member at Large
