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Hi friends,
Before I jump into sharing a recap of our November 27 board meeting, I want to urge you all to read and reflect/act on the next two paragraphs of this letter.
As someone who grew up with pretty negative feelings about evangelism, the question of how we attract new people to our church and share our values with the broader community has always made me a little uncomfortable. But it’s a question that comes up frequently in board meetings, as it should, and I think one way to answer that question comfortably is to be well enough informed about our church’s operations that you can brag a bit about what we do. So here we go – time to get informed!
Did you know that each year members of the church’s Grants Committee (a committee of the board) distribute dozens of grants and scholarships, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars, to nonprofit organizations and individuals in our community? From heating and rent assistance to
college scholarships to social and environmental justice work – this is one way that we put our UU values into action. So this holiday season, when you’ve got one relative telling you to “put the Christ in Christmas” and another relative expounding on why organized religion is the root of all evil, talk with both of them about what you love about UUCGL. Maybe even invite them to a
Sunday service or one of our programs. Share one of UUCGL’s Facebook posts. Be proud of the work your church is doing! And if you’re interested in learning more about the Grants Committee (you don’t have to be a board member to get involved) please reach out to Chris Hansen, chansen@uucgl.org.
Ok, back to the recap of what your board of trustees has been doing lately. The board met on November 27 with an agenda that looked deceptively light but involved much discussion. For the bulk of our meeting we focused on reviewing our progress toward annual goals (both senior staff and board) and looking more deeply at the policy documents that guide the board in governing. The policy document review was, for me, a deeply satisfying step forward. We’ve worked hard to bring together multiple files into one cohesive, easily navigable document. I hope this will make onboarding for new board members easier and will enable everyone to more easily understand how the board operates. You should be able to review the new Board Policies document after the first week of December by going to www.uucgl.org/governance.
Another housekeeping-type of project we’ve been working on lately is the centralization of board-related files, including files for board task forces and board committees. For the past few years that I’ve been involved in leadership I’ve had many moments of frustration trying to find historical documents that accompanied board decisions. Important files have lived with various lay leaders, either in physical file boxes or on personal computers and personal Google drives. No more! With Mary Kiene-Gualtieri’s help I’ve set up a church-owned Google drive and have been working with committee/task force members to transfer over every relevant file we can find. I’m also enlisting the help of past lay leaders. Do you have board-related files living on your personal computer? Want to get rid of them? Email me mary.c.gatlin@gmail.com) and we’ll figure out next steps. Let’s make life a little easier for UUCGL’s future leaders and clean up our hard drives while we’re at it.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 18 at 6:45 at UUCGL. If there are questions or concerns you want to bring to the board please let me know. I know the next few weeks are often a whirlwind so if I don’t see you before the holidays, happy/merry everything!
Best,
Mary Gatlin
President, UUCGL Board of Trustees
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