Minutes of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta Congregational Meeting May 15, 2016 The meeting was called to order by Board President Amelia Shenstone, at 11:53 a.m. Powerpoint slides were projected on the large screen in the sanctuary. We Begin in Covenant The Chalice was lit by President-Elect Erin Stanfill, with words from Francis David and our Covenant of Healthy Relationships. Amelia appointed Jane Mengel as Process Observer. Our Democratic Process Amelia appointed our Parliamentarian, Mary Ann Oakley. Amelia appointed the Nominating Committee as our Tellers. Our Tellers determined that the 20% quorum needed for Taking a Public Stand was met with 215 eligible voters present. 20% of 675 voting members is 135. Amelia reviewed the Meeting Protocols. Decisive Action Approval of December 2015 Congregational Meeting Minutes: Board Secretary Karen Martin moved that the Congregation approve the minutes of the December 2015 Congregational Meeting as posted on the UUCA website. The motion was seconded by Oreon Mann. There were no questions or discussion. The motion passed with one abstention. 1
Election of President Elect and new members of the UUCA Board of Trustees: Chair of the Nominating Committee Roger Easley thanked the members of the current Nominating Committee and presented the slate of nominees for the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee. o President Elect: Erin Stanfill o Trustee of Finance: Paul Deckard o Trustee at Large: Carol Ann Arvan o Nominating Committee: Sterling Bowman (1 year term) Pat Harris Kay Johnson John Merkel Roger moved that we accept the slate of nominees. The motion was seconded by Diane Loupe. The slate was approved unanimously. Taking a Public Stand: EnterCulture and Resolution Writing Team Member Tony Stringer introduced the Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression and Multiculturalism (ARAOMC) Resolution and reviewed the process followed to create the resolution and bring it before the Congregation for approval. Tony moved that the Congregation approve and adopt the ARAOMC Resolution. The motion was seconded by Oreon Mann. Discussion of the resolution began. June Lester moved that we limit discussion to 15 minutes. The motion was seconded and passed. Nancy Bartlett presented a friendly amendment to the language referring to the support of marginalized faith communities as follows: Nancy moved to accept the amended language. The motion was seconded and passed with 4 abstentions. Sue Certain presented a friendly amendment to add class privilege to the list of privileges that benefit some and oppress others. 2
Sue moved to accept the amended language. The motion was seconded. Joetta Prost shared that the writers of the resolution were in favor of the amended language. The motion passed with 4 opposed and 11 abstentions. Discussion of the newly amended resolution began. The full text of the amended resolution follows. UUCA s Commitment to Anti-racism, Anti-oppression, and Multiculturalism WHEREAS, Unitarian Universalists strive for justice, equity and compassion in human relations and our Unitarian Universalist Association commits us as a religious movement to the work of anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism (ARAOMC); WHEREAS, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta (UUCA) has a proud heritage of ARAOMC work upon which we now build; WHEREAS, prejudice remains a universal part of the human experience which, combined with power and privilege, harms us in varying ways as individuals and as a community; WHEREAS, the journey is often confusing and the work often deeply painful, our principles and our theological tradition compel us to stay on the journey and continue the work of ARAOMC; WHEREAS, with humility we acknowledge that we will err in this work and that none of us will ever be done with this journey; and WHEREAS, we are determined to continue in this work, confident that by doing so we will deepen spiritually and thrive as a fully engaged, relevant faith community that brings healing to the world. THEREFORE, recognizing that actions are more powerful than words, UUCA resolves to: be an anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturally competent congregation; develop an ARAOMC lens through which we look at every aspect of our congregational life, learning to recognize structural and systemic oppression and the many ways that some of us benefit from white privilege, male privilege, heterosexual privilege, class privilege, cisgender privilege, and able-bodied privilege; utilize a shared denomination-wide vocabulary regarding ARAOMC work, to foster communication; be more welcoming to all, practicing radical hospitality so that our congregation will be a spiritual home to all who enter and no one will feel invisible in our faith community; assume best intentions of all who are involved in this work; remain in learning mode, taking risks in extending ourselves, and accepting discomfort as we work toward our goals; overcome fear and forgive and support one another in this ARAOMC journey; catch ourselves committing micro-aggressions and change our ways; engage in ARAOMC work as a part of our individual UU spiritual journeys; 3
foster equal access to power and resources for all; and work toward collective liberation and a world in which everyone has enough and no one is denied the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UUCA specifically commits to: complete the Accessibility and Inclusions Ministry (AIM) certification; have training on conflict resolution for multicultural settings for all board and nominating committee members, staff, and lay ministers, in order to facilitate leadership development that is in line with our goals; utilize the Beloved Conversations curriculum; employ a diverse and inclusive range of music, readings, and speakers in the pulpit, and other elements of worship; cultivate culturally inclusive building aesthetics; decrease economic barriers to full participation in the life of UUCA; encourage connections across cultural barriers within the congregation; express solidarity with people who are persecuted because of their faith tradition; be a voice in and for the LGBTQ Community; support the Black Lives Matter movement; fight against unjust income inequality by working to raise the minimum wage, working for universal healthcare access, and giving aid to those who are homeless, food insecure, unemployed, and otherwise economically challenged; explore ARAOMC topics in Religious Exploration classes for children, youth and adults, and from the pulpit; utilize hiring practices that reflect our ARAOMC commitment; make our ARAOMC commitment front and center in the way we present ourselves to the greater community; measure our progress toward these goals; and reflect our commitment to ARAOMC work in our congregational budget, in our individual financial pledges, and in our personal life journeys. Stewart Roberts pointed out that the projected slides were very difficult to read and asked that we consider that for future meetings. Sven Lovegren expressed concern for supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement and moved to change the language to say that we affirm and support that black lives matter (lowercase letters) rather than the Movement. Nancy Bartlett spoke against the amendment stating that it is important that we stand with the UUA which passed a resolution at the 2015 General Assembly supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement. John Carlson spoke in favor of the amendment saying that we must include black lives matter and not all lives matter. Amelia clarified the amendment. Cindy Hoffner spoke against the amendment stating that we can never know what a movement will do in the future but we should step up and support the movement now. 4
Karen Reagle spoke against the amendment stating that she was a delegate to the 2015 GA and knows that there was much discussion of this question at GA and delegates decided to support the Black Lives Matter Movement and that we should as well. Jason Delaney spoke against the amendment stating that all his life he has believed that black lives matter but the Black Lives Matter Movement has called him to action and he believes that we should support them. He then called for the vote on the amendment. Amelia got a second and called for a vote on whether to end discussion of the amendment. The motion to call the question passed. Amelia called for a vote on the amendment. It was seconded by Sven. The amendment failed with 18 approvals and 9 abstentions. Amelia called for a vote on the full resolution with the two approved friendly amendments. The motion was seconded by Joetta Prost. The resolution was approved with 2 opposed and 9 abstentions. Amelia thanked all involved and all who will be involved in the process going forward. Important Reports Mid-Year Financial Review Trustee for Finance Grier Page phoned in to the meeting to provide his report. He thanked the current committee members and congratulated Paul Deckard on his election as Financial Trustee. This year the Finance Committee focus has included: o Conducting an external audit o Adjusting to year-round pledging o Working to have more strategic rather than tactical financial thinking Audit results: 5
To date this year, we have about $363,000 in income and $313,000 in expenses so we are currently about $50,000 in the black for the year. Details of year-round pledging through the end of April 2016: Pledging models and projections: 6
Use of the 2014 Surplus: 7
Duncan Teague asked whether we are meeting what was forecast when we went to year-round pledging. o Grier responded that we had a very aggressive, optimistic budget this year with a 4% increase in pledges. Most other groups who move to year-round pledging have stayed flat or moved up 1%-2%. Pledging is slightly behind what was budgeted but cash flow is good. Holly Grimes stated since moving to year-round, there is some confusion about what year the pledge and the payments are for. o Carol Ann Arvan explained that the generosity circle calling teams have been careful to ask what people are pledging each month and when the new pledge amount will begin. It would be very helpful for planning if people could pay monthly since most of our expenses are paid monthly. Facilities Study Team Final Report Team Convener Bailey Pope recognized the members of the Facilities Study Team and explained their charge and process. Major findings of the study included: 8
The Team recommends: 9
Report from the Senior Minister, Rev. Anthony Makar Rev. Makar reported on initiatives undertaken this year to support the 4 Aspirations in our Long Range Plan. He stated that his reports to the Board are made available on the UUCA website each month. We will hold an Installation for Associate Minister Jonathan Rogers on October 30. 10
UUCA Endowment Fund Report Secretary of the Endowment Fund Board, Mary Crawley, reported on the work of the Endowment fund. Mary described the origin and purpose of the fund created in 1970. The fund currently holds $660,000 in assets. Last year, they received $26,000 in donations. In 2014 they provided a grant for playground improvements. No grants were made in 2015. The Endowment Fund holds a separate tax ID from UUCA. All are encouraged to become members of the Legacy Society by including the fund in their wills and to join the birthday club. 11
Mary thanked Roberd Macon for 15 years of service on the EF Board. She also thanked Michael Dangerfield and Carol Ann Arvan who are cycling off the Board as well as David Sjoquist, John Guyton and DeAnn Peterson who are joining the Board. Report from the Board President, Amelia Shenstone Amelia announced that Rev. Rogers and the Lay Ministers would be available if anyone needed to talk about our process with the ARAOMC Resolution. Amelia thanked the Board and the Staff. She outlined the progress we have made this year on the recommendations from the Hotchkiss Report. 12
Amelia thanked all participants. She thanked the staff for a great working relationship. She recognized Jane Mengel for Observer s Insights. Amelia passed the gavel to our new President of the Board, Melissa Marion-Landais. Melissa expressed gratitude for Amelia s work and presented her with a gift from the Board. Jon Johnson provided closing words and extinguished the chalice. The meeting was adjourned at 1:51 p.m. 13