agenda of the 2014 annual meeting - university ......annual meeting june 2014 p4 university...

University Unitarian Church • 6556 35th Avenue NE • Seattle, WA 98115 • (206) 525-8400 • [email protected]

CONTENTS

AGENDA OF THE 2014

ANNUAL MEETING ............ 1

MINUTES OF SPECIAL

CONGREGATIONAL

MEETING FEBRUARY 23,

2014 ....................................... 2

2014-15 ANNUAL

OPERATING BUDGET ........ 4

MOTION TO SELL THE

DEWOLFE PROPERTY ..... 10

2014-15 SLATE OF

NOMINEES FOR ELECTION

............................................. 11

WRITTEN MOTIONS

SUBMITTED TO THE

SECRETARY ...................... 14

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

ARE AVAILABLE FROM

SUNDAY MAY 25 AT THE

SUNDAY OFFICE

VOLUNTEER DESK OR

THE CHURCH OFFICE.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

MUST BE RECEIVED

PRIOR TO THE MEETING

ON JUNE 8.

2014 ANNUAL MEETING Sunday June 8, 2014

AGENDA OF THE 2014 ANNUAL MEETING

Ken Mundt, Moderator

The following is the proposed agenda for the Annual Congregational Meeting

of University Unitarian Church, held Sunday, June 8, 2014.

1. Call to order by the Board President.

2. Appointment of Secretary, Parliamentarian, and Tellers by Moderator.

3. Announcement of quorum by Tellers.

4. Motion to approve the final agenda for the Annual Meeting.

5. Motion to approve the minutes of the Special Congregational Meeting

held February 23, 2014.

6. Motion to approve the 2014-15 Annual Operating Budget.

7. Motion to sell the DeWolfe House.

8. Recognition of outgoing Moderator and members of Board of Trustees

and Leadership Development Committee.

9. Election of new Moderator, Trustees and LDC Members, as printed in the

April 30th issue of the Gateway and posted to the church.

10. Motion to approve the 2013-14 Annual Report.

11. Written motions submitted to the Secretary of the Board

i. Strike Consulting-Parish Equivalence language from Board

Governance Policies (submitted by John Webber)

ii. Strike Exemption from Senior Ministers Supervision from Board

Governance Policies (submitted by John Webber)

12. New business.

13. Closing words by Rev. Jon M. Luopa.

14. Motion to adjourn.

Annual Meeting June 2014

p2 University Unitarian Church

MINUTES OF SPECIAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING FEBRUARY 23, 2014

Minutes submitted by Cal Van Zee, appointed meeting secretary, member of

the Board of Trustees.

Rich Brooks, President of the Board of Trustees opened the meeting and

thanked those present for their attendance.

Ken Mundt, Moderator, appointed Alice Arrington and Steve Ellzey as

Tellers, Cal Van Zee as secretary and Rosemary Daszkiewicz as

Parliamentarian.

The Tellers announced that we had quorum (94) and the Moderator opened

the meeting.

A motion was called for approving the agenda. The motion was seconded and

approved by voice vote.

A motion was called to approve the minutes of the last Congregational

meeting June 9, 2013. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The Moderator introduced the first item on the agenda:

1. That the Church Property known as the DeWolfe House at 1114 16th

Ave be sold at market value, and that the net proceeds be place in

UUC’s capital fund accounts.

The President of the Board, Rich Brooks, proposed withdrawing the

motion to sell the house. Staff are consulting an attorney regarding

paying off the state loan on the house that may have restrictions due to

low income housing provisions in the loan.

Member Sarajane Siegfriedt requested that the Board of Trustees

investigate low income housing options prior to selling. The Board

President agreed to do so.

Member Carin Willette asked about paying off the loan prior to

selling. The Board President responded that we will only repay the

loan if we sell the house.

A motion was made to remove the DeWolfe house motion from the

agenda. The motion was seconded and approved by a voice vote.

The Moderator called the motion for the next item on the agenda:

2. That the following change be made to the Bylaws. Article III,

Financial Administration, Section 2 “Knatvold Trustees.”

Current text: The Knatvold Trustees shall be composted of those

persons designated as “Personal Trustees” in Article IV of the Camilla

M. Knatvold Trust Agreement: (i) Parish Minister; (ii) President; and

(iii) three other persons selected annually by the Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees shall appoint a member of the Finance

Committee as one of the Knatvold Trustees.

Proposed Change: [delete entire content of Section 2 due to the

dissolution of the Knatvold Trust by the Knatvold Trustees; renumber

subsequent sections of Article III as necessary]


University Unitarian Church p3

The motion was seconded.

Member John Webber asked for the reason the Knatvold trustees

dissolved the Trust. The Board President responded that as a result of

the recent audit the Knatvold Trust would be required to operate as a

Foundation. The Knatvold Trustees did not want to operate a

Foundation.

Member Virginia Stout asked whether the dissolution was complete.

Byron Krystad, Director of Operations, stated that the papers had been

filed and disbursement of the funds are in process with the investment

bank.

The Moderator called for the vote and the motion was passed by voice

vote. The Secretary notes that 22 absentee ballots were counted as

Yes votes with zero No votes.

The Moderator called the motion for the next item, changing the Board size.

The Board President explained a substitute motion was proposed by the

Board. Gail Childers read the substitute Bylaws change.

3. Substitute Motion: (Article V, Election of Trustees and Officers,

Section 2(a) Term of Office:

Trustees shall sit as a board. The Board of Trustees shall consist of

seven elected members. (Note: this replaces the range of 5 to 7

members as proposed in the original motion by the Board)

The Board may appoint the Treasurer from the congregation (per

article V, section 5) as an 8th voting member of the board. The

Trustees shall be elected at large and shall each serve a three year term

in office. Terms shall be staggered.

Note: The change here is the option for the Treasurer to be the 8th

voting member. With the current bylaws, there are 9 elected members,

and there is an option for the Treasurer to be a 10th voting member.

Members John Webber and R. Mike Bloom spoke against the motion.

Member Anna Rudd asked that the Board consider their fiduciary

responsibility.

The Moderator called for a voice vote, and members asked for a count.

There were 73 Yeas and 10 Nos with 6 abstentions. The motion

passed.

The Moderator called the motion for the next item:

4. Current text: Article V, Election of Trustees and Offices, Section 2(b)

Terms of Office (text to change in bold):

A trustee’s term shall be automatically extended beyond 36 months

until such time as the trustee’s successor has been seated on the Board

of Trustees.

Proposed Changes (in bold):

A trustee’s term may be automatically extended beyond 36 months

until such time as the trustee’s successor has been seated on the Board

of Trustees.



Member John Webber spoke against the motion.

The Moderator clarified that the Trustee position can be filled mid-

term with a vote of the Board.

Past Board President Carolyn Rasch spoke that she had served on the

Board when Trustees left and the positions were filled mid-term.

Member Ron Sherman-Peterson asked that the term "automatically" be

removed as "shall automatically" appeared to be a contradiction.

The Board President approved that "automatically" be removed.

The Moderator called and received a second for the revised motion.

The vote was called and the motion passed with a voice vote.

The Moderator called a motion to adjourn the meeting, received a second and

with a voice vote the motion was passed and the meeting was adjourned.

2014-15 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET

The annual operating budget of University Unitarian Church reflects the

ongoing costs of compensation, administration, and programming of the

church between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

After the 2013-14 budget on page 6, the following pages 7 and 8 reflect the

fiscal year 2013-14 budget and the first three quarters of actual revenues and

expenses (July 2013 through March 2014) are presented for comparison.

The following notes are included to explain significant changes in budgeted

revenue, support, and expenses in the coming year.

Revenue and Support

Pledge revenues reflect only pledges in hand as of May 22, 2014 (423 pledges

worth $774,470), plus a prudent estimate of additional pledges of gifts yet to

be received (50 pledges worth $25,000). The Board of Trustees is proposing a

fall fundraising event with a goal of $55,000 in net proceeds to the church.

Other annual income sources (rent, tuition, program collections or fees)

specified by staff are included as well.

Social Justice program expenses in 2014-15 will be offset by releases of up to

$18,000, or 40% of the program cost, from the Social Justice Program Fund.

Expenses

Salary and benefit expenses for a full year of paid staff is $867,937, and

represent 76% of all annual expenses, and a 6.2% increase ($50,500) over

salary and benefit expenses for 2013-14. Increases in salaries and benefits

reflect a 1.3% cost of living adjustment, a projected 10% increase in health

insurance benefits, 403(b) benefits starting for three staff members, two

additional months of salary and benefits for the Consulting Minister (only 10

months were budgeted during the previous fiscal year), and additional payroll

taxes.



The following distribution of annual salary and benefit expenses for programs

shows their amounts and percent of all program salary and expenses:

Program

Total

Compensation

% of Program

Compensation

Worship 259,036 38%

Religious Education 127,584 19%

Music 130,312 19%

Congregational Life 127,826 19%

Social Justice 33,129 5%

677,887 100%

Program expenses shown in the budget are for services and materials directly

related to the activities of those programs.

Administration total compensation for 2013-14 is $190,050, representing five

(5) full- or part-time staff members, and 22% of total salary and benefit

expenses.

AMENDMENT TO SALARY AND BENEFIT EXPENSES

While the salary and benefit figures described above reflect a full year of

compensation with all Board-approved increases, the budget figures

presented on page 6 reflect a two-week furlough for staff, to be

implemented between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

The Board recommendation for a two-week furlough recognizes that as of

May 22, 2014, the congregation had not made sufficient fundraising

commitments to pay for a full year of staff salary and compensation. The

savings realized by a two-week furlough total roughly $23,000. The Board

believes that a strategic furlough represents the most equitable and flexible

approach to balancing the budget for overall salary and benefit costs, given

the state of current and planned fundraising.

Another changes to operating expenses unrelated to compensation for 2014-15

is UUA and PNWD dues. Combined contributions planned to the national and

regional arms of the Unitarian Universalist Association are decreased from

$33,000 actual contributions in 2013-14 to $19,000 budgeted contributions in

2014-15.

Finally, an important note regarding the remaining balance after expenses

shown in the proposed budget is that the Board of Trustees plans to use a

release of earnings from the Knatvold Legacy Fund, to be calculated in April

2015, to offset such a deficit. Estimates of such a distribution suggest there

will be roughly $30,000 available from Knatvold Legacy Fund earnings.



Fiscal Year 2014-15 Budget (Submitted for Approval June 8, 2014)

Unrestricted

Temporarily

Restricted TotalRevenues and Support

Pledge Donations 800,000 800,000 Other Donations 30,000 30,000 Other Fundraising 55,000 55,000 Tuition Revenue 17,250 17,250 Rental Revenue 114,984 114,984 Program Revenue

Religious Education 12,750 12,750 Worship and Care - - Music 15,300 15,300 Congregational Life 1,275 1,275

Investment Revenue - - Other Revenue 2,000 2,000 Net Assets Released from Restriction* 18,000 18,000

Total Revenues and Support 1,048,559 18,000 1,066,559

ExpensesSalaries 618,122 618,122 Employee Benefits

Health Insurance 69,267 69,267 Pension 56,038 56,038 Elective Compensation 22,415 22,415 Payroll Tax 51,514 51,514 Staff Expense Accounts 27,250 27,250

General Operating ExpensesTax, License, and Insurance 23,350 23,350 Financing Expenses 1,000 1,000 Denominational Dues 19,150 19,150 Office Expenses 29,200 29,200 Building Maintenance Expenses 75,440 75,440 Business Expenses 6,000 6,000

Fundraising Expenses 6,700 6,700 Program Expenses

Worship and Pastoral Care 7,250 7,250 Religious Education Program 30,000 30,000 Music Program 19,660 19,660 Congregational Life 5,350 5,350

Social Justice Expenses 16,700 16,700 Bank Expenses 10,300 10,300 Other Expenses - -

Total Expenses 1,094,706 - 1,094,706

Balance** (46,147) 18,000 (28,147)

* Net Assets Released from Restriction (detail)Social Justice Program Fund 18,000

Total Net Assets Released from Restriction 18,000

** Board direction as of 05/22/2014 is to rely on a release of Knatvold Legacy Fund earnings in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year to offset deficit spending in operations.



Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget (Approved June 9, 2013)

Unrestricted

Temporarily

Restricted TotalRevenues and Support

Pledge Donations and Prepaid Pledges 793,344 55,656 849,000 Other Donations 30,000 30,000 Other Fundraising 50,000 50,000 Tuition Revenue 25,125 25,125 Rental Revenue 117,739 117,739 Program Revenue -

Religious Education 6,625 6,625 Worship and Care - - Music 15,300 15,300 Congregational Life 1,000 1,000

Investment Revenue - - Other Revenue 1,700 1,700 Net Assets Released from Restriction* . 37,884 37,884

Total Revenues and Support 1,040,833 93,540 1,134,373

ExpensesSalaries 612,910 9,884 622,794 Employee Benefits

Health Insurance 59,640 59,640 Pension 46,755 46,755 Elective Compensation 18,702 18,702 Payroll Tax 52,680 52,680 Staff Expense Accounts 26,750 26,750

General Operating ExpensesTax, License, and Insurance 22,832 22,832 Financing Expenses - - Denominational Dues 46,150 46,150 Office Expenses 27,600 27,600 Building Maintenance Expenses 72,445 72,445 Business Expenses 7,500 7,500

Fundraising Expenses 16,000 16,000 Program Expenses

Worship and Pastoral Care 8,250 8,250 Religious Education Program 31,725 31,725 Music Program 18,900 18,900 Congregational Life 4,250 4,250

Social Justice Expenses 16,700 16,700 Bank Expenses 6,700 6,700 Other Expenses 28,000 28,000

Total Expenses 1,096,489 37,884 1,134,373

Balance (55,656) 55,656 -

* Net Assets Released from Restriction (detail)Oak Creek Grant (unspent from FY13) (28,000) Social Justice Program Fund (20% of costs) (9,884)

Total Net Assets Released from Restriction (37,884)



Fiscal Year 2013-14 Actual Revenue and Expense (through March 2014)

Fiscal Year 2013-14 Actual Revenue and Expenses (through March 2014)

Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-Mar Year to Date

Annual

Budget

% of

PlanRevenues and Support Pledge Donations* 146,778 184,013 186,120 572,567 849,000 67% Other Donations 6,997 15,003 52,149 74,149 30,000 247% Other Fundraising 10,350 14,705 - 25,055 50,000 50% Tuition Revenue 10,715 3,655 3,980 18,350 25,125 73% Rental Revenue 30,460 27,249 28,369 86,079 117,739 73% Program Revenue Religious Education Program 5,600 1,255 4,167 11,022 6,625 166% Pastoral Care - - 700 700 - Music Program - 4,154 8,006 12,160 15,300 79% Congregational Life 97 441 1,309 1,847 1,000 185% Investment Revenue 207 93 884 1,184 - Other Revenue** 782 1,480 863 3,125 1,700 184% Net Assets Released from Restriction 37,884 Total Revenues and Support 211,987 252,049 286,547 806,239 1,134,373 71%

Expenses Salaries 142,214 159,978 150,004 452,197 622,794 73% Employee Benefits 44,548 48,795 52,808 146,151 204,527 71% General Operating Expenses Tax, License, and Insurance 4,459 6,796 4,776 16,031 22,832 70% Financing Expenses 408 382 354 1,143 - Association Dues 150 - - 150 46,150 0% Office Expenses 6,682 7,913 7,780 22,375 27,600 81% Building Maintenance Expenses 15,956 16,465 23,240 55,662 72,445 77% Business Expenses 10,053 4,782 2,032 16,867 7,500 225% Fundraising Expenses*** 4,500 20,999 - 25,499 16,000 159% Program Expenses Religious Education Program 8,570 3,900 6,474 18,944 31,725 60% Worship and Pastoral Care 1,674 276 840 2,790 8,250 34% Music Program 710 6,588 3,552 10,851 18,900 57% Social Justice Expenses 75 4,976 3,809 8,860 16,700 53% Congregational Life 623 1,912 1,443 3,979 4,250 94% Investment Expense 1,521 4,063 1,453 7,037 6,700 105% Other Expenses**** - 8,425 12,638 21,063 28,000 75% Total Expenses 242,142 296,252 271,203 809,597 1,134,373 71%

Net Operating Total (30,155) (44,203) 15,344 (3,358) -

* "Year to Date" figure reflects additional prepaid pledges of $55,656** Actuals reflect net bookstore and art sales only*** New label, includes all special event and fundraising expenses**** Actuals reflect expenses for fundraising consultant only



AUTHORIZED MEASURES TO BALANCE CHURCH ACCOUNTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013-14

Projections of potential shortfalls in unrestricted fundraising income for the

current fiscal year were introduced to the congregation in January 2014 with

the mid-year Supplemental Appeal. As of the end of April 2014, some degree

of shortfall is still anticipated for the closing of the year on June 30, 2014.

After opportunistic reductions in expenses, the entire burden of any remaining

shortfall would rest on the church’s Operating Reserves, which stood at

$185,056 as of June 30, 2013.

To establish additional measures that may be taken by the Executive Team to

balance the year and offset some or all of a draw on current Operating

Reserves, the Board passed a motion at their May 15, 2014 business meeting

to authorize the following:

Offset DeWolfe and Knatvold legal expenses with Capital Fund and

Legacy Fund resources for a reduction in expenses of $1,500

Fund Social Justice program from restricted Social Justice Program

Fund an additional 40% for a maximum $19,932 in additional support

Exercise option to distribute Legacy Fund earnings for 4% of the total

unrestricted investment account value, providing $32,476 in additional

support

Waive second half of UUA dues for a reduction in expenses of

$13,875

Maximum Total of Approved Measures: $67,783

For complete information and final figures of what measures, including any

draw on Operating Reserves, were required to balance church accounts at the

close of the fiscal year, see the pending Fiscal Year Closing Report from the

Director of Operations in July 2014.



MOTION TO SELL THE DEWOLFE PROPERTY

Three decades ago, the congregation of University Unitarian Church was

drawn into an important and ground-breaking mission to serve the community

of individuals living with HIV/AIDS by offering much-needed low-income

housing and residential care for those patients.

After a successful period of serving this population through the repurposing of

a 1902 single-family residence on Capitol Hill, the church moved into a

second phase of partnering with Rosehedge (later Rosehedge/MultiFaith

Works), a more specialized non-profit organization offering the same services

to the same population in the same building, with the benefits of centralized

administration, facilities management, client placement, and case workers.

In 2013, the end of federal funding for HIV/AIDS housing brought about the

end of Rosehedge/MultiFaith Works, one of the only institutions exclusively

supporting the population that the church was originally moved to serve. With

no other organization in the Seattle area available to serve that population in a

similar fashion, the Board of Trustees concluded that the church must sunset

this chapter of its history to allow new mission-focused work of the

congregation to unfold. The key to this work is the strategic re-alignment of

the church’s assets with its mission and vision. Part of that strategic re-

alignment is to sell the DeWolfe property.

With the general absence of interest from low-income housing providers to

assume the burdens of owning and repurposing a century-old single-family

residential home for serving populations with low-income housing needs, the

Board concluded that a sale to the general real estate market would be the

most appropriate course of action.

As a fixed capital asset of the church, by default the net proceeds of the sale

would be recorded as liquid capital assets. These assets would later be

budgeted and used for capital investments in existing or future facilities

serving the current mission and vision of the church.

Therefore, the Board of Trustees presents the following motion to the

congregation of University Unitarian Church:

That the Church Property known as the DeWolfe House at 1114

16th AVE be sold at market value, and that the net proceeds be

placed in UUC’s capital fund accounts.



2014-15 SLATE OF NOMINEES FOR ELECTION

Listed below is the slate of candidates that the Leadership Development

Committee has nominated for the Board of Trustees, the Leadership

Development Committee and the Moderator, for terms beginning in July

2014. These candidates have indicated their willingness to serve our church

community, for which we are deeply grateful.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 3-YEAR TERM BEGINNING JULY 2014

(Four open seats, three candidates and one 1 year extension)

Nancy Norman – “UUC is an important home base. It is a consistent, yet

evolving place in a busy and fractured world. Over the years I have chaired

the Finance Committee, sung in the Intergenerational Choir and taught church

school, trained with the women’s triathlon group, staffed the Women’s Retreat

and co-chaired the Soul Work Anti-Racism Group. I’ve been deeply engaged

sometimes and at other times just here on Sunday. UUC holds us where we

are in life, helps us grow and pushes us on to action. For that I’m very

grateful. I wish that same home base and push to action for others.” Nancy

Norman has been a member of UUC for eighteen years. A native of North

Dakota, she has resided in the Pacific Northwest for 30+ years. Nancy has a

degree in Accounting, and a Master of Public Administration, and has worked

in both private industry and the nonprofit sector. From her current work as

Finance & Operations Director at the Children’s Alliance, Washington’s state-

wide child advocacy organization, she brings a strong orientation to social

justice and racial equity work. Nancy is passionate about the environment,

recently joining with others at UUC in the formation of the UUC Climate

Action Team. She is the mother of a 17 year old daughter, Halley Norman,

through whom she developed appreciation for the programs for children and

youth offered by UUC and the Pacific Northwest District of the UUA.

Scott Maxson - Scott and his wife, Linda, first attended UUC in the fall of

1999 after moving to Seattle from Portland, OR, and joined the church in

early 2000. UUC quickly became an important part of the community they

were seeking in their new city. Their sons, Colin and Jeremy, joined the high

school group and Colin traveled with the youth to Transylvania the following

summer. As these youth activities pulled them deeper into the church, Scott

joined a covenant group to further expand and explore how to make

meaningful connections. When Linda and Scott brought their daughter,

Camellia, home in 2002 this also strengthened their desire for a community of

faith in which to grow. This led Scott into becoming a Covenant Group

facilitator, and he also helped to run the Covenant Group program as part of

“Covenant Central”. He’s since served as a Greeter, Coming of Age mentor,

Committee on Ministry member, and hasn’t avoided a planning committee or

two along the way. Most recently he’s helped launch the Men’s Breakfasts

and become immersed in the Wellspring program as a participant and

facilitator. Scott is energized by the mission and vision for UUC that grew out

of the recent discernment process, and looks forward to how he might serve,

and grow, next.



Margaret Nolen – A church member since 1991, Margaret Nolen is currently

a member of the UUC Wellspring class of 2014. Margaret’s day job is with

the City of Bellevue’s Utilities department where she is a Business Systems

Manager. Margaret has volunteered for many years with the downstairs RE

program, caring for many of our youngest in the Infants/Toddlers and Pixie

classes. An active participant in Covenant Groups as a charter member,

Margaret facilitated groups for 3 years. A long term Sunday morning Greeter,

Margaret served as chair of the Membership Committee when it was led by

some amazing volunteers in 2010-2012 covering Sunday Welcoming, New

Member Exploration and Member Connections. Those years really illustrated

how this church community is only sustained through the love and active

service of caring and committed members who share the work of ministry

with staff and Board. A graduate of Seattle’s Leadership Tomorrow class of

2008, conducted by United Way and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce,

Margaret learned that service leadership is a necessary ingredient to a healthy

and sustainable community. Margaret welcomes the opportunity to contribute

to the life of this community through UUC Board membership.

Andrew von Nordenflycht –Andrew is currently serving as the Treasurer on

the Board of Trustees and is completing the last year of his three-year term

(elected June 2011). The LDC nominated Andrew to complete the final year

(2014-15) of the three-year term of Jennifer Schubert (elected June 2012),

who is resigning from the Board as of the Annual Meeting.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE 2-YEAR TERM BEGINNING JULY 2014

(Three open seats, three candidates)

Christine Edgar - Christine and her spouse, Frank DeMarco, joined UUC 16

years ago, and have a 12-year-old daughter, Laura. Christine has taught every

Church School age group over the years and is currently a co-facilitator of the

8th-grade OWL sexuality education class. She has sung in the

Intergenerational Choir for many years, served on the Music Committee, and

chaired the Ministerial Internship Committee. Her professional experience

includes human resources and professional development, diversity training,

and university admissions and student services. She feels that her experience

in matching people with roles where they can best succeed and then

supporting their progress would be directly applicable to finding and

developing leaders within our congregation who can help UUC continue to

become a more responsive, diverse and nurturing spiritual community.

Kara Laverde – I first discovered UUC in 2006 with my husband William

and our now middle-school children, Benjamin and Julia. I was blown away

by the music, sermons, and friendly folk. Since then, I’ve served as a Sunday

school teacher, on the Strategic Plan Implementation Committee

(Membership/Small Church Committee), and as a Sunday School Greeter &

substitute teacher. A social worker by training, I currently work as a manager

of learning & development at a large philanthropic organization, focusing on

leadership and management development. I’ve served on local boards

including Program for Early Support and King County Coalition Against



Domestic Violence, and I’m currently serving as an advisory group member

for the ASTD Forum, a consortium of national learning & organization

development leaders. An area of passion is cultural competence as it relates to

leadership development. I would relish the opportunity to use my knowledge

of adult learning and leadership development to help grow UUC’s leaders in

support of our mission, vision, and strategic plan

Rosie Yurick - Rosie first started attending UUC 5.5 years ago and feels

honored to have been nominated for LDC. Her history of involvement within

UUC includes: two years as a Coming of Age mentor, two years as a Greeter,

enjoying one women’s retreat, two years singing with the Intergenerational

choir, and dabbling in some Social Action Saturday and Teen Feed events.

UUC has been a wonderful place of warmth, and intergenerational

community, grounding forces in her life since she moved to Seattle from

Western New York State in 2008. Rosie’s goals for UUC are to help connect

others and build community! Besides being active within UUC, Rosie is also

passionate about her work as an Occupational Therapist, Zumba classes, travel

adventures near and far, and having a good wander to connect with the beauty

of nature.

MODERATOR 2-YEAR TERM BEGINNING JULY 2014

(One open seat, one candidate)

Rosemary Daszkiewicz - Rosemary has practiced law in Seattle for almost 30

years. She currently works for Plum Creek Timber Co. In 2012 she completed

a 10th term on the Board of Group Health Cooperative. She and her husband

Guy Thomas have two daughters, one a college freshman and one a Junior at

Ingraham High School.



WRITTEN MOTIONS SUBMITTED TO THE SECRETARY

Two Proposed Motions Deleting parts of the Governance Policy

1. Strike Consulting-Parish Equivalence

2. Strike Exemption from Senior Ministers Supervision

Motions submitted May 15, 2014 by John Webber

From the UUC Governance Policy

Article III, Section A. A. COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE

TEAM: The Executive Team is composed of the Senior Minister, the

Consulting Minister, and the Director of Operations. For purposes of

reference to the Church By-laws, the term “Senior Minister” above is

equivalent to the term “Senior Parish Minister” in the By-laws, and the

term “Consulting Minister” above is equivalent to the term “Parish

Minister” in the By-laws.

1. The Senior Minister is generally considered the organizational

leader and may have supervisory authority over Executive Team

members who are not ministers called by the congregation.

Motion 1

Section A, Strike the word “Consulting” from the first sentence and strike the

entire second sentence, “For purposes of reference to the Church By-laws, the

term “Senior Minister” above is equivalent to the term “Senior Parish

Minister” in the By-laws, and the term “Consulting Minister” above is

equivalent to the term “Parish Minister” in the By-laws.”

Rationale:

Our Consulting Minister was hired to fill a position that had previously been

held by a “called minister”. The custom at UUC and throughout the UUA is

to have the Board hire an Interim Minister. This decision denies to the

congregation the right to search for, find and recommend a new minister and

for the congregation to vote to call the minister.

Our bylaws do not authorize hiring or calling a Consulting Minister. The

changes I propose will bring the Governance Policies in conformance with our

bylaws, as well as with past practice at UUC and within the UU Ministers

Association. The result would be that our Consulting Minister would become

an Interim Minister – as the bylaws authorize. The Interim Minister is limited

to two years. A ministerial search process begun this fall would result in a

called Minister arriving at the end of the Interim’s term. This would respect

and assure the Congregations sole power to call a minister.

By the original language in the Governance Policy, the Board directs those

reading and applying UUC bylaws to add ministerial positions not in the

bylaws. This is a defacto bylaws amendment. Amending the bylaws is

reserved exclusively for the Congregation. The Consulting Minister and

Senior Minister are not authorized ministers as defined in the UUC bylaws.



The contract of the Consulting Minister allows the Board – after a two year

period – to hire the minister to an indefinite period. This eliminates the

precious democratic right of the Congregation to search for, recommend and

call ministers in leading positions. Further, it denies to one of our UU

qualified religious professionals the security and immunities that a

congregational call provides. He or she could be dumped without cause like a

bookkeeper.

The Senior Parish Minister already has ample influence to assure that a

compatible professional partner is called and does not need “hiring and firing”

power.

This change, if adopted, leaves remaining wording that is grammatical and

correct, but for completeness, the Board should add the word “Interim” where

the first “Consulting” word was deleted. The change will not modify in any

way, the powers and responsibilities that our two ministers have for day-to-

day operations. The Board will continue to have the power to hire an Interim

Minister limited to a two year term of service, which is what should have been

done.

UUC Bylaws, Article I, Principles and Purposes, Section 4. Principle of

Equality

Cognizant of the inherent worth and dignity of all persons, the Church

affirms, promotes and celebrates the full participation of all persons in

all of its activities, including membership, programming, hiring

practices, and the calling of religious professionals, without regard to

age, gender, sexual orientation, race, or any other category of

exclusion.

“All persons” means the congregation. “Calling religious professionals”

means that an elected search committee finds and recommends a ministerial

candidate and that “all persons” (the congregation) vote on a call.

Motion 2

Section A1, Strike in its entirety this paragraph, “1. The Senior Minister is

generally considered the organizational leader and may have supervisory

authority over Executive Team members who are not ministers called by the

congregation.”

Rationale:

This policy provision violates the UUC Bylaws, and weakens the authority

that we the congregation have given our Senior Parish Minister. With this

policy as it is, the board would take for itself supervisory authority as head of

staff away from the Senior Parish Minister. A clear “power grab.” It is

entirely clear in the bylaws (relying partly on “implied powers”) that the

Senior Parish Minister is “the boss”. The bylaws - as they are and by

themselves - allow ministers to adjust responsibilities and otherwise arrange

rational supervisory relationships. The congregation has established our

ministers’ authority in the bylaws and the Board lacks the power to defacto

change the bylaws. This change, if adopted, assures the supervisory authority

of our ministers and leaves unchanged the policy making authority of the

Board.



Here is the bylaw’s wording in Article IX Ministers,

Sect 1. Definitions,

Para (a.) “The Senior Parish Minister will serve as head of staff and is

responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation, worship

services, church administration, and implementation of goals, policies

and procedures established by the Board of Trustees. The Senior

Parish Minister reports to the Board of Trustees.”

Operative wording is “head of staff”; just one “head”; “head” is not some

weaker or shared position.

Para. (b) The Parish Minister reports to the Senior Parish Minister and

shares the responsibility for ministering to the congregation. Duties

shall be determined by the Senior Parish Minister and the Board of

Trustees.”

Defines a chain of command. The Parish Minister is a called minister.

Operative wording is that the lesser leading minister (with any title) “reports

to the Senior Parish Minister” – meaning takes day-to-day direction from him

or her and not from the board.

Sect 5. Terms and Conditions of Service

(a) A minister shall be called for an indefinite term.

(b) The Board of Trustees may enter into a contract with a minister

that provides for conditions of service.

The Board sets “Conditions of service” including being subordinate to “the

Boss” in ways consistent with the above-noted bylaws.

Article VI, Duties of the Board, Sect 2, para (b)

Interim Minister:

The Board of Trustees may appoint an interim minister for up to two

years.

The board can hire an interim minister for just two years.

Traditionally, the interim can serve in any ministerial role or roles

consistent with the bylaws.

Article VI, Duties of the Board, Sect 4, para (e)

The last revision of Roberts Rules or Order shall be used, where

applicable, to guide the conduct of business.

Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 11th Ed., Art 39, Dilatory and

Improper Motions, page 343

Motions that conflict with the corporate charter, constitution or bylaws

of the society or with procedural rules prescribed by national state or

local laws are out of order, and if any motion of this kind is adopted, it

is null and void.

Yes, if we operate in conflict with our own rules, our product should have no

credibility. We must follow our own rules.

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