Board Minutes

Board Meeting Covid-19 edition 2020 August 23

Attendance:

Michelle Poiani (Secretary) Steve Poiani (President)

Dave Kuhn (Treasurer in waiting; Zooming in) Michelle Martin (Treasurer)

Jay Cain Rev. Nancy Hitt

Dana Sanford

  1. Check-in
  2. Jimmy Stephens has resigned from the Board. 
  3. Treasurer Report
    1. Pledges are about 88% filled. Great job, Congregants. Your financial support allows us to continue. 
    2. Bookkeeper, Jacqueline Gomez, has a contract and has started orientation. She will be working from Santa Fe through computer access. Do not turn the computer off. 
    3. David, treasurer in waiting, is still in training. 
    4. At this time, Michelle Martin has not been compensated for her bookkeeping work. She has not requested the amount owed yet.
  4. Minister’s Report- Heard and Accepted, May 24- Aug 23
    1. Services- Still online. Still a challenge to create, compile, and upload.
      1. New aspects of services-video visits with friends and family
        1. Red Candle for victims of violence
    2. One online class led by David Kuhn
    3. Zooming with a variety of teams and meeting with Priscilla.
    4. Social Justice- see Little Libraries
    5. Pastoral Care- telephone and video visits with congregants and friends. It has been a challenging but rewarding experience.
    6. Video views are being seen by more than just our members. 
    7. Vacation time- She will schedule vacation time Aug 31-Sept 19. 
  5. Strengthening Our Community
    1. Little Libraries– Rev. Nancy has made several contacts within the Rio Rancho school district and Mayor’s office. She will make contact with other churches who may like to participate. Fundraising monies will be used for building material and stocking the libraries. We would be responsible for maintaining and stocking the Little Libraries.  (Social Justice)
    2. Video History of Congregation– Nov 10th we will celebrate our 24th anniversary. We invite members to share photos, videos, and stories. 
    3. Covenant Groups– Michelle Poiani and Rev. Nancy will meet.
    4. Living By Heart– A devotional practice for daily life- A devotional spiritual practice developed by former Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Laural Hallman and her mentor, Harry Scholefield. Living by Heart utilizes poetry and wisdom literature as a starting point and focus of mindfulness meditation. The class encourages participant to find poetry and commit passages “by heart” to center their thoughts and help focus internal wisdom to strengthen daily life and engagement with the world. 
    5. Membership– Rev. Nancy will coordinate a series of classes and a service about membership. 
  6. Building Maintenance- 
    1. Defibrillator batteries are replaced. 
    2. Radical weeding by members has taken place.
    3. A/C Heating unit- On hold
    4. On hold- heat
    5. New glass for the stained-glass window. New border on the outside frame
  7. Stewardship is ready to participate in the membership and pledge drive. Go Stewardship!
  8. Endowment committee -volunteer needed
  9. Fundraising-
    1. COVID quilt- Pledge members can stitch together a variety of square and a member will stitch them together into a quilt for auction
    2. Amazon.smile We are working on generating the correct form. 
    3. Virtual Gift Tree
  10. Online Identity Challenge
    1. We are a small congregation who has always gathered together but this is COVID. This will not be resolved anytime soon so we must recreate and strengthen our online community. Our website, Facebook, Zoom, and social media connect us as UUs and we will make an effort to expand our presence. 
  11. Website- Jimmy was our webmaster but resigned. We are looking for a volunteer to learn and use Word Press. 
  12. Town Hall Sept 20, 1230. We will have regular town hall meetings on the 3rd Sunday of every month. 
  13. Monthly Board meetings as usual starting on Oct 4th. First Sunday of the month. 
  14. Meeting adjourned