Nominating Committee

Members - 2002
Joyce Thomas 726-2412
Truman Grandy 484-6966
Martha Osgood 484-1180
Jeff Wright 344-2291
Charlotte Writer 935-1170

Nominating Committee Report to the Board
March 2001

During the course of our deliberations, we've had the privilege of talking with many members of the congregation. We asked prospective nominees as well as members who contacted us to share their visions for the church, their concerns for it, and their sources of satisfaction with it. As a result, we gained a wealth of information that seemed reasonable to share with the Board. This brief report, an outline really, highlights what we learned and closes with several observations of our own.

To a person, those we talked with were generally satisfied with the church and believed things were going well. Likewise, each had an area or two where s/he believed some improvement could be made. It was heartening to hear the commitment to UU ideals, the love of church, and the affection for church members expressed by those we interviewed; the excitement in their voices was energizing. We hope that this report provides useful feedback to the Board and that it serves as a jumping-off point for additional discussions.

The most common theme among the comments concerned "building community." Members often feel they don't know each other. Some ideas we heard for increasing the sense of community include:

Regularly-scheduled potlucks at church as intergenerational events, perhaps with some "icebreaker" type games before eating or assigning tables so people don't sit just with those they know,

Sunday night supper and speaker,

A regularly-scheduled (perhaps quarterly) less-traditional Sunday service at which participants could interact with the speaker and each other,

"Extended families" who gather for celebration and support,

Small group discussions, scheduled for perhaps three sessions on a given topic or book/series of books.

In addition to enhancing the relationships among people in our own congregation, some members would like to have:

Inter-church activities with other congregations. Suggestions included exchanging ministers, inviting other congregations for services on specific Sundays, having potlucks together, and sharing community projects, such as a hat and coat drive,

Outreach to under-served populations in the community, including the homeless, minorities, and college students.

A strong religious education for children was cited by nearly all of those we spoke with as our greatest asset in attracting families and youth. They believe that maintaining religious education, even in the face of budget cuts, is essential to ensure the growth and strength of our church, both locally and in general.

Likewise, nearly all spoke of the challenges created by growth, including how to accommodate everyone on Sunday mornings. No one proposed that s/he had a single all-purpose solution, but some ideas included:

Moving the services forward by one-half hour - to 9:30 and 11:30 - to encourage more families to attend the early service.

Moving only the 9:00 service forward and replacing the discussion at 10:00 with one in the afternoon or early evening.

The budget was another topic receiving almost universal comment. While there were no specific solutions suggested, there seemed to be consensus that some of the "improved communication" ideas cited below might encourage more generous and broader-based financial support.

It may surprise Board members to know how little many church members, including those who actively participate in committees and regularly attend services, know about the work of the Board - or even who its members are. While it may seem reasonable to dismiss such statements by asserting that "They must not be paying attention," it may be more worthwhile to consider how the Board and its actions could be made more visible to the congregation. Some ideas we heard were:

Publishing an outline of the Board's major decisions in the newsletter following each meeting,

Publishing in the Order of Service or reading during the announcements on the Sunday prior to each meeting the major items on the Board agenda,

Posting minutes promptly to UU News and the bulletin board in the social hall,

Having a "Board Sunday" once or twice yearly where Board members serve as ushers/greeters, read announcements, etc.

We also received comments from some Board members and several prospective nominees concerning the Board meetings themselves:

Board members and prospective Board members are hopeful of having an agenda at least one week in advance of each Board meeting. They believe that they can give reasonable consideration to the issues confronting the Board only when they have had adequate time to prepare, even when the preparation is no more than "mulling over" an issue.

Board members who contacted us believe that Board meeting time is so limited that they would prefer to forego the "check-in" in order to have more meeting time. They feel that members can chat before or after a meeting to share experiences if they wish.

At least one member feels strongly that ending the meetings at 9:00 can be counterproductive if all items haven't been covered or where a necessary decision has not been made. It was suggested that a meeting might be extended if needed and that members could be polled to determine their views on this issue.

In addition to hearing comments from others, our experience has generated some ideas of our own, and we'd like to share those, too. We have heard that a committee has been convened to re-write the by-laws. While suggestions have not yet been requested:

Filling the position of secretary is difficult. The work is seen as unusually demanding. We recognize that there is no easy solution, but wonder if having each member-at-large take minutes at one Board meeting yearly would prove effective. This might serve both to make the task less burdensome for any one person and to give everyone an idea the challenges facing the note taker, encouraging them to keep discussions orderly.

Additionally, we believe that extending the terms of office for President and/or Vice President beyond two years each would be counterproductive. However, we would encourage the Board to support future Nominating Committees in soliciting a candidate for Vice President who would be willing to serve as President at the close of the Vice Presidential term. Such an arrangement would ensure the continuity that is admittedly lacking at present without requiring such an extensive commitment as to make serving as President onerous to all but a few.

With a growing congregation, it is unlikely that any three people will be able to represent fully the range of interests among the membership. We believe it may be worthwhile to consider enlarging the Nominating Committee to five members, with one being an outgoing Board member, possibly appointed by the Board, and another being a representative of youth and young adults, possibly being elected in common by those groups.

We believe that a ballot for the Annual Congregational Meeting should clearly allow for nominations from the floor. Using the following format would (1) let those who wish to be nominated from the floor understand exactly what positions are being voted on and (2) alert them that they must run "against" a specific nominee. With that understanding, a prospective candidate should be better prepared to speak to why s/he would be a better choice than a "slate" nominee.

Circle your choice for each office.

Position Proposed Candidate Nominee from the Floor
Member-at-Large #1 Sandy Coffin Name #1 Handwritten
Member-at-Large #2 Aaron Phipps Name #2 Handwritten
Member-at-Large #3 Suzanne Durland Name #3 Handwritten


Finally, and again based on our own experience, we strongly suggest that the Board consider making attendance at its meetings more welcoming by:

Seating only Board members at the table to eliminate confusion regarding who is on the Board and who is expected to sit where,

Seating the Board in a "horseshoe" with one end of the table open so that someone making a presentation may do so without standing behind one or more Board members,

Providing seating for attendees far enough back from the open end of the table to allow room for those making presentations to move around a bit.

Each of us is grateful for having had the opportunity to serve on the Nominating Committee this year. We've enjoyed having the chance to get better acquainted with so many members of the congregation, and we've been impressed by the sincere commitment to the congregation that was expressed by each person we talked with. We believe that each nominee we have presented is not only ready, even eager, to join continuing Board members in working toward creative solutions to the challenges that face the congregation, but that they will do so with grace and good humor.

_________________
Sandy Coffin, Chair
Suzanne Durland
Aaron Phipps