Program Council Minutes 12/6/2022  7:00 – 8:50 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Attendees:  Rob, Brian, Joyce, Martha, Sally, Alex

Guests:  Anna Dyer, Beth Harrison

PC Cluster Groups

Operations (Alex):  Building, Committee on Ministries, Communications, CUUE

Congregational Life (Joyce):  Caring, Connections, Pastoral Care Team

Justice and Outreach (Sally):  Social Action, Roosevelt Tutoring, Interfaith

Food Distribution

Sunday Services (Martha):  MOCA, Music, Worship

Faith Formation (Alex, interim):  Chalice Circles, The Learning Journey, Youth and

Family, Zine

Governance (Rob):  Board of Trustees, Program Council, Finance, Personnel,

Stewardship

Pastoral Care and Caring Committee Alignment

Beth Harrison presented the draft charter for the Pastoral Care Committee to become a committee.  It needs to become a formal committee in order for it to have a budget so expenses can be reimbursed,  The role of the Pastoral Care Committee is clarified to be:  Providing a sympathetic listener and short term non-professional support to members and friends of the UUFRC community.  This is separate from the Caring Committee which is part of the Connections Committee and coordinates transportation and food for fellowship members in times of need.  The Program Council approved the request of the Pastoral Care Committee Charter to go to the Board for final approval.

General Assembly Delegate Selection

The Unitarian Universalist General Assembly will be June 21 -25 in Pittsburgh (and online).  We need to find 3 delegates and the Program Council is taking on this responsibility this year.  By our January 3rd meeting each of us needs to share a suggestion of one person to be a delegate.  There is a modest stipend and delegates have the option of attending online.  This year there will be less business at the meeting than in the past.  In early January Martha will create a draft announcement to our fellowship about the General Assembly.

Cluster Report for Congregational Life

Joyce gave a detailed update on the many activities of the Congregational Life Cluster.  She meets with the chairs of each of the cluster committees quarterly.  The activities of the Pastoral Care Committee are confidential.  When Joys and Sorrows are shared a member of the Pastoral Committee notes them and reaches out to members when a need for connection is perceived.  Members can also reach out to Pastoral Care Committee members at any time.  The Caring Committee provides food and transportation when needed.  The most recent need was for meals for the Rossi family.  The Caring Committee Chairs, Gwen Leonard and Tom Beetley, attended the recent Pastoral Care Training. The Connections Committee is the largest in her cluster and has a cooperative leadership model.  They coordinated a Newcomers Dinner and a Pizza and Game night

Rental Policy and Marketing Update

Erika Pretell and Liz Sloan are developing a marketing plan for renting our building.  When it is completed it will be displayed clearly on our homepage.  When someone does rent the building we will need an internal “building supervisor” on site during the event.  Perhaps some of our young congregants would be interested in this role. 

Proposed revisions to the Charter of the Connections Committee

Joyce presented a document with the Current and Proposed Charter of the Connections Committee for review by the Program Council.  One of the additions was to add “Support the Connections Coordinator in Building Community”.  Another change was to not limit the number of Connections Committee members to no more than 10. A proposal was to have votes adopted by the majority present at each meeting.  Brian suggested they adopt a culture of consensus.  

Childcare Oversight for December and January

12/4  Sally

12/11 Sally

12/18  Alex

12/25  none

1/1     none

1/8     Sally

1/15   Rob

1/22   Alex

1/29   Alex

Progress on Strategic Plan Team & Cluster Meetings

Sunday Services has met

Congregational Life will meet tomorrow 12/7

Justice and Outreach met

Operations – will schedule

Committee Budget Requests for 2023-24

The Finance Committee needs to have Budget Requests for 2023-24 by 12/31 because the Pledge Drive is February 5 – 12.  Program Council members were asked to pass this information and deadline on to their Cluster Committee Chairs.

A note regarding finances:  Brian mentioned that at the recent Thank You Party for all a local Mexican Restaurant was utilized.  In the future he suggested we consider using local restaurants run by marginalized groups be utilized for our catering.  Jason and Brian are going to bring this suggestion to the Board.

Leadership and Engagement Initiatives

Brian and Alex presented a draft list of topics for two Advanced Leadership Classes.  Brian clarified that how we do our work is a spiritual practice.  The topics may be covered in short videos.  

Some of the current suggested topics for Class 1 are:

Post-pandemic circumstances

Collaboration and Co-leadership

Relation of Committtee work to the Strategic Plan

Faith and Conflict (when conflict occurs address it and do not gloss over it)

Some of the suggested topics for Class 2 are:

Spiritual Grounding and fun of our Committee Work

Recruiting members

Engaging Committee members

Prioritizing Work and Resources through the Strategic Plan

Caring for Committee members

Hybrid Meeting Facilitation

Brian, Alex and Peter are hoping to have a plan for the two classes to present to the Board in February.

Next Meeting

January 3, 2023

Leader – Sally