From the Board of Trustees
The Board held an all-day retreat on Saturday, July 31 in person at Ferry Beach and via Zoom. We spent the morning getting to know one another better, sharing information about our hopes and expectations for our time on the Board, about our families, and about outside commitments (including parenting, paid work, and volunteer commitments).
Affirming that the Board is accountable above all else to the congregation’s mission, we made significant additions and adaptations to the Board covenant and named the values that undergird our work. We’ll be sharing all of this with the congregation in the weeks ahead.
In the afternoon, the Board reviewed its ongoing responsibilities: re-opening after pandemic, budget, financial well-being of the congregation, by-laws review, hiring and firing, annual meeting, and so on. We then spent significant time discussing specific long-term challenges facing the North Parish, agreeing to four Board goals for the coming year.
BOARD GOALS for 2021-22
- Support for Outreach
- Support for Family Ministry and Faith Development for Children and Youth
- Examining congregational structures with a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens, utilizing the UUA report ”Widening the Circle of Concern” as a guide
- Ongoing work, including by-laws review, legacy giving, house and grounds issues, North Parish 2.0 task force
BOARD OF TRUSTEES COVENANT WITH ONE ANOTHER
- As we make decisions, we will remind ourselves of the mission of the church and our covenant with other congregations as reflected in the Unitarian Universalist principles and sources of spiritual and religious wisdom.
- We will be mindful of the legacy of North Parish while looking to the current and future well-being of the congregation.
- We will respect and encourage diversity of opinion, perspective, life experience, and self-identification.
- We will each seek to actively participate and say what we feel need to be said, but do it succinctly, being mindful of limited agenda time. We will “watch the room” to ensure everyone is getting a chance to speak.
- In Board discussions we share our individual opinions but once a decision is made we will support it publicly and speak as one board.
- We will meet commitments and ask for help as needed.
- We will respect all members of the congregation and each other including listening to one another.
- We will have an explicit Board / Minister partnership when communicating to the membership.
- We will take the time necessary, under the circumstances, to make thoughtful decisions.