The Board of Directors of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Monica met on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, via Zoom. Board members attending included President Vilma Ortiz, Vice President Karl Lisovsky, Treasurer Sue Bickford, Secretary Linda Van Ligten, and Board Members at Large Larry Weiner, Cassie Winters, Jef Travis, and Anne Bridgins. Minister Jeremiah Kalendae also attended, as did guests Steve Chin, Melinda Ewen, and Alice Koga. Board Member Jila Tayefehnowrooz was absent.
Call to Order, Spiritual Grounding, Opening Reading and Remarks
Vilma called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. Anne lit the chalice and read the UU Value of Justice: “We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive. We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.”
Anne also provide the following reading:
“This year, we marked the Chinese lunar new year—the year of the Fire Horse, which only comes around once every 60 years. This lunar year fits the current moment very well. It promises a period of intense energy, dynamic change, the breaking and transformation of old patterns and orders, the embrace of new ideas, and the prospect of innovation. Let’s honor our collective willingness to be vulnerable. To explore what’s behind, what’s ahead, and what’s within. To let go of what we’ve known in order to make room for what could be.”
— Fiona Hill/Brookings Institute presentation and Christina Wong blog adaptation.
Attendees provided personal check-ins and answered questions based on this month’s worship theme, Paying Attention. Vilma also reminded attendees to help keep things moving by being mindful of speaking in turns, waiting for others to speak before speaking again, avoiding crosstalk, and being aware of the queue for speaking
Motions and Discussions
Several quick updates, discussions, and motions/votes were presented:
- Vilma and Cassie provided an overview of the coming ministerial Candidating Week, including:
- Saturday, April 18 – Rev. Diana Smith arrives; reception with Board, Search Team, Negotiating Team, and spouses at Beth Rendeiro’s house, followed by the choir performance at the Studio City UU church
- Monday, April 21-Friday, April 24 – Rev. Diana meets with various committees, along with ushers, greeters, and the coffee team
- Wednesday, April 22, 6 pm – The Board meets with Rev. Diana at Vilma’s house
- Saturday, April 25, 12:30 pm – Picnic at the church campus with CYRE and others, including food and CYRE activities
- Saturday, April 25, 5:30 pm – Beach walk from Annenberg Community Beach House; all are invited
- Sunday, April 26, 12:30 pm – Special congregational meeting and vote, with luncheon following
- The board voted unanimously to hold the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 7th.
- Sue reported that the proposed 2026-2027 budget needs to be finalized, reviewed and sent to the congregation 30 days before June 7th. She said copies of the budget will be sent to Board members for a vote via email.
- Melinda provided an update from the Financial Audit Team, saying Phase 1 of the group’s work has started. Also, Anne Bridgins and Vilma were added to the team, which is now considering three financial management software options: Church Trac, ChMeetings, and Icon CMO. Vilma expressed appreciation for the Team’s work.
- The board unanimously approved the congregation’s Child and Youth Safety Policy and new Social Media Guidelines.
- Vilma reported that Melinda initiated an Audio Task Force when she had difficulty hearing the service. Steven DePaul agreed to participate, and the first step was evaluating potential solutions currently available. Melinda said she has also now identified three outside companies that may be able to help.
- Vilma provided a Stewardship update, asking board members to model timely giving by submitting their pledge, which earns a lanyard. She said stewardship testimony from the pulpit on April 12 was very meaningful.
- A larger discussion of Dining for Dollars was postponed, but the board’s Pancake Breakfast event was scheduled for Saturday, July 25.
- Planning for our Ministerial Transition and celebrations for Jeremiah will begin via email in May.
Standing Reports
Minutes from the March board meeting and the consent agenda for this meeting (minus the Membership Report) were approved unanimously. Ann reported current membership of 268 and read new member Selena Gomez into the membership roll.
Minister’s Report
Jeremiah gave a brief verbal report this month, noting that we have hosted five “packed” worship services since the last board meeting. He also expressed his appreciation to the Stewardship and Search Teams, with special shout-outs to Consulting Minister Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins, DMRE Jessica TenHave-Place, and administrator Alfie Wilkerson for their support during his own search process. (Jeremiah will begin the transition to his new congregation in August.) “May peace prevail,” he said, requesting prayers for all ministers currently candidating.
Treasurer’s Report
In her report to the board this month, Sue noted that we are now in month 10 of our 12-month fiscal year (75% through the year), and our year-to-date pledge receipts ($288,924) are 102% of what we budgeted ($282,000)…though our pledge income this month ($22,007) was only 70.2% of our monthly projection ($31,333). We have so far received 82.4% of the total expected pledges projected for the year, she said.
Next, Sue said our year-to-date fundraising total ($27,464) is also higher than we projected ($23,625), representing 115% of the budgeted amount. And this month’s fundraising receipts ($21,477) are 818.2% higher than projected ($2,265), thanks to incoming payments for Dining for Dollars, which is by far our largest annual fundraiser.
Finally, Sue reported that our year-to-date rental income ($75,844) is 105.3% higher than projected ($72,000), and our monthly rental income ($12,369) was 154.6% higher than our monthly projection ($8,000) for the month of March.
DMRE Report
DMRE Jessica TenHave-Place said in her report to the board that March was a good month for CYRE, which both tried out new things and celebrated old traditions.
“I also enjoyed the Adult RE book group I led this month,” Jessica said, “where 14 of us gathered over two Sundays to discuss Peter Beinart’s Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, another great multigenerational group that bridged from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. As our community looks forward to welcoming our ministerial candidate, Rev. Diana, I’m excited for her to get a firsthand look at the diverse ways we are building community among people of all ages.”
Jessica further reported that CYRE also conducted its first multigenerational field trip, to the California Science Center, on March 28. She said eight people attended, including kids, parents, and single adults. She said, “It was a lovely reminder that smaller group opportunities like this give us a chance to connect on a more person-to-person basis, and I received positive feedback and support for more events like this from kids and adults alike.”
Jessica said one parent shared an anecdote from the trip that made her very proud of the lessons our kids are receiving at UUSM: when the child saw the military planes in the aerospace exhibit, a little boy asked his dad if those planes were used for war. When the dad said yes, they were, the boy replied, “I know someone who won’t like that – Jessica. Because our church is for peace.”
Jessica said CYRE will be joining Animal Ministry for its planned field trip to a farm animal rescue in May, and she hopes “it will be a similar occasion for both having fun together and reflecting on our values out in the world.”
Jessica reported that CYRE had good attendance on Easter Sunday, with 18 students, including two families who were visiting for the first time. After an Easter lesson filled with multiple arts and crafts stations, she said, there was an Easter Egg Hunt that came together with help from everyone – middle grade kids hid the eggs, parents helped out with supervision and crowd control, and the younger kids helped empty and turn in their plastic eggs to be reused for next year. “It went by in a whirlwind,” said Jessica, “but it was a great time for all ages to be together for the holiday.”
Finally, Jessica said that, “In these difficult times we’re all trying to navigate, I’m finding that some of my most important work happens in the human-to-human moments of honest sharing. Kids and adults alike are dealing with sadness, anger, and confusion at the state of the wider world.”
But, she said, “Our community can be a brief respite from all of those troubles…a place where people can be in their grief without judgement. Since I have been vocal about my advocacy for Palestine, I hear from many people in our congregation that the horrors there, now expanding further to Lebanon and Iran, burden them with righteous grief, anger, and frustration. While I certainly don’t have ‘the answers,’ I am finding that simply listening and letting people know that they are not alone in how they are feeling is a ministry in itself. I think there is potential for offering a more structured opportunity for this sharing of existential grief in our community, and I look forward to working with other UUSM leaders to explore possibilities that could work for us.”
Additional Business, Executive Session, and Adjournment
Sue requested the Covenant of Unitarian Universalists Pagans (CUUPS) be on next month’s agenda.
The board then went into executive session for 20 minutes and, after the executive session was adjourned, the meeting was adjourned at 9:14 pm.
Draft minutes used to prepare this story were provided by board Secretary Linda Van Ligten. Documents and reports used at the meeting can be found here.
