May 2025 Board Highlights

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Monica Board of Directors held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 13, via Zoom. 

Board Members attending included President Eileen McCormack, Vice President Vilma Ortiz, Treasurer Rebecca Crawford, Secretary Linda Van Ligten, Past President Barbara Kernochan, and Members-at-Large Norm Richey, Audrey Erbes, Shanna Shaked, Cassie Winters, and Trish Brassard. Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae also attended, as did congregation members Jacinda V and Amy Lacombe.

Call to Order and Spiritual Grounding

Eileen called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.  Shanna lit the chalice and read the UU Value of Interdependence:

“We honor the interdependent web of all existence. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it. We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.”

She also provided an opening reading by poet Rosemerry Wahtola Tromer:

There are so many boundaries in me,
places where a line has been drawn—
perhaps by another, perhaps by me.
The lines say, Stop.
The lines say, Don’t be curious…
But imagination is the big pink eraser
that rubs out the lines…
And sometimes the imagination
takes a line and bends it, twists it
like a clown with a balloon,
until what I thought was a boundary
becomes bird, becomes crown, becomes
flower. Or it turns the line perpendicular
so what I thought was a deadline
becomes path. I want to listen
for the voices beyond the boundaries,
want to open to what I can’t yet see…

After the readings, attendees gave a personal check-in and answered a question based on this month’s worship theme of “Living Love Through the Practice of Imagination.”

Membership and Standing Reports

Larry reported that current membership is 262. New members Jeanne Black, Colin Spitler, Alice Stek, and Cynthia Littleton were read into the membership roll.

The standing monthly reports were noted, and board members voted unanimously to approve the reports and the April board meeting minutes.

Minister’s Report to the Board of Directors

In addition to a reading and other information included in his news column earlier this month, Jeremiah reported that he was able to get away recently for a short trip to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur, where he enjoyed spending time with many friends from San Francisco, hiking the stunning coastline, and visiting the amazing Monterey Aquarium for the first time. He said it’s important for everyone to take opportunities for respite and to recharge during these challenging times, which are demanding too much from and placing unwarranted pressures on all of us. 

In addition, Jeremiah reported that:

• April was perhaps the most intense month for worship this year, with three major services and many corresponding activities like the Stewardship Campaign and the Green Living Fair. There have been five Sunday services since the last Board Meeting. First was Easter’s Rebirth, which may have been our second largest service of the year after Christmas Eve, with many visitors and old friends joining us to explore the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus and considering his life and teachings in the light of liberal religion. Our annual Earth Day Celebration and Green Living Fair was another large annual service which looked at Earth as paradise, the theme of joy, and the creation spiritualities of Hildegard of Bingen and Matthew Fox. Deep Down in My Heart was offered by Rev. Kikanza, and it dove even further into the theme of joy. Imagination! was offered by Jeremiah as a meditation on  “Living Love Through the Practice of Joy,” and finally, Jeremiah also provided Holistic Care for the Soul, which explored the Practicing a UU Religious Life (PUURL) model for spiritual assessment, congregational programs, and holistic plans of spiritual care.

• Our Worship Team met last month to deepen our relational practices, prepare for services, and address any logistical needs of the team. The Worship Associates Program continues to function smoothly and we have a large, dedicated, and wonderful team of worship leaders.

• Jeremiah is now in the process of Summer Worship Planning, and hopes to complete most of the service plans in the next few weeks.

• For the second year in a row and in cooperation with the Santa Monica Interfaith Council and the Santa Monica synagogue, UUSM hosted the annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Service on April 23. Members of our community served on the event planning team, helped facilitate the service, and provided hospitality following the service for guests from around the community. The service was a profoundly meaningful tribute to the lives lost in the Shoah and a testament to the power of the interfaith community working together to remember and declare: “Never again!”

• Our Pastoral Care Team and Pastoral Executive Team met this past month to receive reports from our Pastoral Associates and to explore the increase of racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., in society right now and what we can do to help create safer space for the community — especially those targeted by vile language. Jeremiah said they also explored supporting the Humanist Book Club and preparing for the Special and Annual Meetings of the congregation.

• In her professional role as a consulting minister, Rev. Kikanza has again graciously agreed to provide Summer Pastoral Coverage, serving as a resource and backup to the Pastoral Care Team. Meanwhile, Jeremiah continues to offer Pastoral Meetings and Spiritual Counseling to members of the community as requested, which helps to strengthen trust and healthy relations in our communal practice. He said there have been a “good deal of such meetings” lately.

• Jeremiah continues to hold weekly, biweekly, and/or monthly Ministry, Administrative, and Governance Meetings with our senior staff, president, executive committee, worship chair, consulting minister, pastoral co-chairs, UUA congregational life staff, and other congregational leaders as needed or requested. He said he also had two good meetings with Rabbi Shira in the past month to support her rabbinate with the Santa Monica Synagogue.

• Jeremiah reported that he is providing UUA Ministerial Discernment support to our own Jessica Ten-Have Place as she considers the possibility of pursuing professional UU ministry. He said it’s a pleasure to support her in that process and that he is thrilled about the possibilities.

• The major aspects of our “This is the Moment!” Stewardship Campaign are complete. Jeremiah said we had a small but mighty team leading a very professional campaign again this year, and he’s proud of our community and our stewards. Jeremiah said he met with the team weekly and developed a plan and resources for soliciting special gifts, some of which are still in process. He also said this was a huge undertaking and he’s deeply grateful to Eileen McCormack, Vilma Ortiz, Denise Helton, Gretchen Goetz, Rebecca Crawford, and everyone else who played some role in making this happen and helping to institutionalize it as an annual practice with predictable format, needs, plans, and adjustments.

• Nurit is now formally retired, and as you can see from his report, our New Congregational Administrator, Alfie Wilkerson, is doing a wonderful job learning the ropes of his new role. Jeremiah has been meeting regularly with Alfie now that Nurit has retired, and they are communicating regularly on a variety of ongoing issues. Alfie will attend the Board Meeting next month so everyone has a chance to meet him if they haven’t done so already.

• The Leadership Development & Nominating Committee and Ministerial Search Committee took up a lot of time and bandwidth this past month and Jeremiah said the results speak for themselves — we now have solid slates of nominees for both the Ministerial Search Committee and the Board. Jeremiah thanked Erik Paesel, Wendi Gladstone, Robbert Schalekamp, Haygo Salibian, John Zinner, and Eileen McCormack for their dedication to developing a good process. Jeremiah said he’s also excited that we will begin to develop the “leadership development” aspect of the work in the autumn and that he has provided some resources to begin to prepare us for the next stage of this process.

• The Intersectional Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression (IARAO) Commission has had its hands full lately, helping the congregation grow into its commitments. Jeremiah said there were a number of issues to address in the past couple of weeks, and the committee members did so thoughtfully, comprehensively, and graciously. He said we should all be grateful for the often behind-the-scenes work of Susan Hendricks, Linda Van Ligten, James Witker, Shanna Shaked, and Jessica Ten-Have Place.

• The extraordinary Board Policies Review Team continues to forge ahead with its work, which the board is aware of because it’s had policies to review and approve every month. Jeremiah said the team is a treasure to the congregation, and he provides consultation as needed.

• We are in the process of taking the excellent work of the Mission and Vision Team and crafting its data into refreshed statements to be considered by the congregation in time for the upcoming settled ministerial search.

• Jeremiah has volunteered again to host the UU Animal Ministry’s Dining for Dollars Event this fall, following the great success of the group’s two earlier events this year.

• The Santa Monica Interfaith Council and Leadership Team met this past month, with our own James Witker giving a presentation on Humanism. Between Jessica’s presentation on Witcraft with oracle cards and James’ presentation this month, Jeremiah said we are well represented in the local interfaith community.

• Jeremiah continues to meet monthly with the UCLA Medical Center Ethics Committee, to help shape health care practice affecting the larger community and to engage in ethical learning, policy formation, and clinical discernment.

In conclusion, Jeremiah said the past few weeks have been intense for all of us in different ways. The problems of our nation loom large and we’ve been intensely busy here in the life of our congregation. He invited members to reach out to him or the pastoral care team if they need support…and “know that together we weave a powerful and resilient tapestry of Unitarian Universalism and beloved community that is resisting the forces of oppression and announcing a better way forward. Thank you for all of your contributions to help us rise to meet this moment!”

Treasurer’s Report

Rebecca reported that our pledge receipts for the last three months have been somewhat slow, with our YTD amount so far about $22K below the budgeted amount. She said the lag is somewhat offset by some early ’25-’26 pledge receipts, but those are normally moved to the next fiscal year.  Rebecca said our rental income is also behind forecast (though we have a new recurrent renter that will help), and we have not yet had our Dining for Dollars auction, which will also contribute to the bottom line when those receipts come in.  She said the shortfalls are also partially offset by the fact that income from DRE-related giving is above what was budgeted.

Altogether, Rebecca said, the budget right now is running about $50K shy of the balanced budget we passed for this year. About $24K of this is because we have not yet had the D4$ auction, and about $16K is due to the expense of having the equivalent of two administrators while Nurit was training Alfie.

Looking forward, Rebecca said the ’25-’26 budget proposal is ready to present to the board. It does include money for search committee expenses – though these will be done extra-budgetarily, since they are (presumably) one-time expenses. She also reported that the pledge campaign is winding down, and a conservative accounting suggests pledges for next year are now about $376K. The 2025-26 budget right now shows a deficit of about $42K.

Finally, Rebecca reported that our endowment fund, as of the end of the first quarter of 2025, contains $408K.

Animal Ministry

Jacinda V provided a presentation on the UUSM Animal Ministry

Stewardship Appreciation

Denise, Gretchen, Vilma, and Rebecca were recognized for their hard work on the Stewardship Campaign.

Policy Updates

The board voted unanimously to approve the Board Ministry Policy on the Minister Emeritus/Emerita and the Board Governance Policy on Congregational Meetings. 

Director of Multi-Generational Religious Education Report

In her written report to the board this month, Director of Multi-Generational Religious Education Jessica Ten-Have Place said, “April 2025 was a great month for CYRE, with continued growth in Sunday morning attendance and some fun special events, some geared towards young families and others with a multigenerational focus.”

She also said planning is continuing for Children and Youth RE’s Peace Camp, the summer program that will run from July 7-11, and will provide an opportunity to do outreach and build bridges in our interfaith community, as well as try out a two-classroom approach for Sunday morning RE, splitting the groups between K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade.

Jessica reported that among the multigenerational events CYRE participated in this month was Game Night, a new monthly social event organized by the membership committee and open to all ages. She said there was a small group of attendees at the first two Game Nights, but it was still a great opportunity for multigenerational bonding across the kid, parent, and grandparent generations. “I think there’s great opportunity to reach more young adults in the 20s-30s age group with Game Night as well,” she said, “and that further promotion and word of mouth invitations will grow this event. But it should already be counted as a success, since it is bringing people of all ages together to have fun and build community.”

Another all-ages event this month was the Green Living Fair held on April 13, for which Jessica organized kids’ activities that encouraged deeper observation of the natural world in our urban environment, including a drum circle to greet the natural elements, crafts using plants and flowers, and “Nature Bingo.” She said it was a wonderful opportunity for all ages to be together, and it also gave parents a chance to visit the different tables while their kids were having fun with friends.

Next, Jessica said, “Our RE lessons have also included more time outdoors since the weather has gotten warmer, and the kids really enjoy the opportunity to play outside while they learn together. I’m hoping that we can organize more outdoor activities at our neighborhood green spaces, and take advantage of the many talented people in our congregation who have expertise in plants and animals, mindfulness and meditation, and other activities that could be fun for the kids to engage in a natural environment.”

She said a more “kid-centered” event this month was our Easter Egg Hunt. After an Easter Sunday lesson using a scavenger hunt to highlight the teachings of Jesus and our own Unitarian Universalist principles, families stuck around to hunt for eggs filled with treats and toys in the front of the church. Jessica said CYRE volunteers were “very helpful with hiding eggs and providing extra supervision for the kids – it was a great way to celebrate the holiday and make the day special for the kids in our community.”

Finally, Jessica reported that because our Sunday morning RE attendance has been regularly exceeding 10 kids across a wide age range, the CYRE committee and other volunteers agree that it’s time to try moving from a “one room schoolhouse” approach to a lesson that will split the kids up into a K- 2nd grade class and a 3rd-5th grade class following our large group chalice lighting. She said this will allow more individualized attention for our youngest kids and kids with special needs, while also providing more engaging lessons for older kids who are ready for something more challenging.

To facilitate the change, Jessica said, “we will need to create a more formalized volunteer sign-up process to make sure we have consistent coverage for both classes, but since we already have a dependable group of volunteers and parents helping in RE, it should be doable, and we can still go back to a one-room approach if we have a Sunday with low attendance. I’m grateful for all the wonderful support from our members who provide so much service and encouragement to our CYRE programs for making this possible, and look forward to more growth as our capacity expands!”

Scheduling: Special and Annual Meeting, Pancake Breakfast, Pride March, and UU the Vote

The board voted unanimously to approve both a Special Meeting of the congregation on Sunday, May 18 at noon (so the Leadership and Development Committee can present its slate of candidates for the Ministerial Search Committee for congregational approval)…and a date of Sunday, June 29 for the Annual Congregational Meeting.

The Board will host its Dining for Dollars Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, July 26th.

Faith in Action will participate in the Pride March on Sunday, June 8th, with signups on the Sundays leading up to the event.

UU the Vote activities are now on hold, and will resume closer to elections the fall election season.

Executive Session

After moving into Executive Session at 8:57 p.m. and concluding that session at 10:01 p.m., the meeting was adjourned at 10:04 p.m.

Draft minutes used to create this report were provided by Secretary Linda Van Ligten. Documents distributed and reviewed at the meeting can be found here.