November Board Highlights

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Monica Board of Directors held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, via Zoom.

Board members present included President Eileen McCormack, Vice President Vilma Ortiz, Treasurer Rebecca Crawford, Secretary Linda van Ligten, Past President Barbara Kernochan, and Members at Large Larry Weiner, Norm Richey, Audrey Erbes, Trish Brassard, Shanna Shaked, and Cassie Winters. Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae also attended.

Call to Order and Spiritual Grounding

Eileen called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. and read the UU Shared Value of Pluralism: 

“We celebrate that we are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology. We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.”

Rebecca provided a reading from “The Gates of Repentance,” from Reform Jewish texts:

Bless Us with Peace
O Source of peace, lead us to peace, a peace profound and true;
Lead us to a healing, to a mastery of all that drives us to war within ourselves and
with others.
May our deeds inscribe us in the Book of life and blessing, righteousness and
peace!
O Source of peace, bless us with peace.

The chalice was lit with the Third Principle (“We affirm and promote acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations”) and the Third Source (“Wisdom from the world’s religions, which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life.”). Then attendees shared a personal check-in and responded to a prompt from this month’s worship theme of “Repair”:  “How might your efforts to repair a social ill or injustice be trying to repair you? OR what joyful, courageous, or healing childhood memories repair you over and over again? Are any of them trying to speak to you today?”

Membership and Standing Monthly Reports

Our current membership is 256. Norm read new members Nashua Mena, Cheryl Amon, and Steve Chinn into the roll.

The standing monthly reports were noted but not discussed. Larry moved and Audrey seconded that the October minutes and standing monthly reports be approved as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

Minister’s Report

In the introduction to his report, Rev. Jeremiah said, “We are grappling with new realities as we enter this month of offering gratitude for the blessings of our lives and as we remember the grief and struggles of Indigenous communities in the United States.” He said our spiritual theme this month is “Living Love through the Practice of Repair,” which he defined as “working to fix or mend something that’s been damaged or broken.”

“With Love at the center of our liberal religious faith,” said Jeremiah, “our Unitarian Universalist Values of Justice, Equity, and Transformation, summon us to being of service through the work of repair, healing, and growth on personal, congregational, and societal levels.”

Jeremiah also reminded attendees that, “Our tradition’s foundations of courage, hope, reason, and inclusive democratic process remind us to never resign ourselves to despair and to always consider the ways we can show up to support the flourishing of inclusive and diverse community and further the extension of justice and equity in our world.” But that, of course, “is easier said than done when life is threatened all around us and overseas and we may be experiencing overwhelm, compassion fatigue, or just feeling like we’re running on empty this holiday season.”

Finally, Jeremiah reminded everyone to “take a deep breath and be present to all that we are holding, all that our world is holding, at this juncture in time,” and that “We can better help ourselves to not be consumed by all of it through self-care plans, spiritual exercises, and by leaning into the spaces and communities where we find revitalization, inspiration, and rest.”

“Let’s practice and encourage self-care and community care in the days ahead of us,” he said.

Jeremiah also reported that:

• Our worship life continues to be inspiring, comforting, and well attended on Sunday mornings. We’ve offered six services since the last board meeting, as well as a pastoral chapel following the election. Of the sermons, Jeremiah provided our annual High Holy Days service, which surveyed religious history and the tradition of Sukkot. Rev. Kikanza gave us Listening with the Heart as a meditation on last month’s theme of deep listening. Jessica co-led her first multigenerational service for Dia De Los Muertos, followed by Jeremiah’s annual Garden of Eternity Service in the garden. Jeremiah and Saunder also brought to life their vision for a musical service, Singing for Democracy. And Rev. Kikanza provided Keep Going, which focused on perseverance.

• Gretchen, Norm, Vilma, and Jeremiah, held a special New Members Ceremony during which 14 new members were introduced to the congregation. The program included a public covenanting, a signing of the membership book, and an exchange of gifts. These new members help to keep our membership stable — which Jeremiah said is quite remarkable during a developmental ministry period in which we’ve navigated a number of challenges and transition, especially in the past year.

• We are also grateful to Norm and Bev for opening their home for a New Members Welcome Program and Luncheon for our newest members. The event helped to further both our community-building and membership efforts.

• Chela, Rev. Kikanza, and Jeremiah worked to plan and hold our annual Worship Associates Retreat, which included an opening worship, liturgical immersion, skill honing, a delicious lunch, and plenty of time for sharing and relationship building. We were also happy to welcome two new WAs to the Worship Associates Program, and are still recruiting for more.

• We continue to make Order of Service Liturgical Revisions, and everyone seems happy with what we’ve developed so far to better coordinate Sunday morning activities.

• Our Pastoral Care Team met and received updates from the Pastoral Associates. They also discussed providing care following the election, and care for unhoused community members who attend our functions or are on campus for other reasons. The group is also planning its annual pastoral holiday card outreach again this year.

• Jeremiah is continuing to offer increased one-on-one Pastoral Meetings and Spiritual Counseling to members of the congregation, to help strengthen trust and healthy relations in our communal practice.

• We opened our sanctuary doors for our beloved community to create a safe space with a special “Be the Light” Chapel Service following the November 5 election. About 20 members and friends attended to process the many challenges presented to issues and people we care deeply about.

• We held our Annual 2024-2025 Board of Directors Retreat, where board members considered institutional capacity, the timeline for the remaining developmental ministry goals, and the settled minister search process. Enhancing our religious education program and completing the annual developmental ministry goals assessment were also discussed, and there was still time for team-building exercises, personal sharing, worship, and meditation.

• Jeremiah continues to hold weekly, biweekly, and/or monthly Ministry, Administrative, and Governance Meetings with all of our senior staff, our consulting minister, our president, the executive committee, worship chair, pastoral chair, UUA congregational life staff, and other congregational leaders as requested.

• Jeremiah devoted significant time to Personnel & Administrative Planning this month, particularly preparing for staffing changes. This included reviewing resumes with Nurit for the new office support position, fundraising planning for enhancing our RE programming, and other confidential matters. The experiences were all positive and productive.

• Saunder and/or Nurit will be joining us at the December board meeting as part of our Interim DRE & Board Meeting Staff Rotation, since neither was available for the November meeting.

• A Santa Monica Synagogue and UUSM Sukkot Interfaith Event, building a Sukkah together and decorating it, was our first interfaith and multigenerational event since the SMS became renters and friends in our building. The event was a great success and it was wonderful to bless the sukkot with Rabbi Shira. This is the second Jewish holiday we’ve been privileged to celebrate with SMS. We are also continuing to explore forming a Village Committee with SMS, and a meeting was held to discuss the logistics in greater depth.

• Jeremiah was the guest of honor at the second UU Animal Ministry Plant-based Wine and Cheese Social & Fundraiser hosted by the UUAM for the congregation. It was a great success, raised more funds for the congregation, and allowed everyone to experience new vegan cheeses and foods. Thanks to all the UUAM folks!

• The Intersectional Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Commission (IARAO) is meeting monthly and its work is ongoing. Jeremiah serves primarily as a consultant and ex-officio member of the commission, which will soon launch the next annual read.

• The Board Policies Review Team is continuing to make incredible success in reviewing, assessing, and renewing our congregational policies. Jeremiah serves primarily as a consultant and ex-officio member of the commission, providing feedback as requested.

• Eileen, Jeremiah, and Pam Teplitz have been meeting monthly to discuss improving Communications Team functioning and sustainability, including both staffing changes and emerging new communications leadership.

• Jeremiah continues to publish monthly UUSM News Magazine Stories and Pastoral Letters to support theme-based ministry and build community cohesion, deepen spiritual reflection, and participate in national UU programs. He also composed a pastoral letter with resources and a summons from the UUA following changes in the national climate.

• Jeremiah continues to meet monthly with the Santa Monica Area Interfaith Council & Leadership Team (SMAIC), where he also serves as Vice President.

• Jeremiah co-hosted the annual Interfaith Council Fall Luncheon at First Presbyterian Church, in the unexpected absence of its president, Kathleen Benjamin, and Rabbi Shira. The event went well and was enjoyed by all. Jeremiah was able to meet more of the local clergy and faith-based leaders. There was a special presentation on initiatives for our unhoused siblings, as well as community sharing about the holidays our faith communities are celebrating at this time of the year…during which Jeremiah spoke of our Dia De Los Muertos tradition and the Sukkot building event with SMS.

• 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 on complex bioethical issues with an interdisciplinary healthcare team.

In conclusion, Jeremiah provided a favorite reading from the Rev. Wayne Arnason, one of the pastors of his home congregation: “Take courage friends. The way is often hard, the path is never clear, and the stakes are very high. Take courage. For deep down, there is another truth: you are not alone.”

Religious Education Report

Interim Director of Religious Education Jessica Ten Have-Place said that October was another full programming month, including our Sunday morning RE lessons, a multigenerational service, and an interfaith event with our friends from Santa Monica Synagogue. In addition, she said, she also “reviewed our current child safety policies with the aim of seeing what needs to be updated or improved, and created an abbreviated version of our current child safety guidelines for the classroom for volunteers and parents.”

Jessica reported that our RE lessons using the Soul Matters curriculum continue to be successful. “We see great engagement from the kids (attendance this month ranged from 3 to 8 children per lesson), and the curriculum allows enough flexibility to adapt for age range and learning style as needed.”  In addition, she said, “Consistent volunteer support helps the kids stay safe and well attended to each Sunday, and the rich knowledge and experience of our volunteers has helped me improve the lesson plans to be more accessible to different children. When we’ve had visitors and guests, they’ve been warmly welcomed by our volunteers and families, and I’m very proud of how the kids who attend regularly always welcome guests as new friends as well.”

As Jeremiah reported, Jessica also said our first crossover event with Santa Monica Synagogue — the construction and decoration of the sukkah for Sukkot — was a pleasure. “Rabbi Shira was incredibly kind and helpful,” she said, “providing picture books about Sukkot I could share with the kids, and giving me guidance on how the kids could best participate in ways that would be respectful of the tradition. It’s such a blessing to be able to partner with this community, which gives us the opportunity to provide interfaith education in the most ideal setting — meeting people of another faith as neighbors and friends who invite us in to share in their traditions. I look forward to working with Rabbi Shira again in the future.”

Another great event, Jessica said, was our Dia de Los Muertos multigenerational service. “It was a pleasure to work with Vilma Ortiz, who helped me learn about the tradition of this service in our congregation, and was so open and welcoming to my contributions.”

“After the service we had some hands-on activities for the kids (temporary tattoos and a flower crown craft) which all ages had fun with, and gave us the opportunity to socialize across generations. This service is such a wonderful tradition, founded on something very personal to a member which clearly touches many other folks as well, and which helps our kids learn more about a fun holiday that is so important to Mexican-American culture.”

Jessica said she “would love to expand this celebration next year, perhaps bringing together Dia de Muertos with Halloween and Samhain for a multi-cultural kids’ carnival with different activities, food, and a costume contest.” She said the event would take some planning and resources, “but young families are attracted to safe and low-cost kids’ events around Halloween, so it could be a great outreach opportunity.”

Last but not least, Jessica said she’s glad she had time this month to reexamine our safety policies, which are a major priority. “I would recommend that the board or any subcommittee responsible for maintaining these policies also do this soon,” she said, “since the most recent full policy document available to me is still in draft form.”

Jessica said she has created abbreviated documents based on the draft, and she will be sending out a contact info form to parents to update our records, including health information. Also, she said the packet includes release forms based on prior documents, which she can submit to the board for review if necessary.

Finally, Jessica said, “I would…also recommend a review of our communications infrastructure as it relates to health and safety -— we do not currently have up to date records in our Breeze system noting members’ allergies or relevant health issues, or records of which members have up to date background checks for working with minors. I have been doing my best to keep these records up to date with the information I have, but this information should be more widely and easily accessible, and I worry that I am not staying completely up to date because of how scattered our communications and information databases are.”

“I know this is a major investment of time and energy,” said Jessica, “but bringing all these administrative pieces under one banner — calendars, professional email accounts, contact databases, newsletters, shared drives, etc. — is the one action that I think could improve our overall efficiency as an organization and help the church feel more like a unified congregation rather than many different siloed ministries and programs. It’s the problem I’ve run into more than any other in my time here, and I’d be happy to meet up and provide feedback based on my experience.”

Jessica closed with “another big thank you to the Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) committee and all our dedicated volunteers.”

“I got married this month,” she said, “and all the wedding planning efforts were certainly more work than I anticipated! Our volunteers taught RE while I was away, and helped out in a million little ways that helped keep everything moving in my absence. The people in this church are our greatest resource and treasure, and I’m so thankful to be working with them.”

Treasurer’s Report

Rebecca reported that at this point, after four months of the current fiscal year, we would expect to have received about $120K of our budgeted pledge total of $362K. But we have only received $115K. This is slightly below budget, she said, but it’s still more promising than last month.

Another positive, she said, is that the church was granted an extension to collect the full matching amount for our Spirit Level Grant. Funds have come in, she said, but they were not counted yet in October, and we do have a bit further to go…so we now have until the end of the year to complete the effort.

Next, Rebecca said that if the board approves an increase in Jessica’s hours to 30, as of December 1, the church will need to receive another $11K beyond what was originally budgeted for the expense, if we want to maintain a balanced budget. She said to reach this goal, Eileen asked her and Barbara Kernochan to solicit more funds from generous congregants, and Barbara wrote “a beautiful letter” that was sent out earlier in November. Rebecca said they also hope that board members (who were not sent letters) will also contribute to the effort.

Moving on, Rebecca said that expenses so far this year are generally predictable, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened so far. That said, though, she also said it’s worth mentioning that starting next fiscal year, the church’s Geo Index (a measure of the cost of living in our local area) is changing from Group 5 to Group 6. This means the average target salaries for our employees will go up 5% in addition to cost of living increases. Rebecca said we don’t necessarily need to meet the new targets immediately, but it will be a hit to future budgets. Right now, she said, our salaries are about average for each employee’s qualifications, based on our Geo Index 5 classification.

Finally, Rebecca said that since the stock market has been doing well lately, our current endowment value is about $419,000.

Board Liaison Update

The board has requested an update from our Board Liaison next month.

Mission and Vision Appointments

The board has received two applications for the Mission and Vision team, from Cheryl Barnett and Karen Hsu Patterson.  Larry moved and Barbara seconded that both applicants be appointed to the Mission and Vision team.  It was approved unanimously.

Policies Task Force Update

Prior to the meeting, Board Members were given three items to review – the Board Policies Preamble and policies relating to the President and Common Responsibilities. Larry moved that the three items be adopted as amended, and Audrey seconded the motion.  It was approved unanimously.

Adult RE

Larry reported that several new RE programs are being developed, including Creating Theology Together and Braver Angels. James Witker is also leading a class on Religious Naturalism.

Thanksgrieving/Thankgiving

Linda encouraged Board Members to attend the Thanksgiving/Thanksgrieving luncheon celebration on Nov. 14th after the Crafts Fair, and asked those who will attend to bring food/drinks for the potluck.

December Programs

Our Winter Pageant will be held on Dec.8, and a Wine and Cheese Messiah (a UUSM Choir holiday fundraiser) will be held on Thursday Dec. 19th.  A Christmas Eve Service will be held on Dec. 24

Executive Session and Adjournment

The board moved into Executive Session at 8:45 pm, where members discussed a personnel matter presented by Eileen and Jeremiah.  The board moved out of executive session at 9:03 pm.

Larry moved and Audrey seconded that the Board authorize Jeremiah, after notifying the Personnel Committee, to offer Jessica the position of the Director of Multi-Generational Religious Education, and to increase her time to 30 hours per week. The motion passed
unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

 

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