Minutes of Board Meeting for Unity of Springfield
September 19, 2016
Mary Hilsabeck-Huber (President) Simone Hite (Vice-President)
Jim Kaatz (Treasurer) Paula Armknecht (Secretary)
Tom Long (Director) Kari Brashers (Director)
Amy Burnett (Director) Norma Vinson (Emeritus)
Sue Baggett-Spears (Spiritual Leader) Dee Richardson (Administrator)
Guest Present: JoLynn Higgins
The meeting was called to order by Mary Hilsabeck-Huber at 6:00 pm with the lighting of the Christ Candle. Sue Baggett-Spears led an opening prayer. The guest, JoLynn Higgins, then stepped out of the room and check-in was conducted among board members. After check-in, JoLynn was invited back in and all present read the Core Values, Vision and Mission Statement of Unity of Springfield.
Mary Hilsabeck-Huber read the minutes for approval from three meetings:
*Minutes from the regular Board Meeting (August 15, 2016) as written by Kimberley Lippelman-Nash. Simone Hite made a motion to accept the minutes as written, which was seconded by Jim Kaatz. Vote was taken and minutes were approved.
*Special meeting (September 4, 2016) to approve the appointment of Paula Armknecht to the position of secretary of the board to fill the position vacated by Kimberley Lippelman-Nash. A correction was made to the minutes, and Simone Hite made a motion to accept the minutes as corrected. Corrections to the minutes were a misspelling of Kimberley Lippelman-Nash’s name, and the omission of Huber in Mary Hilsabeck-Huber’s name. Jim Kaatz seconded the motion. All voted to accept the minutes as corrected.
*Open meeting (September 12, 2016) with corrections to be made to spelling of the names of Kari Brashers and Kimberley Lippelman-Nash. A correction was also made to an entry from the meeting to indicate that a suggestion was made to Sue Baggett-Spears regarding mentioning tithing during services. A motion was made by Amy Burnett to accept the corrected minutes, and Kari Brashers seconded the motion. All voted to accept the minutes as corrected.
The financial report was reviewed for approval. Kari Brashers made a motion to accept the financial report and Paula Armknecht seconded the motion. All approved the financial report.
Committee Reports:
Adult Education – Jim Kaatz reported meeting with Kenneth Reitmeier about fall classes
Building and Grounds – Norma Vinson discussed the need for replacement of damaged lattice in the area of the Meditation Garden. She reported that she had a call out to a congregant, but she has not heard back yet.
Employment – No report. Jim Kaatz agreed to take over as liaison to replace Kimberley Lippelman-Nash.
Fund Raising – Simone Hite discussed the upcoming Cowboy Extravaganza on October 16. Jim Kaatz agreed to start work on planning for that.
Long and Short Range Planning – No report. Simone Hite agreed to take over as liaison for Jim Kaatz.
Marketing/Publicity – Paula Armknecht had no report, but discussion ensued about the half-page ad to be placed in the Black Tie event informational brochure.
Music Department – No report.
Outreach – Amy Burnett discussed the low congregational attendance at the open meeting and the willingness of the men’s group to be of service in the community.
Volunteer Service – Tom Long reported that only one volunteer has stepped forward to work with the online thrift store.
Youth Education – Paula Armknecht read the report from Julia White. Ginny Matthews has resigned from the youth department after 10 years of service. A decision was made to recognize her during service. Julia also reported that the youth department is in need of volunteers, and that Kathy Shade had donated ukuleles to the youth and that De DeArman is willing to give lessons to children on Wednesday nights.
Teen Activities – No report.
Communications:
Administrator report - Dee Richardson reported that the Daniel Nahmod concert netted $433.00 for the church. She explained the normal 70/30 split in profits between the church and performers, but reported that Daniel Nahmod had offered a 60/40 split instead. She also reported that the Steffany Barton workshop had brought in a net of $384.00 and that 14 people had signed up for Prosperity Plus. Dee explained that the copy machine is now obsolete, and that the service company will continue to fix it as long as possible; however, the suggestion was made that the church lease the next one instead of purchasing.
A wedding that was scheduled for October had been cancelled.
Spiritual leader report- Sue Baggett-Spears reported that she had performed a Celebration of Life Ceremony and two same-sex weddings in the past month. She also reported on the success of the World Day of Prayer service that had taken place at Unity of Springfield on September 14. She talked about Michelle VanHoose’s excitement over the formation of the choir. Sue shared that she and Mary had attended a two-day conference at the Federal Prison and how revealing that had been, and that she and Dee had met for planning on the S.T.E.P. Program. Sue also discussed the changes that were being made to the Welcome Packet for new attendees. This will include a letter from Sue, a calendar of activities, a simplified registration card should the attendees decide to fill it out, and that the plan is for passing out a CD of Unity Principles on a second visit to Unity. Sue emphasized that contact must be made with first-time attendees to help them feel welcome. She also said that Spirit Groups were to be postponed for three weeks to give her time to work on her prosperity talks. Plans were made to include Jim Kaatz in the talk on September 25 to share budgetary information with the congregation.
Old Business:
Simone Hite discussed the current activity of the online thrift store. A doll had been sold for $20.00 on Craig’s List, and Norma Vinson had donated Liberty Falls Miniature Houses to sell, but needed someone to pick them up. Jim Kaatz discussed the donation of a stove, dishwasher, and microwave to be advertised on Craig’s List.
The calendar was reviewed and the following dates set.
October 2-Membership meeting to approve changes to the bylaws.
October 9- Media Blitz Committee
October 16-Cowboy Extravaganza
November 6- Spaghetti Sauce Cook-off. The band will play.
Sue reported meeting with Harry Sparks to discuss ideas for increasing finances of the church. She reported that he is pleased with the direction the church is taking in expecting congregational responsibility and he is willing to participate as he can.
Mary and Dee met with Carly from Pea Pod to discuss some ongoing issues and to set expectations for compliance by September 30. Mary asked the board to consider allowing Pea Pod to provide frozen meals from their left-overs to the community in need. After discussion it was decided that this is in line with our principles, and an affirmative vote was taken.
New Business:
Kari Brashers presented a letter that she had drafted to be sent by mail to the congregation asking for donations. After discussion, some wording changes were suggested and Kari agreed to do the editing. The letter is to be sent out after Jim Kaatz has an opportunity to present the budgetary items to the congregation.
A plan was made to ask for volunteers for a committee to plan the media blitz for Unity. The date for the committee was set for October 9, 2016 right after the 11:00 service.
Simone suggested that November 6 be the first quarterly pot-luck, but with a spaghetti sauce cook-off. The church will provide the pasta, the band will play, and everyone is welcome. There will be a fee for those who choose to vote.
The nominating committee was discussed for upcoming elections to the Board of Directors. Board members agreeing to participate on the committee are Paula Armknecht and Tom Long along with Sue Baggett-Spears. One congregant will be chosen by the committee, and that congregant will help to choose the final congregant member of the committee.
The guest, JoLynn Higgins, was given an opportunity to speak. She discussed the impact of the church becoming involved in social justice issues and presented an idea of making buttons to be worn for building interest in Spirit Groups. The idea was well received.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:54 p.m.
Submitted by:
Paula Armknecht,
Secretary to the Board