Florida District of the Unitarian Universalist Association

REPORT FROM UUA TRUSTEE - FLORIDA & MID-SOUTH DISTRICTS
by Lyn Conley, UUA Trustee, FLD & MSD, June 2, 2002

Another General Assembly, another opportunity for reflection, change, and celebration. I urge you to visit the UUA web site (www.uua.org) to view the myriad of information available from and about the most recent annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists from across the continent and beyond.

And of particular importance to you is that the General Assembly passed the by-law amendment providing for separate Trustees from the Florida and Mid-South Districts. This means that both Districts need to rewrite their by-laws in regard to elections and that Florida will need to hold an election within the next year for a Trustee to begin a two-year term at the conclusion of GA 2003 in Boston. Trustees are elected in two groups to ensure continuity; both the Florida and Mid-South Trustees are in group A and regular elections for a four year term will take place in both Districts in 2005.

The other major result of by-law changes came about as a decision by and agreement with the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC). We said good-bye to our Canadian congregations as we forge a new way of relating with one another. Canadian congregations are no longer part of the District structure. Most services for Canadian congregations will be provided by the CUC. I imagine that there is still work to do in this regard as the actual transformation continues to reveal itself throughout the coming year and that, as a member of the Congregation, District & Extension Working Group, I will be involved to a great extent. I will appreciate hearing from our "snowbirds" who might have particular insight in this area. As always, if you have questions or comments please let me know. I changing my e-mail server and apparently the UUA didn’t get it correct the first time. You can use Lynconley@earthlink.net or call me at 770-934-9696, although I suspect lconley@uua.org will soon be operational again.

And I am now officially retired from my paid job! I look forward to new and interesting experiences! It hasn’t actually sunk in yet.

1. Board Process 2. President Sinkford’s Report 3. Executive VP Montgomery’s Report 4. Moderator Olson’s Report 5. Finance 6. International Relations Office 7. BOT Anti-racism Assessment & Monitoring Team 8. New Congregation Task Force 9. Task Force on Professional Standards for Religious Education 10. The Committee on Committees [COC] 11. GA Tech Task Force Report =======================================

1. Board Process Aside from the parliamentary processes of approving by-laws and rules changes (found in reports on the GA plenary sessions) & fiduciary responsibilities, the board dealt with the lingering feelings resulting from the Commission on Appraisal’s (COA) presentation to GA. The report was in the form of a skit. During one section one member interrupted another member and did so by "playfully" shoving her aside. The vision of a large white man shoving aside a petite black woman raised concerns from some delegates voiced in particular by the Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee (JTWTC), DRUUMM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries), and members of the youth caucus. The COA held a hearing following the expressions of concern. This hearing turned out to be unsatisfactory to many who attended. Therefore, the BOT spent considerable time Tuesday a.m. following the closure of GA discussing where the Association stood in regard to our entire anti-racism/anti-oppression/ multi-cultural (AR/AO/MC) evolution. We acknowledge that many people are in different spaces and there is still much work to be done. We passed a motion encouraging the Committees responsible to and elected by General Assembly to engage in AR/AO/MC training and consultation as individuals and as a group. We further encourage these committees to work with JTWTC to continue the entire Association’s work in this regard.

2. President Sinkford’s Report Bill spoke of his wishes for the coming year including: Continued Public Witness, especially including interfaith groups and people of color. International Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist connections. Bill plans on traveling to Transylvania later this summer and Japan and England by next GA. A smooth transition from the paper plan to actual implementation of the UUA reorganization. Growth: Bill sees Districts as engines of growth for UUism and would like to realize 5% a year. In addition he seeks support for the New Congregation Task Force plan. (see below) Public Relations: The UUA is currently seeking to identify the appropriate geographic area to create a billboard campaign that can be assessed and hopefully used as a model. Evaluation of performance, both staff and the Board of Trustees.

3. Executive Vice-President Montgomery’s Report Kay reported on the final staff group hire to implement the UUA Staff Restructuring Plan. Rev. Peter Morales has been appointed to the new position of Director of District Services. I think it’s a great decision although I will miss working with Peter as a fellow Trustee. The good news is he will still be meeting with us from "the other side." Kay also urged participation in the Mind the Gap Sunday fundraising effort for Youth and Young Adult/Campus Ministry and noted the efforts that have gone into the organization to date.

4. Moderator Olson’s Report (Note: Diane’s husband was finalizing the purchase of a house in Oakland, CA during GA. Hopefully this will end her recent nomadic existence.)

She hopes that during the next year: the six retiring Board members will share their unfulfilled dreams. the BOT will examine the Board structure and size including Working Group rearrangement to reflect UUA reorganization The BOT Anti-racism team will lead us in our examination and grounding We increase transparency and continue being welcoming and open The recommendations of the Task Force on President and Moderator Elections is enacted A Long Range Planning Committee is established (as was recommended in the Fulfilling the Promise final report) Discussions take place on topics that in financially rosier times might have been assigned to a Task Force.

5. Finance We are projected to end in the black for the total year. The Annual Program Fund (APF) is at 96.8% of budget and we know some congregations wait to pay until the last day of the fiscal year. Friends of the UUA will come in significantly under budget this year. We need to reexamine the projected goals for this fund-raising tool. We will be working on a policy regarding Unrestricted Bequests to ensure the money goes into endowments rather than operating budgets, and in fact any amounts in excess of this fiscal year’s budget will be transferred to the Endowment Fund of the Association.

6. International Relations Office Report They have received a grant that will allow them to appoint a Task Force to examine how other groups handle Partner Church operations. They have examined the riots in India between Hindus and Muslims that have affected more than 125, 000 families. The government has enticed the lowest classes to attack Muslims. Although inquires were made as to how we could be of assistance we were told that no one can come in from the outside to solve this.

7. BOT Anti-racism Assessment & Monitoring Team This group is continually evolving. We will develop a tool to assess ourselves and thus be able to track progress. And we need to look at anti-racism beyond process or self-assessment; we need to evaluate our product, our results. We need to continue to invite others to the table to help challenge us and to develop relatio0nships with groups outside the BOT.

8. New Congregation Task Force There is some real anxiety about trying this new approach to growth. There are concerns about where the money & trained staff will come from to start 10 new mid-size congregations in each of the next 5 years. Fund raising will be easier once we have a few success stories. But as Larry Ladd, Financial Advisor, pointed out we have not paid the price to grow in the past. We need to be more forward focused. He said we are "the corner drug store cursing the Wal-Marts" when we see the mega-churches in other areas growing 10-20,000 members. The BOT had numerous questions and the discussion about implementation of this plan will be discussed further in October.

9. Task Force on Professional Standards for Religious Education Liberal Religious Educator Association (LREDA) and the UUA have worked together to develop a three-tiered credentialing program that includes continuing education requirements, a mentoring process and review of a portfolio. It will provide clarity to congregations in what to look for and what to expect of religious educators. There is still a need for an appeals process for those who receive low evaluations and this is being addressed.

10. The Committee on Committees [COC] The following appointments were approved, as recommended by the COC: Rev. Kurt Kuhwald was appointed to the Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee until regular appointments are made. [He previously was the Jubilee Working Group liaison to this committee but that group sunsetted at this GA.) The Rev. John Young, Jacksonville, FL, was appointed to the Nominating Committee to complete the term of a member who recently resigned.

11. GA Tech Task Force Report We had a presentation by members of the Tech Task Force. There are exciting and innovative idea, all which come with a price tag. As we examine ways to decrease the cost of attending GA this must be considered, perhaps phased in. Digital Ids, cards with magnetic strips, may be available for Boston GA03. This would help in many areas from registration to providing better services and decreasing the amount of paper used.

Again, if I can provide additional information about any particular topic please let me know. I truly appreciate the comments, questions and reflections you make.

Lyn Conley Lconley@uua.org