From Sue Raufer, President, Board of Trustees
Is it time for the Congregational Annual Meeting already? Yes! Believe it or not, the Annual Meeting is already on the congregational calendar for Sunday, May 31, 2020. Fortunately, our bylaws provide the Board of Trustees broad discretion to determine the format of the meeting. The bylaws indicate that the meeting will take place “at such time and place as the Board of Trustees shall determine.” Given our current circumstances, the Board unanimously voted to hold the meeting “following the 9:30 AM service (at about 10:30 AM) utilizing the internet for a virtual meeting.” The Board also convened a task force to “create such rules and procedures as will, in light of the medium used, insure the meeting is fair, democratic, transparent and efficient”. That task force is busy preparing the procedures for review and approval of the Board’s Executive Committee. At this meeting, as in years past, you will be able to hear reports from the president and your ministers about the state of the congregation, you will hear from the Social Justice Coalition about its plans for the coming year, and importantly, you will be able to vote on important issues including a proposed bylaws change, a slate of candidates for leadership positions in the congregation, and our proposed budget for the next year. Please keep an eye out for the meeting packet which will be coming to you around mid-May via email (or regular snail mail if you have so opted), and plan to attend this meeting! If you are unable to attend virtually, the packet will contain a proxy form so that your vote may still be counted.