The Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica

From Our President

April, 2008

A unique human ability is to remember with warmth and joy. We’ve made life-changing memories with The Rev. Judith Meyer during the 15 years of her ministry with us.. We are formed in a different way as a result of her compassion, intellect, leadership, and companionship. Thank you, Judith, for the making of memories.

What is ahead for us in ministry?

First, two terms:

1. Interim Minister: a specialist in being a minister, in helping a congregation in their celebration of their previous ministry, in understanding themselves and searching for a new minister. The term of service is a maximum of two years. An Interim Minister may not be a candidate for the Settled Ministry.

2. Settled Minister: Our minister (think Judith and Ernie), ongoing rather than interim, hereafter referred to as The Minister.

The Processes:

Interim Minister

1. The Board of Directors appoints a Task Force for Interim Ministry Search and seeks congregational approval for an interim ministry search budget of around $3,000;

2. The Task Force, which will be chaired by First Vice President Bronwen Jones, submits our application and announcement of a vacancy for an Interim Minister by April 15 to the Unitarian Universalist Association (our District Executive is Rev. Dr. Ken Brown). The UUA will do three things:

• Recommend five initial candidates.
• Place us on the list of congregations seeking an Interim Minister.
• Help us prepare our congregational profile.

3. The Task Force reviews applications, arranges visits to our church, checks recommendations and background, and makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors for a candidate.

4. The Board of Directors approves a recommendation, contracts are negotiated, an interim minister is hired. The Interim Minister begins in September of 2008.

5. An Interim Minister Transition Team (a.k.a., the brain trust) is appointed by the Board of Directors to support the In t e rim Minister during the time of service.

6. With great appreciation and admiration from the Congregation, the Interim Minister Search Committee retires.

Settled Minister (The Minister):

This process can take about two years.

1. The UUA Ministry Settlement Consultant Bets Wienecke, visits our congregation. She will preach on April 2008 3 From our president 13; she will be available for questions and answers after each service and meet with the Board of Directors and all committee chairs in the afternoon.

2. The Nominating Committee nominates nine church members for election to the Ministerial Search Committee. Additional nominations may be made by petition — more information to follow.

3. The congregation elects a Ministerial Search Committee and approves a budget for the search (around $20,000).

4. The Ministerial Search Committee meets with the Ministry Settlement Consultant and the UUA Compensation Consultant.

5. The Search Committee does an evaluation of our needs and prepares for an active search. This step is thorough and takes time. They also prepare the Congregational Record, which will go to persons interested in the ministry position.

6. The congregation participates in “Beyond Categorical Thinking,” a workshop program provided by the Unitarian Universalist Association to assist us in the search process.

7. The Board of Directors appoints a negotiating team to prepare a draft of the ministry agreement into which the congregation and the minister will eventually enter.

8. The Search Committee reviews applications, arranges for pre-candidate weekend visits, and arranges for the candidate week visit after deciding on a candidate.

9. The congregation votes on the settling of a minister. If approved, our new minister begins in September of 2010.

10. With even greater appreciation and admiration from the congregation, the Ministerial Search Committee retires.

Okay, this is a brief outline of what we have to do. The UUA has extensive and detailed guidelines for both the interim minister and settled minister process. If you want details of each of the processes go to www.uua.org/Transitions and select the various handbooks of interest.

There are members of our congregation who have done this process both here and in other congregations. We are ahead of the process so far and the Board of Directors is proactive in seeing that we remain on task and that we have an edifying, community building, and joyous experience.We won’t rush. We will act with transparency.

The willingness of so many members of our community to step forward to help with the New Building Program and now for our ministerial search is heartwarming. Thank you all for your prompt and thoughtful involvement.

Many more of you are welcome and needed. We have a journey to share in which we will grow to know each other in a bonding experiences during which we will find new friends.

I usually end my newsletter comments with the statement: “For what we are and for what we will become.” Little did I realize how many opportunities we could have “to become.”

“In becoming,”
Ron Crane

March, 2008

Transparency and Building

We plan to start building this summer.

In the interim, information will be cascading over us so that we can make decisions about what we build. The final decision will be made at a Congregational Meeting on March 30 after the second service.

The Congregational Concerns Committee is scheduling information, question, and input meetings. These meetings will be on Sunday, March 9, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the Mathews Library.

Announcements will appear regularly in the newsletter and the order of service.

Until it disappears, the bulletin board on the south wall of Forbes Hall will provide announcements, meeting notes, financial data, and current plans. Members of the New Building Committee will be available to answer questions and take your comments.

You may also join the Board of Directors e-mail list on which information passes and discussion ensues. To subscribe, contact Carol Agate.

One part of democracy is the transparency of process and information; the other part is working to be informed. I invite you to do your part: Work to keep yourself informed. Informed voting is the foundation of good democratic process.

When we unite as a community to achieve a goal, we are a capable and formidable group. Join in now.

With appreciation for what we are and for what we will become,

— Ron Crane

February, 2008

Discuss Building Program on February 10

On February 10 we will have a congregational business meeting on the building program.

Over the past years, hundreds of hours have been spent on plans that best represented the wants and needs of our community. These efforts resulted in a building estimated at $3.1 million, plus another $300,000 to $400,000 to complete occupancy. With severe cuts this number could be reduced, but would still be excessive.

It is the opinion of the capital campaign committee, the building committee, and the board of directors that such a sum is beyond our means. Ultimately, this decision is left to the congregation.

An alternative plan providing for most of our needs and some of our wants has been developed for congregational consideration.

Under this plan we can exceed the required parking requirement.

Adoption of a plan is contingent on congregational approval at a formal business meeting. The proposed plan starts with how much funding we have rather than what funding we would need.

The decision of how to proceed is one to be made by all of us.

We need your mind, your heart, and your body (to make a quorum).

Please! Participate in the congregational business meeting so that the best possible result will come from the best possible process — UU democracy.

For what we are and what we will become,

— Ron Crane

January, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On doing that which we do best…

A new year (at least one of several cultural new years) is upon us.

Adventures and making memories await us. We have much to do: building edifices, supporting music and religious exploration, acting on our Faith in Action, welcoming people, caring for our hurt and ailing, loving our friends and loving those we don’t always find so friendly.

As we progress through the coming year, let’s do that which we do best: sharing our emotions and intellect through spirited discourse, and once decisions are made, come together to support these decisions — especially the ones with which we don’t agree.

It’s easy to practice democracy as a decision- making process. It’s not easy to continue practicing democracy when we find ourselves in the minority of a decision.

I’m going to give special effort this year to support with enthusiasm any decisions we make, with especial attention to those with which I disagreed.

I believe this will enhance life.

Will you join me?

For what we are and what we will become.

-- Ron Crane

December, 2007

Building

1. Phase I of the building program, “the Cottage,” is complete. Watch for tours and a celebration soon.

2. Phase II: the initial bid has been received with a cost estimate of $2.7 million. Other bids are being solicited.

3. A condition of Phase II construction requires underground infrastructure for water retention and drainage in the new courtyard area, estimated to cost an additional $340 thousand.

4. We have capital campaign funds (received and pledged) in the amount of $1.3 million. We have reserve funds in the amount of $300 thousand.

5. The Building Committee, Ralph Mechur our architect, and O’Connor Construction are performing “value engineering” (that means looking for places to cut costs) for Phase II and the courtyard construction.

6. The Building Committee will present a proposal at the December board meeting on alternative approaches to the building program.

7. The Finance Committee is exploring the possibility of a loan for the Building Program.

8. The Building Committee is being restructured into four sub-committees: (1) Construction, (2) Design, (3) Finance, and (4) Congregational Concerns. The Nominating Committee is active in this process.

9. We have a great deal of research, discussion, and deciding to do in the near future.

10. Concurrently, we have people and programs, the essence of our community, to support and to build. Our community is a very busy place.

During these Holidays, may you find pleasure in each other.

With appreciation for what we are and for what we will become,

— Ron Crane

July, 2007

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as president of the Board of Directors.

For the next few years we’re in for a unique experience:

1. We’re going to be displaced and find things misplaced. The Forbes Hall complex as we know it is coming down.

2. We’ll be crowded, inconvenienced, challenged to practice patience, and we’ll have a particularly profound opportunity to get to know our community in a close and meaningful way.

3. We are going to see the rise of a new education building and social hall that will provide an environment for our youth that is equal to the quality of educational experience and educators we currently provide our youth.

4. We are going to experience growth. There has been discussion about the need to be cautious during our building program because of potential loss of income and membership. WRONG! During the next two years I expect us to grow new and additional members each year. It is not time to “hunker down” for an impending recession of attendance; it is a time to bring more members into our growing and viable community in order that they may participate in “Building our Community.”

5. About this “community thing.” We readily acknowledge that it takes “a whole village to raise a child.” We don’t as readily acknowledge that it takes a community to give purpose, support, and comfort to an adult. We are about being that type of community that supports and comforts and gives purpose.

We are a healthy community:

When Peter Hendricksen consulted with us he told the Finance committee that we are a Healthy Community. He did ask two questions for consideration: “Why has your membership growth paused?” and “Why have you let finance lead and determine your mission when you have such a large reserve?”

1. Our programs are substantial and growing:

a. RE continually renews itself to meet changing youth needs. We have one of the few OWL programs that offers a continuum of education concerning sexuality and relationships from childhood to adulthood (thank you, Beth Rendeiro).

b. Covenant groups continue to sprout from the original plantings. They also provide an entry for new members to become a part of the community. TAG is living up to its middle name — The Action Group.

c. Marv Pulliam (in work for the Transition Committee) has compiled a spreadsheet of 41 in-house meetings and groups utilizing space. This doesn’t include the outside groups we support such as AA.

d. Have you listened to the choir lately? Has Louis touched your toes and made them dance on the floor? Has Steve Wight touched your soul with sound? Enough said.

e. Faith in Action: simply put, there is too much to mention by name. We have a history of service to community. We have a desire to both continue and expand that service. When I’m asked why I put time, energy, and money into that “Little Unitarian Place on Arizona” I have a short elevator speech: “That Little Unitarian Place on Arizona lets me HELP CHANGE THE WORLD.”

2. We have raised $2,400,000 for our capital campaign.

We will raise another $500,000 to complete phase two. We have savings and reserves in the area of a half-million dollars. We have a stewardship program that is viable and professional to provide for our financial growth. We have Long Range Planning to provide for congregational growth and nurturance. We aren’t a rich church with millions in endowment, but we are a financially healthy church. (When you think healthy financials, think forty years of Warren Mathews.) When you think the continuation of healthy financials, think of yourself. Think of what we can do as a community that we could never do as individuals.

3. Our Staff:

a. With the passage of the ’07–’08 budget we set the foundation for a staff that can support our efforts. We used to rely on the good services of volunteers to do almost everything about the administration of the community. We live in changed times. Most families have both parents working or are single-parent. There is no longer the volun- “ 2007 5 teer time available that has been the salvation of a small community. So, we’re lucky to attract and hire exceptional professional people to staff our community needs. Changes in our administrative structure will let us train and keep people rather than train them and burn them out. Don’t think volunteerism has ended. A quick look at the volunteer time given by professionals to the building program shows nearly a half-million dollars in volunteer time — so far. If all 450 members volunteered two hours per week, the 900 hours would be the equivalent of 22 full-time staff persons. Imagine what we could accomplish with 22 additional staff members.

b. About Judith — aka the Reverend Judith Meyer: She is our shepherd! She is compassion, intellect, and grace. One of the few times that I use the term “we are blessed” is when I consider how blessed we are to have Judith as our minister.

4. US (you is us and us is you) or some of the components of UU-ness that make us tick:

a. Creativity — when I see the ideas and action that result from democratic consideration of our issues I have hope for the rest of the world. Creativity flourishes in a free atmosphere and dies in oligarchy.

b. Spirituality — building your own theology is a course in developing of your personal theology. Our community is the place where we put that personal theology into practice, discover flaws in its design, and have the opportunity to try again. We don’t demand agreement of others, but we do share that which touches their mind and soul so that we might all grow.

c. The democratic process is a crucial element of our community. Democracy works only when people participate in its process. “Bad programs and policies are adopted by good people who don’t listen and don’t vote.” Transparency is also an essential element of democracy. If I get expedient rather than inclusive, please let me know. Talk to me and other members of the Board of Directors. We are the elected representatives of you.

d. Children and youth keep us from getting too arrogant. Interaction between age groups is needed to keep the wisdom flowing both ways. The recent YRUU Sunday was not well attended. Why? The program that day was an insight into NOW — communication and issues. Our youth are leading us. They are ahead of us. Eleanor Egan’s sponsorship of the UN delegate experience has our youth telling us what needs to be done about cooperation in the world. Some of us are listening, but are we taking action?

e. Celebrating diversity — we are a Welcoming Congregation. We need to move to being a celebrating congregation to celebrate all forms of diversity. There’s a good chance that if you’re sitting in this sanctuary today you have been identified as “a different” — you know, that talk among others that “he” or “she” is different from the rest of us. In whatever form you experienced being “a different” you now know the importance of finding others who will celebrate that difference. Try “that little Unitarian place on Arizona Avenue.”

f. Promoting sustainability (remember litter) — teach the kids and they will teach adults. Practice sustainability in front of the kids and they will learn to teach us.

g. Peace — we’re in a war. War doesn’t work. I’ve been to one. I know. We have so much to do. How do we find a visible voice to share the knowledge we have about the efficacy of Peace? I don’t know the answer to this question. Perhaps together we will find a stronger voice.

5. What now and tomorrow?

a. We’re going to build environmentally sustainable, aesthetically pleasing people and edifices.

b. We are going to work together, share together, play together, and of course eat together. We have the opportunity to belong in a world that makes connecting more and more difficult.

c. I hope you go home today thinking (1) How can we do all of the things Ron was talking about? and (2) What am I going to do to make them happen?

d. Above all else: my greatest desire is that each of us care for others, support others, create with others, share with others, and love others. In doing those five things we can change a world.

e. Christopher Columbus is not one of my all time favorite heroes. He did do one thing I admire. He made one very big mistake. His entire premise about finding India by sailing west was never achieved. He discovered only a new world. Perhaps our mistakes have equal potential.

f. To quote the Rev. Judith Meyer: “Grow and learn and make the world a better place.”So be it.

— Ron Crane

November, 2006

November is pledge month. This column highlights some additional issues and events in November that I consider noteworthy.

November is Faith in Action month for the Art Wall in Forbes Hall. This tradition was started by the Social Action Committee and has continued under the auspices of the Faith in Action Commission. This year the Faith in Action Art Wall is organized around the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. We hope you will find the exhibition interesting and informative.

November is the publication month for our new photo directory of church members and friends. We hope you will find this useful and that it will foster wider recognition of each other during and after Sunday services. Suggestions for improving the photo directory would be appreciated.

November is election month. Please be good citizens and vote November 7.

November is the month for Veterans Day and for sober reflection on our continued involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I encourage you to join our minister, the Rev. Judith Meyer, and others at Arlington West, on the beach near the Santa Monica pier, on November 12 at 4 p.m. to participate in a sober remembrance of our veterans and these wars.

November is the month of Thanksgiving. Whether you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving at home, you celebrate at our church as part of our Pilgrims Feast, or both, please remember to take some time to reflect on our blessings, including the fact that we are fortunate to live in this libertyloving country.

— Charles Haskell

October, 2006

We need to know each other by name if we are to be a truly welcoming congregation. Wearing our name tag helps make this possible. Another way to help us recognize each other by name is by publishing a photo directory of our members. I’m happy to report that the Membership and Leadership committee has decided to proceed with the production of a photo directory of the adult members of our church to help us be even more welcoming to each other.

Over a decade ago, in 1993, Coppinger & Affiliates Church Directory Services produced a photo directory of our members. Subsequently, leaders of Bienvenidos (the former name of our new member program) took Polaroid photographs of new members on a fairly regular basis. Over the last year, I have taken photographs of new members for our Church Windows database and for the newsletter. Consequently, we have photographs of nearly 90% of our members on file. We plan to use these photographs as the starting point for a new photo directory.

You may say, aren’t many of these photos quite old and out-of-date? Yes, they most certainly are. But they represent a place to start in creating a new and morefunctional source of photographs of our members. Furthermore, we’ll make it very easy to update photographs for all church members who want this done. A schedule for taking photographs will be posted in the Order of Service in coming months. Also, if you see me in front of the church with my camera, come over and let me know you’re ready for a fresh photo.

You may say, do we have a policy on consent for the use of photographs of church members? Yes, the Board of Directors approved the following policy on December 13, 2005: “Photographs of adult members or friends of the church may be used to support church activities and purposes unless prohibited in writing by the individual or individuals involved. Photographs of children identified by name will not be displayed or included in church documents or publications without written permission of the child’s parent or guardian.”

You may say, why bother to do this when the photos will just get out-of-date again? My reply is that we intend to make this a dynamic document that gets updated with new photos added and old photos removed on the same schedule as the publication of our normal membership directory.

Stay tuned for this new resource. The Membership and Leadership Committee hopes you will agree that this new photo directory will be both useful and interesting. But be assurred — if you inform us in writing that you don’t want your photograph included in the photo directory, it will not be published. You can decline publication by sending e-mailing me or leaving a message in the President’s box in the church office.

September, 2006

While I was preparing for the annual meeting of the congregation in May, it became apparent that our church doesn’t publish a comprehensive annual report. Our bylaws call for reports from the President, Treasurer and Minister(s) at the annual meeting, but these have been oral presentations and they have not been published for distribution after the meeting. Reports from committee chairs are also required by the bylaws, but it isn’t clear which committees are required to make a report and how these reports should be distributed.

Melinda Ewen and I felt we should change this situation by publishing a true annual report this year. I’m happy to say that our joint effort has borne fruit—the Annual Report for 2005–2006 is hot off the press and available in the church office. Please stop by the office and pick up a copy to read at your leisure. It is also available here.

Briefly stated, here are some highlights of the report.

• Organization chart. The Board of Directors has just approved a new organization chart for the church. It is included for reference.

• Provisional Minutes of the Annual Meeting of May 21, 2006. These are provided for church members not in attendance as a guide to what happened.

• President's report. Carol Kerr summarizes nicely our progress toward realizing our dream of a new facility.

• Incoming President’s report. I describe the concept of “communal ownership” and why I think this is an important concept for us to embrace as a congregation.

• Minister’s report. Judith reviews the spiritual events of the year as only she can do. This includes a listing of church members who have died during the past church year.

• Financial report. Unlike the provisional financial report distributed at the annual meeting, this report summarizes our financial status at the conclusion of the entire church year. This includes how much we budgeted for each program area of the church for 2005–2006, the amount we actually spent on each area, and our new budget for 2006–2007. Warren Mathews has done a masterful job of summarizing our total financial status.

• Committee reports. This part of the report includes the widest reporting of committee activity that I have seen in years. It is a treasure trove of information for new members and old members alike.

I hope you’ll agree this is a useful publication. Your feedback about its value and suggestions for improvement would be most welcome.

— Charles Haskell

August, 2006

We’ve reached an interesting and exciting time in the history of our church. We expect to break ground soon on Phase 1 of our building program. The Long-Range Planning Committee and the Membership and Leadership Committee are seeking ways of making our church more welcoming to visitors and new members. One proposal under consideration would call for investing in a new paid staff position.

Faith in Action starts the church year with new and invigorated leadership; this, too, could challenge us to raise money for new programs. The Finance Committee and our treasurer, Warren Mathews, are working to transform our financial operations from a volunteerdriven process to one that is driven by paid professional staff. Stewardship and Capital Campaign Committees are working to maintain fund raising momentum for our ongoing operations, for possible new programs, and for new construction plans.

How shall we balance competing needs and priorities as these programs evolve? We’ll certainly be talking about this at board meetings and we’ll be having town hall meetings and open committee meetings to assure wide input from the congregation on setting priorities. We also have the core values expressed in the seven UU Principles and our church covenant. But are these enough? What can we learn from other institutions that may help us set priorities and achieve institutional excellence?

In 1982 Tom Peters and Robert Waterman published a book entitled “In Search of Excellence.” They described eight attributes of institutional excellence — established by extensive interviews with business leaders from 43 of America’s best-run companies. More than three million copies of the book have been sold, and it is considered by some to be the “greatest business book of all time.” The eight attributes held in common by these excellent institutions are as follows.

• A bias for action (and experimentation).
• Staying close to the customer (in our case, the congregation).
• Autonomy and entrepreneurship (empowering people to innovate).
• Productivity through people.
• Hands-on, values driven.
• “Stick to the knitting.”
• Simple form, lean staff.
• Simultaneous “loose-tight” properties.

I think these attributes are worth fostering in our church. In future columns I’ll explain these attributes and explore how they can help us become a more welcoming and inclusive institution.

— Charles Haskell

April, 2005

We tried an experiment this year with our budgeting process, and I think we have created some new conversations around our mission and how we fund it.

Usually, the Finance Committee would deliver a draft budget to the board for consideration at our April meeting. The Finance Committee does a pretty good job of crystal balling our next year’s budget. The board then makes some refinements, and the budget gets submitted to the congregation for approval at the annual meeting in May. There tends to be little discussion about the budget at our annual meeting, and the congregation approves a financial path for another year.

What we have realized, however, is that the financial path is heading straight for a cliff. This information will be covered in more detail with you in May, but it is fair to say that our expense line has an upward trajectory of about 5% a year, while our income line (mostly pledge income), has been rising about 3% a year. It is not hard to imagine what happens when your expenses outstrip your income . . . you go broke.

Action was needed! In a break from tradition, a joint Board, Finance and Stewardship retreat was held on March 5 to develop some revenue and expense strategies that could reverse this misalignment. We held a congregational workshop on March 19 to continue the work started at the retreat. Both the retreat and the workshop were facilitated — and it encouraged dialogue and new voices. The congregational workshop was attended by about 40 people — a very gratifying turnout for a Saturday.

We do have some ideas about how to bring our income back into line with our expenses — but those ideas will require imagination, volunteer energy and enhanced awareness about the financial realities of the church we all cherish.

-- Carol Kerr

July, 2004

Did you know that it is the beginning of the year? Yes, I realize that school is out and everyone is heading off for summer vacations. However, it is the beginning of the 2004-2005 fiscal year for UUCCSM, and I have the same sense of optimism as I do on New Year’s Eve.

The election of a new board adds fuel to the “new year” fire. Although the board will greatly miss the leadership and insight of Greg Poirier, David Knudsen, and Andy Stewart, I am delighted by the fresh perspectives offered by our new board members: Peter Van den Beemt, Rebecca Crawford, and Daniel Teplitz. All of our board members represent the needs and desires of different segments of our congregation—making our board truly representative. The Executive Committee has also been re-energized with the addition of Ron Crane as secretary and Charles Haskell as second vice president.

The board will venture off on its annual retreat in early August and will explore the theme of “long range planning”—especially as it relates to our building program. Congregational input from the town hall meetings in June and July will certainly enhance the dialogue at the retreat. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity for the congregation to vote on specific directions in September.

A new year also calls for new resolutions. It is hard to predict where events will lead us this year. Who would have guessed that last year would have led us down the path of a significant bequest, Santa Monica Planning Commission approval for the 17th Street project, and the purchase of the new 18th Street property? However, making new resolutions is a good exercise in visioning for a new year. My resolutions are, hopefully, straightforward: continue the dialogue on stewardship so our congregation can see how giving outwardly to our community reaps inward benefits and provide leadership for the new building program. What are your resolutions for this new year? I would love to hear them.

--Carol Kerr

March, 2004

One of the important tasks that the Board of Directors undertakes each spring is preparing the operating budget for the church for the next fiscal year. (I use the word “preparing” in a very broad sense, as it is really the Finance Committee that does the yeoman’s job of compiling budget requests from the various departments and salary recommendations from the Personnel Committee before proposing a draft budget.) However, it is ultimately up to the board to submit a budget to the congregation for approval at the annual meeting in May.

In working through this budget process, the board is focused on the fact that we are a church, and not a business. We don’t have an obligation to show a profitable bottom line to the shareholders every year; we have an obligation to keep the doors of this place open and the programs humming. So, for us, a budget is really just an attempt to balance the revenue of the church with its expenses. If the expenses exceed the revenue, we either have to dip into savings, or figure out a way to increase our revenue. We cannot really cut costs because that means losing the people and programs that make this church meaningful for all of us.

But this balancing of revenue and expenses is tricky, because our revenue is never a certainty. Our expenses are pretty concrete. We know how much we pay our minister and our staff; and we know how much it costs to keep the lights on, to provide curriculum and art supplies to RE, and to have fine musicians perform on Sundays. But our revenue can be fickle, because it depends on our expectations about what members will pledge, and depends even more on whether those pledges are fulfilled. I don’t want you to think that the church’s other sources of revenue are not important—we benefit greatly from the Dining for Dollars event, for example—and that fundraiser revenue has been happily predictable. But pledge revenue represents a little more than 70% of our total revenue, and accurately predicting that revenue is obviously critical when the board is putting a budget together.

Perhaps it is the economy, but we have not been very successful in the last few years in managing our expectations about pledge revenue. You may remember that, at the annual meeting in May 2003, the congregation approved a budget that depended on $351,000 in pledge revenue. After the pledge drive in October, it became apparent to the Finance Committee and the board that we had been overly optimistic about likely pledge revenue, and so we revised our expectations about that revenue down to $325,000. That is obviously a drop of $26,000. This more realistic assessment of our pledge income did not have a disastrous impact on our budget for this year because the church did not fill certain staff positions that had been included in the budget (or had a delayed start on some positions, such as our new RE Director). In addition, the church has not spent much of its facility budget in expectation of moving ahead with the building program.

Balancing a budget by not doing something you planned is certainly one way of managing finances, but it shouldn’t be the preferred method of running this church. As president, I could ask the board to spend the next month or so stripping expenses out of the budget so that we can present a balanced budget to the congregation in May. I would prefer, however, to continue the dialogue started by the Stewardship Committee this last year and find a way to pay for the programs that we cherish. I would appreciate your thoughts.

-- Carol Kerr

December, 2003

A few months ago, I made an appeal in the order of service for someone (or some group) to “Save the Turkey.” Pilgrims Feast, a long-standing potluck tradition, was in danger of losing its spot on our church calendar because there was no real committee or sponsorship for the dinner.

Happily, as we all know, the Pilgrims Feast lives on, and was enjoyed by many on November 22. In response to that appeal, volunteers stepped forward with both energy for, and a new vision of, the Pilgrims Feast as an “all-church” fellowship event. Many thanks to the volunteers, and special recognition goes to Richard Boothe for chairing the Pilgrims Feast committee and to Melinda Ewen for proposing a new intergenerational vision of Thanksgiving.

This is not the first time that a beloved tradition has faced the prospect of flaming out because of sheer exhaustion on the part of the volunteers. Shouldering the entire burden for one project for too long leads to burnout. The church’s de Benneville Pines weekend confronted a similar fate last spring, until Carol Agate spearheaded a group of faithful camp-goers and continued the weekend as a showcase for the talents of the members of our church.

It is possible to simply take the many wonderful events that we share at church for granted, and to assume that those events will continue in their beloved fashion year after year. But the truth is that each and every event at church depends entirely on the energy, commitment and enthusiasm of the volunteers.

There are many opportunities within our church to reinvigorate events and responsibilities. Hopefully, the skills and interests survey that many of you completed will help everyone find an opportunity to be of service.

I see many examples of how new members are finding their way to interesting tasks by simply evaluating what they like to do and marrying that interest with what the church needs. (We have a brand new member who has already enthusiastically volunteered to assume the mantle from Milton Holmen and keep track of our church archives.) There is a lot to do around the church, so don’t be shy about stepping up for something you want to do.

In this season of Thanksgiving and rejoicing, I want to extend my personal thanks to all of our members who have given and who continue to give so generously of their personal time and who make our church come alive. Without you, this church would not be the welcoming and wonderful place we all enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

-- Carol Kerr

November, 2003

I was delighted to attend a dinner with Bill Sinkford, the UUA President, this past month. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his perspective on the UUA generally and where it is heading in the near future. I also appreciated being able to spend the evening talking with him in a small group setting.

The evening highlighted the value of small group dialogues and building relationships through individual conversations. Our Stewardship Committee has been fostering that kind of specific dialogue around the subject of generosity and stewardship, and the stewardship meetings I attended certainly had the same spirit of candid discussion and passion for our church community as the dinner for Bill Sinkford. We have an opportunity this year, with the assistance of our intern minister, to develop small covenant groups under the umbrella of the Adult Religious Growth and Learning program (ARGL). I encourage you to look for these groups and participate.

I would also like us to spend some time and energy on enhancing the way we, as members, perceive and pursue "fellowship” with each other. There are going to be some stressful passages for this congregation over the next few years — the exciting but undeniably stressful process of building a new building on 17th Street and renovating the sanctuary; the invigorating but stressful challenge of continuing to grow our membership and meeting the needs of our larger community; and the sobering but rewarding challenge of addressing the reality of our current financial situation.

We will be able to successfully navigate each of these passages only if our fellowship with each other is durable. I invite you to join me in this process, and of course, I am always available to discuss these ideas with you personally.

-- Caroll Kerr

October, 2003

At the board meeting this month, we read out the names of 11 new members, and brought our church membership to a new total of 471! Jim Cadwell, a recent past president, likes to remind me that he was the 400th member of our church. I am not certain if he received a toaster, or some other token, but we are well past that milestone and heading toward 500 members. I also received some materials from the Pacific Southwest District today suggesting that UU churches of the future will either remain small (less than 150 members) or become “large” (more than 400 members), and that most UU churches or congregations are in the small category.

I find it a little shocking to think of UUCCSM as a large congregation (and perhaps a little more shocking to think that we are one of the few PSWD churches in this category). I say this because everything about our church feels smallish to me, and I am not just talking about the sanctuary at the 11 a.m. service. After just a few years with the church, coffee hours are filled with friendly, known faces. The children sitting on the chancel steps are growing up, but are now familiar and friends of my daughter. The newsletter brings the many events and activities of our church into manageable focus. The various church events throughout the year (e.g., Halloween Carnival, Pilgrims Feast, Christmas Pageant, Dining for Dollars) draw us together in very satisfying ways.

But we are a big church, certainly in comparison to other UU congregations, and are bound to face challenges in making each member feel welcome and at home. I worry that, as our church gets a little more crowded, our members will not feel that our church is a smallish place. But the remedy for that concern has to start with each of us, and a willingness to reach out to each other. This requires more than just wearing our name tags. It is keeping tabs on our old friends so they don’t slip away, and reaching out to make new friends so they are also drawn into the circle of our church.

I am pleased to report that the Faith in Action Commission has found one concrete way of keeping our church a smallish place: it has implemented a “phone tree” to make sure that those of our members who do not have email (there are about 100) are contacted by phone if there is an important event at the church or an urgent communication. I am confident that we will find more ways to remain smallish even as we head toward the day when we welcome our 500th member (with a toaster).

-- Carol Kerr

September, 2003

The board had an excellent retreat on August 9, 2003. I am so delighted to be serving with board members who bring energy, thoughtfulness and no small measure of passion to the process. We also manage to share our ideas (even when they differ) in a respectful manner. Thank you to all the board members for attending.

We began the retreat with a group exercise that I am going to recommend to all of you. (See instructions below.) We broke into three groups of four and took 15 minutes to identify three strengths of our church and three weaknesses. When we gathered back together as a big group, we shared our thinking. Perhaps not surprisingly, the strengths and the weaknesses identified by the small groups were very similar.

I wanted to share the identified strengths with you. We agreed that our church benefits from a terrific minister. We also agreed that our church enjoys tremendous human capital in the sense that we have a large number of committed and energetic volunteers. Finally, we agreed that the seven UU principles provide a foundation of strength for the growth and development of our community.

We did, of course, identify three weaknesses. Some of them may seem obvious (like finances), and the board will be focusing on these concerns this year. We will talk more about these weakness in the future.

In the meantime, here is the exercise I want to recommend to each of you. (Yes, homework. It is September after all.) Please take a few minutes this month to think about the strengths and weaknesses of our church. The group dynamic really helps, so talk to your spouse, your child, your partner, your friend. Put these strengths and weaknesses on a piece of paper and leave it for me in the president’s mailbox at church or send it in by mail. We, as a board, may have agreed on our vision of our strengths, but we need to hear your visions too to round out our perspective.

As the board begins a process this fall of identifying goals for the year, we would benefit from having your list of issues (good and bad). I think you will also find that writing down the pros and cons, as it were, will remind you of why you make this church your spiritual home.

-- Carol Kerr

August, 2003

I have been confronting change lately, both at home and at church. It’s nothing serious, but it is still slightly uncomfortable. At home, the summer schedule always requires a little tweaking of the school year pell-mell rush out the door to suit the only slightly less hectic summer camp rush out the door. Although the change in morning routine is not major, it is still oddly unsettling. (Of course, once I get used to it by July, it changes again when Meghan heads off to school in mid-August!)

There have also been some changes for me at church, where I have taken on the task of being president and I am playing a new, often more organizing, role at executive committee and board meetings. So, as a person who craves routine, I am facing a summer of change and awkwardness.

This is not the first change in my adult life, of course. Aside from obvious events like college, marriage and having a child, I have also given up everything known and certain in my life to move 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to the island of Guam. In 1996, Shawn and I changed jobs, moved from a lovely house in San Francisco to Navy housing, prayed our household belongings would arrive a little faster than the projected eight weeks, and began making friends on a Navy base where we didn’t know anyone. That was unsettling, to be sure, but it was also invigorating, exciting and challenging. It also changed our marriage in a very positive way. We discovered a lot of important things about ourselves and our marriage, including the fact that change should be embraced as a positive force in life.

I wanted to share this idea about change as a positive force because we are moving ahead with some changes here at church, too. This summer, we have been seeing the beginnings of the Stewardship Committee’s generous congregation platform. This fall, we will see the arrival of a ministerial intern and a new director of religious education.

The congregational meetings sponsored by the Stewardship Committee began a productive dialogue on stewardship and the idea of a generous congregation, and will certainly generate additional conversation. But the meetings may have been unsettling for some; the conversations may have asked for more thinking about why we are here and what we want to accomplish together than some of us are ready for. Nonetheless, I encourage you to embrace the opportunity to examine the way you think about this church and your role as a member. If that examination prompts change, I am confident you will ultimately find the change invigorating.

-- Carol Kerr

July, 2003

School’s out! Literally, for our children, and figuratively, for those of us who work year round. As summer hits its stride, life around the church may seem quieter or slower. But don’t let the droning bees outside the windows on Sundays fool you. There are many ways that we are reaching out to each other, and involving our church members, friends and visitors.

Responses to the all-church survey have been very gratifying, with about 175 in hand. The survey results will allow us to tap into the energy and creativity of our members in a more thoughtful way. We have already been able to identify volunteers who can revitalize our Building and Grounds Committee and keep the church looking beautiful. It is never too late to fill out a survey and get involved!

Liz Fuller, the magician who keeps our website fresh and up-to-date, is working with the subcommittee on committees team to develop an online communications survey that will find out how our members, friends and visitors use the website, the online version of the newsletter and the Faith in Action bulletin. The survey can be done electronically; so it is fast, fun and helpful.

The Religious Education department will spend the summer working with the director of religious education at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, CA, to develop a program and curriculum for the fall so we can hit the ground running when we hire our new director of religious education. There are always opportunities to get involved with the children, and Liza Cranis, our acting DRE for the summer, can certainly use help on Sundays. Reach out to the children upstairs!

Dining for Dollars dinners, outings and events continue throughout the summer and offer our members wonderful chances to get to know each other better (and to enjoy some wonderful food).

The Business Network Committee is gathering steam, and will be reaching out to our members who have their own businesses or interesting services. The idea is to have a better forum for advertising the talents and resources of our members, both in a business directory and perhaps through a bulletin board. If you are interested, please contact Phyllis Kory.

If Forbes Hall seems a little more spacious this summer with vacation schedules calling people away on Sundays, use the extra elbow room to say hello and to welcome visitors and new members. Remember your name tag!

-- Carol Kerr

June, 2003

Hello!

I thought I would use the president’s column this month to introduce myself and our family, and to share some thoughts about the opportunities and challenges ahead in the 2003-04 church year.

Although I grew up in Los Angeles and attended this church as a child, I moved away for college and law school, and eventually settled in San Francisco to practice law. After I married Shawn, we were moved to Guam (courtesy of the U.S. Navy) for three years and did not return to “the mainland” until January 1999.

Returning to Los Angeles was both fun and unnerving. Shawn and I missed the strong sense of community we had enjoyed living on a naval base, and we looked for a way to regain that sense of closeness in a city as big as this one. We started attending UUCCSM in the summer of 1999, mostly because I had fond memories of my childhood Sundays. We became members that fall. Our daughter has enjoyed the religious exploration classes from the start and adores the friends she has made. (We do, too.)

I have served on the pledge committee, the finance committee, and on the board as treasurer. I have also worked on the capital campaign, and taught RE with some amazing volunteer teachers. Shawn has served as chair of the RE committee and is now a member of the nominating committee. Our daughter likes to ring the bell on Sundays. Participating in the life of the church in these ways has been challenging, but also incredibly rewarding, as these activities have been a source of enduring friendships for all of us.

What can we expect from this year? There are many exciting opportunities ahead. The results of the all-church survey can expand the participation of our members in the myriad volunteer opportunities this church offers. We can survive the Santa Monica City Council approval process and continue realizing the vision of our building program. We can support the boundless enthusiasm of the religious exploration program and help our children learn about their spiritual place in this world. We can see the tremendous energy of FIA continue to give our church a collective voice on the important issues of the day. We can explore the depths of our faith with the help of an inspiring senior minister.

Of course, there are challenges, too. As 2003 promises to be another tumultuous year on both the economic and political fronts, the demands on this church to offer a spiritual home are ever increasing. We need to accommodate our members and visitors in both a physical and spiritual sense. It is clear, however, that the resources of our church have not kept pace with the demands made on it. So, the biggest challenge of the year will be to find ways to increase those resources. The all-church survey offers a chance to improve our volunteer resources by matching the talents and skills of our members and friends with the volunteer needs in our programs. The stewardship committee has begun developing a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to making this church a truly generous congregation.

The opportunities for this congregation certainly outweigh the challenges, and I look forward to the year ahead.

-- Carol Kerr