These past two months members of the board and nominating committee have been busy polling the congregation on the names for our Ministerial Search Committee.  We have received responses from 74 our members, and have created a short list of 15 names from our poll.  The next step is to ask these members to get involved in the most important work of our transition; selecting our next called Minister.

The work of the Search Committee … Read the rest

We are still in the first year of our two year interim with Reverend Joy.  In January, we will begin the process of how we select our Ministerial Search Committee.  To start, the board has formed a committee of six members (Kirk Klausmeyer, Diana Dickerson, Wayne Bennion, Mary Lasack, Ruth Desmidt, and Roy Dickerson) to poll the congregation.  As we move into the very early stages in our search for a new settled minister, we … Read the rest

We continue to have lay-led services and guest speakers in the pulpit during the summer months until our interim minister; Rev Joy Atkinson arrives in mid-August. I want to thank Lu Middleton and the entire worship committee, ushers and sound people for their dedication and hard work preparing our Sunday services, and welcoming our guests.
I have been communicating with Rev. Joy over the last month, sharing my concerns on how to prepare the congregation … Read the rest

Our June meeting concludes the business for 2013/14, and we invited our newly elected members to attend our meeting to overlap the order of business. Our farewells were more difficult this year as we said good bye to so many. This was last board meeting for Rev. Katie, Roy King Jr., Darcy Baxter, Frank Satterwhite, Nancy Harrison, Wendy Robertson, and Mary Swain. We started our meeting individually described our feelings of gratitude.

The board reviewed … Read the rest

June is the end of the church year; we close our financial books at the end of the month, determining if there will be a surplus or deficit from this past year’s budget. The entire board is thankful for the work of our finance committee, most of all Frank Satterwhite, who has served as our Treasurer for the past 10 years. We say thank you to all our departing board members this month which include … Read the rest

Our church is at a significant crossroads in our history and our development. As we part ways with our long settled minister, we want to hold onto to all we’ve accomplished with Rev. Katie’s guidance and forethought. Yet, as we look to the future, we find ourselves at a new beginning – facing many ‘unknowns’. The decisions we make now, financially and otherwise, will affect our future. I’d like to explain briefly some of these … Read the rest

The Board of Trustees met twice in March. At our invitation, PCD Executive Josh Searle-White attended our March 6th board meeting to help us sort out feelings and questions following Rev. Katie’s resignation.
Josh guided us through the UUA Transition path and shared the benefits of an Interim Minister. We spoke openly about our choices and concerns. In closing, Josh gave us this advice; “Nothing has to happen immediately; the board should take some time … Read the rest

The Board of Trustees did not meet for our February meeting; instead we participated in a number of Starr King events over the weekend.
Friday evening was a well-attended event at the invitation to join the welcoming Shabbat service at Shir Ami in Castro Valley. A spiritual service filled with music, readings, and time set aside at the end to meet our neighbors.
Our leadership retreat on Saturday was a full day of getting to … Read the rest

It’s early January that I am writing this article for our February newsletter and I’m still feeling the love and teamwork that inspired those to develop a plan and complete the playground raising. We continue to thank all those involved in making this project happen. It has been exhilarating to feel and hear the buzz amongst our members, an energy that has sparked all ages.
Although it is the beginning of a New Year, we … Read the rest

One of the first items of business on the November Board agenda was to review the mail ballot for the proposed changes to Articles XII, XIII, & XIV in our bylaws. As you can see from the results below, we were just a couple of votes shy of making the recommended changes that would make the text consistent. We saw ways in which we could have improved the number of ballots received, as well as … Read the rest