Your Finance Committee and its Chair, Sue Bender-Wilkinson, have gone to great lengths to make sure the budget is sound, supports our staff and our activities, and creates opportunities for all of us to have a safe and welcoming space for spiritual growth. Our values and priorities are reflected in the budget, and your Board of Trustees has reviewed and approved this proposed budget. It is a tight budget this year, as we have lost many pledging households, and will have to operate running a deficit in 2025. This is not a sustainable practice. It must become a priority for the whole congregation to grow the size of our membership.
We will have a meeting on Sunday December 8th 2024 after services in the Meeting House where the Finance Committee will present the budget, and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
We will be holding our Annual Meeting after services on Sunday, December 15th, 2024 at the Meeting House. Please join us to vote on the Budget, the Slate of Nominations for the Board of Trustees and members of the Leadership Committee for 2025, and the change to the By Laws regarding the election of Board Members.
According to the By-Laws, Article V, Section C,2: Voting members will be those members 18 years of age or older who have been members for 30 days and who have made a recorded financial contribution to the Congregation within the past 18 months.
*The leadership committee announces the following nominations for 2025:
BOARD OF TRUSTEES FINAL TERM YEAR
Art Holmberg, treasurer 2026
Tena Bunnell 2027
Dan Forbush 2027
Barbara Floeser 2026
Tari Lee Muth 2025
Doretta Miller 2025
Continuing on the Board: Ron Giancola through 2026
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
Tari Lee Muth2026
Richard Wilkinson2026
Continuing on Leadership: Linda Miner, Jenn Pratt
Attached to this email you will also find the Annual Reports from the President, the Minister, the Treasurer, the Director of Religious Education, the New Home Task Force, all of the Teams and Committees of our congregation, and the proposed language for the Bylaw change that was voted on in September. The change to the governance was voted in unanimously by the congregation, the changes to amend the Bylaws will be formalized at this Annual Meeting.
To paraphrase our Bylaws, the ultimate authority of the Congregation resides with its membership, and membership conveys a number of privileges and responsibilities. These include, but are not limited to, the privilege to vote, and the eligibility to hold elective office. Please join us on December 15th to participate in deciding the direction of our Congregation for 2025, and supporting the people who have stepped forward to serve.
Thank you,
Tari Lee Muth, President