Notes from February 18th, 2017 Present: Dana Baron, Gaye Symington, Joanna Weinstock, Lynn Robbins, Lincoln Grey, Julia Grey, Sam Lewis, Scott Esmond, Peter Booth, Lance Polya, Jean Archibald, Bob Pasco, Delia Clark, Susan Bresee, Maura Collins, Sandra Limoge, Beth Esmond, Rebecca Gagne, Aletta Powel, Jen Levine Dana introduced the two topics, the fellowship barn and seeking spiritual guidance, and explained that in the fellowship survey these two topics received an almost equal number of “high Priority” voters as “Low Priority” voters, and each had a healthy number of “Medium Priority” votes as well. Dana outlined what the component parts of spiritual leadership could entail, including:  Coach members as they lead services - as a resource, leading a workshop each year  Preaching  Pastoral care  Special services (Weddings, memorial services, …)  Organizational leadership (helping keep track)  A voice in the community He also reviewed what spiritual leadership might cost. The average pay for a full time minister is about $49,000. So, for 1/4 time it would be $12,000 per year. Now, MMUUF pays for 8 services, $2,000 per year. He also noted that the former Director of RE, Martha Dallas, is no longer working for the First UU Church in Burlington, and Mara Dowdall, the minister, has said she plans to step down this summer because serving as the full time minister is hard to juggle with her family and other commitments. Notes from the discussion: Roles people would value in a paid spiritual leader:  Support the committees and track where needs are  Represent MMUUF at regional meetings  Reinforce, not supplant, the role of the steering committee  Lead a workshop in how to lead a service and provide coaching for service leaders Questions:  Would MMUUF members feel comfortable going to someone for guidance if they had only been with the fellowship for 4 services over the course of the fellowship year?  Would we want a UU minister? We aren’t looking for a preacher. We aren’t looking for a Christian minister. Do we need UU credentials on his or her resume? What if a Buddhist leader were to offer his or her services? Don’t assume a particular background.  Does this person exist? Aren’t we all the resource we need?

Concerns, opposition to the idea:  Several members noted they would be very unhappy having someone lead as many as 8 services - it would totally change the fellowship.  Budgetary pressures are already high. This would add to that strain. Additional questions:  Can MMUUF attract and keep people when we require so much of each other in order to function? We need to be willing to welcome people to attend without contributing.  We also need to recognize the high burn-out concern that came through the survey.  For several, the desire for a spiritual leader isn’t to lighten a managerial load, it’s to better equip us to add meaning to our services, so it could be more comfortable for people to lead services. Coaching, reading resources, etc. Next step:  Jenn Fink, Jean Archibald and Delia are willing to look at options for a spiritual leader  Maura noted the lack of participation in RE. We shifted to youth leaders when we couldn’t find adults willing to be teachers. Now numbers are dropping. The DRE is more focused on administration, getting teachers in place and getting them here, and has less energy for curriculum. Should we incorporate this concern into the discussion of needing spiritual leadership? —————————————————————————————————————— Building Needs On previous occasions John Hemmelgarn has looked at other options for expanding the space for services. The least expensive option would cost $960k. Other options require $1 million, plus. A big constraint is the parking lot. Maybe the new owner of the adjoining property would be more accommodating than the previous owner. Topics of discussion: Sacred Space Fund  We have a reserve, but not a fund to support a new space. It would be worth having a place for people to contribute to the new space.  Would adding a kitchen help the building be more rentable?  When we set up the Sacred Space fund initially, we didn’t know what it would become. But it grew and was useful as part of the downpayment.  When we bought the building we had $10k in the Sacred Space Fund. It wasn’t huge in the deal, but it represented a dream/ hope.  We wouldn’t raise the full $1 million in order to expand. We’d raise some amount and then borrow, using our equity. Uses of the space now  Wednesday night singing group  Formerly the winter farmer market  Weddings and individual parties

Current building constraints:  The posts in the sanctuary  The kitchen (a full kitchen brings higher insurance, more risk of mice and mess) Dana suggested MMUUF reinstitute a sacred space fund and eatables a new committee to explore options. Bob Pasco, Lincoln and Rebecca offered to join it. Final comments:  We are who we are. We should be true to ourselves and not try to be everything.  Incremental change may allow us to move where we have consensus.  Change is scary and no change presents its own set of challenges.  Different people will react differently.  It would be a good idea to re-read the Covenant. Perhaps at the next meeting we could start with that. Next meeting is scheduled for March 18th.