Minutes
of the 2000 Annual Congregational Meeting
Unitarian Universalist Church of
Valdosta
May
28, 2000
1.
Call to order by President Charles Judah, opening remarks and thanks to
‘board members.
2.
No minutes
from last years’ meeting as there was no secretary at that time.
3.
Treasurer’s
report, René Kerr: Yearly statement reviewed. René proposes a saving account
be opened for future expenditures. Other
ideas for budget surplus include principle buy-down on the building loan, fund
for a minister, and fund for a new piano (cost to be looked into by Doug and
Molly). Betty Derrick recommends
that special funds earmarked by the giver for special use not be mixed with
the general fund to insure they are used for the purpose given.
René advises that the books are already kept that way.
Motion for opening a savings account, seconded and passes by
congregation. Motion made to
accept the budget, passed.
4.
Program
Committee: not present.
5.
Nominating
Committee: Virginia Branan presents candidates for board position for
2000-2001: Virginia Branan,/President, Diane Holliman/ Vice President, René
Kerr/ Treasurer, Doug Fraser/ Secretary.
There are no candidates for the R. E. chair but committee will continue
with interviews for the position. Vote
taken and passed by the congregation accepting new officers as nominated.
6.
Old
business: The need for a scheduled clean-up of the church is discussed by the
congregation. Josette Ingram
suggests possible assignments and frequency of clean-ups.
7.
New
business: Congregation discusses options for the dead tree in the parking lot.
After many votes are taken to clarify what action should be taken, the
vote passed by 9 to 3 to remove the tree.
Other ideas discussed are planting of a new tree in the same spot.
Congregation notes availability of the
newsletter on our web-site and the suggestion is made that costs could be cut
by everyone being aware that they could access it there instead of through the
mail.
President Judah adjourns the meeting.
Respectfully submitted, Doug Fraser, Secretary
Editor’s Note: Immediately after the Annual
meeting Ann Kasun volunteered to coordinate the R. E. activities for the next
year.
Congratulations
to the new officers!!!
And
Thank you to Charles, Virginia,
Doug, René, and Diane for a job well done for 1999-2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Youth
R.E.
The Religious Education program will continue during the
summer. Contact Ann Kasun for more details.
Wild
Adventures
On Sunday, July
30, after the service, an intergenerational trip to Wild Adventures is
planned. More details later!
Contact Diane
Holliman for more
information.
Water
Service Planned
Remember our plan to hold a water service early in the fall.
Collect a small vial of water from the places you visit this summer or
just from your home or work place. The purpose of this service is to come
together in the fall to share adventures and prepare for a new season of
community.
Treasurer’s
Report
May Budget
Outstanding Debts: $0.00
Savings: $0.00
Income:
Pledge:
$905.00
Plate:
$99.72
Fundraising: $3.90
Rent:
$480.00
(someone
paid early)
$1488.62
Expenses:
Mortgage:
$520.00
Speaker:
$420.00
Utilities:
$141.24
Memorial Plant:
$75.00
Lamp: $100.00
$1256.24
Your Treasurer, René Kerr
Special Budget Categories: As a result of the discussion about special
donations at the Annual meeting, René has provided the following information.
Past categories include: R.E., the light, advertising, Mailer (local new
people list), Chamber of Commerce list,
Hymnals, Music, and Memorial Plants. The
only ones that have a balance are:
Mailer
$250.00
Memorial Plants: $100.00
René comments that since Charles ordered the Mailer list and has not yet
been reimbursed, that account is essentially empty.
René says that most people hand her the bill for which they are donating
money along with the money. Consequently
the donation is immediately dispersed. She asks that we ask questions about
the budget whenever we have them. Also if anyone ever thinks she has misunderstood the
designation for a donation, please straighten her out.
Social Action Activities
Break Bread Together
Our
date for meal deliveries with the Break Bread Together program is the 2nd
Monday of each month. If you can
deliver meals on this day beginning about 11:00 AM, please contact Virginia
Branan.
Games Night!
Bring
$1.00, a dish, and your favorite game to the church on Saturday, July 1 at
7:00 PM. Call René Kerr
or Julie Halter if you need further information.
Women’s Group
Join us for good food and great company, the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Bring a snack, ideas for discussion, or
just yourself! Since the first Tuesday in July falls on July 4 the group will
be discussing whether to meet that evening.
Someone will let you know. Contact
Julie Halter for more information.
Pledging
Our Time
More
than a dozen folks signed up to coordinate or do specific service tasks for
our church. Thank you! We still need volunteers to
Ø
Clean
bathrooms in R. E. Building weekly
Ø
Chair
Fund (and Fun) Raising
Ø
Coordinate
Break Bread
Ø
Deliver
meals on 2nd and 5th Mon.
In Memory of a Tree
A
majority of those present at the Annual meeting in May thought the best course
of action with regard to the dead tree in front of the church was to cut the
tree. There was discussion about
leaving the tree to continue its place in the Web of Life as well as
discussion about planting another indigenous tree or plant where it had been. The tree has been cut now and was memorialized in the Sunday
service on June 18 with the lighting of a candle.
The tree lived.
Long live the tree.
The tree died.
Long live the tree.
The tree is felled.
Long live the tree.
MED
Following
are a few words from Carol Stiles who knows more than the rest of us about
what the continuing “life of the tree” will be.
Carol:
“I think an indigenous tree would
be best to plant around the church, as it seems clear to me that the
congregation has a connection to the natural environment, and that is why the
church was built in its current location. In fact, rather than transplanting,
we could even choose a young seedling from within our property to
"adopt" and nurture as an upcoming replacement. Did you also agree
to leave the tree on site after cutting?
My concern might be that it if is out front of the building, easily
visible, someone might find it easy taking for firewood. Could it be moved
back in along the nature paths our young people have made?
If so, we might have a great opportunity to observe the decomposition
("recycling") process that will follow over the next few years, a
critical, necessary – and interesting, but often neglected - part of our
ecology. It is true that the tree
will become habitat for a whole different community, even if it is on the
ground, and on behalf of the slime molds, wood rot fungi, mushrooms, other
microbes and critters that will occupy it...thank you!
Until then, perhaps it could also be used as a natural bench (depending
upon shape, size, and degree of degradation), for something we had discussed
at one time, i.e. establishing a meditation area in the woods.”
Know
Our Members
Do you know who just celebrated their 50th
Wedding Anniversary?
Congratulations to Norman and Martha on June 10!
Norm and Martha welcome visitors. Friends and family were in town to
help them celebrate in June. Theirs was a short courtship (3 months) which has
lasted. Best wishes to both of
them.
For those of you who do not
know them very well Norm writes that they lived in the Washington
area for 28 years until retiring in 1980, moving to Valdosta on July 4, 1981.
He says it was 105 degrees that day and that he almost went back north!
Norman says he and Martha met
at a handball court where she was taking fencing lessons. Norman noticed Martha’s tight fitting fencing outfit and he
says the rest is history! According
to Norman, after the honeymoon, she donated the outfit to the Salvation Army.
Norman, a graduate of Syracuse
University, retired as a civilian supervisory engineer with the Navy
Department. Martha, a graduate of
the University of Georgia with post-graduate study at Emory University, is a
retired medical laboratory technologist and was head of the outpatient medical
laboratory at DC General Hospital. She
also worked as a research assistant at the Georgetown University Institute of
Strategic and International Studies and as a librarian assistant.
Both Norman and Martha are Army veterans of World War II.
After retiring Norman and
Martha made several trips to south Georgia where Martha was beginning to
become involved in her family genealogy research.
A tentative decision was made to relocate to Valdosta after seeing an
ad in the Valdosta paper for the Unitarian Fellowship, communication with
Charles Leonard, former editor for this newsletter, and several other factors.
It was several weeks after their move before they realized that the
then Mary Street location of the UU Fellowship was only a few blocks from
their house.
Norman and Martha raised their
children in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, VA and have been
active leaders in the Valdosta church. Norman
served as Treasurer and Martha as President, Vice President, and Secretary.
Best
Wishes Norm and Martha and Thank You for your contributions through the years
to our church!
Newsletter Staff
Editor: Betty Derrick
Production: Virginia
Branan
Membership database: Doug
Fraser
Website: Carol
Stiles (now of Gainesville, FL), Julie Halter, and Earl Daniels (now of
Atlanta, GA)
July
11, deadline for the August issue (Please note the early date.) Your
editor’s summer plans will require preparation of the August newsletter
early. Your cooperation will be
appreciated.
At the Church-in-the-Woods:
Gay-Straight
Network -second Wednesday each month for
a potluck social, 7:00 PM.
Cardio Karate - Tuesdays and Fridays, 7:00 - 8:15 PM.
Call Albert and Delane Slone.
Tai Chi - Monday
and Thursday evenings, Contact Vicki English.
UU
Activities and Announcements
Further information is posted on the bulletin board at the
church.
July 23-29 SUUSI
(Southeastern Unitarian Universalist
Summer Institute) Blacksburg,
VA
is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2000.
It is an experience with many levels: fun, scenery, insight, worship,
awareness, new friends. The program is intergenerational.
If you want to know more check out the web site at http://www.suusi.org.
August 25-26 YRUU Youth Advisor Training, Deland, FL.
Please note that if our congregation has youth who plan to attend
District YRUU conferences this year, our Youth Advisor(s) must attend this training before bringing youth to
these district events.
September 1-3 YRUU Coming of Age Con #1
September 15-17 (notification by August 15) OWL Training for elementary
age.
November 5-11 Florida Leadership School
The Mountain, a UU Camp and Conference Center in Highlands North
Carolina, has on going camp activities throughout the year.
There are a number of weeklong camps during the summer.
The Mountain School for Congregational Leadership is July 30-August 5.
Congregations must sponsor participants in this workshop.
CALLING
ALL UUs WITH PERSONAL WEBSITES!! Come join the Unitarian Universalist NetHeads listing.
NetHeads is a listing of UUs with personal websites.
It is a way for UUs to network
and share their lives and interests.
You can check it out at http://www.oocities.org/~uucafe/netheads/index.html.
If you would like to be
included send your name, email, and site's URL with a few words about it
to Debbie Richards at bookduck@yahoo.com.
