2009 District President's Annual Report

It has been an unusual year for our country, our congregations, and our district.

The district board’s functions in several areas:

• we are co-employers of our district executives (Dori & Ian; the UUA is the other co-employer)
• we set policy and ends for the executives and staff
• along with our executives, we look at the big picture of Unitarian Universalism in our area
• we work with our executives (Dori & Ian) to continue to make our work transparent and accountable

This year in particular–

• we have been moved to a more standardized way to evaluate the ministry of our district staff
• we have moved more toward regional and away from centralized programming
• except that we are also partnering with other districts to provide online seminars for a variety of areas our congregations say are important to them, for example: assimilating new members
• we have been paying particular attention to board governance costs
• we had a “virtual” board meeting in November. It saved the district money.
• we have been paying close attention to how district dues are or are not coming in and from which congregations
• we have been thinking and acting creatively and strategically to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.
• we have been working with the nominating committee to streamline their process and make it more thorough and satisfying for everyone involved.

And it is important to remember, that when I say “we” I mostly mean Ian & Dori, and the district board helps guide their thinking in broad ways. Various board members have been liaisons to district congregations, have helped provide an extra set of eyes on budget and finance, and networked with people in a variety of settings.

This year as always, we will have a great program, some bylaw changes, and for dessert: the two UUA presidential candidates will appear in a forum, moderated by our UUA Trustee.

If you haven’t done so already, I invite you to go to the district web page and sign up for Ian & Dori’s and my blog. We’ve got a lot going on and it can be hard to keep up with everything. See you soon!

Leadership in Times of Profound Change

Leadership in Times of Profound Change

I invite you to join me and hundreds of Unitarian Universalists to the 2009 Central Midwest District Assembly! We will gather in Waukesha WI, for three days of worship, fellowship, and fun.

We welcome Sharon Daloz Parks, author and independent scholar, as our keynote speaker to speak on our theme this year "Leadership in Times of Profound Change," followed later in the afternoon by Peter Morales and Laurel Hallman. We are one of the few districts to get them both in person at our annual meeting. These two candidates for the Presidency of the UUA will speak to us and will answer some prepared questions. Our UUA trustee, Justine Urbikas will moderate.

Our executives and staff solicit your ideas about the kind of programming that will be most valuable to you and the leadership of your congregation. This year, we have recruited people to present workshops on such topics as ecology and sustainability, retaining visitors as involved members, and healthy congregations and covenants.

Our exciting Opening Celebration comes with music, inspiration and a banner parade. There will be a delicious banquet along with fabulous entertainment. We will gather Sunday morning for special worship. We will be together with UU friends, old and new, from across our Central Midwest District!

The registration fee for the District Assembly itself is $155 - unchanged for the past 5 years! All events will be held at the Marriott Milwaukee West in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and overnight rooms are reserved until April 15, 2009 at the rate of $105 per night. You can reserve rooms online - see the registration form for details. These rates are as reasonable and you can help the District keep costs down by booking directly through the Marriott.

See you soon for a weekend of inspiration and celebration!

UU’s Meeting in Salt Lake City?

GENERAL ASSEMBLY – A MEETING OF CONGREGATIONS

June 24-28, 2009
Salt Lake City, Utah

UU’s Meeting in Salt Lake City?

You know it’s not all white, all Mormon, conservative and definitely not boring. Well, a bit conservative, but Salt Lake City chose Barack Obama over John McCain in 08!

• 39.4% of residents are non-white
• a majority are non-Morman
• Restaurants, clubs, music, the opera, symphony, ballet -- really great night life (really!) and a vacation wonderland nearby (Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon)
• Getting around SLC on TREX – the light rail system in the convention district is a breeze and the airport is just minutes away from the Salt Palace Convention Center.
• Salt Lake City boasts three openly gay or lesbian state legislators and one of the largest gay pride marches in the West. They want and need our presence at GA!

Who’s Coming to GA in Salt Lake City?

We know for sure that UUA Presidential Candidates Rev. Laurel Hallman and Rev. Peter Morales will be hoping that you come to engage in the process of electing the new leadership of our Association. And tons of UUs will be there to honor the presidency and 8 years of the inspiring leadership of Rev. Bill Sinkford. UUs from more than 500 congregations from across our continent and around the world will be there waiting for Moderator Gini Courter to drop the gavel (or is that pound the gavel?) There will be authors (Beacon Press and Skinner House) and singers (Ysaye Barnwall), and thought leaders like William F. Schulz, Sharon Welch, and Richard Gilbert and well as the comedian Kate Clinton for when we need a laugh.

What’s Happening at GA `09?

Besides the Election and the Ware Lecture (Mellissa Harris-Lacewell) and the opportunities for Congregational Presidents Networking, and the GA Choir singing at Sunday Morning Worship, and The Service of the Living Tradition, and all of the Youth Programming (including their Open Mic on Saturday night ) on Thursday we’ll have a film night to wrap up a day of amazing programs, and on Friday a Dance for us GA folks and, by invitation, members of the SLC GLBT community.

There will be workshops and programs, and the two CSW Study Action Issues (Peacemaking and Ethical Eating) and those fabulous booths in the Exhibit Hall, and the Interfaith Social Witness Event in downtown on Friday focusing on Immigration Issues, and the opening Banner Parade and having too many wonderful programs to choose from.

The whole Salt Lake City area is a vacation destination for families of all ages and sizes so come before GA or stay after Closing Worship to tour. This region of the country is too wonderful not to explore.

As if all of the above were not enough, this year there is even more. The type of programming that once was available only at an extra cost pre-GA, UU University, is now an integral part of GA programming. There will be focused tracks on stewardship, multi-generational and multi-cultural ministry, leadership, justice and mission and theology which will allow GA registrants greater opportunities than ever before to network and engage in topics in much greater depth within the designated tracks. Check it out on the GA 2009 Grid: http://www.uua.org/documents/gaoffice/grid.pdf

I’m Sold, How do I Start?

Pre-Registration opens on Monday, March 2nd at 9AM CST. Go to www.uua.org.
Read more about the details of GA 2009 at:
http://www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/index.shtml

Adapted from
Lynda Shannon Bluestein

One Tip For Membership Growth

Okay, I figured out how to post a video blog, or vlog(?). This is a note from me to you and your congregation about one sure thing you can do to promote membership growth in your congregation.

Disaster Preparedness

Rev. Stefan Jonasson spoke on Disaster Preparedness on November 19, 2008 here in the Central Midwest District. We've recorded his speech and you can listen to it right here!

Absentee Voting at GA 2009

How might we think about absentee ballot voting at GA 2009.

I would say that delegates are representatives of a local congregation. As such, they should vote the will of the congregation, not their own will; otherwise they are representing themselves as individuals, not as a messenger from the congregation. The difference here is between representative democracy and direct democracy.

I would suggest that a representative democracy is where delegates are granted authority to vote their conscience with the idea that they are somehow representative of the rest of the congregation. Remember delegates are always delegates OF a congregation. The problem with this idea when it comes to GA is that there are high bars (a poll tax, if you will) to participation in the democratic process. Almost by definition, delegates who have the $2,000, the five days vacation leave, and the desire and wherewithal are not representative of their congregations. They are an elite within the congregation. They are people interested enough and with the necessary resources to attend. Furthermore, if they don't poll their congregation ahead of time on the issues and on the candidates, how can they possibly represent their congregation? Instead, they represent themselves. And then we don't necessarily have a traditional representative democracy. Instead we have a platonic republican idea of philosopher kings (which is how the UUA board works). We send our learned sages (and smart youth) to GA to discuss matters of great import, make decisions, and then-- if they get around to it-- let us know how it all turned out. The congregation as a whole is not represented, there is little congregational input, and less linkage between the stakeholders and the decision makers. Many people question whether this system is as democratic as it could be.

It is possible to provide a more direct democracy by telling delegates they are charged as proxy representatives of the collective congregational will. They may end up voting not for their particular candidate, but for the candidate the congregation-- in proportion-- votes for. We will limit delegates ability to vote for candidates by letting delegates know they are to be proxy representatives for the congregational will. Why? Because we believe we are part of an association of congregations, not a collection of individuals, some of whom get to go to GA and some of whom do not.

We will name delegates, fill out the delegate cards, take the will of the congregation, let the delegates know what the proportional vote is, and hence how many delegates will be instructed to vote for one presidential candidate, and the rest will be instructed to vote for the other. And we would do that for any contested election we can send in an absentee ballot in for. Then, we will mail in all ballots absentee together in the same envelope, after ensuring the proportion is correct, whether or not any delegate actually attends GA.

This system will ensure it is the will of the congregation-- not the opinion of particular individuals-- who decide the votes. It also ensures we vote all of the absentee ballots we are entitled to. This system ensures any congregational member can have input simply by showing up to a meeting after church. It gets them more informed as to what is going on at the national level, it gets far more people informed about the candidates, and it insures the congregation as a whole (and not just a few elite) gets a chance to participate in the election process of GA.

My congregation also does this for district elections.

What do you think?

Attitude & the Economy

Tough Times

"It was a harsh summer... For many, it was as if the clocks had rolled back to the thirties and the time of the Great Depression. Company upon company declared bankruptcy. Unemployment soared. The 'sever and prolonged recession,' as it was dubbed by the media, sent ripples of depression across America. Politicians used the depressed state of the country to their advantage."

The excerpt above is from evangelist Robert Schuller's best seller, Tough Times Never Last; Tough People Do. And by the way, the book was written 25 years ago, and he was talking about the recession of 1982!

In the book, he argues that the biggest problem at the time was dealing with negative anticipation, and negative attitudes. I think that is still the challenge today. And some say we are not in as bad economic fundamentally, as we were in 1982.

I know people are nervous about the drop in the stock market, about the drop in our congregation's portfolio. But I also understand that most congregations don't see a significant decrease in giving in tough economic times. This is good news.

At Eliot, we do have a few families that have been particularly hard hit, and folks having been asking for larger amounts from the Ministers Discretionary Fund. And there was such a hit to that account, that we got board permission to do an appeal at a Sunday service in October, and people were very generous. We received $2,530 in cash and checks from one Sunday appeal, and a couple folks who sent checks in later. So, UUs can be very generous.

Yes, some people are out of work, but most are not. Those of us with retirement accounts or mortgages have seen those values go down. But most of us are- I imagine- still going to keep kids in music lessons, buy groceries, gasoline, and all the rest of it.

Even though I may not have much in common theologically with Robert Schuller, I agree with him that attitude is everything. In fact, we can look for strategic opportunities, and we can remember that just as we got through 1982, we'll get through 2008.

And although we will have some surprises- some unpleasant, some wonderful- we will walk together on our journey as religious communities.

At times like these, I find it helpful to keep my head up, my gaze to the horizon, and to keep moving!