RESCHEDULED: Annual Meeting of the Membership is June 14
Please mark your calendar and plan to attend our virtual Annual Meeting of the Membership, rescheduled for Sunday, June 14 at 11:30 a.m., following worship.
Proposed 2020-2021 Operating Budget
This year our church business includes approval of the annual budget, the election of members to the Board of Trustees and the Nominating Committee, and a proposal to approve Rev. Ruth MacKenzie as a Minister Emerita.
We will be meeting virtually via Zoom webinar, and while this will be different than gathering in person, we are confident that we have the mechanisms in place for meaningful democratic participation that are fully in line with the recommendations from the UUA. Because of the virtual meeting, it is really important that you register ahead of time. We will vote using the Poll feature in Zoom. Therefore, each member needs to have their own device for voting – you can use a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. If you live in a household with multiple members, please have each member register separately, and attend the meeting from their own device.
A reminder that per our bylaws, only voting members can vote at the annual meeting. To be a voting member, you need to have officially joined the church and have made a pledge in any amount to the current or upcoming annual operating fund or have a ministerial waiver. Please contact Arif Mamdani at 612 825-1701 ext 124 or arif [at] firstuniv.org if you would like to have a waiver from this requirement. If you are a member who would like your vote recorded but do not have access to a device that will allow your participation in the Zoom webinar, please contact Liz Farmer at 612 825-1701 ext 100 or liz [at] firstuniv.org.
This is a time when we celebrate a successful year and conduct the business of this church that only church members can do. We need a quorum to conduct the meeting – please give us the gift of your time so that we may complete this work!
Register to attend the annual meeting of the membership here. After registering and once your membership has been verified by staff, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Non-members who wish to observe the meeting may do so via YouTube live; the meeting live stream will show up on our YouTube Channel at 11:30 a.m.
We agree with the words of Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray in a recent letter to UU congregations: “[We] believe congregations who continue to lean into their mission and life-saving ministry will find ways to thrive in this time. Ministry is so deeply needed. As is moral leadership rooted in community care and in science. May we keep offering this to our communities.”
We need you on June 14 so we can continue our collective mission as a faith community. Please register and we will “see” you there.
Bryana French, President of the Board
Christa Anders, Secretary of the Board
P.S. Some of you may have questions about just how this will all work. So for those of you who want more information:
- All members will get their own personalized invitation that will allow them to connect to the Zoom webinar
- We will be sharing documents on the screen so people can see them
- You will be able to see the presenters (Ministers and Board members)
- We will have a parliamentarian
- We will be using the built-in polling software of Zoom that will allow you to vote using your device (desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone)
- Results of each poll will be displayed for everyone to see
- Questions will be taken via the Q & A feature and answered verbally by the presenters
- If something comes up that needs more attention than just the written Q & A, we have the option to make anyone in the audience a presenter so they can be seen on screen and ask their question via audio and/or video
- The Board Secretary will take minutes of the meeting and they will be available online after the meeting
- We will be sharing the Zoom Webinar, in real time, on YouTube Live, so interested non-members can observe the meeting
