Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Los Gatos

Sunday Services Committee Report for 2006-2007

This past year has been full and satisfying. We've learned a lot.

We said goodbye to Nancy Roemheld, our first interim minister, as we began to know what our Fellowship needs and wants, in a settled minister. Sunday Services were confirmed as a most important element toward that goal.

Carolyn Colbert, as our second year interim minister, arrived in September and it's been a fast-paced journey ever since. Sunday Service Committee meetings were held as we became acquainted, and meshed new ideas with our more familiar structure. The Sunday service has been more efficiently supported since Carolyn introduced the position of 'anchor person', to attend to the numerous details associated with a smooth and seamless orchestration. Worship Associates and lay leaders have met regularly with Carolyn to review previous services and make any necessary improvements.

Sunday services turned a big corner when Linda Krenicky agreed to take over from Lynn O'Keefe as chair of the Sunday Services Committee. Linda has proven to be a combination of a highly efficient search engine and the energizer bunny. Through her musical interests, we now have copies of the new addition to the hymnal, and paid professional piano accompanists. The latter, of which, has made a hugely positive impact on all aspects of the service.

We, once again, say goodbye - and a big thank-you to Carolyn as her year with us comes to a close. And on behalf of the entire congregation, the Sunday Service trustee and committee are looking forward to carrying on with her leadership and energy as we ready to settle in and work with our new minister.

Deep appreciation and many thanks to those serving as Worship Associates, Lay Leaders and Anchors. All members are invited to consider "getting your feet wet" by becoming part of the Worship teeam. It's very satisfying.

Respectfully submitted,
Lynn O'Keefe, Sunday Service/Programs Trustee

Building Committee Report

The Building and Grounds committee had a busy and very productive year. Members of the Committee included Bob Bixler, Irving Yabroff, Lou Yabroff, Jim Stahl, Ruth Webb, Dave Kiebert and Ann Campbell with input from Sarah Mozelle.

Ruth Webb has been taking such good care of the garden these past 5 years, supervising the gardener, selecting what to plant, recruiting helpers and making sure we have beautiful surroundings. She has decided to give someone else the opportunity and we want to give her great thanks for her dedication to creating a place of beauty. Thank you, Ruth! Bob Bixler has taken over maintenance of the drip system, but we are still looking for more people who love to garden.

We kicked off the year with a large work party in August sponsored by the RE committee. The focus was on readying the East room, West room and kitchen for the children’s program in the fall. We cleaned the rooms thoroughly and sorted and organized RE equipment and supplies. We also cleaned up the play yard and made repairs to the fence and the retaining wall.

This effort was shortly followed by the installation of a dishwasher and additional cupboards in the kitchen and re-flooring the minister’s office with pergo-type flooring. All by mid-September!!! We were off to a good start.

In October and November we moved the front row of seats to the back of the sanctuary and added dark carpet strips to the step that was exposed by this change. We worked on improving the sound system and removed the drinking fountain from the front hall.

In January new roof gutters were installed.

In February a work party refreshed the play yard with new ground bark and a scrubbing of the table and outdoor toys. We also installed a doorbell, a new furnace switch and re-keyed the building.

Our March 8 light fixture repair party included 4 participants and they changed bulbs and installed new lenses in ceiling lights in hall and lounge.

Our March 24 th work party had 11 participants and they completed the following work items:

• Child locks on janitor’s closet
• Clear windows installed in lounge
• Nails pounded on deck
• Woodwork cleaned in east and west rooms
• Piano polished
• Pins removed from sanctuary and staples removed from entry
• Outdoor lights cleaned and bulbs changed
• Windows and screens washed in east and west room
• Bathroom windows re-screened
• Wood structure removed from utility yard
• Drip system tested and repaired
• Stain on east room ceiling covered
• Mop board in west room glued

In April, a painting party of 10 people painted the West room and Lounge.

It is anticipated that the Foyer will be painted in May or during the summer and new bulletin boards will be installed and a new arrangement for name tags will be implemented.

Other high priority items for summer are finishing light repairs and bulb replacements (including sanctuary) and installing railings on the ramp to the deck.

We cleaned the carpet in the entire building in July and again in February.

Responsibility for supervision of the custodian was transferred to the Administrator at mid-year. When the custodian fell ill in the spring, Ms. Fixit was engaged to clean the building. Although the cost is 2/3 more, the building is being cleaned better and more consistently.

Sincerely submitted by Ann Campbell, Building and Grounds Committee co-Chair

Social Justice Committee Report

Continuing Programs

Share-the-Plate Offerings:

We collected offerings on five Sundays this year. The recipients were: Resources Center for Nonviolence, $315; Next Door: Solutions for Domestic Violence, $254; Friends Outside, $213; Low-Income Self-Help Center, $158.50; and Save the Bay, $87. Our scheduled recipients for the remainder of the current fiscal year are: San Jose Peace Center, May 27; Youth Science Institute, June.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee:

This year we collected $600 via a special offering in November, and we made a $607 contribution through the annual Guest at Your Table drive.

Habitat for Humanity Work Parties (Kristina Strand):

Members and friends of the Fellowship participated in three workdays this year. A total of 18 people gave at least one Saturday to help build homes for families who would otherwise be unable to afford home ownership. Because it has been difficult to recruit volunteers, we have decided to schedule only two workdays in 2007/2008. We hope that fewer events will produce a larger turnout. The number of volunteers that Habitat for Humanity can accommodate on a given day is limited. If we reserve space that we do not fill, we take away an opportunity to serve from others. We also intend to seek a partnership with other congregations to boost attendance.

Ad Hoc Programs

Book Study Group: The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community

A group of six to eight people followed the study guide provided by the People Centered Development Forum. In eight sessions we discussed the following main topics: Choosing Our Future; Sorrows of Empire; America, the Unfinished Project; The Great Turning; Birthing Earth Community. Upon completion of the course, all agreed that our next step should be to explore the readiness of our Fellowship to earn certification under the Green Sanctuary program of the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE).

Exploratory Study: The Green Sanctuary: Eco-spirituality for Liberal Religious Congregations certification program of the UUMFE.

This is a very ambitious program that, according to the program manual, “provides a framework for congregational study and reflection, plus individual and collective action for responding to . . . a call to ecological awareness and action that . . . stems from our seventh principle, in which we ‘affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of life of all existence of which we are a part.” The manual lists five goals:

• To build awareness of societal environmental issues among UUs;
• To generate commitment for personal lifestyle changes;
• To motivate UUs to community action on environmental issues;
• To build a connection between spiritual practice and environmental consciousness; and
• To build awareness of and rectify environmental injustices.

Because this program requires the energy and involvement of the whole congregation, we agreed that there wasn’t sufficient time to build support for an application for Green Sanctuary candidacy this year. Instead, we agreed to assemble a feasibility study committee to lay the groundwork for such an application in 2007/2008.

Exploratory Study: Discussion courses offered by the Northwest Earth Institute

The Northwest Earth Institute is a national leader in the development of innovative programs that empower individuals and organizations to protect the Earth. It offers a series of self-led study courses on a variety of environmental/behavioral subjects: Voluntary Simplicity; Choices for Sustainable Living; Exploring Deep Ecology; Discovering a Sense of Place; Globalization and Its Critics; Healthy Children-Healthy Planet; Global Warming: Changing Course. We have ordered evaluation copies of each course, and intend to offer at least one course to the community in the coming year.

The momentum toward a thriving social witness program, both within our Fellowship and in the larger community, is building. Assuming a leadership position on environmental matters in our community is within reach. We invite any and all members and friends of the Fellowship with a desire to make a better world through individual and collective action to join us.

Respectfully submitted,
Bill Scarvie, Trustee for Social Justice
On behalf of the Social Justice Associates: Nan Bixler, Betty Feldheym, Lynn O’Keefe, Cynthia Schmidt, Connie Springer, Kristina Strand, Charlie Walton, and Edy Young

Progress during this year has been most noticeable in the Communications area. Our website has undergone a series of improvements aimed at making it more attractive, continuously up to date, and provide more useful and complete information about our Fellowship and its activities. Specific accomplishments include:

• Addition of a calendar on which all current and future a ctivities which use the Fellowship Building are posted. The use of this calendar has resulted in increased use of the building for both Fellowship activities and outside rentals. It also has provided a central reference to inform members and friends of the occurrence of activities they may be interested in.
• A summary of regularly scheduled activities and meetings as well as special activities planned for the current month.
• Addition of pictures which make the Home page and other pages which have them more attractive and meaningful. Harry Campbell takes credit for the excellent quality of those pictures.
• Monthly posting of our current Profit and Loss vs Budget Statement as well as the current Balance Sheet to show our Assets and Liabilities.
• Posting of some of the sermons of our Sunday Minister, Ben Kochs-Meyers, as well as those of our own lay leaders, Bill Scarvie.
• Posting of special reports such as the description of what Interim Ministry is about and the proposed budget for next fiscal year.
• Information about our rental facilities and the forms and information to make application for their use will be added before the end of this fiscal year.

Through the efforts of Adrienne Gormley, our Administrative Assistant, our rental income has increased this year to well above the amount budgeted. Adrienne has also maintained her high standards of performance in producing the Order of Service and Announcements throughout the year in a timely manner.

Edgar Cruz, our Custodian, also deserves recognition for the good job he does cleaning the building every Wednesday morning.

This report prepared by Irving Yabroff

The Landscaping and Grounds Committee

The grounds around the Fellowship look fairly good this spring. There is always a lot of sprucing and trimming that needs to be done. Noe Landscaping keeps up with it fairly well, but there are always things he doesn’t notice. I am really hoping someone will turn up who would like to look after the plants.

Last fall we removed the dead and dying euryops from the northeast corner of the property. we replaced them with agapanthus and geraniums. Edie Young donated the geraniums and we divided some of the agapanthus already on the property so the replantng didn’t cost us anything. The only new plant is a carolina jasmine vine which I planted on the east side by the trellis. If all goes well it should cover the trellis in a few months.

As you know Bob Bixler has agreed to maintain the drip system. I thank him for that. I will miss working in the garden and watching things grow and thrive.

Ruth Webb

The Caring Committee Report

No report currently on file.

Membership Committee Report for 2006-2007

The Membership Committee (MC) has had a very good and productive year. We started the year with a newly elected leader and Board Trustee Lou Yabroff. The committee gave a big thank you to our previous MC chairperson Jim Beebe for his dedication and hard work for the betterment of the Fellowship.

Lou and the committee (members: Jim Beebe, Ann and Harry Campbell, Audrey Freeman, Marion Peterson and contributor Sarah Mozelle) put together a plan for the year and when our new interim minister, the Rev. Carolyn Colbert arrived on the scene in August an expanded and refined plan was put in place.

The main objective selected for this year by the MC was the improvement of our Greeting Process. The MC recruited a half dozen new greeters and a training session was given so that all greeters would be aware of their responsibilities.

The MC sponsored and coordinated the Fellowship traditional Pancake Breakfast on the first Sunday of September. We had a record turnout and even raised about $360 for the Fellowship's general fund. It was a beautiful day and a good way to introduce our interim minister to the membership.

In September the Membership Photo Directory for 2006-07 was published and distributed to members and friends. It was deemed to be a great success and it was especially well received by new members and by our interim minister.

In October the MC cosponsored with Carolyn a 3 evening Newcomer Orientation Series. The attendance was outstanding and most of those attending signed the membership book. Everyone agreed that this was an excellent way for interested persons to get to know about us and our wonderful community.

In November the MC produced and submitted to the UUFLG Board of Trustees a new policy and procedure for keeping our official membership list up to date. After board approval a complete review and updating of membership list took place.

In January maintenance of the UUFLG Membership Database was successfully transferred to our administrator, Adrienne Gormley. Adrienne now is able to produce newsletter labels, badges, special reports and updated telephone lists for the MC, Board, Minister and others. At the end of January we reported our official membership number (98 members) and this was the first year in several years that we reported an increase in membership on a year to year basis.

February saw another Newcomer Orientation and again this was a successful event. New members signed the book and in March the MC participated in another new member recognition at a Sunday Service.

March, April and May found the MC working on a new Visitor's packet including a new brochure intended to explain to visitors what they want know about our Fellowship, a copy from the UUA of a brochure explaining UU history and principles, a copy of our UU principles on a bookmark, and a form for people to ask to be put on our newsletter list. This is still a work in progress and will be ready for visitors this summer. Also in the MC intends to make available an updated membership phone list at our Annual Membership Meeting.

Since June of 2006 we have had 12 new members sign the book and more than half of our members have joined our Fellowship since 2000. Several UUFLG Friends have expressed interest in becoming Members so we should have some additional growth during the next few months. Overall this has been a very busy – and very productive – year for our MC.

Finance Committee Report

Dear Friends,

Without a doubt, this has been the most exciting year that I have experienced since Sabine, the kids and I started coming to the Fellowship in 2002. Looking back, we all have so much to be thankful for and excited about. We continue to have a very successful Interim year thanks to Carolyn's guidance and leadership, and of course, we are all thrilled to be calling Victoria as our settled minister this fall.

Our canvass this year has raised a record $131,449 to-date. This represents an increase of more than $14,400 over last year's canvass! None of the things we have accomplished this year wold have been possible without this effort, and I, for one, could not be prouder to be a part of this Fellowship. We received pledges from 76 individual members, families and friends. We had 19 new pledges that we did not have last year, and 36 pledgtes were increased vs. last year. Our sincere thanks go out to all that pledged and continue to support the work of the Fellowship in time, money and effort.

In Fellowship,

John Omvik
Treasurer UUFLG

Endowment Committee Report

Since this is the first annual report to the membership for the UUFLG Endowment Fund, a short history is in order.

In July, 1998, a member, Edgar Crane, gave $10,000 to the Fellowship to be placed in an Endowment Fund with very detailed and complex restrictions on the use of the income. A short while later, Ed gave another $5,000 of Endowment Fund money without any restrictions. These two gifts are the beginning of our Restricted and Unrestricted UUFLG Endowment Funds.

This money was invested in a money market account until July 1, 2005, at which time the total had grown to $17,440 which was invested in shares of the UUA Endowment Fund. The UUA Fund is professionally managed and has returned an annualized rate of 9% from July, 2005 to March 31, 2007 which is the last quarterly report issued by them.

In December, 2005, another member, Lida Kluzek, gave 100 shares of UTC stock which was sold for $5,798 to add to the Unrestricted UUFLG Endowment Fund.

Our agreement with the UUA Fund specifies that they will distribute to us 5% of the market value of our shares each year. The remainder of the income produced by the investment will be added to our principal so as to make the funds grow. The first distribution we received was in October, 2006 in the total amount of $1,092. To this was added FY05 income from the money market fund of $244.51, giving a total of $1336 to be distributed. The Restricted Fund part of that, $765, was returned and added to principal because it was received too late in the year to allow it to be used, according to the restrictions. Our distribution will be received earlier, after this, so that the Restricted Fund income can be used.

The distribution from the Unrestricted Fund amounted to $571.39. The restrictions on the Unrestricted Fund are that the money must be spent for projects outside of the current budget and support the mission of UUFLG. Proposals for using this money were solicited and two were received: $150 was allocated to the Music Fund to provide a membership in the UU Musicians Network and the remainder, $421, was put into a fund to be spent on upgrading our sound system.

The current balance, as of 3/31/07, in the Restricted Fund is $14,635, in the Unrestricted Fund is $11,788 giving a total of $26,423.

Our next distribution will be received in July, 2007 and will be approximately $1,300 of which approximately $580 will be unrestricted.

Members of the Endowment Committee are Ann Campbell, Chair, John Omvik, Lida Kluzek and Cal Clauer.

This report was prepared by Irving Yabroff