Greetings –

Welcome back to the beginning of our church year at First Unitarian. I hope that however you lived out your summer it was renewing and included fun. 

Your Board of Trustees is already moving forward on our goals for the year which are: 

1. Continued to work on issues of Power, Privilege and White Supremacy Culture by

a. Educating ourselves on the issues.

b. Examining the ways in which Power, Privilege and White Supremacy Culture affect our Church, including our Board work.

c. Taking steps to improve our practices.

2. Support Executive Team to have an Annual Fund Drive and other income streams that meet the church’s budgeted expenses by the 2020-2021 church year

3. Governance committee to review and possibly recommend changes to the bylaws as they relate to size of Board, and definition of pledging member in by-laws and policies.

4. Ensure that current possibilities for development on the current campus receive thoughtful consideration and appropriate Board review.

5. Continue a Senior Minister Transition Team to educate the Board, create a timeline, and a congregation education plan.

At our September board meeting we were updated on Real Estate Development (Goal 4). This current planning look at our campus continues from a church planning vision that was started in the 1990’s. That plan envisioned Buchan (completed), then a new sanctuary, offices and multi-story affordable housing. This current planning process also recognizes that continued use of the existing sanctuary and our current offices will require significant upgrades over time. So, stay tuned. We’ll be sharing what we’ve learned as we have more firm information on our options.

We will have our first forum September 29 from 12:30-2pm in Buchan Reception off the Atrium. Please join us to meet our new board members, hear about our work this year and ask any questions you have.

As another way to talk with congregants, we hope to continue our Board Dialogues with committees and groups in our church. These were well received last year and very helpful in our work. We will be reaching out to schedule these or if you are part of a group who would like to share some time with board members at one of your meetings, please contact us.

As always, if you have questions or comments, you can email us at board@firstunitarianportland.org.

I look forward to seeing you all in church . . .

In Gratitude, 

Kathy Ludlow

Moderator First Unitarian Board of Trustees