Greetings, Chalice! Wow, it has been a month. I have experienced a veritable roller coaster ride of emotions on several fronts: personally, as I planned my mother’s memorial service; nationally, with the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and then the historic withdrawal of Joe Biden from the presidential race and Kamala Harris’ rise as the presumptive Democratic nominee;  and here at Chalice, as we grapple with decisions surrounding our BLM flag in addition to the decisions made at the UUA General Assembly in June that speak strongly to many of our congregants. It has been difficult. Let’s take a collective breath.

So, what does the Board actually do? This is a question that I have heard several times over the past few months and is a question that I asked more than once during my first year as a Trustee in 2017. I attended the Board meetings and paid attention, but I still didn’t get it. I knew the Board did “vision” work, but I did not know what that meant. Seven years later, I think I am getting closer to an answer when I say: “It depends on the year.”

Some Board activities are annual, like the Pledge Drive. Other activities are cyclical, like the minister evaluation or our Vision statement and five year goals. Every few years the Board will hold open questions with the congregation, where we invite congregants to participate in small group discussion around one or more questions. The output of this process guides the Board in planning for the future. And every so often the Board engages the congregation in developing a new mission statement.

Other Board activities stem from the interests of the trustees on the Board at the time. A few years ago, Anne McKiernan was passionate about the 8th Principle and led the Board and congregation in discernment on that topic. Last year, Tom Carlstrom was passionate about the need to update our bylaws, which we accomplished. And this year, Victoria Cagle is passionate about getting our Policies in order.

Still other Board activities occur due to what is going on at Chalice or the wider world at a given time. In 2017, the Board was largely focused on details surrounding the building of the Hub and where we were going to worship during construction. In 2020, the Board was supporting UU the Vote and anti-racism work, in addition to focusing on how to keep us all together in community during the pandemic. This year, among other things, we will be making decisions surrounding our BLM flag. The Board will be discussing flags at our September meeting, and more information will be provided in next month’s newsletter.

Even though the Board changes every year, and even though each Board tackles different issues, it is the job of every Board to plan for Future Chalice. Our five year Vision for Future Chalice is:

Chalice UU Congregation is a place where

we can be in community with others who share a thirst for justice in the world,

our hearts and minds can be opened and transformed,

we celebrate diversity, creativity, inspiration, joy, and hope, and

we are encouraged and supported to develop and share our unique talents.

May our Vision be realized.

Blessings,

Lara Brown

President, Board of Trustees