From EOD: July 17, 2020
Hello everyone. My report will bring you up-to-date on many areas of interest at UCE.
Finance
It has been a challenging time to navigate these COVID times when financial uncertainty has prevailed. Over the past several months I have prepared financial projections and have worked closely with our Treasurer Susan Comstock and Staff Accountant Vickie Doebele to ensure we are on top of income and expense. The good news is that we ended the fiscal year far better than anticipated. We will close the books with a gain of approximately $5,000. This is due to the generous contributions by congregants, expense control, and a lower than expected attrition rate. Thank you to everyone who paid your pledges and contributed far and above. Your generosity and support of UCE keeps us moving forward during difficult times.
Our shared offering has been favorable even during summer months when it often declines.
Please remember to send your nominations for Shared Offering by July 31. The Social Justice Council will be voting on these nominations. See the article in this week’s newsletter.
Integrated Stewardship Council – ISC welcome Rob Wingader as one of our new members-at-large. We have not yet selected our second member-at-large. Rob will serve a two–year term. He has served as Treasurer at his previous congregation. Welcome Rob, we are excited that you are joining this group of UCE Financial leaders.
PPP Update: I received paperwork from the financial institution who granted us the PPP loan. Our outside accountant Julie Pierce has done a payroll spreadsheet for UCE and will fill out the application in August, well within the period allowed. Our staff has followed SBA guidelines for accounting of these funds.
Capital Campaign Projects Progress
I hope you have an opportunity to drive by and look at our new sidewalk and parking lot.
It is fresh, new and an excellent improvement to our property. Electric work from the lot to the north side of the lobby will be done next week. The overhead electrical will be removed when the electrician completes their new conduit & wiring work & can enable the underground power.
Solar shades will be installed July 21 in the office, Rm. 2 and Rm. 3.
Wing flooring replacement is in progress. These tiles will beautifully compliment the lobby flooring.
Fundraising
Susan Comstock, Jenny Walsh and Cathy Deamant have launched planning efforts to hold Serendipity Auction virtually this year. It is rather clear that by November we will not be gathering in a crowd of 180 people, so they are exploring ways to help us meet our fundraising goal and create some fun for our congregation in doing so. Stay tuned for details.
Chris Allender and Alice Swan are working on a “pilot” program to sell rummage sale items online. Some donations have been received. They will review the items, photograph them and sell on various online venues such as Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Yard Sale, Craigslist, Ebay and other platforms. If this initial effort works out well, we will explore a more expanded online sale. Who knows, by next spring maybe we can hold a sale on our new parking lot.
COVID-19 Actions, Learnings, and Guidelines
I have been updating on a regular basis a document started by the Board of Trustees that documents actions we have taken since before shelter-in-place through today and learnings we have gained from these actions.
A UCE COVID Task Force was formed in early March. The group is comprised of the Ministers, EOD, Executive Committee, 3 UCE medical professionals and our Church Counsel Dana Deane. Guidelines for small group meetings were developed by this team and are published on the home page of our website as well as a link in the newsletter. We are encouraging congregants to continue to meet virtually. These guidelines are for a small group meeting of 10 or fewer, distanced and masked, as well as outdoor meetings of 25 or fewer with same protocol. If you are thinking of a meeting at UCE please read the guidelines very carefully to see if it is the right thing for your group during Phase 4. There are specific procedures and questions to consider before planning a meeting.
General Assembly AUUA Days
On Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 24 attended AUUA Days, a gathering of Administrators and Executive Directors. 160 people were in our virtual meetings, the largest gathering of AUUA Days ever. The keynote speakers were Barb Greve and Elandria Williams of BLUU/BLM. This was a dynamic discussion. There was also a presentation by Mandy Neff who shared with us ways to practice self-care through spiritual practice during these challenging times. On Wednesday we heard from Jan Gartner and others from the UUA on Church Staff Finance, including Charissa Benak, the Retirement Plan Specialist.It was a satisfying two days of reconnecting with colleagues, as well as meeting new ones.