Heard it at Council: November 2024
By Kate Silfen, Church Historian | November 11, 2024 Council Meeting Report
Church moderator Maren Batalden opened the November Council meeting with a reading of Marge Piercy’s poem “The Low Road.” Council members broke into small groups to reflect on the poem's meaning in light of a divisive election season.
Treasurer Bill Bulkeley provided an update on Old South's financial status. Our budget continues to be healthy, but ministerial and music costs are slightly higher than they have been. The good news is that our building use is higher than it has been for quite some time. Bill anticipates that the deficit will be smaller than projected, but as we move back to being fully staffed, our costs will go up. However, Bill notes that we have ample surplus funds to cover any deficits.
Council heard several brief updates on important work that is taking place within the congregation. John said that the staff is moving forward with the strategic planning process and that there will be small group gatherings after First Worship and Festival Worship to facilitate this process. These gatherings will begin in December, so please be on the lookout for announcements about these. Old South's new Organizational Task Force has met for the first time, and Richard Nelson, a church strategic planner, facilitated the meeting. More information about the task force's work will be forthcoming. Maren also reported that Members of (G)RACE Speaks and the Associate Minister Search Committee have started talking with other congregations about best practices for supporting a BIPOC Minister.
Lisa Loveland offered an update from the Human Resources Committee. The committee is devising policies to help support the work of our pastors. All Old South ministers will be offered the opportunity to engage with a professional counselor or mentor to provide advice and a sounding board for their work. Our ministers will also be required to join a community of practice (such as the ones offered by the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ) to enable them to build a network of support. OSC leaders and members will provide our ministers with a yearly annual review. The Human Resource Committee will assist John with developing policies to continue to support the staff.
In other news, the Reverend Rachel Barton will be spearheading a task force to plan a celebration of our 150 years in our Boylston Street location. Our congregation first gathered in this beautiful house of worship in December of 1875.
The Reverend Ashley Popperson closed our productive meeting with a prayer from Walter Breuggeman called “Waiting for Bread.”