Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis will take place on Sunday May 21, 2023 at 5007 Waterman Blvd., St. Louis, MO 11:30 am.
The Annual Meeting shall be conducted in person and using the electronic meeting platform Zoom which will be hosted within the boundaries of the City of St. Louis.
General Business before the congregation will include:
To receive and consider the Annual Report, current financial & budget reports.
To consider for election the following persons as presented by the Nominating Committee:
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Board President – Steve Wilke (2024)
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Vice President – Alison Lamothe (2024)
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Secretary – Sydney Watson (2024)
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Treasurer – Jeremy Colton (2024)
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Trustee – Chris Kocher (2026)
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Council Chair – Sherry Bassi (2024)
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Cluster Chair Coordinator, Programming – Grace Munie (2026)
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Cluster Chair Coordinator, Facilities – Tom Finan (2026)
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Note: Year indicates year completing term
NOTE: The First Unitarian Church of St. Louis Bylaws (Article IV, section 2) indicates that the number of voting members of the Board (Elected Officers + Board Members) should be at least 9 individuals. With the two remaining Board members and the election of this slate there will be 8 voting members for the 2023-24 church year. There is a provision in the Bylaws in that same section that the number of voting members may vary from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 11. Any deviation from 9 requires “an action of the Congregation.” The acceptance of this slate will constitute that action of the Congregation that will for the 2023-24 church year temporarily decrease the number of voting members of the Board from 9 to 8. The target for board membership in future years will be expected to return to 9 voting members.
Complete information about the election process is contained in Article VII of the By-Laws, which are on the church website (www.firstuustlouis.org). Per Article VII, Section 1: Other nominations for any vacant position may be made by any Voting Member of the Congregation in writing to the President prior to that Meeting or from the floor during that Meeting.
To consider passage of By-Law changes as described below:
Proposed Changes and Explanation to the By-laws of First Unitarian Church of St. Louis
Explanation:
It is considered a valuable exercise for institutions to periodically examine and re-commit to a statement of the values of the institution. Having a common sense of shared values is vital for long-range planning, setting clear annual goals, and helping all levels of leadership make decisions among which of the multiple worthy possibilities will be pursued at a particular time. Shared values increase the capacity for trust within and between the levels of leadership and provide points of connection between newer and established members of the congregation. It was uncovered during the ministerial transition process that the congregation did not at that time have a clear sense of common values, and this was hampering the process of annual goal setting. At the MidWinter meeting in January 2023 the congregation engaged in an exercise to discern shared values. The intention is to add these agreed upon values to the By-laws to assist the congregation in moving forward with long-range planning, goal setting, and program evaluation.
Proposed addition:
Article I
SECTION 4: Church Values
This Church values:
Community
Open Mindedness
Compassion
Knowledge
Adoption of this addition would make the existing Section 4, Section 5; the existing Section 5, Section 6 and the existing Section 6, Section 7
Presentation of the William W. Ross Award and the Melanie and Anthony Fathman Award.
You may read the final agenda here.
A voting member of the congregation (as defined in the By-laws Article III, Section 5) is a:. . . . Member who is present at a Congregational Meeting at the time of any vote and who has been a Voting Member for thirty days prior to that Meeting is eligible to vote, except as provided in Section 2 of Article VIII of these Bylaws..