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Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
2021 - 2022 Annual Report
Table Of Contents
President's Report to the Congregation, 3 Minister's Report to the Congregation, 5 Endowment, 7 Worship Committee, 8 Greeters, 8 Common Ground Choir, 9 Green Team, 9 Covenant Circle, 10 Adult Programs, 11
To the Members of the Congregation… At the 2021 July Retreat, Board members discussed their shared vision and goals for the coming year and committed to mutual expectations for their Board service. They detailed these expectations in an expanded Board Covenant. The Board agreed to streamline meetings as much as possible under the current Reports, Consent and Discussion structure and to re-establish the Developmental Meetings that had been discontinued a few years ago to be on the 1st Thursday of the month. This year’s Developmental Meetings provided an opportunity for the Board to study issues of importance in greater depth, such as adaptive leadership, stewardship, membership, and strategic self-assessment as we prepared to face the challenges ahead. In the Fall, the Board held discussions of two Open Questions with the Congregation. For the first, “How do we need to change to increase our financial security,” the Board offered a series of small group forums that congregants could sign up to attend to discuss the question. The discussions yielded a thoughtful list of suggestions spanning a wide range of areas including worship, facilities, fellowship, and fundraising. For the second question, “What option should we pursue regarding our facilities that will fulfill our mission?” Pr. Tom prepared and distributed a substantial facilities report, “Determining the Future of Our Sacred Place” to the Congregation to review including an updated FATF (Facilities Analysis Task Force) Report and many possible options for the Congregation to consider for the future of the building. The second Open Question discussion was held in December in a large Congregational meeting consisting of small group conversations and summary sessions that yielded a consensus list of additional information that participants were interested in to make a decision on the future of the building at the Congregational meeting in June. During this same time, the Board was hopeful that although still online, we could work toward returning safely to in-person services and gatherings at some time during the year. It established the Re-Gathering Readiness Advisory Task Force (RRATF) to advise the Board on readiness for phasing in or moving to in-person services and group meetings; unfortunately, the emergence of the Omicron variant and lack of adequate ventilation in the building requiring considerable financial investment put those expectations on hold temporarily until resolved or the future of the building was more clearly determined. During this year, the Board attempted to increase communications with the Congregation by establishing a Slack channel devoted to Board matters (#board-buzz), providing updates in the Friday Bulletin, and regularly contributing to the seasonal Newsletters. At the Board’s annual planning retreat in February, we devoted considerable time to developing the following Vision of Ministry for 2022-23 and paid particular attention to how it could be reflective of our Mission: INSPIRE – Offer educational opportunities for growth WELCOME – Offer hybrid services (both online and in-person) ADVOCATE – Implement decisions about our building and come up with a long-term sustainable budget – including a plan for fundraising In March, we learned of Pr. Tom’s decision to leave Evergreen and immediately began to work on transition plans. We consulted with Rev. Sarah Schurr of UUA Pacific Western Region to guide us through the process and then with the Transitions Program Manager for UUA in order to start the recruitment process for a part-time minister to fill the vacancy for the coming year. Throughout this year we have been facing the challenges of diminishing attendance and difficulty in stimulating interest in taking on volunteer positions; we are without chairs for many important committee positions, including Building, Membership, and Stewardship. We are very grateful to those who continually and generously step up to assist when there is a need. We are at the doorway to a new horizon for Evergreen. The resilience and inter-connection that have helped Evergreen stay strong over this unprecedented time offer a firm foundation for opportunities potentially before us. Thank you for your support and your adaptability during this challenging year. Ann Kelleher Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Board of Trustees President 2021-2022
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President’s Report to the Congregation Ann Kelleher, President of EUUF Board of Trustees Name
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could work toward returning safely to in-person services and gatherings at some time during the year. It established the Re-Gathering Readiness Advisory Task Force (RRATF) to advise the Board on readiness for phasing in or moving to in-person services and group meetings; unfortunately, the emergence of the Omicron variant and lack of adequate ventilation in the building requiring considerable financial investment put those expectations on hold temporarily until resolved or the future of the building was more clearly determined. During this year, the Board attempted to increase communications with the Congregation by establishing a Slack channel devoted to Board matters (#board-buzz), providing updates in the Friday Bulletin, and regularly contributing to the seasonal Newsletters. At the Board’s annual planning retreat in February, we devoted considerable time to developing the following Vision of Ministry for 2022-23 and paid particular attention to how it could be reflective of our Mission: INSPIRE – Offer educational opportunities for growth WELCOME – Offer hybrid services (both online and in-person) ADVOCATE – Implement decisions about our building and come up with a long-term sustainable budget – including a plan for fundraising In March, we learned of Pr. Tom’s decision to leave Evergreen and immediately began to work on transition plans. We consulted with Rev. Sarah Schurr of UUA Pacific Western Region to guide us through the process and then with the Transitions Program Manager for UUA in order to start the recruitment process for a part-time minister to fill the vacancy for the coming year. Throughout this year we have been facing the challenges of diminishing attendance and difficulty in stimulating interest in taking on volunteer positions; we are without chairs for many important committee positions, including Building, Membership, and Stewardship. We are very grateful to those who continually and generously step up to assist when there is a need. We are at the doorway to a new horizon for Evergreen. The resilience and inter-connection that have helped Evergreen stay strong over this unprecedented time offer a firm foundation for opportunities potentially before us. Thank you for your support and your adaptability during this challenging year. Ann Kelleher Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Board of Trustees President 2021-2022
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annual report from the Developmental Minister to the Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for its Annual Congregational Meeting on June 12, 2022 Rev. Thomas Bozeman
The 2021-22 congregational year has been a key turning point for Evergreen on a number of fronts, from the pandemic to the sunsetting of the Marysville Community Lunch Program, to questions about our property and location, to partnerships, to how we mobilize our resources of time and talent, to the upcoming ministerial transition: After two years of government-mandated public health measures, much of society is transitioning from what some call a “pandemic” approach to an “endemic” approach with regard to the coronavirus disease 2019. In light of this shift, Evergreen’s leadership is looking at how we might safely regather for larger events like worship services. (At the time of this writing, no final decisions have yet been made.)1 After years of the Marysville Community Lunch (MCL) program operating out of Evergreen’s facilities, they decided this past Winter to sunset their operations. Given the pride that many congregants felt about Evergreen being able to generously host them, their transition has had reverberations for the Fellowship’s self-identity.2 At this year’s Annual Congregational Meeting, after a few years of conversation about the future of Evergreen’s real estate property in light of the Fellowship’s Core Values, Bedrock Beliefs, Motivating Vision, and Key Mission, the congregation will vote on a path forward. As is always the case in these
1 A HUGE round of applause and gratitude to the Regathering Readiness Advisory Task Force (RRATF): Anne Atkinson, Marilyn Bosckis, Marijo Duprey, Kirstine Oh, Joy Lauderbaugh, Michelle Valentine, and JW Wenzel - as well as Barbara Johnson and Paul Miller, who were very involved at earlier stages. 2 A HUGE round of applause and gratitude to Alonna Chatburn and Anna Conus, who’ve shared so much of their time and talent with MCL - but also the many congregants who’ve been involved over the years.
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sorts of big decisions, some wanted the conversation to move much faster and some wanted it to move more slowly in order to gather more information - so, it’s wonderful that folks have been willing to tolerate their respective discomforts with the pace of this momentous decision.3 4. We joined with other UU congregations from Vancouver, British Columbia to the Baja Four in Arizona for Sunday morning worship services - and collaborated with our neighboring congregations in Whidbey Island and Woodinville. A number of congregants expressed how nourishing this was for them and this has fed into curiosity and interest in what sorts of partnerships Evergreen might step into in the future. 5. The Fellowship embraced the value of paying for professional services when the effort of volunteers striving to cover all the bases proved unsustainable - and, so, a professional Tech Host was hired to host worship services and some congregational meetings. This has freed congregants to focus their energy more directly on the sorts of activities that bring them life and energy - which are the best, most important sorts of activities for anyone to take on in congregational life.4 6. After five years of ministry together, my departure from Evergreen brings to a close one more chapter of this Fellowship’s existence - and opens the way for new futures to dawn. In my time at Evergreen, our shared developmental ministry has regularly come back to themes of carrying forward the best of the past, letting fall away what is no longer relevant or energizing or appropriate to our current moment, and discerning how the Fellowship feels called to live out Evergreen’s mission into the future together. Having shared all the above-listed momentous experiences together, I believe that Evergreen is well-poised to soar in its new chapter. I will be cheering you all from afar. In faith, Pr. Tom (he/him/his)
3 A HUGE round of applause and gratitude to the Building Working Group, who sifted congregant questions in preparation for a congregational vote on the matter: Sandie Biggerstaff, Jennie Lindberg, Nancy Miller, Chris Martinez, Laurel Nisler, and Amy Sells Haist. 4 A HUGE round of applause and gratitude to congregants who helped with the technological side of making Sunday morning worship services happen every week. Mari Budlong, JW Wenzel, Michelle Valentine, Orient Coleman, Desmond Smith, Skyler Malan, Chuck Taylor, and Sandie Biggerstaff all pitched in mightily to help keep the train a-rollin’ until we secured paid staff support.
Endowment Committee Chuck Taylor, Chair
The mission of the Endowment Committee is to manage the EUUF Endowment Fund as provided for in the By-Laws. Current members of the Endowment Committee are Chuck Taylor (2nd year), Sandra Biggerstaff (1st year), and Marijo Duprey (1st year). Terms are 3 years in length. Members are limited to two consecutive terms. Chuck Taylor and Marijo Duprey are on their 2nd consecutive term. The corpus of the EUUF Endowment Fund is invested through the UU Common Endowment Fund. This is a professionally managed fund whose objectives are safety and yield consistent with UU values. More information about this fund may be found at https://uucef.org/about/. As of July 1, 2021, the value of our investment was $126,263.16. As of March 31, 2022 (the latest valuation available as of this writing), the value of our investment was $119,277.87, a decrease of $6,985. Return on investment net of fees as of March 3, 2021, was a loss of 5.53%. By comparison, the Standard & Poor 500 index lost 5.99% over the same period. As prescribed in the Endowment Investment and Distribution Policy, no funds have been distributed from the Endowment Fund during this period. Respectfully submitted, Chuck Taylor 5/10/2022
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While new members of the worship team are encouraged and welcome, we managed to adequately cover the Sunday services this past year. After hearing murmurs about our services being too predictable we tried various ways to liven things up, by calling on other members of the congregation for stories, or for different voices in some of the readings. We tried using a virtual background for a story, but found the time spent juggling the various zoom functions plus the script outweighed the novelty. We are excited about the upcoming year, with possible new locations, multi-platform services and various other challenges.
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Worship Committee Marilyn Bosckis, Chair
Greeters Sandra Biggerstaff, Greeter Coordinator
The Greeter Committee no longer has any members and there isn’t a Membership Chair to provide leadership and support. The tiny tasks that were being done by Kelli Sparks, Barbara Johnson and myself are now being done by Tara. The only one that was directly linked to the in-person greeter role was taking attendance. I attempted to generate interest last year in the online suite of tiny tasks that I tried to get people to see as greeter duties in some small way but no one stepped up. This may be a symptom of the decline in our membership or it may be that being a greeter is perceived entirely as an in-person role that cannot be translated to the Zoom and online environments. In either case there doesn’t appear to be any congregational support for this role. Having served as Greeter Coordinator since 2019, I have decided it is time for me to move on. Sandra Biggerstaff
We continue in our online format, producing anthems and hymns for use in the worship services via Soundtrap. We have successfully contributed more than 12 such musical offerings during this year. We have discovered and implemented more efficient and facile ways of using the Soundtrap format to streamline the time from start to finish. We plan to continue using Soundtrap to aid us in learning and practicing new songs even when we are once again singing together in person. We have not yet returned to in person singing and have been exploring different ways to do that, including singing with masks, social distancing while singing, and other areas of concern. So far, our best option has been to continue with the audio recordings while eagerly anticipating the joy of singing together in person once more. The choir led the worship service on January 30th of 2022, the theme of which addressed our feelings concerning the pandemic and how our lives have changed because of it. The service incorporated songs, poems and readings, and included members of the choir and several other members of the congregation. On May 22nd, the choir led the worship service. This time the theme was singing together and favorite hymns of our congregation. Our first in person singing appearance will be on June 4th at Pastor Tom’s going away event, when we will be singing together in person in masks outdoors.
Common Ground Choir Kathleen Goff, EUUF Choir Director
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Green Team Jennie Lindberg
Once again the Green Team has not met this past year due to the constraints and restrictions of the pandemic.
Another year has gone by and the pandemic has been down graded finally to an endemic. Our Covenant Circle members still remain cautious, two of our four groups are meeting monthly in person while the other two choose to still meet on Zoom. Since we are all vaccinated and boosted we are planning some long awaited outdoor activities together during the summer months. We have made a good effort to try and draw more of our members and friends into joining Covenant Circles this year. In June all non Covenant Circle members and friends of the Fellowship were emailed a personal invitation to join a group. It still remains difficult not to be able to talk with folks at coffee hour about joining a group or being able to have a Covenant Circle Fair to chat and laugh with individuals up close and personally while trying to enlist their membership. In October and January invitations to join a Covenant Circle were posted in the weekly Bulletin. Our friendly advertising has brought only two new members into our fold, but we have gotten nice feedback in response to the personal emails that were sent out in June. Making contact with newcomers is still a challenge since we are on Zoom for our Sunday Services. With the help of Kelli Sparks (frequent greeter) alerting me to new visitors I have tried to touch base with them during Coffee Hour. If they filled out a visitor card, I can send them a welcome email with a follow up note. Alli sends me a message after a visitor has attended services three times, and I make an effort to call and hopefully pique their interest in checking out a Covenant Circle to further make connections with EUUF. I have made many contacts, but have had little visitor interest. I’m hoping for in person services in the near future. On May 22, during our church service, we presented a series of testimonials to further encourage members and friends to join Covenant Circles. Currently we have four active Covenant Circles. They are led by George Beykovsky, Sandie Biggerstaff, Alonna Chatburn, and Sue and Tom Gaskin.
Covenant Circles Susan C. S. Gaskin
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Isolation and separation continued through this past church year, continuing our reliance on virtual meetings and gatherings. The perseverance of the small groups helped ease the feelings of being kept apart, and Adult Programming played a vital role for many people. The Men’s Circle continued to meet twice monthly, as did the Big Questions discussion group. A recently formed EUUF walking group meets on Friday for a congenial hour-long stroll, and has become a favorite of many. The WISE women’s group and the Book Discussion groups meet monthly. What is missing are the Adult Programs that provide guided content of a topical nature. In the past we have had programs like Building Your Own Theology, UU History and Historical Figures, comparative religious studies, and many more. Increasingly I’ve been approached by congregants asking for help developing presenters and to find content and source materials to make these programs happen. Once we have the distraction of deciding our future as a congregation behind us I believe it will be possible to dedicate time and effort to fill out the missing evening courses.
Adult Religious Education Desmond Smith
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Our community service this year has been to provide food to the Marysville Community Lunch Program at Thanksgiving and warm socks, hats and rain slickers for the harsh months of winter. Now that the Salvation Army has taken on the charge of providing lunches for those in need, the Covenant Circles continue to donate warm clothes items to their Marysville facility to help those being served. In June the Covenant Circle Leaders are in charge of the Celebration party for Pastor Tom. This event will take place on June 4th at Mukilteo Beach Park. We are looking forward to gathering together for good conversation, dessert and wonderful homegrown entertainment as we thank Pastor Tom for his service and leadership and wish him well on his next journey.