By Dennis Fleck, Board President
I write to you as we just completed our first Zoom Congregational Meeting. This is another example of the temporary (hopefully) new world that has been thrust upon us by the coronavirus. I apologize for the lengthy amount of time it took to check members in and establish a quorum. Inclusivity is important, and the individual check-in allowed access for most, a chance to see one another, and the ability to amend our bylaws to allow for absentee balloting.
Next Sunday, May 3, we will place the motion for the vote on the Holly House property sale options before our membership. We will have a similar process where the congregation will decide if it wishes to dispense with or limit discussion time by suspending the discussion rules. The actual vote on the two sale options will be via mailed ballot, and not in person on May 3. However, we require 25% of our members to establish a quorum on May 3 so that we can place the motion for the vote on the Holly House property sale options before our membership and have the subsequent vote via mailed ballot. So, please join us next Sunday – we need you.
Thank You Staff, Members, and Board
I would like to express my appreciation for all the great work our staff has done to quickly transition us to Zoom Sunday Services and meetings. I recognize how much more difficult planning and executing are when physical meetings can’t occur; they are working diligently to support our congregation.
I would also like to express my appreciation for the recent work of twenty or so members who invested significant time to develop a script, tracking tool, and then call all of our members to check in with them. What a perfect example of building community. I would also like to express my appreciation for our awesome Board. Last fall, we transitioned to two meetings a month so as to be able to take additional time to focus on process as we did the Board work of the church. In April, we actually had 3 Board meetings, and several Board votes via email to accomplish that which needed to be done. During this past year, we received helpful guidance from Pam Orbach, and her efforts led us to being more mindful of assuring all Board voices were heard and a heightened awareness of impacts and how impacts and not intentions are what matter. Thank you, Pam.
Supporting the Board and staff are numerous ministry teams, committees, and task forces that help make our church a success. We can’t get our work done without all of you and your efforts are appreciated.
Lastly, I wish to recognize our wonderful members. You are the ones who give of your time and financial treasures to help East Shore succeed; this is your church. Your words of encouragement and those pointing out different approaches have nurtured and challenged me during my tenure as your President. I’m not counting (at least not yet) the days until our June Annual Meeting, but I am aware of the great work of our Nominating Committee and know that they will soon release their slate of candidates for our June vote. I thank those who have agreed to serve next year and am confident that our new Board will work closely with our staff to lead us out of the coronavirus challenges currently in front of us.
Yours in Faith,
Dennis Fleck