The Bylaws Task Force develops proposals for changes to our bylaws for members to vote on at congregational meetings. A subgroup of Policy & Governance Committee (P&G), we were created in spring of 2020. The P&G Committee’s Task Force includes Grace Colton (P&G member), Marcy Langrock, a rotating SLT member, Ryam Hill , Mary Anderson (P&G member), and David Langrock (Board Liaison). We were empowered by the Policy and Governance Committee to look at ALL of East Shore’s Bylaws to ensure that they are up-to-date, comply with Washington State Law, conform to UUA standards, minimize oppression, and are useful and easy to understand.
What has the Bylaws Task Force been doing so far?
After we started, WA state law governing non-profit bylaws were completely revised resulting in a need to replace ESUC’s Articles of Incorporation. The Articles are a foundational document required by state law in order for East Shore to exist. Bylaws flow from the Articles of Incorporation and also require member approval. The revised Articles were approved by members of our congregation.
There has also been revisions to ESUC’s Bylaws approved over 5 congregational meetings from October 2021 through this December 2023. We had aggressively aimed to finish the bylaw review by June of 2022.
The need to revise the Articles and create new Board Policies has caused that timeline to be revised. We now expect to finish December 2024. There will be proposed bylaw changes for members to vote on at the next two congregational meetings. The last batch will be the largest, at the June 2024 congregational meeting.
What will the Bylaws Task Force be doing?
What remains for the task force to review are the bylaw sections that cover committees and ministry teams, ministers, congregational meetings, public witness activities, elections, Officers & Trustees, and the appendix. The Board, including the Staff Leadership Team, is the primary stakeholder of these sections. So, we will be working closely with the Board both individually and as a whole.
How can I get prepared to vote at a congregational meeting?
The best way to learn, get educated, and ask about what you are voting on is to prepare before a congregational meeting. Read your Notice of Meeting and the materials that come with it. All members receive a Notice of Meeting and associated materials 14 days before a congregational meeting. Informational Forums will be offered so you can ask questions and hear other perspectives. These events are for learning about what you are voting on.
There is, comparatively, more time to ask questions and learn in an Information Forum than there is at a congregational meeting where the emphasis is on hearing viewpoints not on learning the facts. Congregational meetings assume you have read through the material before the meeting.
How can you be involved?
Your participation is crucial in this project! The Bylaws Task Force wants your suggestions, comments, and questions. These will help guide us in our work. The earlier in the process we receive your thoughts, the more thoroughly they can be addressed before voting. If you have comments about the above sections or any aspect of this work, attend an information forum, email[email protected] or any other member of the Task Force. We want to hear from you.
There will be additional Forums, e-blasts, and Beacon articles through June 2024 to let you know what’s up. The Task Force counts on your review of the material and understanding of the facts before congregational meetings.
Watch an introductory video HEREabout the Bylaws Project.
You can read our current Bylaws here and Policieshere.
As we prepare for fall, we also need to prepare for more visitors and friends coming to East Shore! Volunteers are incredibly important to making Sunday work, and I want to help. To do that I will be offering a few training sessions for those wanting to learn or refresh their learnings!
Coffee Hour: August 6, 10:15 a.m.
Coffee hour is not only a time to get to connect with one another, but also is a simple way to be welcoming to visitors. On August 6, I will offer a coffee hour training at 10:15 a.m. – right before service. Please mark your calendars and come see how the coffee is made! And if you already feel comfortable please sign up on the clipboard outside or sign up here.
Ushers & Greeters: September 24: 12:00 p.m.
Our greeters are the first people many visitors interact with. They are VITAL to us making a good first impression. Ushers are the steadfast volunteers to ensure things run smoothly and we couldn’t do Sunday morning without them. All those who currently serve in this role and those wanting to should come to a training on Sunday, September 24 after worship.
The fall is a great time to check that all your contact information is correct. You can log into Realm and update it any time and include a photo of you and your family. During the pandemic, the companies that made the photo directories closed, so Realm is our best option for keeping connected.
Realm Training: August 20, 12:00 p.m.
I know not everyone is familiar with Realm and may be a bit overwhelmed, but I’m here to help! On Sunday, August 20 after worship I will host a Realm training introducing everyone to the amazing app! To best prepare, download the “Realm Connect” app (apple – google) and make sure you can login. If you need your password reset or need an invitation to Realm, reach out to me before hand so I can get you set up. You also want to make sure you change your privacy settings. The default is that only staff can see your contact information… but that doesn’t help you stay connected! You can go in and update your preferences now. If you’re not sure what contact information you have, check Realm, or I will have a paper copy of the directory available on August 20 for people to check their current status.
by Nicole Duff, Director of Membership Development
A more inclusive Membership bylaw has been approved by the Board! The proposal will be voted on at our June 11 congregational meeting of members immediately after Sunday service, about noon. You should have gotten a Notice of Meeting by email or postal mail. Contact Nicole if you haven’t at [email protected].
The membership section of the Bylaws describes qualifications to be a member, responsibilities of membership, privileges of membership, and resignation and removal of membership.
May’s Beacon had an article about the most significant changes:
Separating donations from membership but still making asks for donations.
Removing the non-discrimination section of the bylaws and adding to the membership section a broader statement of member responsibilities than non-discrimination.
The remaining changes being proposed also make membership more inclusive of others by:
Reducing the minimum age for membership to 14 from 16 years old. People aged 14 – 24 are capable of having more responsibilities in our modern society and in the UU world. Many religious and societal benchmarks are at 14 years old. For example, Jewish transition to adulthood, coming of age as a UU rite of passage, HIPPAA requirements (13yo for medical care), and other UU churches have age 14. People as young as 14 years old can be capable of being active members with voting rights.
Reducing the minimum age of a Trustee of the Board to 16 year old from 18. An officer of the Board would need to be 18. 18 or older for Officers is due to legal ability to sign contracts. Adding a Board member younger than 18 will require developing policies about Youth on ESUC Board.
A section about access to records of the church is proposed to move to policy. See proposed policy 2.23.
Appealing the loss of membership is proposed to move to policy. See proposed policy 2.22.
Some details on Disruptive Members already in policy are proposed to be deleted, making the process proposed to end with the Board’s final decision.
The member category of ‘Life Members’ is proposed to change to ‘Legacy Members’ to reflect the revised purpose of the section and words changed to address ableism in the original language. There are two voting categories in Bylaws: members and legacy. Bylaws only need to be clear on who has voting rights. Options for non-voting categories of membership can be described in policy. See proposed policy 2.22.
There are brand new policies drafted for Board approval and congregational comment after the revised Membership bylaws are approved. You can see the drafted policies at this link here below the Bylaw table. On June 11, members will be voting on the Membership bylaws as a package. The policies will be considered after the new bylaws are approved. There will be opportunity for congregational input into the policies.
The best time to discuss, ask questions, and get answers is at the Bylaw (and policy) forums being offered on June 4 at 1pm and June 6 at 7pm. Zoom ID: 835 4738 9519, Passcode: Bylaw. Come to the forums or contact [email protected] before the June 11 congregational vote. The congregational meeting follows a more formal format for expressing your opinion; it is less conducive to discussion than the forums.
The Board of Trustees has set their meeting dates for the 2023-24 year. All the following BOT meeting run from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on the Fourth Thursday of the month except November 16 (to avoid Thanksgiving) and December 21 (to avoid staff winter break):
June 22, 2023
July 27, 2023
August 24, 2023
September 28, 2023
October 26, 2023
November 16, 2023 – avoids Thanksgiving day.
December 21, 2023 – avoids staff winter break.
January 25, 2024
February 22, 2024
March 28, 2024
April 25, 2024
May 23, 2024
Note that the May 2023 Board of Trustees meeting is not in this pattern. The May meeting is 4:00 – 6:00 PM Tuesday May 23, 2023. All members are welcome to attend the Board Meetings until the start of Executive Session. You can join via Zoom room 858 0291 7937, Passcode: Board
Save the Dates: April 24—May 1: Meet and vote for the Candidate Minister
If we reach a mutual decision with a candidate minister in April then they will lead the worship services at East Shore on April 24 and May 1. On May 1 the congregation will have the opportunity to vote to affirm them as our new Minister immediately after the worship service.
The Hopeful Home Stretch
Our Search for a new Settled Minister for East Shore is drawing toward its close. We are halfway through our pre-candidating period of February and March, during which time, each of our precandidates will spend significant time over a weekend meeting with the Search Committee, learning more about East Shore, relaxing over shared meals, participating in more in-depth interviews, and giving a sermon at a Neutral Pulpit. Beyond the fact the precandidate process is currently ongoing according to plan, everything else about the process is entirely confidential.
By the end of this month, we surely hope to have selected the minister we believe is the best fit to lead our congregation into the future. If that minister were to be mutually inclined, we would announce the candidate to the congregation in the first part of April. Then the candidate would visit us for 8 days, scheduled for April 24-May 1. They would be on campus to meet our congregation and lead a service at either end of their time. Immediately after that last service, the congregation would vote on calling them to be our next settled minister.
Should the congregation vote to affirm the calling of our new minister, the Women’s Perspective ministry team will be compiling a binder wherein our members and friends can each introduce themselves in their own words. As always, we will provide an update in the next Beacon. Meanwhile, you are welcome to contact us by emailing [email protected].
Our Search So Far, By The Numbers
We thought it might interest you to see some of the numbers we’ve gathered from our congregation and the UUA.
357: members of East Shore Unitarian Church
7: number of Ministerial Search Committee members
1: number of MSC retreats
20 (since September when Julie joined): number of chalices we have lit during our MSC meetings since our first meeting – not counting the cottage meetings, focus groups, minister interviews, etc.
85: members and friends who took the Ministerial Search survey.
4: cottage meetings for East Shore members and friends
14: focus groups for East Shore members and friends
48: participated in the BCT workshop.
24,011: Words used to capture the history, character and desires of our church in our Congregational Record
24: UUA congregations in search for a full-time settled minister this year; 2 of those in Washington.
May our hearts be open, our minds keen, and our spirits welcoming as we evaluate all our potential next ministers and move to our final number — One — our new settled minister.
Welcoming the New Minister
Let’s welcome our new minister with a binder filled with pages which introduce ourselves to the minister in our own words! These contributions could be a huge help as the new minister gets to know their new flock. Women’s Perspective has created a form that will be useful and you may add your own narrative and photos as well. We will announce when the form becomes available. Ultimately the binder, both in physical and electronic forms, will be presented to the minister for their private use in getting to know us. Completing this small project is, of course, entirely optional but as a gift of sharing ourselves, we hope you will participate.
