<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">Shari, I am also frustrated with developments both in our church and in the UUA nationally, but I hope you will stick it out. Marietta needs FUUSM and FUUSM needs you. We're all good people and we should be able to work things out.</font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large"> It is customary for the person being discussed to leave the room during personnel discussions, and it reflects poorly on Kat if she is unwilling to do this. When a small community like ours gets caught up in using Robert's Rules of order to evade difficult issues it is a bad sign. </span><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">In my view, the more fundamental problem is that we don't know how to rebuild the denomination and attract young families with children, so we vent our frustrations fighting over tangential issues. The UUA spent years arguing over rewording its statement of purpose when ChatGPT could do a better job in five seconds. The issue in the UUA seems to be a fight over ministerial jobs in a declining market, the minorities want preference over white people who have theology degrees. They forced the president out because he had the temerity to hire a white man for a regional job, then passed a resolution declaring that the UUA was a "white supremacist" organization. I volunteered to be a voting delegate to the UUA, since we had a slot that went unfilled, but the Board turned me down, preferring not to send anybody.</font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-size:large">I am not going to leave the church, but I am resigning the treasurer job, which I took temporarily in a crisis. I found it frustrating to be treasurer when the Board overruled my recommendation, and that of the Finance Committee, and insisted on sending $7500 a year to the UUA. But we all have our issues and sometimes we have to put them aside for the greater good.</span><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4"><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="4">Ted</font></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, May 15, 2023 at 1:27 PM Shari Miller via Fuusm-l <<a href="mailto:fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="auto">
Dear friends, I can not understand why as the core of the church has no say in what we want. While I don’t have any issues with Kat , it saddens me that she feels the need to bully her way into this. How strong do I feel about this? I am currently considering
dropping our membership. As most people that know me, I am not one to pussyfoot around with a problem. I face it straight on. And Kat, my question to you is that what you want? Peace to us all, Shari<br>
<br>
<div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<blockquote type="cite">On May 15, 2023, at 12:59 PM, nwolske17--- via Fuusm-l <<a href="mailto:fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"> Thank you, Darryl. <br>
<br>
<br>
<div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" target="_blank">Sent from
Yahoo Mail for iPhone</a><br>
</div>
<br>
<p style="font-size:15px;color:rgb(113,95,250);padding-top:15px;margin-top:0px">
On Monday, May 15, 2023, 11:06 AM, Darryl Ting via Fuusm-l <<a href="mailto:fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<div id="m_-5597263732444197703m_411431142976610060yiv4665384357">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family:"times new roman",serif;font-size:large">
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Dear FUUSM Community,</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
At the end of the annual congregational meeting in April, (under “Other business for the Good of the Order”), I made a motion that there be “congregational style” meetings for the purpose of congregational feedback on the minister’s performance and specifically
excluding the minister. After discussion, the motion was passed. </p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
To learn more about why I made this motion, what I proposed, and what has happened since … please read on.
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Why this motion …</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Prior to this, the method of congregational feedback was through congregational surveys. I pointed out that the survey approach had some significant flaws, notably that the survey questions limited the scope of the feedback, that survey feedback is one way
and isolated (no dialogue for clarification and no benefit of hearing other people’s feedback), and that everyone’s feedback counts the same regardless of the amount of interaction they have. The cumulative impact is that despite the surveys, there is a significant
level of frustration within the congregation from people feeling they have not been heard.</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
What I proposed …</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Special congregational meetings to allow the congregation to provide feedback. That approach would provide better, clearer feedback by eliminating the above-mentioned flaws of surveys. More importantly, it allows people to express themselves directly … in
their own voice, and unfiltered. And it allows us to form a more informed collective view through the sharing of our individual views.
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Why exclude the minister’s attendance? I wanted to encourage feedback, and it is not uncommon for people to be reluctant to give or receive negative feedback. It is just an emotionally difficult thing to do. The absence of the minister would make it easier
for people to speak up.</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Follow-up …</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
At the May 8th Board meeting, the Board determined that it could not call a congregational meeting and exclude the minister. The minister declined to voluntarily exclude herself. Therefore, the Board could not implement the motion.</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Following the Board decision, a steering group (Karen Binkley, Nancy Luthy, and myself) was formed to develop a plan to implement the motion. Our target for communicating the details of that plan is the end of May.</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Thanks for reading to the end,</p>
<p style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;font-size:12pt;font-family:"New serif"">
Darryl Ting</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Fuusm-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">Fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a><br>
<a href="http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org" target="_blank">http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org</a><br>
<blockquote></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span>_______________________________________________</span><br>
<span>Fuusm-l mailing list</span><br>
<span><a href="mailto:Fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">Fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a></span><br>
<span><a href="http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org" target="_blank">http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org</a></span><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Fuusm-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Fuusm-l@fuusm.org" target="_blank">Fuusm-l@fuusm.org</a><br>
<a href="http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/fuusm-l_fuusm.org</a><br>
</blockquote></div>