The meeting was called to order at 12:00 noon by Linda Taber, President. A quorum was established with 31 voting members present. The minutes of the last annual meeting on May 23, 1999 were distributed. They were approved as written. The treasurer's report was distributed and approved as printed.

Committee Reports

Social Action: An overview was presented on the efforts made toward earning recognition from the UUA as a "Welcoming Congregation." One of the steps that will be voted on today will be an amendment to the by-laws regarding non-discrimination in hiring. The second issue to be voted on in today's meeting is the approval to submit our church's request to the UUA for official recognition as a "Welcoming Congregation." The text of both of these has been included in the annual report that was distributed at the beginning of today's session.

Membership Committee: The complete text of the report is included in the annual report handout. Janie Moeller emphasized that membership is the responsibility of everyone, not just the Membership Committee. There are five ways listed in the report that congregational members can help our church grow.

Building and Grounds Committee: A summary of the work done throughout the year and all of those who worked on maintenance and repairs were acknowledged and thanked.

Agenda

Mission Statement: The statement as distributed in the annual report reads: "Our mission is:

To provide an evolving, dynamic religious community open to all, to respect diversity and diverse spirituality; To learn from, empathize with and encourage people in their personal spiritual quest; To actualize out Unitarian Universalist principles in a responsible search for truth and social justice. It was recommended in the discussion that the word "actualize" be changed to "acted upon." Peter Small moved (second by Bob Hatfield) that the recommended change in wording be approved. This change was approved unanimously by a show of hands. The statement was then voted upon as changed. The vote was approved unanimously by a show of hands.

Amendment to the By-laws: The Non-discrimination Policy was read. The text as distributed in the annual report reads: "The church shall not discriminate on the basis of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or disability in the hiring of either religious professionals or other employees." It was moved, seconded and submitted for vote by a show of hands. The amendment was passed unanimously.

Welcoming Congregation Resolution

The text as distributed in the annual report reads:

Whereas:

In consideration of the long time efforts of members of this congregation in attempting to address the issue of the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in our society;

Cognizant that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, have internalized our society's negative stereotypes regarding these minorities;

Therefore:

We, the Congregation of the First Unitarian Church of Sioux City, in an effort to more fully actualize our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of all people, hereby apply for formal recognition as a Welcoming Congregation, while acknowledging that our efforts to end homophobia within our own church community and the wider society are still in process.

The motion for the resolution was made by Lorraine Knepper. In the discussion that followed, the concern was voiced that the wording of the resolution had not been distributed prior to the annual meeting. It was moved and seconded that the word “all” in the second paragraph be deleted. A vote on this was taken by a show of hands. There were 24 voting to remove and 4 voting nay. Jean Farley moved and the motion was seconded that this recommendation be approved with the deletion of the word “all.” The motion was carried with 27 members voting yea, and 1 member voting nay. The motion for approval of the submission of the revised resolution to the UUA was voted on by a show of hands and passed unanimously.

President's Report to the Congregation

Read by Linda Taber, outgoing President of the Board.

Marlene Sturdevant moved (second by Alma Hatfield) that it be noted that these minutes show that the congregation is appreciative of Linda Taber's leadership and time in the last two years. Unanimous approval was approved by a show of hands vote.

Nominating Committee Report

The report was presented by John Cowley. Members who will continue to serve their appointed terms are: Ginny Duncan, Janie Moeller, Judy Cowley and Gayl Hopkins. Members whose terms expire are Linda Taber, Sandy Hecht, and Marlene Sturdevant.

John stated that he did not have a great deal of success in recruiting members to fill the vacant positions on the Board. Therefore, he called up the members present for volunteers. R.J. Baker, Beth Vogel, and Pat Cook volunteered. Marlene Sturdevant volunteered to fill the position vacated by the resignation of Jeva Singh-Anand. It was moved and seconded and the motion carried unanimously by a show of hands to accept these four as members of the Board. A lengthy discussion followed concerning the need to keep the current Board membership at nine. The by-laws were consulted. Dr. Sarah Voss read the section addressing this issue. This section states that "The membership of the Board of Trustees shall consist of a number of members to be determined, from time to time, by the Board, but there shall be no fewer than seven (7) members and no more than nine (9) members each elected for three (3) years, with two (2) or three (3) members being elected each year for their full term in office. Therefore, any change in the length of term would have to be acted on by an amendment to this section of the By-laws. Bob Hatfield moved (Karen Mackey seconded) and unanimously approved by a show of hands that RJ Baker, Beth Vogel, and Pat Cook be installed as new members of the Board and that Marlene Sturdevant fill Jeva Singh-Anand's term for one year. At the end of that period a reduction of the number of members serving on the Board could be considered. Maria Rundquist was appointed by the congregation to the vacant seat on the nominating committee and Kathy Bringman will serve as chair of that committee.

Consulting Minister's Report

To summarize, Dr. Voss presented suggestions for uses of her Sunday afternoon time, and the issue of concern that was the allocation of that time. Her suggestion was that she be consulted about those meetings and that these meetings with the various groups be planned and published in a month in advance. It would facilitate planning even more if a schedule could be produced several months in advance giving time to plan for events that would be involved. Probably the scheduling and arranging of these would be a Board responsibility. She added that these are suggestions and options that could act as a catalyst for planning.

The meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Janie Moeller, Board Secretary