Annual Meeting
Voter’s Guide - March 20, 2022
“Everything is a blessing, even meetings. Whether its meetings, or running gassers or lifting,
it's an opportunity, and the best thing to do is be thankful for it.”
~ Eric Berry
it's an opportunity, and the best thing to do is be thankful for it.”
~ Eric Berry
Dear Tree of Life Members ~
Purpose of this document
The purpose of this document is to outline the history and reasons behind the issues up for vote at the time of the annual meeting. This document has been prepared by the Leadership Council after much discussion. Questions about the issues in the document can be brought to the Annual Meeting, which will take place at 11:15am EDT, March 20, 2022, after Sunday Service, on zoom.
Issues to be brought to a vote
1. Budget
2. Procedures around leadership
Budget
The attached budget document includes the overall picture of our income and expenses from last year as well as projected expenses for the upcoming year.
Your pledges and donations are the bulk of our income. These fund our basic expenses, such as our mortgage, insurance and utilities, providing weekly worship, offering stipends to our Presiding Minister and Administrator, and providing scholarships to our seminary. In addition, we are still working to renovate and improve our new physical location. Additional donations from our community will allow us to fulfill more of our wish list, including increasing our stipends for worship leaders, transforming the cement floor on the lower level of our temple, and improving our technical equipment for upcoming hybrid worship and classes.
You, the Membership of the Temple, are requested to vote to accept or reject the budget as presented.
The Leadership Council recommends a “yes” vote.
Procedures around leadership
The past couple of years have been a steep learning curve. Not only did we suddenly shift from in-person to online worship and classes due to the pandemic, we also shifted from operating under our Founding / First Presiding Minister to having a new Presiding Minister. In addition, in accordance with our bylaws, we called forth an Associate Minister, a position that did not previously exist.
We have seen, experienced, and hopefully learned a lot through these transitions. First, it takes a while to learn the Presiding Minister role and get into it comfortably, so that one can actually have the impact one is hoping to have. COVID didn’t help this; as Rev. Linda was learning to be our first Presiding Minister after Rev. Dr. Stephanie, she also was trying to captain our vessel in uncharted online waters.
Along with this, we found that the new Associate Minister position is harder to define than we expected. It is neither just an assistant role nor a completely independent role. The position relies heavily on communication and coordination with the Presiding Minister. In addition, the way the role was created carries with it a lot of pressure. The requirement that the Associate Minister succeeds the Presiding Minister after two years limits the position to someone willing to, first, put a minimum of four years into leadership of the Temple, and secondly, be willing to become Presiding Minister. We take this opportunity to thank Rev. Debb-Ellen who courageously jumped into the position and who served as well as the difficult circumstances allowed.
For these reasons, the Leadership Council is proposing that the following policy changes regarding leadership be incorporated into the Temple bylaws via amendments:
You, the Membership of the Temple, are requested to vote to accept or reject the proposed bylaw changes as presented.
The Leadership Council recommends a “yes” vote.
In conclusion
Thank you for being part of the membership of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple and for thoughtfully engaging with and responding to these issues. You are encouraged to attend the annual community meeting to review and discuss the information and questions in this document.
Respectfully submitted,
Your Leadership Council
Rev. Linda Goodman, Presiding Minister
Rev. Karen Manchester, Admin, Treasurer, and Zoom Lead
Alexis Eaton, Council Secretary and Programs Liaison
Rev. Ahjan Grossman, Seminary Director and Outreach Coordinator
Rev. Carrie Ives, Website Guru and Facebook Lead
Purpose of this document
The purpose of this document is to outline the history and reasons behind the issues up for vote at the time of the annual meeting. This document has been prepared by the Leadership Council after much discussion. Questions about the issues in the document can be brought to the Annual Meeting, which will take place at 11:15am EDT, March 20, 2022, after Sunday Service, on zoom.
Issues to be brought to a vote
1. Budget
2. Procedures around leadership
Budget
The attached budget document includes the overall picture of our income and expenses from last year as well as projected expenses for the upcoming year.
Your pledges and donations are the bulk of our income. These fund our basic expenses, such as our mortgage, insurance and utilities, providing weekly worship, offering stipends to our Presiding Minister and Administrator, and providing scholarships to our seminary. In addition, we are still working to renovate and improve our new physical location. Additional donations from our community will allow us to fulfill more of our wish list, including increasing our stipends for worship leaders, transforming the cement floor on the lower level of our temple, and improving our technical equipment for upcoming hybrid worship and classes.
You, the Membership of the Temple, are requested to vote to accept or reject the budget as presented.
The Leadership Council recommends a “yes” vote.
Procedures around leadership
The past couple of years have been a steep learning curve. Not only did we suddenly shift from in-person to online worship and classes due to the pandemic, we also shifted from operating under our Founding / First Presiding Minister to having a new Presiding Minister. In addition, in accordance with our bylaws, we called forth an Associate Minister, a position that did not previously exist.
We have seen, experienced, and hopefully learned a lot through these transitions. First, it takes a while to learn the Presiding Minister role and get into it comfortably, so that one can actually have the impact one is hoping to have. COVID didn’t help this; as Rev. Linda was learning to be our first Presiding Minister after Rev. Dr. Stephanie, she also was trying to captain our vessel in uncharted online waters.
Along with this, we found that the new Associate Minister position is harder to define than we expected. It is neither just an assistant role nor a completely independent role. The position relies heavily on communication and coordination with the Presiding Minister. In addition, the way the role was created carries with it a lot of pressure. The requirement that the Associate Minister succeeds the Presiding Minister after two years limits the position to someone willing to, first, put a minimum of four years into leadership of the Temple, and secondly, be willing to become Presiding Minister. We take this opportunity to thank Rev. Debb-Ellen who courageously jumped into the position and who served as well as the difficult circumstances allowed.
For these reasons, the Leadership Council is proposing that the following policy changes regarding leadership be incorporated into the Temple bylaws via amendments:
- The Presiding Minister’s term is changed from two years to a four year term.
- The Presiding Minister may be voted into office a maximum of two consecutive terms.
- The position of the Presiding Minister will not be left vacant. If there are no qualified candidates at the end of the current term, the standing Presiding Minister will continue in the position until a replacement can be voted into office.
- The Associate Minister will be nominated by the Leadership Council, including the Presiding Minister. The nominee will then be presented to membership for approval. Potential candidates for the Associate Minister position will be discussed and a nominee will be selected. (If anyone in the community is interested in learning more about the position, they should contact the Leadership Council. Initial conversations with the Presiding Minister to explore the idea are encouraged.)
- There will no longer be a requirement that the Associate Minister succeed as Presiding Minister. The term for an Associate Minister will continue to be two years, allowing for multiple people to serve as Associate Minister under a single Presiding Minister.
You, the Membership of the Temple, are requested to vote to accept or reject the proposed bylaw changes as presented.
The Leadership Council recommends a “yes” vote.
In conclusion
Thank you for being part of the membership of Tree of Life Interfaith Temple and for thoughtfully engaging with and responding to these issues. You are encouraged to attend the annual community meeting to review and discuss the information and questions in this document.
Respectfully submitted,
Your Leadership Council
Rev. Linda Goodman, Presiding Minister
Rev. Karen Manchester, Admin, Treasurer, and Zoom Lead
Alexis Eaton, Council Secretary and Programs Liaison
Rev. Ahjan Grossman, Seminary Director and Outreach Coordinator
Rev. Carrie Ives, Website Guru and Facebook Lead
Budget Documents:
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