Follen Community Church



FOLLEN CHURCH UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington MA 024202018 ANNUAL REPORTYou are cordially invited to theFOLLEN CHURCH 2018 ANNUAL MEETINGWEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 7:30pmin the Community Center, Follen ChurchAll members and friends of Follen are welcome at and urged to attend the Annual Meeting; however, only members of the Society may vote.308610057340500308610077025500PLEASE BRING A COPY OF THE ANNUAL REPORT WITH YOU TO THE MEETING TABLE OF CONTENTSWarrant3Follen Church Membership Information5Vision and Mission Statements6STAFF REPORTSMinister7Director of Community Engagement 9 Music Director11Interim Director of Religious Education14Administrative Team16LAY LEADERSChair and Vice Chair, Parish Board17President, Program Council18Nominating Committee19ACTION TEAM REPORTSBuildings and Grounds20Community and Hospitality21Financial and Human Resources24Pastoral Care26Religious Education28Social Justice29Worship and Music32FOLLEN CHURCH ANNUAL PLAN 2018-1933CAPITAL CAMPAIGN AND CONSTRUCTIONCapital Campaign Committee38Construction Oversight Committee39RESOLUTION: Covenant of Right Relations40FINANCIAL REPORTSAuditor41Trustees41Follen Social Justice Donations44Financial Statements46P&L through April 30, 2018Balance Sheet as of April 30, 2018FY2018 Proposed Budget49WARRANTFOR THE 2018 ANNUAL MEETINGOF FOLLEN CHURCHTo the members of Follen Church:You are requested to assemble in the Community Center of the Follen Church,755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA,at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, May 23, 2018ARTICLE ITo receive and act on the report of the Parish Minister.ARTICLE IITo receive and act on the reports of the Officers, Staff, Trustees, Auditor and Action Teams.ARTICLE IIITo act on the report of the Nominating Committee and to elect the required Program Council members, Parish Board members, Nominating Committee members, Trustees and Auditor for the coming fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018.ARTICLE IVTo receive and act on the Annual Plan and Budget.ARTICLE VITo appoint delegates to vote on Follen Church’s behalf at the UU General Assembly in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 20-24, 2018.ARTICLE VIITo receive and act upon Follen’s “Covenant of Right Relations”ARTICLE VIIITo receive and act upon an amendment to the Follen Church bylaws to support the church’s application to be recognized as exempt under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.Amendment 1: Insert the paragraph in bold italic as a new paragraph 2 under Article II as noted below. … Article II: Purpose In the search of truth and in the recognition of the Unitarian Universalist tradition of free inquiry and expression we unite in fellowship for worship and for service to humanity. We affirm and promote the full participation of all persons in all our activities, including membership, programming, hiring practices and the calling of religious professionals; without regard to race, color, gender, physical challenge, affectional or sexual orientation, age, or national origin. The Church is organized exclusively for charitable and religious purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.Article III: Membership …Amendment 2: Change Article XX as noted below in bold italic. Article XX: Dissolution of the Church Shall this Church cease to function and the Membership vote to disband, the assets of the Church shall, after payment of the liabilities of the Church or due provision therefore, be transferred to another Unitarian Universalist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association (U.U.A.) or to any organization succeeding to substantially all of the functions of the U.U.A., or, if there be none, to one or more organizations exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, as voted by the Members at a duly called meeting, this and in each case such assets to be used only for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of said Section 501(c)(3), or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, such transfer to be made in full compliance with applicable law. Any assets not disposed of as otherwise provided herein shall be disposed of by a court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the principal office of the Church is then located, exclusively for the aforementioned purposes, or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.ARTICLE IXTo receive and act upon the second vote authorizing the use of the Heritage Fund as contingency during the construction project.MOTION: The membership of Follen Church authorize the use of up to $350,000 of the Heritage Fund as a contingency fund to be used explicitly and solely to cover unexpected expenses of the capital construction project. The construction project will be budgeted within the capital campaign funds that have been raised.Each withdrawal from the Heritage Fund under this approval shall be authorized by amajority vote of the Program Council.ARTICLE XTo transact any other business that may properly come before the Society.By the Program Council Secretary, Juli JorgensenNote 1: Qualifications to vote: According to the Bylaws, a member may vote if he or she has been a member for at least 30 days before the meeting. For this Annual Meeting, that would mean by April 23, 2018.Note 2: How to vote by proxy: The Bylaws state that any voting member whose attendance at any meeting is inhibited may deposit a written proxy authorizing one or more members to vote on any or all warrant articles with the Secretary or Program Council President prior to the meeting. A proxy form is available here: Church Membership Information(May 1, 2017 – May 6, 2018)New Adult and Youth MembersPaula JarauschJacob MelaJuliet StevensonLeah RedmonRebecca JohnsonIsabella DrayLulu EddyVenice Mountain-ZonaIsabella ScopetskiHenry Douglas WaltersJessalyn CaliMichelle ZonaAnabel GraetzSally A. LeGore-NusholtzMary HummonSteven DrayErika RiddingtonHugh Kellogg TruslowMelinda Gilbert GrayEdward David Spencer KerslakeMargot TracyBurton FilstrupJulianna StocktonAdam StocktonMay 7, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017May 21, 2017June 18, 2017October 29, 2017October 29, 2017 October 29, 2017October 29, 2017October 29, 2017October 29, 2017October 29, 2017November 5, 2017November 5, 2017November 5, 2017November 5, 2017Child Dedication May 6, 2018 Caleb Patrick Robinson Deaths of Follen Members and FriendsMargaret Bradley, Randall Conrad, Peter Steele, Herb SwanstromActive Adult MembersAs of May 4, 2018, Follen has 342 active members.Follen Church VisionWe are a welcoming Unitarian Universalist congregation.Nourished by our community, we grow spiritually and embrace the world.MissionReach out and welcome all, experiencing difference as opportunity;Pursue our spiritual paths independently and in fellowship, sharing our questfor understanding, wonder, and meaning;Commit ourselves to justice, service, and increased harmony with nature through thoughtful, compassionate, and courageous action;Give generously of our time, talents and resources at Follen and beyond, energized by our contributions and grateful for those of others.MINISTER AND STAFF REPORTSMINISTERRev. Claire Feingold ThorynDear members and friends of Follen Church, This year I celebrated my fifth year serving Follen and completed my 12th year in parish ministry. Looking back it is amazing to think of all we accomplished this year.Staffing TransitionsWhen I wrote my last Annual Report a year ago, it was becoming clear that our Music Director of one year, Tyler Turner, was preparing to move on. Move on he did and thanks to a hardworking and fast-moving team of volunteers, we were able to search for a replacement Acting Music Director. Certainly the Spirit was moving because we were blessed to find Vivian Montgomery, an experienced, creative, warm, and joy-filled musician and leader who quickly adapted to Follen. After completing a comprehensive 90-day evaluation of Vivian’s work, it was clear we would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to make her a permanent settled member of our staff team. Happily, she seemed to like us as much as we liked her, and so now Vivian is our Music Director, and will move from 80% to full time in the 2018-2019 church year. We benefitted from the continued leadership of Interim Director of Religious Education Deb Weiner during her second and last year with us. She collaborated with REAT to pull our programs into a strong place for our incoming Director of Faith Formation. Deb, I thank you for our time together—your work has been invaluable! I give thanks to the RE search team. Together, we worked on the job description, settled on a new title that more accurately reflects the goals of religious education today, and carefully examined applications. Phone interviews helped narrow the field to three in person interviews and a clear top candidate emerged. We are thrilled to begin working with Beryl Aschenberg, a UU religious educator with more than 25 years of experience whose warmth and dedication to her calling came through in all our interactions. We learned in the spring that our Director of Community Engagement of two years, Rev. Susanne Intriligator, was in the search process to become a parish minister. We are certainly sad to lose the person who helped shape the DCE role and gave so much support to Follen’s systems. As we navigated the hires of the Music Director and Director of Faith Formation, it became clear that to offer competitive salaries in those realms, we would need to dial back the DCE-related hours. To that end, going forward, we have transitioned almost all of Susanne’s administrative and communications duties to Laura Vanderhart, our current programs Assistant. Laura has proved herself to be a positive and dedicated member of our staff team; we are happy to increase her hours and she is eager to learn these skills. We plan to hire a part-time (24 hours) Membership Director to specifically support visitors and newcomers along the path to membership at Follen. This two-person model—a part-time person focusing on communications, and a part-time person focusing on Membership—is in some ways a return to the model we had three years ago, though with a different balance of hours. I wish to lift up from the previous paragraphs a thread running through all of them: our trustworthy and consistent Human Resources volunteers led skillfully by Aimee Fox, and supported by the chair of FHRAT, Nancy Sofen. They did so much work behind the scenes to help this congregation continue to have a strong staff team. There is no way we could have made it through all these transitions as smoothly without you—thank you!Capital Campaign and Building ProjectMeanwhile, throughout these transitions, our Capital Campaign committee, led by the inimitable Brad Howe, was doing amazing things. Last year, the team studying what a capital campaign could do for Follen urged us to “Dream Big!” Our feasibility study done by Dan Hotchkiss told us a range of $1.5-2.2 million was in reach. Brad thought we could do better. And boy was he right: as of today our Capital Campaign has raised more than $4.1 million dollars. Follen really dreamed big—and made those dreams a reality! We couldn’t have done it without Sarah Garner, our Administrator of 15 years, taking on all the extra business administration. She is a gem. Over the course of this year, our building design team met weekly—sometimes more than weekly. Many people lent their insight, but I have to lift up the people who were there at practically every single Thursday afternoon meeting: Alice Dunn, Mart Ojaama, Valerie Perkins, Greg Shenstone, and Nancy Sofen. These volunteers deserve kudos upon kudos. The design team is beginning the transition into a Construction Oversight Group because we break ground this June. In the 2018-19 church year we’ll be bringing back the tradition of wearing hats to church…hard hats, that is. (Kidding!)It is truly astonishing that Follen people—volunteering their time, energy, expertise, and care—have made this capital campaign and building project happen in such a short amount of time. But I don’t know why I’m astonished, because accomplishing hard things with a positive spirit is the Follen way! I fully expect that in one year, when I write my 2019 report, I will be writing it in a building that will be accessible, green, beautiful, and spacious.Congregational LifeThanks to the commitment of President Simon Horsburgh, the Follen Responds to Racism team, and others, our Action Teams and Program Council spent the year examining how we can fulfill our anti-racism resolution of 2017 “beyond the banner.” Integrating an anti-oppressive lens into all our areas of ministry is the way that real change happens. From our Sanctuary partnership with First Parish in Bedford, to our commitment to bring anti-racist values into every hiring process, I’m proud of Follen for this work. Our Safety Team had a blessed year of no big crises (knock wood) and so we were able to turn our attention to the important work of best practices. Emerging from those conversations came the goal of creating a congregationally endorsed behavioral “Covenant of Right Relations.” The interim ministers before me had first discussed this type of covenant, and the time seemed ripe to make it happen. Many congregations already have such a covenant, which helps formalize the ways we live out our UU values in the community. The Leadership retreat in March reflected on more than a dozen examples from other UU congregations and created a draft Follen covenant. I edited that draft, with Simon’s input, into language that reflected the major goals of the leadership. We vote on it at this Annual Meeting. It is a living document that we can change and update as needed, and will help us be our best selves together.As always, I am more or less active in almost every realm of congregational life—from WMAT to FHRAT to PC to the LMs to …well, I don’t need to list all the acronyms. Suffice to say this is a busy place and I am glad to collaborate with so many engaged lay leaders in so many areas of ministry.Ministerial EvaluationThe last ministerial evaluation had been in 2014, and it was past time for another. This year we used the tool jointly created by the UUA and UUMA called “Fulfilling the Call.” I wrote a self-evaluation—always a clarifying task—and a team met with me and wrote their own evaluation. The process for creating the evaluation team was created by the Board in 2013 and continues to work well: a representative from Program Council (not the President), a representative from Parish Board (not the Chair), a representative from Human Resources, a member of congregation not currently in a major lay leadership role appointed by Coordinating Team, and a member of the congregation chosen by the minister. Those respective appointments were Melissa Howe Raberg, Nick Hart, Aimee Fox, Brian Cali, and Tom Blumenthal. Their feedback was incredibly affirming of my ministry. Their suggested goals and priorities were supportive and helpful. It was a wonderful process. Thank you, Follen, for caring about the ministry of this congregation and helping us—and me—be better, together. WorshipAnd—while it might seem there was hardly time for anything else, given all I detailed above—there was worship! Our worship themes were: September – Unlocked October – Mission November – Balance December – Promise January - Solitude February – Secrets March – ProphecyApril – Mercy May – Beyond June – Epiphany During the month of “Balance” we played Jenga, balanced spoons on our noses, and remembered that “balance” is a verb, not a noun. During “Solitude” we learned about the hermit in the Maine woods. During “Promise” Vivian and the choir gave us a spiritual response to the #MeToo movement as they lifted up women composers whose promising gifts had been oppressed during their time. During “Prophecy” we heard stories of the ancient prophets, including the cranky and reluctant Jonah. And so much more. It was a pleasure to lean into a deep collaboration with Vivian, who is creative, positive, and game for even my most eclectic of musical suggestions. (For example: a riff on the Beatles’ song “I’ve Just Seen a Face” with Follen-ized lyrics!) It remains my joy and delight to be your spiritual leader and worship creator, finding ways for all the people of Follen to connect with the holy, and with each other. While we had hoped to figure out a way to do summer services, our building project and other circumstances proved too complicated to overcome. This summer we will find ways to get together informally. Hopefully next year we will be able to resume summer worship.Minister’s Discretionary FundSince the last Annual Meeting, I have been able to channel your generosity by giving away $5,537 from the Minister’s Discretionary Fund and $2,460 from the co-mingled MDF sub-fund specifically for helping children with Special Needs. In addition, FHRAT took on the work of supporting this fund with a policy that upholds our legal and ethical requirements as a church, which helps me use my discretion well. As of this writing, there is currently $13,356.89in the overall MDF account. If you are experiencing hardship and a gift from the MDF would assist you, please do not hesitate to be in touch. Looking forward2018-2019 holds:Known and unknown complications and accommodations of our big building projectTemporary staff office space in Marshman and temporary rental space for RE, music and meetings at Waldorf School, Sacred Heart Church, and Munroe Art Center.Onboarding new staff and supporting the entire staff team as we learn to work togetherTransitioning back into our renovated and new spacesIncreasing stewardship to a level that supports our new space and staffFun, interesting, and spiritually exciting new worship themes Planning for my sabbatical, currently scheduled for June 15, 2019 – December 7, 2019…and so much more!Thank youFollen Church, it continues to be a blessing to serve you. This congregation is funny, generous, warm, helpful, smart, engaged, forgiving, loving, dedicated, positive, and thoughtful. If I started listing names and specific appreciations this report would become a thousand pages long. So I’ll just say: Thank you for being you. Believe me, I know I serve the best church around. with faith, hope, and love,Rev. Claire Feingold ThorynDIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTRev. Susanne IntriligatorIt has been a joy to work with you and grow with you as Follen’s Director of Community Engagement over these past two and a half years. This congregation has helped me to grow as a minister, and I am forever grateful.In the role of Follen’s DCE, I conducted and oversaw all the communications and membership-related church functions, doing all I could to build and nurture connections among us and between us and our larger community. In addition, as an ordained UU minister, I have preached monthly, offered leadership resources to committees, and participated in worship. CommunicationsCommunication keeps Follen moving. DCE responsibilities include:Producing the weekly email Follen for You newsletter Producing, editing, and sharing video of worship services Updating and improving Producing brochures, invitations, reports for church groupsNurturing our lively Facebook communityCreating video for the entrance screenPlease share any feedback you may have by emailing admin@. Membership/Connections The DCE bears primary responsibility for our Sunday morning welcome to visitors and our system for integrating newcomers. In partnership with the Connections Committee, I have helped to:Provide a warm welcome on Sunday morningsSupervise the Follen Hosts teamCreate a new magnetic nametags system for FollenOrganize and lead the New UU classes for newcomers, on topics such as social justice, membership, and governance Organize a Fall New Member SundayOrganize a Spring “A Chosen Faith” book group luncheonKeep in touch with visitors and new members, helping them to integrateMy teammates on the Connections Committee: Kathy Blake, Gerry Mimno, Steph Chiha, Karen Edmonds, Kay Lamer, and Marilu Nowlin. This spring, Nick Afshartous joined us. Worship: Leading and ParticipationOver this past church year, I have: Preached 7 timesOffered the Welcome 7 timesDone the Chalice Lighting onceGave the Pastoral Prayer 10 timesHelped to lead the New Member Welcome in NovemberGuest-preached at our congregations in Needham, Marblehead, and Peterborough, NHAdult ProgramsWorking with our fantastic Adult Programs Coordinating Committee, I have helped to create:An overall vision and mission for adult programs at FollenPolicy and procedure to support Action Teams in their offeringsA new placement for APCC under the Community and Hospitality Action Team (CHAT)The successful new congregation-wide dinner series, “Food for Thought”In its second year, Food for Thought continues to attract both healthy gatherings of 40-60 people and a crack team of cooks, helpers, and program designers. This year, we’ve hosted lively and deep discussions on: unrest in Turkey, Follen history, gender, the Civil Rights pilgrimage, music appreciation, faith origin stories, and classism. And there are two more yet to come this year: UU history and the congregational read book discussion. Food for Thought deepens our engagement with important issues -- and with one another -- and strengthens us as a community. I’m proud to have been part of it!Supporting Follen Boards, Action Teams, Committees and LeadersIn addition to Communications, Connections, and Adult Programs, I have also worked directly and consistently with other Follen boards and groups, including Program Council, Parish Board, Nominating Committee, Stewardship, the Capital Campaign, Social Events, and Social Justice Action Team (and within in it, Follen Responds to Racism). On a daily, monthly, and as-needed basis, I offer Follen leaders and groups support, counsel, ideas, and a congregation-wide perspective. In the area of “general support to Follen groups,” I have worked this year on:The Stewardship campaign, including Fellowship Dinner and Celebration SundayMajor Fundraisers including East Village Fair, Christmas Tree Sales, and the Annual AuctionRevamping and streamlining Coffee Hour food provision and volunteer recruitmentSupport for leaders of Social Justice Action TeamDrafting a letter of news and inquiry to our Partner ChurchFacilitating a program planning retreat for Follen Responds to RacismGratitudeI have been blessed to work with you and for you. It has been an education and an inspiration, daily. Follen people are so smart and so consistently good. Sarah Garner could not be more competent or more kind. We can all depend on Jimmy McFeeley for excellent work and a good laugh. Laura VanderHart has proven an excellent administrative assistant; I’m happy to put the Follen newsletter into her capable care. Deb Weiner has been a kind colleague and a trusted friend. Claire Feingold Thoryn has taught me hundreds of things about ministry. I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know Vivian Montgomery, who brightens our Sundays and rounds out our happy staff. Thank you all for two and a half challenging and growth-filled years. Thank you for helping me land in Lexington, from too many years marooned abroad. Thank you for trusting me with your communications and your welcoming and occasionally with your pulpit. I have worked hard at Follen, and I have found my voice and my legs, with your help. Now I’m ready to move on, to spread the good news I’ve seen lived out in this very special congregation. Thank you! Respectfully submitted,Rev. Susanne IntriligatorMUSIC DIRECTORVivian MontgomeryIt has been so wonderful to be part of this amazing community this year, and I’m truly grateful for the support, warmth, and enthusiasm I’ve found among the people here. It’s also exciting to have stepped into the mix at such a rich and promising time, with the upcoming renovation and the incredible show of investment the church has received from its membership. In addition, I’m mindful of the fact that there’s been difficult transition in the music program at Follen and I appreciate being given the opportunity to build some sense of stability, continuity, and the long view. The clergy and staff at Follen have been extremely supportive and collegial, and the collaboration is creative in a way that makes it easy to think about the future. This is particularly the case in my relationship with Claire – our work together is a fun, irreverent, but always deeply inquiring incubator.Youth Music (Children’s and Youth Choirs) This year, we had approximately 15 active members of the Children’s Choir (grades 2-5) and 38 active members of the Youth Choir (grades 6-12). We rehearsed on Monday evenings from 4-6 PM. The choirs will have sung 8 times during services by the end of the year, most of which were double services. The pageant in December that used traditional choral music, sung by both choirs, was integrated into a script about a Christmas tree and Charles Follen, and proved to be a very strong interconnection of music and RE resources.Youth musicians were given many opportunities to sing solos and play instruments in services. I’ve encouraged a fair amount of invention, improvisation, and conceptual process in our music, from our experimental treatment of Amazing Grace for the Thanksgiving service, to learning and harmonizing a rousing gospel number by ear, to creating movement and rhythmic play to enhance our songs. May and June is dedicated to the intensive work on Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, to be performed on June 7 & 8 by most members of both choirs. Endless thanks are due to all of the families who have provided volunteer support for this incredible endeavor, and to Sara Haugland who’s served as Operetta Director during this year of part-time Music Directorship, and to Nancy McCarthy who’s taken on the new role as Dramaturg. The process of preparing for the Operetta included working through issues and ideas about how the tradition might evolve to encompass and accommodate more of the church’s values, and to address concerns about gender stereotype, racism, and classism. Nancy’s inclusion has been part of the effort to contextualize and critique the show in relation to Follen’s ideals.Adult Choir and No Name Choir The Adult Choir is a beautifully unified, dedicated, and open-hearted community within this community. I’ve been impressed by their willingness to take on new styles and repertoire, and also to flex toward new members who might need more support to help them weave themselves into choir life. We have 28 members, and typically have 18-20 for our Tuesday evening rehearsals (7:30-9:00 PM) and most Sundays of the church year. We are blessed to have our four fabulous section leaders: Epp Sonin, Laura Frye, Jamie Leutz, and Ryan Spilker (joined this year). Our amazing collaborative pianist, Shaylor Lindsay, is central to Follen’s music program, providing a truly elevating level of support and artistry. For our fall Music Service, we put together a Women Composers Across the Centuries, including readings and commentary by numerous choir members, along with congregational and guest string players. The March Music Service featured Hebrew liturgical works of the late Renaissance Italian composer, Salamone Rossi, with instrumentalists from my period ensemble Eudaimonia. This was a unique and really gratifying experience, and I feel that the choir really rose to embracing its challenges and special character. Other choir music through the year was eclectic but always centered around themes and messages, and I made a point of integrating familiar and more traditional repertoire into the new music that departed to other stylistic domains. It was particularly thrilling to me to work with the No Name Choir and to continue developing its aims as separate from, but dovetailing with, the Adult Choir. With both choirs, my goal was to strike the balance between an experience of comfortable confidence and one of being challenged and surprised. This is a learning process for me, but I feel good about the overall sweep of what we did, how well we did it, and how meaningful it was. Worship The most invigorating part of serving as Director of Music at Follen is the collaboration with fellow staff, especially with Reverend Claire. She and I have an especially open and fruitful way of working together, and I always feel that the worship that evolves from our work together is far greater than the sum of its parts because the shared spirit is so strong. Together, we’ve injected services with humor, poetry, deep insight, and an experimental mindset, and I look forward to the coming years, and to extending that spirit to collaboration with our new Director of Religious Education. I will miss Susanne hugely, because I’ve also been greatly nourished by my work with her. Playing the organ, choosing hymns (with the minister), overseeing and preparing special music, and writing music notes have all been important parts of my role, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of it.To summarize some of the “philosophy” I bring to my work with the music program at Follen, I’ll include an excerpt from my sermon that was included in our Salamone Rossi music service, about musical Universalism: “Universalism is not only a set of values, but a worldview to which any can subscribe if they observe and believe in the universality of the human experience — and that of all sentient life — and work to uphold the principles, ethics, and actions that safeguard these fundamental things. . . . All of this is dependent upon allowing the elements that are unfamiliar and seemingly at odds into a single domain, and regarding them as containing an essential and shared truth beyond their apparent sensibilities. This is as much the case in music as it is in text and ideas. You may have noticed in my 6 months here that this is very much what I’m prone to do in conceiving of music for worship. Of course, some of the diversity of the styles, genres, performing forces, and sentiments I program is driven by the very important, but more obvious, factors of collaborative and collective work: requests from people; thematic, seasonal, and textual connections that need to be made; the need or desire to feature, even honor, a particular person, group, or instrument on a particular day. But I would say the larger share of inspiration for this mix of sometimes disparate, even conflicting musical elements, comes from an instinct for how they speak a shared truth, despite their differences. Sometimes the clearest shared message is beauty, but more often than not, it’s something more difficult than that, something we need to reach for and struggle with. I rarely want to cloister Bach with Bach – rather, I’m drawn to the complexity and puzzlement of Bach being next to Girlyman, medieval chant next to rousing spirituals with hands clapping high in the air, people marching out to a Motown refrain after having sat reverently singing “We Would Be One”. In my personal music world, the accordion and harpsichord live together, and they seem to ridicule one another while making ineffable whole, a universal truth. We are accepting of such disparities and juxtapositions in spoken and written texts – Claire guides us in finding wisdom in an email about clerical robes getting wrinkled and then turns around to read from the darkest and most troubling parts of scripture. We come away with a sense of truth larger than the sum of its parts. This is how I believe music can be.”Special ServicesI’d like to take the opportunity to simply list some of the other creative, collaborative, and artistic highpoints in services this year: 1. our Hanukah/Klezmer/Latke-themed Service; 2. Jazz service with Bruno Raberg’s group and readings on the New Year; 3. All the choirs singing “Seed to Sow” for Celebration Sunday; 4. All choirs singing Bernstein’s “Gloria Tibi” for Easter; 5. our April Fools/Easter service; 6. MLK service; 7. Solstice and many more!Administration and MaintenanceSeveral key elements make up the more practical, administrative part of the Music Director’s position. Because I myself am new, and am transitioning from part-time Interim to full-time “settled,” I’ve needed to delve often and thoroughly into issues of finance and governance. The process of formulating my own job description and compensation (both as Interim and now as full-time) has been demanding and informative. I’ve advocated strongly for fair compensation of staff on a number of levels and hope to continue to be the voice of those concerns as the church grows and continues to define itself in this period of change. I’ve also needed to attend to shaping or re-shaping job description and compensation for four part-time music staff (bass soloist, accompanist, Children’s Choir accompanist, operetta director), plus operetta accompanists, as well as the budgetary requirements for all of our special music activities this year and for the coming year. Our 1868 Hook Organ and our 1912 Steinway grand piano have needed maintenance and care, and there is some major work for each on the horizon in order to keep them both functioning at their best. I’d like to restore the use of the organ for concerts in celebration of it having reached its 150th birthday. Other practical elements (music stands, music filing, copying, rhythm instruments, binders, set-up, amplification, sending out updates, scheduling etc.) make up a certain amount of the Music Director’s role, with help from staff and volunteers.Looking AheadAs we move into the year of renovation, our attention turns to change and growth on a number of different levels. Of course, we need to deal with the logistical and emotional challenges of enduring construction and being in substitute spaces, but there are some rich undertakings that can fully take hold even while “in exile.” Toward what I believe to be a mandate for the Follen music program to be “intentionally anti-racist,” I’ve been working on developing musical relationships with some of the Boston area’s African-American churches and am pleased to say that I’ve forged two very promising connections, with Charles Street AME Church in Beacon Hill and with Bethel AME in Jamaica Plain. With the latter, plans are already underway to collaborate with their Director of Music and Arts, Michael Bradley, and their worship team and choirs, on an intergenerational Christmas Cantata in early December. Our choirs will go to them and they’ll come to us, serving as our special Advent Music Service for the coming year. My hope is to get comfortable, through direct contact and singing, with our cultural differences and to learn more about the impressive caretaking and social action ministries that congregation encompasses. With Charles Street AME Church, I hope to find a way to lift up their music school, The Hamilton-Garrett Music & Arts Academy as well as their wonderful traditional worship music. I have been in communication with Marcia Butman and Mary Margaret Earl of the UU Urban Ministry, and intend to have any continued work on these relationships be in conjunction with SJAT. Another focus for the coming year is to explore ways for Follen’s beloved operetta tradition to evolve and broaden to encompass a greater diversity of participants, beliefs, and stylistic preferences. While I’m aware that I’m in the “hot seat” when I bring up such ideas, it’s clear that this is a part of the music program’s activities that needs to be addressed, albeit with respect for tradition and sensitivity to what it means to people. Creativity, democracy, and practicality are greatly needed in considering the direction this enterprise will take, and a committed core of Follenites engaged in the process will be extremely valuable.I look forward, in the coming year, to envisioning inspiring uses of a new music-centered space on the third floor, as well our beautiful sanctuary. I believe that Follen–sponsored concerts (as opposed to rentals) are an essential part of the church’s musical life, and I’d like to look toward bringing more innovation and resources to such offerings. In addition, I hope to begin developing, as an expansion of the church’s musical mission, a collective project whose working title is the Follen Center for Music and the Spirit. This would be an offering of workshops, presentations, performances, discussion groups, field trips, and perhaps an annual conference, for which the church would serve as a home, to bring together and explore the full range of work being done on music in service of physical and mental health, spiritual practice, social needs, mindfulness, and breaking down prejudice. While this is an undertaking that would require considerable planning and effort, it is something that I am prepared to spearhead in conjunction with the work that I intend to do toward a thriving and profoundly creative music program for worship and the growing needs of the congregation. Respectfully submitted,Vivian MontgomeryINTERIM DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONDeb WeinerWe are approaching the end of my tenure at Follen Church as your Interim Director of Religious Education - a 22-month assignment. I have been supported in this work and ministry by the members of the Religious Education Action Team (REAT) and most particularly by outgoing Chair Lisa Levey, current Chair Maureen Markelz, and incoming Chair Ann Bobo, as well as the team of lay leaders who are dedicated to fostering the health and vitality of faith development at Follen.I also want to extend gratitude to my colleagues at Follen. I have been glad to form a new connection to Music Director Vivian Montgomery, and have been blessed to work with Community Engagement Director Susanne Skubik Intriligator, our Administrative Assistant Laura VanderHart, Sunday RE Assistant Lori Moresco, and our Facilities Manager Jimmy McFeeley. I have received guidance, support and encouragement in equal measures from Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn - I could not ask for a better supervisor or partner in ministry. To all, I extend my thanks for being willing to walk on this journey of change and transition known as interim religious education ministry.TransitionIn my blogs over the last 3 months I have written extensively about the tasks of transition which interim leaders and the congregations who are going through this process experience, in an effort to help build increased understanding of what this ‘liminal time’ has been about. I hope that it has deepened the perspective of the members and leaders of the congregation. While the interim time is not one of required change, it does present an opportunity for transitions to occur that will strengthen the fabric of the ministry of religious education for the future - and that has been our focus during this year.Curricula SelectionThe religious education program has moved to a curriculum selection process that builds in the teaching goals of the congregation and focuses leadership on organizing teams by two-grade levels that will offer continuity, colleague support, increased training, and greater flexibility for teacher volunteers. The two-term teaching model was highly successful in this, its first year and my gratitude goes to the leaders who piloted this program: our professional PreK/K teacher Jody Gray-Linden and team leads Rebecca Farnham (Grades 1 and 2), Kerri Spilker (Grades 3 and 4), Erika Riddington (Grades 5 and 6), and Ann Bobo and Nick Hart (Grades 7 and 8). Thanks also go to Melissa Hawkins and her teen assistants, particularly Sophie McDonald, Annika Hawkins and Emily Hawkins, who provide friendly faces in the Nursery every week.We also focused this year on offering curricula that would build attendance in our classes, particularly in the upper grades. “Harry and UU,” which is based on the popular Harry Potter series, and “D’oh, God!” based on the popular TV series “The Simpsons,” succeeded admirably and were popular choices for the youth in those programs. Another ‘win’ for this year was the revitalized Middle School Youth Group, which offered a mix of social outings and connections and service work, to those in grades 6-8 on a monthly basis. The strength of engagement in Middle School Youth Group has another advantage, for it feeds the sense that youth have of making connections with their peers that then continues as they move into high school and FUUY. Thanks go to Lex Johnson, team lead for the group, and to Henrietta Yelle, Alison Streit Baron, Kyle Johnson, Dave Weissburg, Lindy Cassidy, and Megan Lancaster, who formed the leadership group and carried out programs that the youth loved to participate in.OWLOur OWL (Our Whole Lives) team taught 15 high-energy 8th graders the essentials of values-based sexuality education with aplomb and grace. I am grateful to Alisa Pascale as team lead, and to John Griffith, Lisa Levey, Robin Tartgalia, and Ben Vandiver for rising to every occasion and sharing their expertise and their great personalities with our spirited ing of AgeComing of Age, another of the religious education cornerstones of Follen’s program, was also blessed with the dedicated team of Brian Cali, Sophie Evett, Janet Lane, and Gray Watson as advisors, and with a fabulous group of mentors who were committed to Follen’s 14 participants in this program. Coming of Age takes a ‘village’ to be done well, and this year the congregation’s support for the program was enthusiastic.FUUY The FUUY (Follen UU Youth) program has been led by Brian Sewell - a product of Follen’s RE program - with Howie Bernstein, Herman Marshall, Liana Raberg, and Nancy Wurtz as advisors. Brian is now in his fourth year of leadership in this program. He and the team have been terrific from one end to the other - available to support and guide youth but focused on empowering their leadership as well. This has been a year of transition for FUUY but one in which the youth are also discovering their leadership skills and the ways in which they see themselves working with the congregation’s youth community to be a voice for good in the world.NOLA Service TripThe 2018 service learning trip, which was based at the Youth Rebuilding New Orleans bunkhouse and headquarters, was much smaller than 2017, but there could not have been a better group of participants on board. Our ten youth were supported by Brian Sewell, Lori Moresco and myself, by ‘Chef’ Caroline Walters, and by Chaperones Gray Watson (trip co-coordinator) and Rosemary McCrudden. The youth who participate in service learning deeply appreciate the opportunity to engage in work that improves the lives of those in communities that are different from their own. My gratitude extends to the stewards of the Brown Fund, which contributed funds for social justice-specific education, and to all of you in the congregation who supported this venture by purchasing soup, attending the coffee house that raised monies, or by helping our youth raise funds independently to go on this trip.Looking ForwardI think that it’s appropriate, as this interim time ends, for me to encourage the congregation to attend to some of the opportunities that exist for building and supporting an even better program in religious education in the coming years. So please consider these thoughts as suggested best practices for the coming months and perhaps, years.The opportunity to encourage the community to worship together exists if there are more two-service Sundays. Whether the children’s and youth choirs sing or not, there is something important for our UU congregations, in worshipping together and sharing the worship experience regularly with our children and youth, to discover about celebrating our faith. On other Sundays, when the building project is complete, there will be additional opportunities for developing a family worship program or a children’s and youth chapel experience in some of the larger space on the new third floor of Follen’s property. Worship allows all to deepen their faith, so this is a great opportunity for the church to explore and expand these possibilities.Follen’s UU Youth (FUUY) program has been in transition this year as the small group of current seniors work with the large group of juniors and other underclass-people to form a leadership structure that will feel inclusive, focused on the goals the youth want to support, and sustainable. Brian Sewell, who will enter his fifth year of leadership next year and Liana Raberg, who we hope will co-direct FUUY next year, are great resources for the youth and for helping to shape a youth program that offers service learning, fun, and peer support -- all well within reach.The discussion of how and where service learning trips occur is ongoing. I hope that the voice of the FUUY leadership and the wish for the opportunity to explore a variety of locations where learning and community rebuilding can occur, will be supported by the congregation. Ministry occurs in many settings and it’s important for the youth of this congregation to have an opportunity to see how UU faith and values can be put into action in different places and locations, in support of a number of good causes and goals.There have been steps taken to make Follen Church a safer congregation. This year revised overnight practices were put into place and the church instituted expanded safety background checks by Trusted Employees that search national criminal background and sexual offender records. These are important steps. More needs to be done: I encourage the congregation to support offering Our Whole Lives for high school youth (particularly those in grades 11 and 12) as well as the OWL program that is offered for 1st and 2nd graders, which puts in place the basics of ‘healthy touch’ and personal safety. Safety begins early and grows and changes as children, youth and adults mature - and Follen’s wish to become a sexually safer congregation will be supported by embracing these education opportunities.Last year I noted that there had been countless hours spent organizing and documenting materials. This year, the focus has been on developing practices that will be sustainable into the future - and, looking forward, considering what will need to be moved, packed, stored, or relocated as Follen prepares for the Big Move. It’s a time of uncertainty but great opportunity, and I am confident that, with the steps laid down for stability, safety, growth and learning, the future in religious education at Follen is promising. Follen has made a commitment to hire one of the UUA’s most experienced and respected religious educators to provide professional leadership for its faith development programs going forward. This bodes well, when linked to the work done over these last months, for a very bright future for the children, youth - and yes, adults - of this congregation.It has been a pleasure being with you for these months. I cannot wait to see what comes next for you all, and in preparing to leave, I wish you well.Respectfully submitted,Deborah WeinerADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Sarah Garner and Jimmy McFeeley,Church Administrator and SextonThe Capital Campaign has been a major focus during 2017-18: gathering pledges and processing donations; ordering building and office supplies with an eye toward not having extras that will need to be stored for a year-plus; notifying renters that Follen will be unavailable for their meetings and concerts; and wondering, endlessly, when renovations will start and how the project will affect our work and schedules. We have begun preparations to vacate the main building, including sorting through office files, getting rid of unnecessary paper, objects and furniture, and identifying items that can be put into storage for the duration. Being forced to decide which documents are essential and, of those, which ones can be preserved in electronic form, is a useful exercise.Given the large number of Follen events and meetings that are on the calendar during the active church year – most of which will need to happen despite the renovations -- we are uncertain about how we will manage space next year when the main building and Marshman Center will offer little or no availability. Renters will have to go elsewhere during 2018-19, and we hope to welcome most of them back after the building renovations are complete. But the return of French for Kids, Follen’s longtime tenants, is up in the air. The nursery school staff and students have been valued members of the Follen family since the early 2000’s and we will miss the joyful energy they bring to weekday mornings. Jimmy has appreciated working with Paul Rubin, this year’s leader of the Buildings and Grounds Action Team and the amazing, hands-on members of the Buildings & Grounds Action Team, and he continues to value his collegial relationship with Paul Menz, the longtime Waldorf School Facilities Manager. Sarah continues to enjoy working closely with Nancy Sofen, the Financial and Human Resources Team leader, and Harvy Simkovits, who is completing his third year as Follen’s Treasurer. Venice Mountain-Zona and backup Gracie Walters have done excellent work as Sunday Sextons this past year; their behind-the-scenes efforts are much appreciated. Many thanks to our colleagues for the time we have spent together during staff meetings and around the building this past year. People come and go, but the camaraderie and cooperative spirit of Follen staff members and congregants continues. We will miss Deb and Susanne, and we wish them well as they move on from Follen. Respectfully submitted,Sarah Garner and Jimmy McFeeleyLAY LEADERSPARISH BOARDStephen Ervin, ChairMaggie Pax, Vice ChairThis 178th year of Follen has been one of vibrant activity, along with change, growth, challenges, and big dreams coming to fruition. Follen is busier than ever! As of today, in April 2018, of the 35 days visible on the Follen on-line calendar, 80% of them have more than three events scheduled, many of them in parallel; and 20% of those days have seven or more events each. Of the seven of days with fewer than three events, five are Fridays – apparently the UU Sabbath! Last year’s Parish Board annual report noted that “Change and growth were big topics”, and included the observation that Follen “would benefit from a retreat for leaders (and other interested parties)” to address emergent issues around change. That retreat occurred in March this year, dedicated to exploration of a “Covenant of ?R?ight Relations” for Follen, that is due to be discussed and voted upon at this year’s annual meeting.Another change involved the transition to Follen’s newest Music Director, Vivian Montgomery, who started in an interim position in fall of 2017 and in Spring of 2018 was offered the full-time position, with great acclaim for her innovations within Follen’s cherished musical traditions. Last year’s annual report included a note from the Social Justice Action team, SJAT, to the effect that if the “Follen Responds to Racism (FRR) resolution “’Advancing Follen Church as an Antiracist Congregation’ passes at the Annual Meeting, we will … form a team to determine the most appropriate method and wording of a sign or banner to put on Follen’s property affirming that black lives matter.”That resolution did pass, and that team did design and acquire a banner (manufactured by a minority-owned printing company) that was proudly installed at a special service of installation, in early Fall 2017. The events surrounding the activities of the FRR task force, and the installation of the banner, led to a thorough discussion at Parish board about policies and procedures for congregational affirmations. The result of those discussions was an amended Policy on the Use of Follen’s name, that addressed the use of Follen’s buildings and grounds for speaking (or otherwise representing) ‘for the congregation.’ That policy held up the careful and extensive approach taken by the FRR team as a model to emulate, involving intense listening and multiple opportunities for dialog, in gathering input and building support for such affirmations; and also outlined a more streamlined procedure recognizing that sometimes rapid response is required by unfolding events, and requiring only the Parish Minister’s and the President of the Program Council’s approval for proposed actions, signage, demonstrations, etc.Last year the board reported on signing, in the context of the UUA Declaration of Conscience, a pledge statement on the UUA web site, affirming: “We will open up our congregations and communities as sanctuary spaces…” To that end, this year the ‘Immigration and Sanctuary group’ became part of SJAT, and voted unanimously to sign a Congregational Covenant with our neighboring First Parish in Bedford to support their provision of physical sanctuary. The team and the congregation have been actively supporting this righteous work, putting into action Follen’s UU principles and commitment to action, not just words.The Annual report last year also noted that “the Capital Campaign Committee is so dedicated to Follen’s future that they are meeting multiple time each week…” . That dedication and extra effort resulted in a successful Capital Campaign that raised just over $4 million for Follen, over $103,000 for the Urban Ministry, and an agreement with a carefully chosen architect to bring Follen’s historic building into the twenty-first century, with improved universal accessibility (a real elevator!), updated heating and cooling systems, an all-new second floor and dedicated Music Room, and a radical transformation of the circulation paths to create a more embracing ‘campus’ and entry plaza connecting the main church sanctuary and community center with the neighboring Marshman Center. These activities have taken up hundreds of hours from dozens of volunteers, and the congregation is poised to undertake a year-long adventure, that will involve temporary quarters for all staff and most meetings for most of a year; only-one-day-a-week access to the Sanctuary for Sunday services; many compromises and improvisations during the anticipated ten months of construction; and the possibility that in the Spring of 2019 we will celebrate a grand re-opening, in a newly re-imagined space, with a newly invigorated – if also a bit exhausted – community.Next year will also bring the results of this spring’s search for a Director of Faith Formation (previously “DRE”) after two years of interim leadership by Deb Weiner; and the results of a search for a replacement for Susanne Intriligator, outgoing “Director of Community Engagement”. We thank both Deb and Susanne for their caring & committed ministry.Stephen Ervin, ChairMaggie Pax, Vice ChairPROGRAM COUNCILSimon Horsburgh, PresidentProgram Council has had a busy and productive year overseeing all the operational aspects of Follen. The seven Action Teams, together with Follen staff, meet monthly to manage this work. Below is a summary of the highlights, with further details to be found in each area’s individual report. As I wrap up the year as President of Program Council, I am eternally grateful for all the work of Program Council, the Action Teams, the Parish Board, Coordinating Team and all Follen Members. This is a remarkable community, and this Annual Report is a testament to the vibrancy and strength of Follen Church.We began the year by kicking of the Capital Campaign, with the goal of raising $2.75M. Program Council granted oversight of this process to the Capital Campaign Committee, led by Brand Howe. Through the extreme generosity of Follenites, we raised over $4M! In April, we received a $25,000 grant from the Dana Home Foundation to support the new elevator. Our big dream of a fully accessible church will become a reality – what an extra-ordinary result. In just a year from now, all people will be able move through the building easily and with dignity. The renovation will also create the Sonin Music Center in a new third floor space, opening many programming possibilities for Follen and the wider community.Overseeing the endless details of the construction plans is the Construction Oversight Committee, led by Alice Dunn and Valerie Perkins. Countless hours have been spent working with the architects, engineers, and planning authorities to refine the plans and “value engineer” the project to fit the budget. In October, we celebrated the installation of the banner affirming that black lives matter. This addressed one of the seven actions of the Follen Responds to Racism resolution adopted at last year’s Annual Meeting. The Action Teams re-visited their charters to incorporate Follen Responds to Racism into their work. All the Action Teams have opened the discussion on this work. However, becoming fully aware of, and untangling our institutional racial biases is long-term work. We will continue to uphold our commitment to becoming an intentionally anti-racist congregation in the coming years.In January, Program Council and Parish Board held their first ever joint meeting. Coming at the mid-point of the year, it was an opportunity to check in on the church plans, budget and finances, and to discuss the major issues both bodies are working on. The meeting was highly successful and the consensus is that it should be a regular practice.Following this joint meeting, Program Council reviewed progress towards the 2015 Long-Term Plan. This was an affirming and uplifting experience with many of the items accomplished or in progress. Program Council determined that the Long Term Plan was still valid and needed no change.This year’s leadership retreat focused on exploring Covenants of Right Relations. 35 Follen leaders examined more than a dozen covenants from other churches and developed the draft Covenant that will be voted on at Annual Meeting, the text of which can be found further in this report.Program Council reaffirmed our commitment to paying fair living wages to all Follen staff, in accordance with UUA compensation program and with awareness of the local cost of living. Additionally, we set in place a 4-year goal to ensure that staff compensation reflects the complexity and scope of Follen’s music, religious education, and community programs. This will require annual review of staff job descriptions, responsibilities, and the individual hours needed to accomplish that work. We continued continue to enjoy the superb leadership of Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn. Her sermons continue to inspire and challenge. Her professionalism and commitment to Follen is exceptional. It has been my pleasure to work with her and get to know her better through the year.In February, Program Council voted to conduct a ministerial review in accordance with the process developed and approved by the Parish Board in 2013. Aimee Fox (chair), Melissa Howe, Brian Cali, Tom Blumenthal, and Nick Hart, served on the ministerial review committee. Claire and the committee used the UUA's "Fulfilling the Call", which includes nine areas of responsibility (duties): Leading Worship; Officiating rites of passage; Providing pastoral care and presence; Encouraging spiritual development; Witnessing to social justice in the public square; Leading administration; Pursuing personal renewal and professional development; Serving the larger Unitarian Universalist faith; and Leading the faith into the future. Per the committee's charge, Claire and the committee will meet again in June to discuss the 2018-19 work plan. I want to recognize the dedication and work of Nancy Sofen, whose calm and steady oversight of the Finance and HR Action Team (FHRAT), keeps all our finances staff relations in good order. Staff hiring has occupied a substantial amount of time and energy this year, to which we are grateful to the HR Committee of FHRAT led by Aimee Fox.In the fall, we welcomed Vivian Montgomery as our Interim Director of Music. She came to us as an experienced Music Director, and it was clear from the outset that she not only has exceptional music skills, but is also a strong leader and partner for Rev. Claire. In February, she accepted our offer to become the permanent Director of Music.The search for a new leader of our Religious Education program began in the fall - a role we are now calling Director of Faith Formation (DFF). The search committee is comprised of Lisa Levey, Chair, Ann Bobo, Janet Lane, Lynne Arenella, Adria Goodson, Hugh Truslow and Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn. As I write, the committee is in the final stages of candidate interviews and hopes to have an accepted candidate by Annual Meeting. This brings me to farewells. We say goodbye Deb Weiner as Interim Director of Religious Education. Thank you Deb for your expertise and dedication leading our RE program for the last two years, and good luck on your next assignment. We also bid farewell to Susanne Intrilligator as our Director of Community Engagement. Susanne is ministerial candidate at Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church. We wish Susanne all the best as she embarks on this exciting journey and we thank her for all she has done for Follen over the past 2.5 years.Finally, it has been my pleasure to serve as President of Program Council this year. The Follen community gives extraordinary support to its leaders. This has made my experience all the more rich and rewarding. As you read this report, make a note of all the names mentioned. Make a point to thank everyone for their time and energy in their work at Follen.Respectfully submitted,Simon Horsburgh NOMINATING COMMITTEEMelissa Howe, ChairThe Nominating Committee (NomCom) is charged with ensuring that there are nominations for all positions specified by Follen’s governance, which are then voted upon by the membership at the Annual Meeting. Carrying out this charge is both quite prosaic- there is a lot that needs to be done in our extremely active community- and truly profound, understanding as we do that service to Follen offers a way to deepen our spiritual practice as well as our relationships to one another. We are pleased to announce the recommendations of NomCom for 2018-2019. The names in bold are nominated for confirmation at the 2018 Annual Meeting. Those not in bold are continuing in their role. Parish Board:Stephen Ervin, chairTrapper Markelz, vice chairHarvy Simkovits, treasurerAmy Newmark, clerkKevin McCarthy, Nick Hart, and Herman Marshall, reps at largePritesh Gandhi, Seth Webster and Fred Johnson, trusteesGeorge Grady, auditorProgram Council:Chris Walters, presidentRosemary Trowbridge, vice presidentAnn Redmon, secretaryAction team leaders serving as primary representative to Program Council:BGAT: Paul Rubin FHRAT: Nancy Sofen RE: Maureen Markelz WMAT: Gordon Hardy PCAT: Dorothy Vacca CHAT: Heather Ryan NomCom: Walter Leutz SJAT: Rosemary McCruddenNomCom membership:Walter Leutz, chairPaul CotranSimon HorsburghErin MaloneMargaret MicholetAmy YeeGratefully,Melissa Howe (chair), Alex Bromley, Paul Cotran, Aimee Fox, Walter Leutz, and Amy YeeACTION TEAM REPORTSBUILDINGS AND GROUNDSPaul Rubin In the summer of 2017, the Waldorf School widened the Adams Road driveway on the Follen side, as they had done on the opposite side of the driveway a few years ago. We contributed financially to this project, giving us full parking spaces for the first time and extending our walkway out to the street.Drainage around Follen, especially on the Adams Road side, has been a long-standing concern. We had significant flooding in the community center in July 2017 during a particularly heavy storm, and small amounts of water infiltration during other heavy rains. To help alleviate this problem, some drain cleaning was done over the summer, and the Lexington town engineering department did some additional cleaning in the fall. Part of the rebuilding project will be waterproofing of foundations and general improved drainage around the campus.Concerned that our front-yard elm tree (dedicated to long-time member Bob Eaton) was looking unhealthy, we hired tree experts to treat it over the summer of 2017 and again in the spring of 2018.We held our annual all-church cleanup days in November and April. In the fall, we hired a landscaper to clean the yard and parking lot. This gave our volunteers more time to wash windows inside and outside, clean the community center, vacuum, and polish brass in the sanctuary. As we were happy with the landscaper’s work, we hired them again in the spring. Our volunteers focused on some cleaning tasks, but most of the work was preparation for the upcoming rebuild. We moved many East Village Fair items out of the Marshman basement and into the Vandiver’s barn. Since our gardens are likely to be damaged during the rebuild, we dug up numerous plants so they live in foster homes until next year.As cold weather approached, we encountered problems with our heating system, and we had to have 2 aging circulating pumps replaced. The rebuilding project will include a new heating system.There was a small fire in the sanctuary just before the 4 PM Christmas Eve service; it was handled quickly by the fire marshals who were in place for the candle light part of the service. There was chemical residue that required some cleanup, and a broken piece of the pulpit to be reattached.Design plan for additional ventilation of the sanctuary was approved by the Lexington Historic District Commission. The construction of the vent cap will be done during the rebuilding.Throughout the year, we were monitoring the Mass Ave roadway project to make sure we had safe access to the sanctuary, our driveway and parking lot, and major events such as the East Village Fair and the Christmas Tree sales.We are working with office staff and the transition teams to help design and build a temporary office space for staff and equipment in the Marshman Center in preparation for the rebuilding.Other major projects this year included:Building and installation of a new name tag rack in the vestibule.Adding additional insulation above the sanctuary and the vestibule.Working with the Follen Responds To Racism team to design and install a Black Lives Matter banner.Ongoing Building and Grounds tasks included:Working with the church sexton on the daily upkeep of the campus.Balancing the heating system and fine-tuning the thermostats.Adjusting the programmed lighting timers as daylight savings time comes and goes.Making miscellaneous small plumbing, electrical, audio-video, and kitchen repairs.B&G members: Alice Dunn, Andy, Dixon, Arie Derksen, Cas Groblewski, David Fertitta, David Rines, Greg Shenstone, Howie Bernstein, Hugh Truslow, Jen Vandiver, Jimmy McFeeley, Karen Longeteig, Kim Vandiver, Mart Ojamaa, Nancy Sofen, Stephen Ervin, Tom Ryan, and Valerie Perkins.Gallery ReportAnother fine year of celebrating and sharing the creativity of the congregation, and the welcome addition of Christina Burwell to the gallery committee.The opening group show with the theme of “Earth” attracted a good number of first-time exhibitors, and was successful to the point of being a tad crowded. That’s a problem we like! “Local Color,” the watercolors of Mary and David Hummon followed with rave reviews! Jane Spickett’s photography “Remember, Respect, Rejoice” was covered by Lexington Minuteman and was appreciated both for the work and the contextual readings and Karen Watson’s beautiful photographs, “Moments in Time” followed, both shows giving us the opportunity to see the world with depth and clarity (and sometimes humor). The Follen Stitches showed their commitment to using their skills to help others, proving that you can indeed do well and do good. Closing out this year is “A Closer Look” which features the drawings of first-time exhibitor Juli Jorgensen and the new work (paper weavings) by the multi-talented Ann Schauffler.Gallery Committee: Ann Schauffler, Cristina Burwell, Jane Spickett, Tempe GoodhueInteriors ReportThe committee worked with B&G to design and implement the new name tag board in the vestibule.Interiors Committee: Nancy Sofen, Jane Spickett, Nancy Mimno, Susanne IntriligatorRespectfully submitted,Paul RubinCOMMUNITY AND HOSPITALITY ACTION TEAM (CHAT)ADULT PROGRAMS Coordinating COMMITTEEMaggie Herzig and Wilma Runco, Co-ChairsThe Adult Programs Coordinating Committee (APCC) is the newest entity under CHAT. Allow us to introduce ourselves!Follen’s bylaws place “life-long religious education and spiritual development” under the RE Action Team, but that team has always had its hands full with youth and children’s programming. The APCC grew out of a task force established by Program Council the previous spring, which was charged with making a proposal about where an Adult Programs entity, more broadly defined, should be situated in the organizational structure. That task force met during the church year 2016-2017 and, in September of 2017, proposed to the Parish Council that REAT retain its role in supporting spiritual development for all ages, just as other Action Teams support adult programs associated with their missions. In addition, they proposed that a committee be established under CHAT tosupport and coordinate program initiatives as they arise from the Action Teams;consider what other programs might be developed to supplement AT-generated programs in accordance with Follen’s mission;coordinate program planning as the need arises (e.g. related to scheduling, A-V equipment, honoraria); andwork with our Director of Community Engagement to ensure that the full range of what Follen has to offer is effectively presented and publicized, whether those offerings are single or multi-session programs or ongoing affinity groups. With approval of the Program Council, in 2016-2017, the task force combined their work on the question of organizational structure with initiating a community-wide program: Food for Thought (FFT). After successfully implementing five FFTs in the winter/spring of 2017, the APCC offered another six FFTs this year and is planning three more for April, May and June. At each FFT, at 6pm a simple buffet-style meal is provided, at 6:30, a 20-minute talk, video or panel is offered, then people at tables of 6-8 share responses to a small set of questions. Before closing at 8pm, those who wish to, share their thoughts in the full group. People are asked for a small donation to cover the cost of food.Attendance at FFTs has ranged from 35 to over 60. Criteria for choosing topics are: They have broad interest, can work well within the structure of the evening, and will stimulate discussions that help us reflect deeply and know each other more ics to date have been: What is God?, Truth and Reconciliation, Black Lives Matter, Climate Change, A Hymn Sing, Human Rights Abuses in Turkey, Charles Follen and Abolition, Busting the Gender Binary, Stories from a Civil Rights Tour, Music and the Beginner’s Mind, and Faith Journeys. Upcoming this year: Class and Classism, UUs in America, and a Congregational Read Discussion (Ta-Nahisi Coates’ Between the World and Me). Other adult programs have been offered by various action teams and will be referenced in their reports. In addition, there are three affinity groups that offer fellowship around shared interests: the Jewish Heritage Group, the knitting group, and a retirement group that plans about 8 events a year in the form of brown bag lunches and pot luck dinners, each drawing 8-22 people (being fully retired is not a pre-requisite!) Respectfully submitted,Maggie Herzig and Wilma Ronco, co-chairs, with Alison Baron, Sally Cassells, Alison Harvey, Susanne Intriligator, Betsy Leutz, Paula Mathieu, Gerry Mimno, and Jane SpickettConnections CommitteeKatherine Blake and Gerry Mimno, Co-ChairsThe Connections Committee works both to welcome new members and to create meaningful connections among all of Follen’s members and friends. The path to membership often takes several years, while the estrangement and loss of an existing member can be invisible. We strive to reach out to exiting members to ascertain the reasons for their leaving. In autumn 2017, we welcomed a dozen or so new members; in spring 2018, we expect a comparable number of new members to sign the Membership Book. In place of the previous new member brunch, we serve a new member lunch, following the service, which has been very well attended.The committee wishes to thank our extraordinarily capable Director of Community Engagement, Susanne Intriligator, and wish her all the best in her new role as a parish minister for a nearby congregation. Susanne led us to fulfill our mission of finding and retaining members, the lifeblood of our church. Our regular schedule welcomes new members in the fall, the busiest season for church shoppers. We have a rotating slate of a dozen hosts, two of whom are on duty every week and who are trained to spot new faces and gradually engage them in church activities. As we find out about new prospects, we try to link them to existing members who may have common interests such as social justice or similar-aged children. There is always attrition, but as the growing Sunday attendance shows, our retention is the most favorable in years. In the fall, we used to offer two classes [UU 101; and In and Around Follen]. In 2017, we tried to convert these semi-annual classes to a rotating schedule of six mini-topics held every month or so right after service; however, the interest is low and this educational mission needs more thought. The committee provides the planning, communications, personnel, food, set up, and breakdown of many of the events that constitute our mission. The Connections Committee keeps an eye on what is working well in the membership experience and where problems exist. One perpetual issue is the congestion in the vestibule on Sunday and nametag-related mechanics. Our experiment in relocating the nametags to the hall by the kitchen was unsuccessful, so we worked with other Action Teams to re-think the location and type of nametags. In 2017, we implemented our foyer display of magnetic badges, following four intensive sessions of badge making.Each fall, we used to sponsor a New Member Sunday service and brunch for about 35 new and newish folk and worked with CHAT to deploy a half dozen home-based dinners, mixing new and old members. This year, we branded all such meals “Octagon” dinners, aiming to maximize the significant effort that falls on people hosting such a dinner. We held a second new member Sunday and new member lunch in the spring and continued with “Octagon” dinners. We used the new Breeze database to help in the outreach for the service and dinners. Connections enthusiastically supported the Adult Programs monthly “Food for Thought.” Next year, Connections will create “buddies” pairs for prospective members. We will also work with our CHAT action team to evaluate food issues and to take a look at the overall member experience within CHAT. Due to the anticipated start of construction for our capital improvements, we are looking for a new venue for summer services and will keep an eye on how best to support them. The Connections Committee seeks a couple of new members and presently comprises Kay Lamer, Steph Chiha, Candy Whitman, Karen Edmonds, Katherine Blake, and Gerald Mimno. Respectfully submitted, Co-Chairs Katherine Blake and Gerry Mimno.Social Events CommitteeErin Malone, ChairSocial Events Committee at Follen is responsible for supporting social activities and events that promote the mission of the church and create community. ?We staff the weekly coffee hour and provide food after the service, sell flowers to decorate the sanctuary at Christmas and Easter, and are available to support RE, the Auction committee and the annual pledge dinner in hosting their events. ?We organize the Cape Cod Weekend and work with Parish Board to determine the structure of the weekend, funding for the rental of the Cape Cod Sea Camps and work with RE to develop oversight of youth activities. We are available to the greater Follen community to help and assist with organizing and staffing of organic social events as needs arise.Our committee is comprised of a small but committed number of members who meet monthly. ?As the church has grown in size, and we have evolved to offer year-round worship and 2 services during busy holidays, our committee has adopted several changes to allow us better use of our resources. We now purchase food for the coffee hour using an online delivery service. We have successfully recruited more volunteers to staff the coffee hour.We tried and ultimately abandoned the online sign up system, Breeze, and now use Sign Up Genius to assign ?volunteers to staff the weekly coffee hour. The interest in the Cardigan Lodge Weekend has declined in the last few years. This year only 3 Follen members attended the event. Unless there is sufficient interest generated by the Follen community we expect to discontinue offering this weekend retreat.Social Events coordinates the annual Cape Cod Weekend, including rental of the cabins, registration of attendees and collection of the rental fee. We discuss with key stakeholders in the leadership of the church how to secure financing for and identify housing of the ministerial and support staff attending the event. We work with Parish Council and the Director of Religious Education to establish policies for oversight and housing of the youth and have also registered interested congregants for housing at the privately owned Linger Longer Lodging Units. ?Last year the demand for housing at Linger Longer exceeded supply and several Follen families who were unable to secure housing at Linger Longer chose to rent housing offsite. Our committee was able to secure additional units at Linger Longer and held an auction for these units in January, aspiring for greater transparency in the process for auctioning these units. We were surprised by the lack of interest in these extra units and returned to the Linger Longer Lodging establishment the unrented surplus so the church was not financially liable for the cost. ?After much discussion, our committee has decided to discontinue rental of any units at Linger Longer in the future and expect that congregants who choose to attend the event, but do not want to stay at the Sea Camps, will secure their own housing offsite. ?The attendance at the Cape Cod Sea Camps has dropped in recent years as the cost has increased significantly. ?Our committee is concerned about the financial viability of this annual retreat and discussed fair and transparent ways to fund the cost of this beloved Follen event so that all can attend.Next year Erin Malone will remain as chair of Social Events with the provision that a successor is identified for 2019-2020. The committee is looking for a co-chair who will assume chairmanship the following year. ?We anticipate the responsibilities of the committee will increase as the church continues to grow and evolve to year-round services and more social events. Finally, we are actively looking for new members to join our group. ?We feel it is a great way to meet and connect with others in the congregation while engaging in fun and meaningful activities.Respectfully,Erin Malone,FINANCIAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES ACTION TEAM (FHRAT)Nancy Sofen, ChairMembers: Nancy Sofen (Chair), Ben Vandiver (incoming Vice-Chair), Brad Howe, Brian Cali, Sally Cassells (Stewardship Chair), Aimee Fox (HR Chair), Mark Metzger, George Grady, Cas Groblewski (Legacy Society), Harvy Simkovits (Treasurer), Sarah Garner (non-voting). Usually attended by Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn, Simon Horsburgh, Chris Walters.This has been a year of steady progress developing policies and procedures coupled with both anticipated and unexpected staff changes and the uncertainties of planning a major building project.Treasurer Harvy Simkovits led the development of written policies to govern the two checking accounts held by Follen for specific purposes: the Minister’s Discretionary Fund and the KIVA Fund. Harvy also worked closely with Operetta treasurer Lynnell Stern to standardize the financial reporting for the Operetta; this year FHRAT began representing the Operetta in the budget with separate income and expense lines, rather than as a single net revenue line.While the East Village Fair suffered another rainy day and came in well below budget, Christmas Tree sales and the Goods and Services Auction both had their best years ever. FY2018 should finish with a budget surplus. Human ResourcesMembers of the Human Resources Committee (Aimee Fox, Rachel Hyde, Hugh Truslow) were incredibly busy. They:staffed the Director of Faith Formation search supported the process for offering Vivian the permanent music director positionadvised on operetta staffingadvised on policy change for hourly staff compensation while on FUUY special eventsserved on Susanne's coordinating committeeserved on Claire’s ministerial review committeeand currently are supporting the process for hiring a membership coordinatorFor both organizational and budget reasons, FHRAT has recommended to Program Council that the full-time Director of Community Engagement position revert to a part-time Membership Director and more hours for Laura Vanderhart, who will manage newsletter and website communications, in addition to her current role producing the Order of Service and offering administrative support. A job description has been created and we hope to hire a Membership Director to start in August.FHRAT and Program Council resolved to pay our staff wages that are appropriate for their expertise and experience, and for our size church, according to UUA guidelines. We are fortunate to have hired some very highly qualified professionals who command higher salaries than their predecessors. Because we are on the cusp of the next larger church category in the UUA’s guidelines, with its correspondingly higher compensation, we intend to increase staff salaries more than what the UUA recommends on an annual basis so that we move toward the standards for a Midsize III church incrementally, rather than finding ourselves needing to make a sudden sharp increase when our membership (currently 340) hits 350. StewardshipStewardship Committee: Sally Cassells (Chair), Bob Halliday (incoming Chair), Chris Farnham (Past Chair)Our stewardship team is responsible for managing our annual operating pledge drive. Our pledges contribute approximately 80% of our annual budget through pledges that represent a spectrum of giving. We endeavor to make the fundraising process an opportunity for connection with all members of our community and appreciation of our collective commitment to changing lives.Thanks to our incredibly generous community we raised $494,053 from 207 families to support our 2018-2019 budget. Because an extensive round of stewardship visits was completed as part of the Capital Campaign, we focused on Celebration Sunday as an occasion for giving. For those who could not attend or who specifically requested a call or visit, our wonderful, dedicated stewards followed up with one-on-one visits and calls. About 70% of our pledges were received by the end of January. Special thanks are due to Lydia Swan, who coordinated the Fellowship Dinner with help from Howie Bernstein (pulled pork), Erin Malone (mac’n’cheese), Nancy Sofen (table decorations), Alison Harvey (slide show), Susan Intriligator & Chris Farnham (“Why I Love Follen” photo project), Alex Bromley (“MC”), Epp Sonin, the FUUY trio of Isabella Scopetski, Venice Mountain-Zona and Jessie Cali, Simon Horsburgh and Jane Spickett who provided the evening’s entertainment. We had a wonderful evening of food and friends.Hill Snellings led our steward training session. Our stewards were Nancy Sofen, Mark Metzger, Don Snodgrass, Alison Harvey, Kim Vandiver, Amy Newmark, Caroline Jacobs, Chris Farnham, Jane Spickett, Jack Donahue, Hugh Truslow, and Tom Harrington.Sarah Garner led the communication and administrative/pledge tracking effort. Her knowledge and support make it possible for the team to function.Reverend Claire, Susanne and Vivian organized and led the Celebration Sunday service.Next year’s stewardship team will be led by Bob Halliday (Chair), Alison Harvey (Incoming Chair) and Sally Cassells (Past Chair).FY2019 BUDGETBuilding a balanced FY19 budget has been a challenge, in large part because it is hard to know exactly how our operations will play out next year. For a few reasons our annual fund drive brought in less than last year. We also anticipate that the EVF will be affected by our building project. Many activities that have expenses may also be limited by construction (summer services, coffee hour, BGAT supplies), which helps to offset the revenue losses. Also reducing costs is the fact that staff changes will leave two positions unfilled in July. In order to create a balanced budget we did find it necessary to tap the HR Reserve Fund for about $5K, which is appropriate to offset increases in our staff compensation and health insurance spending. We appreciate the efforts that action teams and staff have made to plan for next year when so much is uncertain.We had two pieces of good news: property tax (on income from commercial sources) would not be collected until next fiscal year, and the tax incurred from our cell tower lease would be reimbursed by AT&T. The amount of tax due to our lease to French for Kids is not large.Looking Beyond FY2019The year after next, all of our new staff will be at Follen for a full 12 months. Next year we will also move into a larger and updated building. Some systems will run more efficiently, while other costs will increase. We expect our new spaces to be popular rentals, but we know that our nursery school tenant French for Kids does not intend to return. Claire will take a sabbatical in late 2019, during which we may hire a part-time minister. For all of these reasons, we anticipate that funding the FY20 budget will be challenging. FHRAT will be looking for ideas for a new fundraiser, and will support the Stewardship Committee in its efforts to build a successful annual pledge drive, while also asking Action Teams, staff and the congregation to understand that we will need to be very frugal. In time we expect the church to grow to restore a more comfortable balance between pledging and expenses. Respectfully submitted,Nancy SofenPASTORAL CARE ACTION TEAMSandy Stone and Melinda Burri, Co-ChairsOverviewFollen’s Pastoral Care Action Team (PCAT)provides caring support, both spiritual andpractical, and opportunities for deeperconnection and spiritual growth to all in thecongregation. The Action Team is comprised of several sub-groups including Lay Ministry,Covenant Group Operations and Writers, theVolunteer Service Network, the CaringCongregation Committee, The Men’s Group and several on-going support groups.PCAT also initiates and supports a variety of “one-off” adult program offerings. PCAT members work with Rev. Claire and other Follen staff members to expand Follen’s adult programs and workshop opportunities for the community.The team was led this year by Sandy Stone and Melinda Burri. Dottie Vacca will step up to chair next year.Programs and WorkshopsAdult Programs Liaison After stepping down as co-chair of PCAT last year, Betsy Leutz took on the role of Liaison between the newly formed Adult Programs Committee and PCAT. Although the Adult Programs Committee became part of the CHAT Action Team, Betsy kept PCAT informed and solicited programming ideas throughout the year.Support Group Facilitators Application and Resources TeamThis year, PCAT finalized an “application” form and start up material and guidelines for new support group leaders and facilitators. This year, The CCC team also created and finalized a resource list for leaders and individuals. It is now posted on the Follen website. Remembrance DinnersThe first “Remembrance Dinner” was held on August 1st. People came with the invitation to bring a dish of a remembered meal tied to the person they are remembering. Some of the people did not know each other, but all shared about their loss and had a good evening. The group held 2 more such evenings through the year that were tied to the worship service. This is not designed to become a monthly thing as there are other resources in the community. This is not a grief support group. Support Groups Caring for our Elderly Parents Support Group (SGEP)The group is co-facilitated by Steph Chiha and Debbie Bassett. They continue to meet monthly, usually on the first Sunday of the month, alternating between morning and evening meetings. There are 20 regular members of the group, and monthly attendance has ranged from four to seven people, with an average of six. They have a Google group that they use for meeting reminders, distributing resources, and sharing news. They also have made available some books and pamphlets that reside in the Follen library.While the Follen website does give the group a public profile, we unanimously decided last year to keep within the Follen Community, in order to preserve the confidentiality and safe atmosphere. In that respect, they operate more like a covenant group than as an affinity group. However, it is open at all times to any Follen member or Friend, and they publicize every meeting in the newsletter and order of service (when they meet in the evenings).Steph and Debbie will continue in their co-facilitation role next year.Living Well with Chronic Illness The support group for those with a chronic illness or condition decided to take a hiatus, and to gather again in the spring 2018 for a day time pot luck meeting to decide how to proceed going forward.Support Group for CaregiversThe Group continued to meet on the second Tuesday of each month with sporadic attendance. Members value the experience of being with others who deal with the challenges of giving care to loved ones. Leadership changed from Margaret Micholet to Sylvia Boyd and Debbie Bassett.Caring Congregation Committee (CCC) Sharon Cerny, Chair, Dottie Vacca, Vice-chairThis year the Caring Congregation Committee (CCC) offered several programs and services intended to make Follen a welcoming community to families of children with special needs. Discussion continued with Interim RE Director Deb Weiner regarding developing a “buddy system” to help children feel welcomed at Follen. This would be oriented towards new families that would like a buddy at coffee hour to help their children feel included. Existing members that would like a “buddy” for their child are also encouraged to make this request. Buddies would be volunteers from FUUY and training for FUUY volunteers would be provided by Dottie Vacca and Sharon Cerny. PCAT also agreed to fund the cost of teacher/staff to provide a structured activity and supervise the kids table during coffee hour, allowing parents to talk with lay ministers or others after the service. Neither of these programs moved forward due to limited time of RE director this year. The plan is to pick this up again in the Fall when the permanent RE director is in place. Dottie Vacca continued to manage CCC’s referral Hotline, which provides short-term assistance to parents who have any pressing emotional, behavioral, and/or school-related concerns or are looking for help with a child’s Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) process. CCC has continued to add professional resources within the Follen community to its resource listings and maintains a list of “veteran parents” These are Follen members who have personal experience with the special needs system and can provide assistance to other parents. CCC resource listings include: Follen professionals (members who donate professional services for an initial consultation re: emotional, behavioral or learning issues or IEP review). They may also suggest referral to appropriate outside resources or Follen’s Lay ministry and Rev. Claire. The Behavioral Resource Guide was also put on line to be accessed by Follen members.In March, CCC gave a personal point for the annual special collection for Families with Children with Special Needs at Follen. This collection raised $2120 for the fund, which is a subset of the MDF. To date $27,807 has been raised for the fund through this special collection and an annual gala auction/concert held offsite. On June 2nd, 2018, CCC will, as in the past several years, hold a fundraiser to benefit children with special needs. Funds raised are administered under the Minister’s Discretionary Fund and used to address financial hardships experienced by Follen families trying to meet the needs of their children. The minister, in consultation with the Director of Religious Education choose fund recipients, who remain anonymous. Last year Rev. Claire was able to use approximately $2,460 of this money to help Follen families. Most of the money has gone towards neuropsychological testing, medical expenses or other special needs. CCC is currently planning a presentation in the Fall on “Housing for Adult Children with Special Needs.” The presenters will be Barbara Jackins, a Lexington-based attorney, and Karen Marsical, a special needs attorney. Both presenters are also moms of adult sons with special needs. We are also hopeful of providing a speaker on “The Sibling Experience in Families with a Child with Special Needs”Ongoing Affinity GroupsMen’s Discussion GroupThe Men’s Discussion Group has been meeting for approximately two years every Wednesday in the Library at 10:15. Anyone is welcome any week you want to come in. Don Weikert started the group to provide a social setting especially for the growing retired corps at Follen. Conventional wisdom suggests that men can become isolated which damages their mental and physical health. As a response, each week about 15 to 20 men gather to listen to one another’s stories about career, fathers, siblings, and mothers. This year we broadened our scope to include significant public events where we were personally involved such as coping with the HIV AIDS wave or scandal in academia. The objective is to be reflective about the life lived and perhaps to make some comparisons with others making the same journey. The men have found a lot of parallels in their stories often reaching back to great grandparents and what they found in the new world. Many hoed a hard row, making our lives so much easier. We uncovered many points in our parents lives and our own where a small occurrence led to taking a major fork in the road. But there is a collective wisdom around the table which is reassuring and realistic about the life lived and the life still to be lived. The Men’s Group coordinators are Don Weikert, Gerry Mimno, and Allan Shepp.COVENANT GROUPSOrian Greene and Rosemary McCrudden, Co-chairs109 Follenites are participating in Covenant Groups this year. There are 15 Groups and 23 leaders. The Writers' Group continues to work with Rev. Claire's themes. Our retreat this year was open to all CG members. Doug Durant spoke about Exploring Silence from the Buddhist prospective. Facilitator Sharlene Cochran gave a workshop on Listening with Loving Kindness in which we discussed the differences between helping fixing and serving.LAY MINISTRY Tom Blumenthal and Linda Dacey, Co-Coordinators This year the Lay Ministry team was composed of six returning members: Tom Blumenthal, Linda Dacey, Kyle Johnson, Greg Kotonias, Colleen McDonald, and Wendy Slattebo; and five new members: Sheila Combs, Doug Durant, Jim Herzig, Ruth Lyddy, and Erika Riddingon. With the support of Rev. Claire, the team led many of the Joys and Sorrows portion of our Sunday worship services, including the offering of a pastoral prayer and following up on what was shared. It supported congregants facing a variety of challenges, including life transitions, health issues, and losses. Given that nearly half of our team was new this year, much of our meeting time was focused on better understanding the responsibilities of being a Lay Minister and further developing our individual skill sets. We explored sacred listening practices; completed a training session led by Rev. Susanne on writing Pastoral Prayers; analyzed written prayers; discussed the variety of ways to respond to the expressed needs of others; and delved into what it meant to serve as witnesses or “spiritual friends” in parishioners’ moments of need. Lay ministers also coordinated with the other PCAT sub-groups by attending PCAT meetings, referring to the Volunteer Service Network, and serving on the Safe Congregation GroupVOLUNTEER SERVICE NETWORKArlie Langseth, Wendy Slattebo and Leslie Stebbins, CoordinatorsArlie Langseth served as a VSN Coordinator during many of the past 20 years. She stepped down from that role in February 2018 due to illness. Leslie Stebbins joined Wendy Slattebo as the Co-Chair. In March we honored Arlie’s service with a beautiful photograph of Follen Church, signed by appreciative Follen members. From May 2017 through the beginning of April 2018 Follen’s Volunteer Service Network provided 45 meals and 8 rides to appointments. During this period 16 Follen members received help from the VSN. We continue to manage our volunteers via Lotsa Helping Hands. Currently we have a total of 126 volunteers on our roster. We are grateful to all who have helped this year! Many hands make a difference this year! Many hands make a difference!RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ACTION TEAM Lisa Levey and Maureen Markelz, Co-Chairs“The mission of the Religious Education program at Follen is to nurture, sustain, and model a loving, inclusive, and joyous community. We strive to support children and their families as they question and develop their spiritual identities, rooted in an understanding of religious traditions, and practiced through learning, working, and playing together. We seek to counter racism and oppression by helping our children and youth become compassionate, mindful, and engaged citizens of the planet.” REAT Mission Statement, Drafted April 2018The REAT worked very hard this year in preparation for the transition to a new Director of Faith Formation. We accomplished a great deal:2017-2018 AccomplishmentsEnvisioned the Future of Religious Education: The REAT met with Claire Feingold-Thoryn and Deb Weiner to discuss our history as a religious education program, what’s most important to us going forward, and how we as an action team can best support and work with our new Director of Faith Formation. This prompted important work on the mission and charter.Revised REAT Mission Statement: Beginning with the common values we had established in our discussions with Claire, we simplified and clarified our mission to include our roots, how we work and play together, and our hopes for the future.Revised REAT Charter: The REAT investigated our previous charter and organized it into three key areas: supporting the DFF, supporting the Follen community, and supporting our Faith Formation programming. The team hopes to complete the revision by the end of the church year.Revised Co-Chair Structure: We restructured our chair positions to include an Incoming, Acting, and Outgoing Chair. With carefully divided roles and responsibilities, we hope this structure will help lessen time commitments and assist with succession planning.Conducted Two Teacher Trainings: The fall and spring sessions provided teachers with a solid foundation in RE at Follen and allowed time for teams to coordinate. The trainings received positive feedback and helped teachers feel more supported and appreciated. Special thanks to Kerri Spilker, Erika Riddington, and Sally Richter for many hours spent preparing the teacher trainings.Implemented New Teacher Team Model: To support Sunday morning RE classes, we moved to a team model whereby groups of 4-5 teachers work together to provide consistent and flexible support for our Pre-K - 8th grade Sunday RE Classes. Supported Follen’s Response to Racism Commitment: The REAT met with Robin Tartaglia of the Follen Responds to Racism group to explore RE’s role in raising actively anti-racist children. Many thanks for the time and resources she shared. We are committed to finding more ways to incorporate anti-racist curriculum and practices into our programming next year. Fostered Connections in our Follen Family Community: The REAT hosted a Pancake Breakfast and Ice Cream Social in an effort to help families at Follen connect with each other and the REAT. Many Thanks to...Current members: Ann Bobo, Tuna Chatterjee, Caryn Egan, Sylvia Fohlin, Glendalys Gandhi, Janet Lane, Lisa Levy, Maureen Markelz, Sally Richter, Erika Riddington, Kerri Spilker, Leslie Stebbins, and Gray Watson. Outgoing member Leslie Stebbins for her years of dedication to REAT. Team Leads Jody Gray-Linden, Rebecca Farnham, Kerri Spilker, Erika Riddington, Ann Bobo, and Nick Hart for their work coordinating our teacher teams. Lisa Levy, Ann Bobo, and Janet Lane for their added service on the Director of Faith Formation Search Committee.Deb Weiner for her deep expertise, hard work, and dedication during her time with us at Follen. We wish her all the best on her next adventure!Respectfully Submitted,Ann Bobo, Lisa Levy, and Maureen MarkelzSOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION TEAMTammy Mulligan and Rosemary McCrudden, co-chairsFollen's Social Justice Action Team provides a venue where social justice concerns can be voiced and new initiatives supported. The Action Team is made of up several working committees who have each submitted a report of their activities for the year.Partner Church CommitteeFollen sent $3,000 for the upkeep, special projects and programs of the Partner Church. Funds are provided by the Follen budget and Share the Plate donations. Money from soup sales funds special projects such as visits from our partners or our visits to their village.Additionally, the Partner Church Committee raised $5800 for 32 student scholarships in our Partner Church. Forty-one Follenites contributed the scholarships with donations of $50 to $400. Each student has one or two sponsors and is required to write a thank you and urged to keep in touch with their sponsor(s) through Facebook or email.Barbara MeikleGun Violence Prevention GroupSupported proposed Massachusetts gun control laws by collecting postcards to legislators signed by Follen members.Planned and carried out the Gun Violence Prevention Forum on April 8 featuring AG Maura Healey, Chaplain Clementina Che?ry and two young activists.Promoted and oversaw Follen’s participation in the Louis D. Brown Peace Institutes Mother’s Day Walk for Peace.Anne GradyWelcoming Congregation Coordinating CommitteeAs planned last year, WCCC has met as needed this year.As part of our call to create an affirming LGBTQ environment at Follen, the WCCC:Worked with the Adult Programs committee to bring Alex Kapitan to present a Food For Thought on genderAdvised DRE/DFF search committee on concerns and questions for candidates regarding gender and sexual orientationSuggested changes in word choice to other committees, particularly regarding genderInitiated a process to inquire as to our partner church’s stance on same-sex marriage( immunity)Supported Follenites in their efforts to defeat the anti-transgender rights referendumHonored our annual financial commitment to MetroWest and the LGBT Asylum Task Force in WorcesterAdded WCCC to the LexPride mailing list Rachel Hyde and Jane Spickett, co-chairsFollen Kiva TeamWe currently have loans across the globe, including those to a young entrepreneur in the Pittsburgh area who was able to purchase an industrial truck to run his cleaning business, a mother in Vietnam to help pay for tuition and school supplies for her children and a group of farmers from Kenya to purchase corn seed.Other loans included the countries of Afghanistan. Columbia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mongolia, Palestine, Iraq, Uganda, Mongolia, Palestine and Zambia.FKT also provides individual donors who contributed throughout the year with a scenario of who they were matched with and how they can view the progress of their loan on the Kiva website.We have $13,617.22 in our account ($13,503.97 outstanding loans and $113.25 paid back) (as of April 24, 2018)The Committee requested to forego its scheduled Share the Plate in November 2018 in order for a collection for the devastation in Puerto Rico.FKT recognizes Follen's commitment to be an intentional anti-racist congregation. We support and are grateful for Follen Responds to Racism committee’s efforts on behalf of our church in this endeavor. In this spirit, we invited our friends at Follen Responds to Racism to re-loan $4,000 (1/3 of the repaid loan corpus) in the Follen Kiva account as that committee deemed appropriate as a gesture in furtherance of social justice.We worked with and obtained approval from FHRAT establishing Follen Church Society Kiva Fund Purpose, Policies and Procedures.FKT members re-loaned funds to areas of interest to them personally including: solar power, refugees, honey bees, coffee, goats, single parent, and area of conflict.It is our hope that in the future we have a solid growing base that allows a continual global re- loaning program and reaches out throughout the congregation.Karen Gray CarruthersThe Urban Ministry Congregational TeamThe Urban Ministry has done the following this year:Hosted the Explorers Club at the East Village Fair. A great time was had by all. Participated in many cultural and educational UUUM events at First Church in Roxbury.Joined other UU congregations in attending Black Nativity at Christmas and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf in Roxbury in February. Attendance at these events was sponsored by the UUUM.Several Follen members have volunteered on a weekly basis at the new UUUM program Believe in Success (Catherine Collins, Tempe Goodhue and Laura Maltby). Others have volunteered on an as needed basis to help with mock interviews.Marcia Butman and John Hickey are on the board of UUUM. John is on the Investment Committee and Marcia is participating in a Community Engagement Task Force.A visit to the Museum of the National Center of Afro- American Artists is planned for May 19. Carpooling will be available to Follen members.Finally, we look forward to hosting the 4th Ice Cream Social at UUUM this August. Follen Responds to RacismThe Follen Responds to Racism team is deeply appreciative of the overwhelming congregational and ministerial support for the Resolution “Advancing Follen Church as an Antiracist Congregation,” which passed at last year’s Annual Meeting (134 pro, 8 con, 4 abstain). We are also mindful that fulfilling this mandate will depend on FRR’s long-term efforts and support of the entire Follen community’s awareness, brave commitment, and heart.Putting up a banner was the most concrete and immediately attainable goal among the many outcomes described in the Resolution, and a group comprising representatives of FRR, B&G, and Parish Board settled on a design and wording (“Our Faith Calls Us to Affirm BLACK LIVES MATTER”), and the banner was installed in a joyful ceremony after the regular service on October 15. This sequence of events was covered in a two-page spread in the Colonial Times.This year, FRR has focused on building awareness of US history and current events as they relate to African Americans and other marginalized groups. For example, we:Offered in both the fall and spring a three-part exploration of white supremacist ideology and its impact through the PBS documentary series Race: The Power of an piled a list of nonprofit organizations focused on racial justice for end-of-year giving, as well as local sites for field trips.Continue to expand the collection of books relevant to the Resolution in Follen’s lending library, and are organizing a congregational book read of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.Maintain an information table at Hospitality every Sunday, and sold lawn signs with various messages related to ending discrimination.Offer the “Black Lives in History” film series, thoughtfully curated by Harriet Peterson, which uses feature films to highlight circumstances and/or individuals central to the Black experience in the US.Becoming an “intentionally and proactively antiracist congregation” will be accomplished through a broad-based commitment that extends well beyond FRR, and we are deeply grateful for the support of SJAT and other groups: For example:FHRAT found funds to make possible a handsome “we mean it” support for the bannerB&G got design approval from the Historic Districts Commission and then built itEach action team, at the urging of Program Council, reviewed its mission and activities through an antiracist lensAdult Program's Food for Thought evenings have included three race-related programs: Charles Follen and AbolitionReflections on a Civil Rights Tourand (in June) discussion of Between the World and Methe Antiracist Book Club (thank you, Robin Tartaglia!) continues its monthly meetingsKIVA invited FRR to determine loan recipients for a portion of its fundsVivian is exploring a choral partnership with an AME church; and more.Now in its third year, the size of the FRR team has roughly quadrupled, and this year we adopted the leadership and succession structure found in many Follen groups; Harriet will lead FRR next year.Finally, Rev. Susanne Intriligator has been on the FRR team for the past two years, and her passion for racial justice, imaginative common sense, and overall encouragement will be greatly missed. And we are grateful for the ministerial and staff support that continues to hold up and inspire our — and the entire congregation’s — awareness, compassion, and resolve to act.Tempe GoodhueRebuilding CommunitiesThis year's trip to New Orleans was by all accounts a great success. 10 youth and 6 adults (including 3 staff members) staying with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans (YRNO) seemed to be a big hit. The staff at YRNO organized the following projects for us:Painting, tiling and window glazing in two houses, that YRNO is currently renovating in the Bayou St. John neighborhoodOutdoor cleanup work for 2 families in need.A collaboration with local high school youth to build planters and benches for their school.A collaboration with Water Wise New Orleans to excavate and build a rain garden to help prevent flooding in the Treme district.We also went to the Whitney Plantation and the Backstreet Cultural MuseumGreat discussions with the youth around privilege, poverty, education, and culture.Receipts are still being tallied but we did better in most accounts compared to last year, although food was more expensive.Gray WatsonBrown Fund for Social JusticeThe Brown Fund was established in 2014 to celebrate the many contributions of Sally and Dennis Brown to the social justice work of Follen. This year the following awards were made:$400.00 was granted to Isa Dray to attend the UU College of Social Justice Activate Boston Climate Justice Training, Summer 2017$320 was granted to Follen youth to visit the Whitney Plantation on the FUUY New Orleans trip. Several grants for summer 2018 youth social justice internships are currently in the planning stages.Leslie Stebbins, ?Lisa Snellings, and Nancy AllowayInterfalth GardenThe Lexington Interfaith Garden is beginning its ninth year of growing fresh organic produce for the Lexington Food Pantry.The growing season ended October 28 and produced 1,600 pounds of 46 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs, joining 12 faith communities working together at the garden site.Thanks go out to volunteers: Laura Dickerson, Hua Dong, Cas Groblewski, Kay Lamer, Karen Longeteig, Heather and Anya Stevenson, Rosemary McCrudden, Lil Swanstrom, and Terry Zabik for their gift of time, labor (and dirty laundry from working the soil).Janet LaneImmigration and Sanctuary GroupParish Board voted in the spring of 2017 to become part of the sanctuary movement. A team of volunteers led by Anne Englehart has been working with folks from First Parish Bedford to provide sanctuary to a woman in need. More than 30 Follenites who have signed up to volunteer to help First Parish Bedford in its sanctuary work.At our April SJAT meeting the members of the Action Team voted to accept the Immigration and Sanctuary Group as a project of SJAT chaired by Anne Englehart. First Parish Bedford has asked Follen to sign a covenant with them that details our commitment to supporting their sanctuary efforts. SJAT voted to approve the signing the covenant.Rosemary McCruddenWORSHIP AND MUSIC ACTION TEAMGordon Hardy and Amy Horsburgh, Co-ChairsWMAT members support the minister and the music director as they offer deeply meaningful worship experiences. We reflect on current practices, explore new ideas, and provide practical support. During the 2017-2018 church year we:Hired Vivian Montgomery as our interim music director. We supported her as she got to know our choirs, practices and repertoire. Vivian brought her own musical vision to Follen, a highlight being the well-received Music Sunday program featuring women composers. In December and January we gathered feedback from Follenites, reviewed Vivian’s performance, and ultimately endorsed her as our settled music director in January 2018. Reviewed all of the December services including the service for all ages, the Christmas pageant and Christmas Eve services. Representatives from the REAT proposed the very successful “Screaming Latke” all-ages service, complete with klezmer band and hora. We returned to our traditional Christmas pageant format, which many Follenites enjoy as a low-stress, sweet, Christian service. We recognized that our Christmas Eve services have, appropriately, a more UU flavor. Spent a considerable amount of time thinking about different ways to conduct Joys and Sorrows in our services. At the same time, Lay Ministers refined their introduction to Joys and Sorrows. Ultimately, Claire and WMAT members decided that the current format is working because people are taking seriously the charge to speak from the heart and be brief.Reviewed our printed Order of Service to see if it offers clear and comprehensive direction to both newcomers and long-time Follenites. We agreed that the OOS needed only a few tweaks, and that, with the careful layout, editing and proofing that Susanne and Laura provide, the document reflects the thoughtful work of Claire and Vivian, and the elegant spareness of our sanctuary.Are planning for the summer. We anticipate that our building will be under construction, and not available to us for the months of July and August. Possibilities include collaboration with another church, our own off-site services (traditional or alternative such as coffee gatherings, nature walks, yoga, or “house church”) or not offering anything at all. We are grateful to everyone who volunteered this year as a greeter, usher, host and chalice lighter. They all contributed to our services in an essential and meaningful way.Respectfully submitted, Gordon Hardy and Amy Horsburgh, co-chairsWMAT members: Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn, Vivian Montgomery, Tom Blumenthal, Kathy Hoben, David Jacobson, Laura Maltby, Andrea Paquette, Louisa Pepper, Kristina Robinson, Marlene Stone, Lynne Stinson, Lydia SwaFollen Church Annual Plan 2018-19As approved by Program CouncilWhat an exciting year ahead for Follen Church! With the conclusion of a successful Capital Campaign, the selection of a Construction Manager, and the approval of the Community Center renovation design by Lexington Historic Districts Commission, we are poised to break ground on our biggest construction project since the 1980’s. This new project will add a third floor to our Community Center to accommodate current and expanded programs, will greatly enhance Follen’s accessibility for people with physical restrictions, and will provide well-deserved office upgrades and environmental controls for our staff and congregation. Construction is anticipated to occur from the summer of 2018 through the spring of 2019.With the installation of our “Black Lives Matter” banner early this church year, Follen will continue to expand on the principles of the movement and embrace its goals. Through our film series, public outreach, and other means we will further educate ourselves to identify and address inequalities in education, employment, criminal justice, and all societal institutions. Our intention is to rectify social inequality whenever and wherever possible.In April of 2018 Follen formally entered in to a Congregational Covenant Agreement with First Parish Bedford to support them as a Sanctuary Congregation and to be part of their coalition to “welcome the stranger, protect the vulnerable, and accompany the oppressed.” This important work is critical now more than ever to protect the unfairly oppressed and will be ongoing.In March, 2018 Reverend Claire and Simon Horsburgh lead leaders within the congregation in an exercise to develop a Covenant of Right Relations. This covenant is being developed to establish basic ground rules for how we treat each other with mutual respect and understanding in our day-to-day interactions with each other throughout the Follen community. A draft of this covenant will be presented by Program Council to Annual Meeting for adoption by the congregation, and we will continue to refine and expand on this covenant next year and beyond to ensure that we are adhering to Unitarian Universalist principles. Our Stewardship Campaign this year sought to maintain level financial stability in the wake of the Capital Campaign. In the coming year and beyond we will endeavor to expand our membership and financial health to ensure continued growth and stability for our expanding church.With the unexpected departure of former Musical Director Tyler Turner, Follen was most fortunate to have selected Vivian Montgomery as our Interim Music Director, and has since secured her as our full-time settled Music Director. Vivian has brought a wealth of stability, maturity, diversity, organization, and talent to Follen’s music programs. Vivian has brought expanded musical performances and experiences to Follen, and we looking forward to her continued growth and success.Interim Director of Religious Education Deb Weiner has kept Follen on a straight course as we navigate towards the selection of a permanent Director of Faith Formation by Follen’s Search Committee. That selection will have hopefully been made by this year’s Annual Meeting, and we look forward to engaging with our new DFF. Thank you Deb for holding the ship upright during our transition!Rev. Susanne Intriligator has been our intrepid Director of Community Engagement (DCE). Sadly for Follen, but so wonderful for her, Susanne is Ministerial Candidate at Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church, and assuming she will be called to Melrose, will be leaving our congregation at the end of the church year. We will miss Susanne dearly and wish her well. Susanne brought us “Food for Thought” and stimulating engagement with the wider Unitarian community. In the short term, Follen will expand the role of the Administrative Assistant to assume some of the DCE’s responsibilities, and will work over the summer to evaluate the position and the best path forward within the church budget.Follen continues its efforts to become a recognized 501(c)(3) organization with the IRS. This is mainly to secure tax-exempt access to Google G-Suite, which will finally allow the church to use its own servers to secure electronic documents.ACTION-TEAM-SPECIFIC PLANS BUILDING AND GROUNDS ACTION TEAM (BGAT) As the summer of 2018 into the spring of 2019 will see the rebuilding of the Community Center and office space plus the addition of a third floor, the primary focus of the Building & Grounds committee will be to maintain the Sanctuary and the Marshman Center, which will house a temporary office space for our staff. We will continue to monitor the Mass Ave roadway project, including new crosswalk lights, to ensure we have safe access to our buildings, parking lot, and events such as the East Village Fair and the Christmas Tree sales.We anticipate having the opportunity to learn technical details about the new heating & cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems that we will need to maintain in our new building MUNITY & HOSPITALITY ACTION TEAM (CHAT) Adult Programs Coordinating CommitteeContinue to offer “Food for Thought” dinner programs, approximately monthly, with a variety of programs that help us to learn, reflect deeply and come to know each other better.Support other Action Teams in developing or implementing programs specific to their missions and primary audiences.Conduct a scan of programs offered over the past 3-5 years to identify gaps which, if filled, will allow us as a congregation to better live our UU principals and fulfill our mission to support learning, fellowship, spiritual development and “embracing the world – its beauty and its challenges.”Develop programs, often in collaboration with other Action Teams, that fill such gaps and/or seize timely opportunities to foster reflection, learning and connection.Work with the new Director of Community Engagement to assess how we can better communicate what we have to offer, keeping in mind newcomers and “church-shoppers,” as well as current members and friends of Follen. Connections Committee Goals: In the coming year:Connections will continue to enthusiastically supported the Adult Programs monthly “Food for Thought.” Connections will create “buddies” pairs for prospective members. We will also work with our CHAT action team to evaluate food issues and to take a look at the overall member experience within CHAT. Due to the anticipated start of construction for our capital improvements, we are looking for a new venue for summer services and will keep an eye on how best to support them.Social Events Goals: Support the weekly coffee hour during construction as appropriate.Support RE, the Auction committee and the annual pledge dinner in hosting their anize the Cape Cod WeekendEvaluate the viability of the Cardigan Lodge WeekendFINANCIAL & HUMAN RESOURCES ACTION TEAM (FHRAT) FHRAT has the following goals for next year:Add two members to the HR CommitteeAdd members to FHRATWork with the Trustees to boost the Heritage FundProvide funding for Claire’s sabbaticalPlan a new fundraiser for FY20Support the operating budget through a robust stewardship drivePASTORAL CARE ACTION TEAM (PCAT) In collaboration with our Minister, Director of Community Engagement and other professional staff, provide the congregation with caring spiritual and practical support as well as opportunities for deeper interpersonal connection and learning. Ensure that pastoral care at Follen is: responsive to ongoing and changing needs, delivered with compassion and skill, and coordinated to avoid both gaps and duplication. Toward these ends, continue to foster collaboration among PCAT subgroups, with other action teams and with Follen staff. Ensure that all support groups and their respective facilitators/leaders get the help they need to start and sustain their groups, PCAT will continue to maintain and upgrade a set of guidance documents and resources.Appoint 5 members to serve as support group resource liaisons to those working with small groups at Follen. Provide training on group process Procure books for the Follen library on topics of pastoral care interest. Provide programs and resource funds for speakers and discussion groups Offer new programs on grief and bereavement as well as other life issues.Caring Congregation Committee Goals:The Caring Congregation continues to have as its overarching goal to be a welcoming community to families of children with special needs. With this in mind, each year several programs and services are offered. The following are specific goals for the coming year.Develop the “Buddy Program” geared to all children new to Follen to help them to make friends and feel welcomed and integrated into activities during coffee hour. Veteran families who would like their young children to have a FUUY aged “Buddy” are also encouraged to request a “Buddy” for their children. FUUY volunteers will participate in a training developed and given by Sharon Cerny and Dorothy Vacca. The FUUY Buddy will become a special friend to a given child to help orient the child to Follen and help him or her make friends and engage in activities.Establish a Kids’ Table and Activities for children during coffee hour. The purpose of this is two-fold. One is to provide supervised opportunities of children to interact with one another. Included in these activities are the youngsters who have a FUUY Buddy. PCAT has agreed to assume the cost of a paid adult supervisor. The second goal is to allow time for parents or caregivers to talk with other adults uninterrupted for a period of time during coffee hour.Offer two workshops: Housing for Adult Children with Special Needs, presenters: Barbara Jackins and Karen Marsical.The Sibling Experience in Families with children with special needs. The presenter will be rmal meetings for group leaders will be available on an “as needed” basis to discuss issues or concerns.The Referral Hotline will continue to provide short-term assistance to parents who have a pressing emotional, behavioral, and/or school related concern, including help with the IEP process.Continue to update our on-line Behavioral Resource GuideContinue to raise funds to support the fund to support families of children with special needs, a subset of the Minister’s Discretionary Fund, through a personal point and special collection during the service and an annual GALA with a silent auction.Covenant Groups Continue to offer members opportunities to form strong bonds and deepen their spirituality through monthly meetings, based on the principles of confidentiality and sacred listening. Provide the logistical framework and support for Follen’s small group ministry. ?Work with the minister’s monthly church wide themes and spiritual exercises and incorporate them in Covenant Group sessions. Encourage wider congregational participation by posting the monthly Covenant Group session on the Follen website, distributing the Covenant Group brochure to all newcomers, and by welcoming interested adults to join Covenant Groups throughout the year. ?With the assistance of the Director of Community Engagement, begin developing an online database of resources and references for Covenant Group writers. Offer a workshop for the benefit of Covenant Group leaders and, when appropriate, open it to others. Lay Ministry Provide timely support to those facing challenges, ranging from simple but meaningful single contacts to more extended and complex support, focusing on spiritual matters and making referrals as appropriate (e.g., to VSN and support groups). Write pastoral prayers as well as lead and follow-up on the Joys and Sorrows expressed at Sunday worship services. Increase our ability to provide pastoral care by: deepening our knowledge of/relationships with each other; establishing mentor dyads within our team; creating a new handbook for lay ministers, and being cognizant of particular pastoral needs that might develop during next year’s building project.Continue to work with others on the Pastoral Care Action Team to provide resources for safety and interpersonal needs, to discern needs in the community, and to support programs on topics of interest such as grief and bereavement.Support Groups and Affinity Groups This year, PCAT oversaw 3 support groups which will continue to meet regularly as long as participants continue to have interest in meeting, as well as 2 new affinity groups. These groups are: Support Group for those with Elderly Parent(s) Support Group for Living Well with a Chronic Illness or Condition Support Group for Caregivers of Someone with a Serious Illness Men’s Group – an open (affinity group for men that meets weekly at Follen.Retirement Lunch and Dinner Groups – affinity group(s) for people who are retired or are considering retirement. Volunteer Service Network (VSN) Continue to encourage Follen members to ask for help from VSN when they need it.Promote the VSN (and Lotsa Helping Hands website) by creating a bookmark with relevant information.Update the member information on the Lotsa Helping Hands website.RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ACTION TEAM Support and develop a strong relationship with the new Director of Faith Formation Incorporate feedback on Teacher Training for year 2 of Team Teaching modelDeepen exploration of ways REAT can support Follen Responds to RacismProvide more opportunities for families to connect at FollenSOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION TEAM (SJAT) Overall goals To focus our efforts around the 3 themes of Economic Inequality; Immigration and Sanctuary, and Anti-RacismTo increase congregational participation on existing SJAT committeesTo collaborate with WMAT, REAT, Covenant Groups, and the Adult Programs committee to promote our 3 themesTo continue our existing programs, while encouraging the development of new committees according to our charterBrown Fund for Social Justice1. Develop timeline and strategy for getting word out to youth and parents about available funds for summer 2019.2. Work with new DRE and YAK to think creatively about using funds for social justice training for youth in an area of their interest.Follen Responds to RacismUsing the Resolution “Advancing Follen Church as an Antiracist Congregation” as a guide, Follen Responds to Racism will continue to help individuals, families, the congregation, and the wider community understand and work toward justice for people of color and other marginalized groups. Our primary goals for the year ahead will be to:Develop programs that further the Resolution goal of raising antiracist children, working in concert with the new director of faith formation and others at Follen and anize a significant symposium (or similar) with a well-known speaker that will be open to the wider community.Continue to refine FRR’s organizational structure by having co-chairs, led by Harriet Peterson next year, and using subcommittees so we can accomplish more, more quickly.Work with the Stopping Stones organization and community groups to honor the lives of enslaved people in Lexington.Offer the Black Lives Film Series.Work with groups (e.g., Adult Programs, WMAT) and individuals within Follen to integrate the goals of the Resolution into their awareness and activities, in recognition that FRR cannot — and should not — do this alone.Support the Antiracist Book Group and expand Follen’s library titles relevant to racial anize informational activities with the general goal of furthering awareness of the United States history and current events in regard to racism.Use various internal communications vehicles to publicize relevant internal and external events. Gun Violence Prevention GroupFurther educate the Follen Community about gun violence issues.Seek to increase the number of congregants who join the GVPG, work on lobbying campaigns, and attend gun violence prevention or peace events, such as the Mother's Day Walk for Peace.Strengthen ties with organizations that promote alternatives to violence among at-risk youth.Continue to work with the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, of which the Follen Church is a member, to advance legislation and other governmental policies to prevent gun violenceKiva Micro-Loan ProgramTo have a solid growing base that allows a continual reloaning programTo reach out and have participation from all of the congregationUrban Ministry Congregational Team Invite Marvin Venay, Director of Congregational and Volunteer Engagement at UUM to Follen for a Sunday program in the fall. The program will highlight the work of UUUM and encourage volunteer support by Follen members.Build on our work this year to expand and strengthen a solid core of Follen members who are committed to the Urban Ministry.Continue the Roxbury Connections Program, making accessible to Follen members Roxbury’s rich history and art community and thus developing more ease in visiting Roxbury and the Urban Ministry.Develop ways to make it easier to engage by providing carpooling whenever possible to events and volunteer opportunities.Partner Church CommitteeIn recent years, the UU Partner Church Council recommended that U.S. churches move their focus from rebuilding the facilities that were damaged during the Communist occupation (already accomplished) and search for ways to create a meaningful dialogue with the members of the partner church about commonalities and social justice issues. In the coming years, the remaining monies in our account will be spent to achieve this goal.Lexington Interfaith GardenTo have increased participation from Follenites at the Lexington Interfaith Garden working with members of Lexington’s faith communities to provide fresh produce to the Lexington Food Pantry.Welcoming Congregation Coordinating CommitteeSupport the defeat of the 2018 ballot initiative to rescind transgender rights Sustain an affirming LGBTQ environment at FollenRevitalize with new membershipSupport Follen’s LGBTQ-affirmative anti-racist commitmentsPursue the hanging of small signs to go beneath the main Follen sign WORSHIP & MUSIC ACTION TEAM (WMAT) · Support the minister and director of music during the year of construction so that they may continue to offer meaningful services while we are operating with space constraints and some potential for chaos and surprise.· Anticipate changes in budgetary needs as we look forward to expanded space in our reconstructed building.CAPITAL CAMPAIGN AND CONSTRUCTIONCAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEEBrad Howe, ChairWell, we did it, everyone. We ALL did it—over 300 of us plus others who supplied moral support if not direct financial contributions. At this writing on April 25, we have raised $4,096,037 for a construction project that will transform not only our church building but the way we live in our church.$4.1 million is a very large sum of money. It is more than we thought we would need and definitely more than we thought we could raise. And—again at this writing--there’s a likelihood that, while we feel that it is enough to do all that we proposed, our bank will want us to provide an insurance back-up from the Heritage Fund in the event of unexpected expenses.The Capital Campaign Committee, which I have chaired, and the Construction Oversight Group, chaired by Alice Dunn and Valerie Perkins, have negotiated carefully with our architect and contractor to control costs. As part of the budgeting process, we have provided contingency funding where costs are still uncertain. Some expenses may go up, depending on the near-term costs of labor and materials. And some may actually go down versus the budget—for example, the cost of renting alternative housing from our neighbors for RE, for FUUY, for committee meetings, for rehearsals, and for regular church events.But when we ask a bank to provide construction funding during the period before all of our pledges are received, we need to assure them that they will be paid in full. They need to know that we can cover unforeseen expenses beyond reasonably budgeted contingencies. We don’t expect to call on this funding, but the bank wants to know that this is available for a worst-case scenario. We will have a second vote of the membership at the Annual Meeting on May 24, 2018 to determine whether or not to make this available.Before we vote on the motion, however, it is appropriate to add a word or two about what’s transpired over the past year. We engaged the whole church. Yes, eight families did generously contribute about three-quarters of our $4+ million. But Epp Sonin was very serious in saying that her $1 million lead gift was contingent on our achieving $2.75M in other pledges—she was insistent on broad participation.And we did achieve broad participation. We raised more than $1,000,000 from 210 Follen families and friends, other than the eight major donors. That is an average of $5,756 apiece, with a median of $3,000. For our many church members who are living on fixed, or semi-fixed incomes, or who struggle with present or future college costs, or who are challenged to pay the monthly rent or mortgage, that is an impressive result. Every member of the Follen fund-raising team greatly appreciates the extraordinary commitment that everyone has made to the success of the fund-raising side of this project, and we do not take it lightly. Nor do we take lightly our responsibility to deliver a product that we, our children, and our grandchildren will view with pride for decades to come.The many members of Follen who have worked successfully to achieve our goals are both proud and humbled by what we have done together thus far.Submitted by Brad Howe, ChairOn behalf of the following members of the Capital Campaign Committee and the Construction Oversight Group, which includes the following:Alice Dunn, Sarah Garner, Cas Groblewski, Gordon Hardy, Jackie Hawkinson, John Hickey, Brad Howe, Ginna Johnson, Lex Johnson, Laura Maltby, Trapper Markelz, Mark Metzger, Gerry Mimno, Rich Papazian, Mart Ojamaa, Valerie Perkins, Tom Ryan, Greg Shenstone, Nancy Sofen, Epp Sonin, Jane Spickett, Lydia Swan, Ben Vandiver, Chris WaltersCONSTRUCTION OVERSIGHT GROUP (COG)Alice Dunn and Valerie Perkins, Co-ChairsMembers: Mart Ojamaa, Nancy Sofen, Greg Shenstone, Tom Ryan, Chris Walters, Stephen Ervin and Rev. Claire Feingold ThorynCOG Subgroups:Moving and Storage Logistics: Jackie Hawkinson and Jane SpickettMarshman Temporary Renovation Logistics: Mart OjamaaAV/Telephone/Internet Logistics: Kim Vandiver, Howie Bernstein, Ben Feingold Thoryn and John GriffithTemporary Space Logistics: Mark Metzger and Gerry Mimno Throughout the Fall of 2017 and Spring of 2018 we continue to work intensively with our architects at Maryanne Thompson Associates (MTA) and our consultants to develop a building plan based on our extensive needs analysis and within our budget to meet our goals of universal access, reconfigured existing spaces and the addition of a third floor, and improved energy efficiency of the building envelope and all HVAC system to provide year-round thermal comfort. We have contracted with ZVI Construction for our Preconstruction Contract and are currently negotiating with ZVI Construction to also be our Construction Manager for the project.In addition to ZVI Construction and MTA, we are working with numerous consultants:Surveyors, Title issues Attorney, Zoning issues Attorney, Mechanical, Structural, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire and Civil Engineers, Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineers and the list goes on!On April 5, our architectural plans were approved by Town of Lexington’s Historic District Commission. We are now in the process of meeting other regulatory permitting requirements (Massachusetts Historic, zoning, accessibility, conservation and building) with the possibility of beginning construction this Summer of 2018. Our estimated construction time will be about one year. During construction church activities will necessarily be dispersed. Our Minister and administrative staff will have temporary offices and a small meeting space in the Marshman Center. We are hoping to have the Sanctuary available for Sunday Services throughout the project. Our Temporary Space Logistics coordinators are negotiating with Waldorf School and Sacred Heart Church for additional meeting, religious education, event, and choir practice spaces. We will all need to be flexible and patient and occasionally improvise during this period - for example meeting in our homes, local cafes and by video conference. In return, we can anticipate a new real elevator!, elegant sunlit stairway, new reconfigured and accessible community center vestibule, new heating and cooling systems (real AC!), fire sprinklers, numerous all new gender neutral bathrooms, an additional floor in the community center with a spacious new music center and additional meeting spaces, a new deck off the Anne Smith Room, two new covered entry plazas and reconfigured spaces throughout..... and so much more! STAY TUNED!!Respectfully submitted, Alice Dunn and Valerie Perkins, Co-Chairs RESOLUTION: COVENANT OF RIGHT RELATIONS“Covenant is the silk that joins Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations, communities, and individuals together in a web of interconnection. The practice of promising to walk together is the precious core of our creedless faith.” – This spring, 35 Follen lay leaders gathered to discuss and draft a “Covenant of Right Relations” for Follen. Simply put, we asked the leaders to consider how we treat each other and to develop a guiding covenant around it.We were seeking a simple framework upon which we could base our relationships and uphold our UU principles within them.We read examples from more than a dozen other UU congregations, talked about our priorities, and created a draft of our own. Here we offer our draft for comment. It is our plan to present our first Covenant of Right Relations at Annual Meeting for a vote of the congregation.Follen Church Congregational Covenant (Draft)Building community is an ongoing spiritual practice, in which we strive to be our best selves and live out the principles of Unitarian Universalism. We hold each other in loving community, even as we acknowledge our imperfections. In that ever-learning and humble spirit, with open hearts and open minds, we created this covenant of right relations to hold ourselves and each other accountable.We, the members and friends of Follen Church, affirm:We offer goodwill and good intention in our interactions.We remember that our intentions do not always mirror our impact.We are open to difference, and open to changing our minds and our behavior.We communicate directly with honesty, respect, and compassion.We speak up when we feel hurt and listen with an open spirit when we cause hurt.When we listen, we stay curious, seeking facts, ideas, and new possibilities.We invite healing through forgiveness and making amends.We acknowledge and accept that all of us have limitations of role, responsibility, ability, understanding, and time.When we fail, we will try again.FINANCIAL REPORTSAUDITOR’S REPORT Herman Marshall, AuditorI find that the financial records of Follen Church are well-maintained and organized. Financial end-of-year closeouts are accurate and clearly handled. The financial statements presented in the Annual Report present an accurate picture of Follen’s finances. Sarah Garner does an excellent job collecting, organizing, and clarifying the church’s financial records.Respectfully submitted, Herman Marshall TRUSTEES REPORT Pritesh Gandhi, David Garbarino, and Seth Webster, Trustees Follen’s invested resources represent funds that are dedicated for the purpose of meeting the current and longer-term interests of the church. The trustees have an independent responsibility of stewardship over this gift from the past to the future. They are responsible for balancing growth and long term sustainability with church requests by ensuring that short-term needs do not make undue claims on long-term resources; that funds are invested prudently; that spending from endowment is for appropriate purposes; and that this generation of Follen membership follows its predecessors’ tradition of mindfulness toward the needs of the future. Resources Held in Trust for FollenMost major market indices experienced significant upswings in 2017. The funds held by Follen benefited from this activity and resulted in an overall 16.6% increase in value between 2016 and 2017. Below is a summary of the fund performance for 2017 as compared to 2016:Fund12/31/1612/31/17$ value change% changeProgram Fund$411,252$476,047$54,79515.8%Heritage Fund$304,530$353,916$49,38616.2%Beals Fund$72,909$78,760$5,8518.0%Special Funds$321,665$386,051$64,39620.0%Louise CurtisBarbara MarshmanStoneham OrganTotal$1,110,346$1,294,774$184,42816.6%Details of each of the holdings:1. Endowment FundsEndowments are pools of resources meant to provide a steady stream of funding for both operating and long-term purpose through returns on invested funds. Annual disbursement, if not established by the fund’s charter, is determined by the trustees using a sustainable formula, which includes investment return over a period of years. When earnings exceed spending, reinvested earnings expand the endowment and promise greater future earnings. Spending in excess of earnings, conversely, implies erosion of the invested principal and a loss in permanent earning power. Rather than ramping disbursements sharply up and down as earnings shift with market conditions, it is generally considered good practice to maintain annual spending from endowment at a level that matches prudent estimates of average long-term earnings. Often a target payout rate of between 4 and 5 percent is considered appropriate—lower if the goal is to augment the invested principal, higher if a steady or shrinking endowment is envisaged. Follen has two endowment funds established and managed under the terms of The Follen Church 1980 Trust: The Programs Fund, the largest category of resources held in trust, is dedicated to earning investment returns to support the general programs and activities of the church. As of December 31, 2017, that fund had $476,047, having grown 15.8% over the last calendar year. For the upcoming FY ‘19 budget year, the trustees have made available $21,100 from this fund. At this time the funds have not been disbursed. The Heritage Fund, unlike the more general Programs Fund, has the narrower mission of providing enduring support for the preservation, restoration, and improvement of Follen’s buildings, equipment, facilities and grounds. As of December 31, 2017 The Heritage Fund, stood at $353,916, having grown 16.2% over the previous calendar year. During this year, no disbursements were made or requested by Follen Church for this fund.It should be noted that the Construction Oversight Group, with support from the Capital Campaign Committee, has requested a grant of up to $350,000 from The Heritage Fund to hold in contingency against unanticipated costs associated with the upcoming building project. There was a special meeting of the congregation held on April 22nd, 2018 where the congregation voted to support a proposal to use the Heritage Fund as a contingency fund for the capital campaign construction. The Heritage Fund would be tapped only in the event of unexpected expenses once work has begun. It is expected that a second vote on this proposal will be held at the Annual Meeting. It should be noted that from the point of the vote to allow monies from this fund to be used as a construction contingency, those funds are encumbered and cannot be used for anything else until the encumbrance is removed.2. Special FundsFollen also has four funds devoted to specific purposes:The Beals Fund like the Heritage Fund, is to be used for the repair and maintenance of the church buildings. The combined value of this fund as of December 31 2017 was $78,760 having grown 8.0% from the previous year. As of January 28th 2017 no withdrawals have been made from this account.The Louise Curtis Fund was established to honor Louise Curtis and is dedicated to supporting Follen’s music program by covering expenditure over and above what the regular operating budget permits. It may not be used to cover salaries or the purchase of musical scores. There has been a request for a $700 grant to support music services at Follen, this will be disbursed before the end of the fiscal year. The Stoneham Organ Fund is dedicated exclusively to paying the expenses of one or more organ concerts per year to be performed on the Stoneham organ. The terms of this fund also permit loans to pay for organ repairs and maintenance, but any such loans must be repaid. As of April 20th, 2018 no withdrawals have been made from this account.The Barbara Marshman Fund is pledged to the support of Follen’s religious education programs. As of April 20th, 2018 no withdrawals have been made from this account.The combined value of three special funds mentioned above (Louise Curtis, Stoneham & Marshman) as of December 31 2017 was $386,051 having grown 20.0% from the previous year. Recent market volatility has impacted the various endowment funds and pared back some of the gains from the highs at the end of 2017. The current balance is ~$4,480 less than the balance on 12/31/17: FundBalance 4/25/18Program Fund$475,610Heritage Fund$354,619Beals Fund$77,544Special Funds$382,521 Louise Curtis Barbara Marshman Stoneham OrganTotal$1,290,294Fossil Fuel Industry Divestment In 2015 Follen Church voted to divest from fossil fuel stocks over the next five years. In consideration of the trustee’s responsibilities, to the funds under their charge, the trustees have continued to explore a strategy of divesting the church’s holdings. Divestment from Fossil fuels is complicated by the fact that the various Trust accounts are invested in mutual funds which amongst their portfolio holdings, may include corporations who participate in the fossil fuel industry. Additionally, mutual funds that maintain an investment strategy of being “Green” generally have higher acquisition and operating fees and lower returns when compared to common indices. In June of 2016, the trustees made a modest rebalance and sold shares of a fund with fossil fuel holdings and purchased shares of a “green” fund. This initial move was designed as test case which would be monitored for its performance. The trustees remain committed to explore several strategies to continue to limit Follen’s exposure to the fossil fuel industry while maintaining a focus on value preservation and growth. Trustee AdministrationThe trustees continue to spend a significant amount of time each year addressing the necessary exchange of control of the Fidelity accounts from previous trustees. This challenge has been ongoing for a long period of time. The issue has been discussed with Fidelity and from an account transfers perspective there is no viable alternative to the paperwork they require. The trustees have identified an advocate team within Fidelity to increase the speed with which this process takes place. This team understands the structure of our trustee terms and has offered to streamline the process. At a minimum, the church would be well served if one or more of the full time staff were a Notary. Additionally, regular access to external legal counsel on a limited basis may also be a valued asset. Further thought should be given to this process in the future. There has also been discussion amongst the Trustees to extend the terms in order to minimize the disruption caused each year with the transition process. Additionally, the Trustees have spent a considerable amount of time this year digitizing all the trust material for easy access. The Trustees extend a special thanks to David Garbarino who agreed to extend his service term for an additional year due to an unexpected shortfall of a previous Trustee. Strengthening Follen’s EndowmentFollen’s endowment is relatively small for a church of its size, and the trustees continue to feel that endowment growth is an important long-term goal. Given endowment spending, substantial growth is unlikely to come from investment returns alone. In the event that The Heritage Fund be required to grant upto $350,000 to the building project as a contingency, there will be a substantial shortfall in the overall endowment holdings. The Trustees recommend that should a grant be made, consideration should be made to replenish The Heritage Fund to current levels, at minimum. To shore up Follen’s financial underpinnings for future decades, we encourage Follen’s members to consider joining The Legacy Society. This society is comprised of those who have included Follen in their estate planning. Legacy Society members have named Follen in their wills, or as a beneficiary of a trust, annuity or life insurance policy. Additionally, Follen might consider a capital campaign in the future allocating proceeds to the endowment principle. -- Pritesh Gandhi, David Garbarino and Seth Webster, Trustees-115667045821800-1567180101981000-245745000-1776730113665000-1657668113696800-1747520112268000-1746250110617000 ................
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