Greetings!
Next week marks a significant milestone for our church. The inaugural Leadership Board will officially begin its work on Monday, January 22nd at 6pm. Streamlining our administrative decision making committees into a single Leadership Board was proposed by the Task Force last Fall and voted on at our called Church Conference meeting in December. While the Board likely won’t make any major decisions Monday night, they will begin the process of developing a clear vision for our church’s long term future. That process will span at least the next 2 years and will entail congregation wide conversations, town halls, feedback, and more.
One of the most important aspects of how the new Board operates is a radical emphasis on transparency and accountability. While streamlining did concentrate a great deal of decision making authority in this 9 member Board, we will also do everything in our power to make all decisions out in the open and provide opportunities for feedback and questions. To that end, Board meetings will always be public unless the Board is discussing staff matters or certain legal negotiations. Board documents (agendas, information packets, minutes, etc) will be publicly available at fumcbeaumont.org/board or in a binder in the church office. The initial Meeting Packet is already present at the link. And you are always invited to speak with a member of the Leadership Board to express your concerns, ask questions, or make suggestions for what we do next (a list of elected leaders can be found at the link)
The first official meeting will be focused on narrowing down and prioritizing an initial list of Board action items for the coming months. The first official Board Town Hall will be held Sunday, February 25th (most likely prior to worship - details TBD next week). Look for an update post and/or email next week regarding what the Board decides and where it will go next. Thank you for your trust and your patience as we seek to lay a solid foundation for what God will do in and through us for generations to come.
Pastor Jeremy