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Email Addresses:
Lead Minister
Rev. Diana K. Davies....................................................................................................ddavies@1uc.org
Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration
Tim Atkins.......................................................................................................................tatkins@1uc.org
Choir Director
Chukwuebuka (‘Ebuka) G. Ezeakacha.....................................................................cge-choir@1uc.org
Congregational Life Coordinator
Nathan Boone..............................................................................................................nboone@1uc.org
Office Administrator
Marlies Grogg...............................................................................................................mgrogg@1uc.org
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
AGENDA 1
Minutes of the Annual Meeting – June 5, 2022 2
Summary of the Special Meeting of the Congregation – February 5, 2023 4
President of the Congregation Report 5
Treasurer Report and Budget 8
Nominating Committee Report 12
Lead Minister Report 13
Director of Lifespan Religious Exploration Report 17
Affiliated Community Minister Report 19
Alliance Report ` 20
Befrienders Report 22
Committee on Ministry (COM) Report 23
Congregational Life Coordinator Report 24
Endowment Report 26
Facilities Working Group (FWG) Report 27
First UU Properties LLC 28
Health & Safety Report 30
Memorial Garden Report 31
Social Justice Council Reports (SJC) 32
Change for Change 32
Racial Justice Team 33
Radical Welcoming Team 34
Reproductive Justice Team 36
Sustainable Living Organization (SLO) 37
UUSC (Unitarian Universal Service Committee) 38
VOICE 38
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AGENDA
Annual Meeting of the Congregation
First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City
June 4, 2023
Call to Order -- Cathy Webster
Quorum Check -- Cathy Webster
Opening Remarks -- Rev. Diana K. Davies
Approval of Minutes of the June 2022 Annual Meeting – Cathy Webster
Report of the President – Marshal Gimpel
2023-2024 Proposed Budget – Ron Wasson
Vote: Proposed 2023-2024 Budget -- Cathy Webster
Report of the Nominating Committee – Lynn Ann Wagner
Vote: Election of Officers and Trustees -- Cathy Webster
Closing Remarks -- Rev. Diana K. Davies
Adjournment
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Annual Meeting of the Congregation
First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City
June 5, 2022
o Call to Order -- Cathy Webster. The moderator called the meeting to order approximately 12:13 pm.
o Quorum Check -- Cathy Webster. There are sufficient members present to conduct congregational
business. (Over 50 people.)
o Opening Remarks -- Rev. Diana K. Davies opened the meeting.
o Approval of Minutes of the June 2021 Annual Meeting - Lynn Ann Wagner. Minutes from previous
annual meeting were reviewed and approved by the members present.
o Ratification of Votes (taken in 2020-2021) - Cathy Webster. Due to adjustments made during the Covid
19 pandemic, votes from virtual meetings were ratified at this meeting.
o Report of the President - Lynn Ann Wagner gave her update on her time as president of the
congregation.
o 2022-2023 Proposed Budget - David Moore. The budget was presented to the congregation. Special
note that the previous budget carryover was again carried into the following year, but these funds will
not be available beyond this year.
Congregant had a question seeking clarification of accounts used to fund a specific budget item. There was
additional discussion during which it was pointed out that the budget was being presented for approval and
that additional suggestions for clarifying edits could be directed to the treasurer.
> Vote: Proposed 2022-2023 Budget - - Cathy Webster
The budget was approved by vote, no visible dissent, proxy votes given to clerk.
o Report of the Nominating Committee - Ingrid Young reported on the slate of officers presented by the
nominating committee to fill current openings:
Our nominees for officers are:
Marcia Woodward, President Elect
Ron Wasson, Treasurer
Deborah Shinn, Clerk
Cathy Webster, Moderator
Gordon Greene, Parliamentarian
Our nominees for new Board members are:
Lorianna Lee-Knapp
Mordikai Hornpetrie
Clare Auwarter, replacing Marcia Woodward in Board position
2022-2023 Board of Trustees:
President: Marshal Gimpel
President-Elect: Marcia Woodward
Immediate Past-President: Lynn Ann Wagner
Treasurer: Ron Wasson
Clerk: Deborah Shinn
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President’s Report: 2022-2023
Greetings! Thank you for the privilege of serving the congregation as its President this past year. The year has
gone by more quickly than I anticipated. I knew that the time I had available to devote to church duties would
be limited. However, I did not anticipate being somewhat preoccupied with other matters during the year.
Consequently, I was not as focused as I should have been when it came to church activities, and for that I
apologize to the congregation, the staff, and the board.
I will be providing summary comments and observations, but the full Annual Report contains input from each
of our committees and teams. I encourage every member of the congregation to read the full report to get a
better idea of the breadth of our activities over the past church year. In addition, the minutes of our Board of
Trustees meetings area also available to members as another source of information.
I learned a lot this year. I learned how incredibly hard the staff works and how dedicated they are. I learned
what an awesome board we have. I asked them to do a good bit this year. They always responded, always
showed up, and never complained. I learned I could lean on the executive team (past president Lynn Ann
Wagner, president-elect Marcia Woodward, and the Reverend Doctor Diana Davies) for support and guidance,
and lean on them I did ... continuously, all year. My deepest thanks go out to them.
This year has been a year of transitions as we continue to adapt to the post-pandemic world. Things are not the
same as they were, but then again they never are. We have returned to full in-person services and maintained
our on-line presence as well. We have added a talented Music Director to the staff even as we continue to
struggle to find an organist/accompanist to replace the irreplaceable Dianne Broyles. We miss those long-time
members who have moved on, moved away, and sadly so many who have passed away over these past few
years. But we are overjoyed to welcome so many new members who bring fresh ideas and energy to our
community. I especially want to lift up our newest members, the five Coming of Age participants who just
recently shared their credos with us and signed the membership book. To have this talented group, who have
grown up in this church, take that step to membership bodes well for the future of this congregation.
Our Bridging and Coming of Age students point to another highlight of this past year, the amazing resurgence
of our religious education program. We now have an enrollment of about 50 youth thanks to the dedicated
efforts of our Director of Lifespan Religious Education (DLRE) Tim Atkins and our wonderful cadre of volunteer
teachers. As we came out of lockdown, we had a mere handful of RE participants.
During this year, I have noticed more awareness of this church and of Unitarian Universalism than at any time
in the fifteen plus years I have lived in central Oklahoma. In part that is due to some important media coverage
we received for programs such as our banned books reading. In part it is because Rev. Diana’s prophetic voice
is being heard increasingly in the interfaith and social justice communities. Most certainly it is also a
consequence of our members living out their UU principles and values by getting out and showing up for the
things in which they believe. Whether it was working to abolish the death penalty, seeking to protect the lives
and dignity of trans youth, supporting our Muslim brothers and sisters at the state capitol, or leading VOICE’s
efforts to push back against utility rate hikes at the corporation commission, First Unitarian members were
there. And when it came time for this city to welcome Afghan refugees, once again there was a dedicated group
of 1UC members who were there to greet, support, and help resettle two Afghan families. In so many ways,
members of this church made folks across OKC aware of who we are and what we believe in through their
commitment, their concern, and their generosity.
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This enhanced level of awareness, combined with the nature of our community and the perilous time in which
we live, have served to generate increased interest in the church itself. The numbers of new members,
attendees at newcomer sessions, and first-time visitors in the last month or so are all up sharply from the
beginning of this church year.
Of course, this past year was not without its challenges. One of the consequences of the demographic shift in
our congregation is the fact that the passing of older members carries with it a financial as well as an emotional
impact. Older members typically have disposable incomes that allow them to make larger pledges to the church.
While our overall membership is up slightly from the beginning of the year, the shift to a younger average
membership age has corresponded with lower average pledge amounts for the upcoming fiscal year.
Consequently, our total pledges declined from last year’s level while inflation caused a significant increase in
our operating costs.
I won’t go into the details of our budget here. We’ve all received the very informative explanations of the
situation from our Treasurer, Ron Wasson, along with next year’s proposed budget. What I will say is this: First,
it seems to me that the leadership team and the Financial Working Group (FWG) could probably do a better job
of updating the congregation on the status of our performance relative to our budget during the church year so
that there might be fewer surprises when the next year’s budget is put forward for approval at the Annual
Meeting. Second, based on some of the feedback and input I have received concerning the budget, I think it
might be beneficial if we could have some financial literacy training for the congregation next year. The focus
of this training would not be the budget per se, but rather the church’s financial statements with an emphasis
on their structure and what they tell us about the financial health and stability of the institution. Third, while I
think our budget situation will continue to present challenges for the next several years, I also believe it
represents an opportunity for us ... an opportunity to have meaningful discussions about the kind of church
community we want to be, the ways in which we organize ourselves and “do church,” and the ways in which we
go about doing good work in the world. The choices we make in these areas all have financial consequences as
well as organizational and spiritual ones.
This notion of choices brings me to the last topic I would like to touch on today. What of our future? What is
the outlook for this church community, at least in the next several years? Of course, I don’t have a crystal ball
so all I can give you is my opinion. While I readily admit that I have very few actual skills, I do seem to have the
ability to assess the potential of organizations. I have worked with and in quite a few different organizations, to
include non-profits. While I can’t claim to have a perfect track record, generally the future trajectory of these
entities has conformed to my initial assessments.
In my opinion, the potential of this church for growth and impact is “off the charts.” It has a compelling message
and mission. It has an orientation toward converting its message and mission into tangible action. It has a super
dedicated staff. It has a wonderfully creative and passionate DLRE. It has a world class minister and spiritual
leader. It has deep roots in this city, and it has demonstrated staying power and resilience during its long history.
It has a beautiful National Register listed church building that is a manifestation of its history and its mission,
just as its minister is the face, voice and manifestation of its spiritual power and its principles. It has a community
of members who can support each other in their spiritual and life journeys and who can successfully organize
themselves to effect change in the larger community. And, as if all that weren’t enough, it is a type of place
which is desperately needed and sought after in the world today.
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Pastoral Care Council
(Befrienders)
2022-2023
Pastoral Care Council continues to meet via zoom the 2nd Thursday of each month during the church year
under the guidance of the lead minister, Rev. Diana Davies. We meet during the summer months as needed.
There are currently three active teams:
Transportation: led by Patti Kate (areas of the metro have been divided into sections with names of
individuals who are willing to be drivers for anyone needing a ride to church or medical appointment).
Cards: led by Lana Henson (individuals in our church family receive cards of well wishes, sympathy,
etc.).
Memorial Receptions: led by Ginny Boykin (when asked by the minister, receptions are provided by
Befrienders).
Meal Trains: Lonney Corder-Agnew resigned from this position so it is currently vacant. However,
Befrienders has continued to offer meal trains (thanks to the office administrator, Marlies Grogg) to
those who are unable to because of medical conditions. The position is open to anyone who is
interested in coordinating the on-line meal train program.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Bishop, facilitator
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