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Memo 1: What’s happening with Governance?
You may recall that in the ministerial transition period, the Board began conversations about what kind of organizational change would help Eliot Chapel as we looked to the future. The Board appointed a special Committee to examine possible Governance changes and to report back. This Governance Committee consisted of Donna Coble, Corinne Esnault , Marianne Pinney, Mary Taylor, and was chaired by Steven Mead. This group began work in Jan. 2002 , and presented a final report to the Board in May, 2003. The Governance Committee then recommended that the Board form another Governance group that included Board members, to consider the report and make a plan for implementation of Governance change.
A major piece of the Governance Committee’s work was the “Internal Assessment” conducted by Corrine Esnault. Corrine interviewed many Eliot members who had held leadership positions. She reported on both Eliot’s strengths and weaknesses. Strengths included a vibrant community who managed to accomplish a lot each year. However, she found significant frustration with current decision-making processes, and confusion of roles. Most committees and groups were unclear on who had the authority to make what decisions, and sometimes felt that other groups pre-empted their decision-making responsibilities. The report recommended changes in the structure of Program Council and the Board in order to clarify authority and responsibility.
The report of the Governance Committee is available in the Eliot Library, near the reference shelf. A few extra copies are also available if you want one for any reason.
Future memos will detail the Board’s discussion of this report and how we are going to begin implementation. The By-Law revision the Board is recommending will be available for congregational review at least one month prior to the May Annual meeting, and will be the subject of one of these memos in the near future..
Steven Bain
For the Board of Trustees