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Memo 2: Changes in Board and Program Council
March 29, 2004
Index of Leadership Memos
The original Governance Committee reported significant frustration with the organization of the lay leadership at Eliot Chapel. Their report noted times when the Board of Trustees counteracted decisions made by committees, or areas where the decision-making lines were unclear. The Committee recommended that the Board of Trustees concentrate more on the overall policies of Eliot, and spend less time on day-to-day operations. The congregation has, in fact, over the years hired staff who more and more oversee day-to-day events. The Board’s agenda is evaluated before every meeting to make sure we consider only items that need Board attention.
Second, the Governance Committee found that the Program Council structure is no longer functioning well for Eliot. The UUA large church consultant notes that congregations above a certain size find that volunteers can no longer handle the growing amount and complexity of church business in the limited time they have available. Churches then hire Business Administrators to track the finances and deal with building repair and maintenance, as well as the other routine business of a congregation—just as we have done.
For many years, the Program Council managed the calendar and finances of the program committees of Eliot. However, when staff started doing this work more efficiently, the Program Council found itself without a sense of purpose. For the last several years, the Program Council has felt that it is trying to find its work, rather than having a clear sense of what it is to do and why that job is important to the congregation. This was one of the key findings of the Governance Committee, and the Board has heard the same frustrations from the sitting Program Council.
The Governance Committee report recommended disbanding the Program Council and replacing it with four “Congregational Councils” to coordinate various aspects of Eliot’s congregational life. They made a draft recommendation of which committees should report to which council, but left it to the Board to look more closely at this structure and decide how these councils should be organized.
In the next memo, I will explain the Board’s current thinking on how the change from Program Council to Congregational Councils should be managed.