From Your Board…
We talk about democracy being an important practice within the UU church, and it certainly came into play this past week. For those of you who attended the Annual Congregational Meeting on June 14, 2026, you saw that there was some dispute about a specific $75,000 that was disbursed from the Endowment Fund to the Sanctuary Fund to help with expenses. Rather than get into all the details with the entire congregation at that meeting, we used parliamentary procedure to “refer” the issue to a special meeting which would include the OCUUC Board, Finance Council, Stewards and Sanctuary Construction Committee.
The meeting was held this past Monday, June 29th; it was a hybrid meeting held in-person at the Victoria Room and also via zoom. There was good representation from each of the stated groups and also a few members-at-large from the congregation. There were numerous opinions expressed about the intent of this particular $75,000 disbursement and how it was utilized.
That led to a secondary discussion about what should now happen to approximately $65,000 remaining in the Sanctuary Fund. Should it be returned to Operating Expenses which had initially seeded the Sanctuary Fund with $100K? Should it continue to be held in the Sanctuary Fund and pay for a few items which had been dropped from our initial construction plans? Should it be given to the Endowment Fund so that it could earn further dividends for us?
It took a little more of an hour to discuss the possibilities and, in the end, the group voted to leave the balance in the Sanctuary Fund and have the current committee explore the cost of projects that would further enhance the use of our lovely new building. Not everyone was in agreement but I believe we did all agree with the democratic process and we’ll go forward with a unified vision and commitment. How appropriate for July as we celebrate our country’s 250th Birthday!!
Kathleen McFarlin
President, Board of Trustees
Kathleen McFarlin is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's Board President.