Speeding Board Meetings

To the editor:

Our board has had reasonably successful meetings over the seven years I have been a member. We mail out packets of reports and other information a week ahead of the meeting and board members are expected to read it and be prepared to discuss the items. We have found that when we reverse the order in which we cover items on the agenda we are more efficient. We do old and new business right after we approve the minutes. The written staff reports come last and because it's getting late by then we usually go through them quickly without getting hung up on discussing things that really don't need discussion. It's the routine items that can balloon into time wasters. We've also been holding occasional 3-hour facilitated retreats on Saturdays and these have helped us find ways to become more efficient.

Donna Scott, President
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, NY

To the editor:

Our pet beefs about board meetings are an ignorance of parliamentary procedures. The first U.S. Congress would have gotten nowhere if Thomas Jefferson had not laid down some procedural rules they could all agree on. I often think he would roll in his grave if he knew the cavalier attitude of some present-day Unitarians toward the very idea of parliamentary rules. If anyone thinks knowledge of parliamentary procedure is unimportant they should read C. Barry McCarty's "Parliamentary Guide for Church Leaders." Another useful resource is "Parliamentary Procedure at a Glance" by O. Garfield Jones. Also, "Board and Committees: A Handbook on Parliamentary Procedures"by Alice N. Pohl.

Yvonne and Doug Greig
Unitarian Congregation of South Peel, Mississauga, ON, Canada

RE Volunteers

To the editor:

I've found that the best way to keep RE teachers is to let them know they're appreciated. At the end of each teaching session I write thank-you notes and the kids draw pictures and we assemble little booklets for the teachers. I used to panic a lot and get very uptight when I didn't have enough teachers at the end of August. But now I've developed the attitude that if I have faith it will come together. If I panic then I end up begging for teachers and I don't want to do that. I've also found it helps to ease volunteers into the classroom. I start them with something small. I don't want to burn them out right away.

Andrea Heier
Director of Religious Education UU Church of Minnetonka, Wayzata, MN