web viewwhen finding myself distant from a church, i've relied on the inspiration of the daily...

Agenda1. Welcome and prayer2. Presentation of the board of Trustees process as outlined in the by-laws3. Presentation of Board nominees from the Nominating Committee4. Election of Board of Trustees (voting members only)5. President’s Report-Elaine Gaffny {Leadership 2017, Women’s Retreat}6. Treasurer’s Report-Christine Masello7. Spirit on the River Report-Malik Marerro8. Rev. Ogun Holder, Senior Minster Vision for 20179. Questions 10 Prayer and closing

1 unityontheriver.org

StaffPeter Stringham, Director of Operations Maura Lynch, Director of Music MinistryMatthew Winston and Rebecca Hale, Youth and Family Ministry Co-Dir.Cynthia Perdigao, Communications DirectorSeth Waleryszak, Director of Sacred Service Ministry Rev. Annie Houghton, Director of Pastoral Care MinistryDenise Dennis, Bookstore CoordinatorMichael Mooney, Hospitality Coordinator

Board of Trustees Elaine Gaffny, President Tina Michaud-Gray, Vice President Christine Masello, TreasurerMark Schneider, Secretary Rev. Ogun Holder Sharon MaroneyMonica DubayLinda LelandMalik Mererro

Senior MinisterRev. Ogun Holder

Board of Trustee Nominee Bios~

Lisa Pelonzi

Stan Wrobel


I grew up in the Catholic tradition and attended parochial school. As a teenager, I sought out other ways of relating to the Divine. Starting with Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship, I migrated to "A Search For God" study groups. One of my fellow members of such a group introduced me to Unity. I first attended services at Unity of Oak Park near Chicago. When I moved to Michigan, I became an active member of Unity of Ann Arbor. For a brief time in Miami, I attended Unity on the Bay. Upon moving to Massachusetts, I briefly attended Christ Church Unity in Brookline and occasionally visited Unity of Somerville, until finally finding Unity on the River. When finding myself distant from a church, I've relied on the inspiration of the Daily Word, which has guided me through some of the darkest days of my life. Here in

Lisa Pelonzi is a wife and mother of two sons Jonathan and Ben. Lisa is a neonatal nurse and photographer. She specializes in newborns, portraits, architecture, and macro flower photographs. In 2016 began photographing sunrise every day! This has become a tremendous personal and spiritual connection for her. She values her family and friends, helping people, and follows a spiritual path. For fun Lisa loves to sing with the choir, gardening, collecting shells and heart shaped stones, reading, movies, and photographing nature. Lisa has been attending

Minister’s Report

2016 saw the end of my second year as Senior Minister of Unity on the River. It was a year of professional and personal challenges, growth, and successes. I can never say thank you enough for the opportunity and honor this community bestowed on me to be the spiritual leader. I want to give a special note of thanks for Board and Staff members (past and present) who worked tirelessly to ensure the continued success of UOTR, as well as holding me to a high standard of leadership.

While not exhaustive, and in no particular order of importance, here are a few highlights of the year and some intentions for 2107:

● The Board and I came to an agreement for a four year contract extension with UOTR. I am humbled and happy that I will continue to learn and grow with this community. Thank you for allowing me to live my bliss!

● We began construction on the Meditation Garden. Thank you to Lisa Gallant and Mary Howard for bringing this long-held dream into reality. Our goal is to complete the garden by Fall 2017 including a gazebo built by the Men’s Group.

● We created Home & Hospital Pastoral Care program. Under the leadership of Rev Annie Houghton volunteer Prayer Chaplains receive additional training to visit and pray with convalescing congregants in their homes or in hospital and rehab. We are planning to expand the services of the Pastoral Care program in 2017 to further address the needs of our congregants.

● We formed LGBTQ+YOU, an education and support group with the primary intention of creating safe space for the LGBTQ community in the local area (and beyond). Thank you Malik Marrero for your inspiration and leadership.


● We held our 1st Spiritual Education & Enrichment week. Sessions like these provide the required courses for prospective Unity Ministers and Licensed Unity Teachers. Thank you to our former Director of Adult Education Amy Joslin for organizing this event. This will be an annual event.

● We created a Volunteer Leadership Training Program. We realized that asking volunteers to lead teams and projects without adequate training was an issue that needed to be addressed. Michelle Mailloux and I created a training program around Spiritual-Based Leadership and Program Management. We beta tested the program with members of staff and Board and will be making available to congregation in 2017.

● UOTR will be hosting the 2017 Unity Eastern Region Conference [Sept 25-28]. We need volunteers to serve on a Conference Planning Team.

● Creation of a Love In Action Team [name subject to change] to discern what is ours to do as a spiritual community in the face of recent and upcoming changes in the country’s leadership and laws.

● In 2017 will build on our theme “Whole, Healed, Lifted Up” and discern what is ours to create to further facilitate the healing needs of the congregation and community at large.


Board of Trustee President’s Report

The end of 2016 has arrived and Unity on the River is financially stable and flourishing again.The Unity Board of Trustees began our year integrating and orienting new Board members with Beth Anne Suggs a Unity Board Consultant from California. She aptly pointed out that 2016 was really our first year with Reverend Ogun. Even though he came to us in January of 2015, because of the many losses he experienced in his first 10 months with us, we were maintaining rather than growing.In retrospect, perhaps Reverend Ogun came here to facilitate our grieving of Reverend Shipley while we supported him while he publicly shared his grief regarding his wife, Jennifer and other family members who passed in his first year with us. I do not believe this was a coincidence. It has certainly been a journey.The Unity Board of Trustees determined why they chose to serve on the Unity Board and how they intended to show up for the community. It was a very exciting beginning for us as a team. I could not be more proud of a group of volunteer leader servants than I am of this group of individuals. We decided at the orientation to be the committee for the 2016 Gala. 5 unityontheriver.org

So what have we done? Treasurer Christine Masello has worked with bookkeeper Michael

Mooney and DO Peter Stringham to ensure all church finances are handled in a timely manner and checks and balances are in place. Christine personally balances bank statements and ensures that tithes are recorded, statements are sent to congregants all appropriate tax forms are filed.

The Board is completing the final review of job descriptions and policies and procedures manual to ensure job descriptions accurately describe what tasks are included in each position and that policies and procedures are clear and in alignment with state and federal employment regulations.

The Board is completing negotiations with Reverend Ogun on a new 4 year contract that will take us through the year 2020.

Prosperity Plan Meetings were completed in the fall of 2016, the plan was written by Treasurer Christine Masello, Reverend Ogun, Peter Stringham, Vice President Tina Michaud-Gray and Board President Elaine Gaffny

The Board voted on and approved the 2017 Prosperity Plan at a special meeting for that purpose on January 5th, 2017.

The Board voted an approved a Family Medical Leave plan for reverend Ogun in June of 2016 as it became difficult for him at the first anniversary of his wife Jennifer’s passing.

The Board covered Hospitality duties when Coordinator Susan Lax stepped down and we have continued to support and assist Mike Mooney as he has taken over this position.

Our Vice President Tina Michaud-Gray chaired and organized our 2nd Annual Health and Wellness Fair held in September 2016.

Board member Malik Marrero has initiated and LBGTQ group that continues to meet twice monthly at Unity.

Malik serves as our Unity Board liaison to the Spirit Board which is the Corporation that manages the rental properties in the plaza.

Board member Linda Leland spearheaded the Nicole Nelson concert and the Sunday service appearance that she made in June of 2016. This was a great success and the funds raised paid for the carpeting in the bookstore. Linda is our fundraising event liaison.


Board member Mark Schneider serves as our Recording Secretary and continues to give us unlimited support in our IT areas.

Board Member Monica Dubuy served on the Gala committee and chaired an AIF group last fall.

All members of the Board helped to create the 2016 Gratitude Gala, this year’s net profits were $14,223.00.

And finally, I meet with Reverend Ogun weekly or with Peter Stringham when Reverend Ogun is away. I chaired the Gala, facilitated Board meetings, participated in the Prosperity Planning Process and I fill in here and there as needed.

I could not itemize all of the things this group of individuals does to support this Unity Community. I do not think I have to because they are quite visible and all of you see their service. Please know we see all of you as well, all of our volunteer teams Chaplains, Pastoral Care, Welcome, Bookstore, Hospitality, Power Point, Streaming team, Folding, Floral, Ushers, Music and Choir, Meditation Garden, Special Events and individuals who just pitch in from time to time. Our beloved Sexton, Jim McQuade who quietly goes about the business of fixing our facilities, usually with his side kick John Davey.We see you, we love you, we really appreciate you and we behold the Christ in you!!!

Treasurer’s Report

For the year 2016:

Sunday 8042 increase of 435Attendance

Income $470, 832 increase of $5,685


Expenses $462,355 decrease of $13,245

Net Income $8,648

Value of $87,821current cash assets

*Workshop and Classes increase This area saw a $12,620 increase (2015 : $10,951 2016: $23,571)

The Board of Trustees voted to gift $2000 from the net income for the Chaplain Retreat to Unity Village in 2017.

Director of Operations Report 2016 was a year of development for Unity on the River. Development lays the foundation for future prosperity and growth for Unity on the River. There are two areas that stand out in this area:

1. Website and online communications ( Input from Cynthia Perdigao, Communications Director, Website Coordinator ) : Prior to 2016, the church had a cumbersome, outdated website. Unity on the River launched a new website in January, 2016 that was mobile friendly,


included a robust calendar (there was no calendar of events before), enabled people to sign up for classes and make donations online and was updated with new photos, videos and information on a weekly if not a daily basis throughout the year. The result was that we now have over 1,000 individual website users per month from 49 U.S. states and many foreign countries with over 6,400 pages viewed each month, up from approximately 200 individual users per month in 2015. Over 6,000 user sessions in 2016 were made using mobile phones, not computers, up from zero in 2015. Our online contributions grew by over 400% over the course of the year. We also had over 2500 views of live streamed services in 2016. And over 250 people signed up for and paid for classes and events using our website. Additional features will be added in the coming year to make the online experience even better for those logging on to unityontheriver.org.

2. Classes and Workshops : Even though the staff of Unity on the River was reduced in size over previous years, the improved online experience, more aggressive marketing in the local community and an increase in class and workshop offerings in 2016 led to a more vibrant, active community which had as many as fifteen classes, events and meetings per week throughout the year. In all, total attendance at workshops and classes over the year totaled 3,171 people. This includes over fifty outside produced workshops (like Michael Mirdad and Edwene Gaines), prosperity classes, Unity classes (like Unity Basics), Spiritual Education and Enrichment (SEE) for-credit classes as well as Unity on the River sponsored sessions like chaplain trainings, The Unity Business Alliance (TUBA) and the Sunday afternoon Course in Miracles group. Our first ever SEE weeklong educational event drew attendees from our own community as well as from Unity communities as far away as Buffalo, NY as we ran classes throughout the building from Sunday night through Friday afternoon in August. In the coming year, we plan on keeping up the momentum created as Unity on the River is better established as a place for learning and healing. Our SEE weeklong event is returning. And we will have even more special


events to keep people wondering what’s coming up next that they can come to.

Spirit on the River Report

Spirit on the River had a very successful year with all of our rental units occupied for the entire year. As a result, for the second year in a row, Unity on the River did not have to make rent payments for their space, saving the church $19,200 (the amount the church paid in rent from 2005-2014).On top of this savings, Spirit on the River transferred an additional $13,000 to Unity on the River over the course of the year out of its surplus funds.Spirit on the River is the holder of the church property that we own in Amesbury Plaza. During the calendar year, Spirit on the River paid off $16,717 off the balance of the mortgage, leaving the balance on the mortgage at $296,953. The property was appraised in 2014 at $1,100,000, meaning the church now holds $803,047 in equity.Spirit on the River also added to its emergency reserve cash funds, growing them to $18,000 in 2016. It is important to maintain a reserve fund in case of a major repair issue or if there is a drop in our monthly rental income that puts it below our monthly expenses.In 2016, longtime tenant Lyman Center ended their tenancy in one of our units. They have been replaced by the Divine Paradigm Center which is operated by a group of Unity on the River congregants as a healing center.In 2017, the Gordon Rug Company, one of our tenants, will be leaving the plaza when their lease runs out on April 15. They will be replaced by the Pond Hill Preschool, who has already signed a new lease.The Itsy Bitsy Zone, a tenant who have been with us for over ten years, have ended their time with us on January 31, 2017. We have leased that space to Tammi’s Closet for the months of February and March, so we are looking for a new tenant to take the space starting in April. We have contracted with a commercial realtor to market the space for us.


Spirit on the River also is involved, in cooperation with the plaza condominium association with maintenance and repair issues in the plaza. Pending at this time are repairs to catch basins and one manhole cover that are sinking into the pavement. We also will have the rear parking lot re-striped come Spring. We are grateful for the new Spirit on the River Board of Directors that took office in 2016. They include Malik Marerro (President), Michelle Mailloux and John Leland. Thank you for your service.

Youth and Family Ministry Report

2016 Retrospective: What was accomplished:o Strong Core Volunteer/Staff Support.

The staff included as many as 3 part-time classroom teachers. Shannon Fitzgerald, Sara Donahue, Rene Schneider and Becca

Donahue all continue to show committed ownership. Staff and proved effective in the face of un-anticipatable

fluctuation on class sizes.o Youth and Family participation in Community Events.

Our Neighbors Table, Operation Back Pack and Teddy Bear Delivery

Conscious Parenting program (led by Rev. Ogun), Palm Sunday Pageant, Easter Egg Hunt, Mother’s Day Tea, Canoe, & Kayak outing, etc.

Youth and Family participation in Amesbury Days and Yankee Homecoming

o UniTeens attended both the fall and spring retreats UniTeens attended both retreats, creating the beginnings of

connections within the extended North-Eat Unity Y&F community.

o UniTeen Art Show. Becca Donahue worked with the teens to create the show over

the past year 11 unityontheriver.org

The Twelve Power art exhibit that was put on display the last week of December.

o Ten-Year Completion of successful ministry for Christina Meriah.

Christina held, created, and lead Y&F for ten years. She gracefully brought her term to completion, working with us to gracefully transition. She has shown complete support, while anticipating that we will make it our own.

2017 Intentions: Setting goals for the year ahead:o Expanding Volunteer/Staff Support..

Foster a collaborative team approach, which empowers Youth and Family staff, parents and volunteers to participate directly by sharing their gifts through lessons and activities.

Have existing Core Volunteers step up into co-leadership/creation as appropriate.

Grow our volunteer pool so that our core volunteers feel appreciated and more flexibility.

o Family Participation. Support Parents and Families in Co-Creating events by and for

families Continued growth of and participation in Family Council Enroll regular Parental participation in Sunday class-room

o Uniteen Program. Our first priority is to honor and serve the small teen

community we have. Our strongest desire is to expand that community through

authentic invitation.o Program and Curriculum development.

We intend to align around a curriculum based on core Unity Teachings

Five Principles The 12 Powers The equivalent of Unity Basics & Life of Prayer


Pastoral Care Ministry Report

Background

In 2015 there was conversation about training Prayer Chaplains to visit congregants who are in the hospital or recovering at home. At the time I was a Board Certified Chaplain working at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA. I was asked to develop a training program for experienced Prayer Chaplains. I spent most of 2015 researching various training programs, writing policy, developing the curriculum, interviewing Prayer Chaplains and teaching the six modules that were part of the curriculum. The first five Home & Hospital Prayer Chaplains graduated from the program and were blessed by the Congregation in February 2016.

Summary of Pastoral Care Outreach

Description Number of Visits Number of Different People

Hospital and Assisted Living 28 16Recovering at Home 27 8Follow-up Visits 15 7Calling Hours/Funerals 4 2Bereavement Support @UOTR 6 2Follow-up calls 63Collaborate with LICSW 8 3Informal Meetings (20+ minutes) 36 (After Sunday

Service)Home & Hospital Monthly Meetings 7 Leader of the Prayer Circle (Sending out Prayer Requests)Presented a Suicide Prevention Workshop


Wednesday Evening Prayer Services

I led six Wednesday Evening Services including: Let Us Pray for the Children (at the beginning of the school year)

Praying the Liturgical Hours (9:00am, 12Noon and 3pm) during the Day of Prayer in September

Celebrating Interfaith Spiritual Traditions (inviting four different spiritual leaders to share their prayer practices around a specific time of the year)

Future Plans

As Director of Pastoral Care Outreach I have received a broad range of requests, eg, requests for a ride to Sunday Services, provide a meal for someone after surgery, on-going visits for someone who is home bound. I’ve been thinking and praying about forming an ad hoc committee to explore ways to respond when congregants experience crises or emergencies. I welcome your input and suggestions. It has been a joy and blessing to witness the Home & Hospital Prayer Chaplains grow in confidence as they visit congregants. I am eager to begin training the second class of generous, caring, open Prayer Chaplains “to visit the sick” in our midst. And, I look forward to gather with others to pay attention to the Spirit’s leading as the Pastoral Care Outreach at Unity On The River expands in 2017. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as Director of Pastoral Care Outreach. I am thankful to the Board, Rev. Ogun, the Home & Hospital Prayer Chaplains and to you, the congregants of Unity On The River, for supporting me during this exciting, formative year.


Prayer Chaplain Report

Nehemiah Retreat : 18 people accepted with room reservationsFundraising: Target $10,000

*Guest speaker/workshop lunch – 1/22 net $195.00 (sold out plus donations)Will host guest speakers/workshops lunch going forward*Cookbook – Release in April for Mother’s Day $10.00 each (100 books) Recipes collected being categorized Kit ordered from Morris Cookbook – printer*Crocheted beanies – made by “Sharon Maroney” $20 each - $10 to the PC team, $10 to Sharon Maroney to recoup costs***Will meet with Bookstore Coordinator to have a PC table with above items


***Connect with Linda Leland (Board of Trustees) for one (1) big fundraiserUpcoming Garden of Gethsemane:

Prayer Chaplain team with Lisa Gallant’s (former coordinator) design ideasSacred Service Dir. to reach out to service teams and congregants for assistancePrayer Chaplains to hold space during Holy week

Music Ministry Report

We had a wonderful year in 2016 with the Unity Music Team! Many thanks to the Board for all their generous support!!We introduced new vocalists Josh Babcock, Lori Diamond & Fred Abatelli, Cuppa Joe, Elle Gallo, Metal Chaos, Nicole Nelson, Jordan Renzi, Adam Sutton & a cameo vocal from Michael Mirdad this year as well as the generous support of the Board which allowed us to hire Amadee Castenell as a regular artist again here at Unity!


Continuing in the Unity tradition and going strong were artists Patty Barkas, the return of Phil Boynton, Brian Doser, Brian Hallisey, Kristine Malpica, Lisah Plumley, Meg Rayne, Faith Rivera, Lesley Smith, Sammy the Snail, Lynne Taylor and Alex Valente. As Well As Guest Speaker/Vocal Artists: Greg Tamblyn & Ester Nicholson.Some of the most exciting news for me was the advancement of the Choir by adding extra rehearsal on Sunday for the ‘Harmony/Small’ Group. From that training we have soloists now from the Choir, Cheri Gaudet, Will Lojek, Barry Siegel and Lisa Pelonzi added onto our list of soloists and are the backbone of the harmony team. I have been so grateful for these folks who volunteer so consistently that our Team’s skill sets are growing every week. This is so thrilling for me!On the Concert Front: We did an All-Star Show, the Torch Tones, a Christmas Concert, the Celtic Cabaret and Torch Productions original Good Friday Services featuring Torch Productions Artists Paula Estey & Will Lojek, Maura Lynch and Alex Valente as well as an adventure into Improv with guest artists Metal Chaos Ensemble.All this and we were able to save a bit every month and were able to purchase new gear that the music team has needed without needing additional fundraising!!Also from that funding, I have been able to restore the majority of the music team’s fees for our regular musicians as well as a raise for our Sound Engineer. I have written over 10 new original songs for the Unity sound and on a personal note, Torch Productions and I are now EmPower published artists spreading the Unity Sound!

Sacred Service Ministry Report

2016 Retrospective

What we accomplished:17 unityontheriver.org

o Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue. The Board and Staff collaborated on July 10th to cook for and serve the congregation in gratitude for their collective volunteer leadership.

o Sacred Service Fair. 36 new volunteers answered the call to serve at the October 2nd fair. Rev. Ogun honored team leaders with a hand washing ceremony during his sermon.

o Team Transitions. The Pastoral Outreach Ministry and the Men’s Group were created. Meditation Garden and Hospitality teams underwent a smooth transition in leadership. The Social Activities Team disbanded. Adult Education became leaderless.

o Advent Decorating. Over 20 volunteers helped to decorate and un-decorate the church for the Advent season.

2017 Intentions:

Setting goals for the year ahead:o Safety Initiatives. I am working with the Director of Operations to

implement several optional safety recommendations suggested by the church’s insurance company.

Bookstore Report


2016 was a wonderful year for the bookstore. After all expenses were paid the net profit was over $3000.

The store layout was redesigned to allow more people an opportunity to


2016 was a wonderful year for the bookstore. After all expenses were paid the net profit was over $3000.

The store layout was redesigned to allow more people an opportunity to

Thank you for attending Annual Meeting

Contact Information/Resources

[email protected]: facebook.com/unityontheriverTwitter: twitter.com/unityotrLiveStream/Archives:unityontheriver.org/livestreamPodcast: soundcloud.com/uotr

Office M-Th 9-5: 978-834-7830


web viewwhen finding myself distant from a church, i've relied on the inspiration of the daily...

Documents