Nov 16th, 2019 Minutes:
1. Call to order at 11:55am.
Attendance: – Staff: Cathy, Eloecea; Council members: Brynn, DoraLi, Louise; Council Regrets: Peter, Markus
2. Agenda adopted by consensus.
3. Minutes adopted by consensus from Oct 5th, 2019.
4. Interfaith Leader Report:
– Interfaith Leader has been working A LOT in developing relationships in the interfaith
community. The LIS is becoming a hub supporting interfaith activities and
organizations.
– Cathy gives a big shout out to Eloecea for their hard work! Eloecea has been such a
critical part of LIS becoming what it is. Thank you!
5. Interfaith Consultant Report:
– Brynn will help take on Facebook
– Eloecea will take on the bookkeeping duties to support our Treasurer.
– A living expense stipend has begun for this position.
6. New/Ongoing Business:
– Treasurer Update: from Oct 5th, Brynn will submit to Council the current 2019
financial standing, and 2020 Budget will begin preparation.
– Use of Trinity Grace Sound System: they have agreed to let us borrow it as we might
need
– Music at LIS: Bruce Harding+, will be joining us for services in the new year, at $150
a time, and we have sponsorship from one of our members to cover most of this cost.
Council agrees to try this for a while.
– LIS: what Interfaith “has to offer”: Moved to NEXT Meeting
– LIS: Looking at terminology: Worship/Gathering: Moved to future meeting
– Exploring LIS Membership: agreements, Covenant, etc: moved to NEXT meeting
– Planning for 2020: programs, finance: moved to NEXT meeting
7. Future Meetings Plan: Council meeting to be held after the second Living Interfaith
Sanctuary gathering each month
8. Adjourn at 1:34pm
Oct 5th, 2019 Minutes:
1. Attendance: Cathy, Markus, Eloecea, Brynn, DoraLi
Regrets: Peter, Louise
2. Adopt Agenda, Motion: Brynn, 2nd: Markus, Passed
3. Adopt Minutes from Sept 21, 2019: EDIT in minutes: Cathy is known as Interfaith Leader, not Minister; in the final adjournment: “The movement…” is amended to “The motion…” Motion: Markus, 2nd: Brynn, Passed
4. Current financial standing:
-Brynn will submit to Council the current 2019 financial standing, and 2020 Budget will begin preparation.
– Council recommends the formation of a financial planning work group, formulating a financial plan and budget for 2020. Eloecea has been asked to lead this process.
5. New/Ongoing Business:
– Compassionate Listening Trainings: Cathy has fliered throughout the city, word is spreading, enrollment is happening.
– LIS, what Interfaith “has to offer”: Discussion by Council and staff: Due to time constraints, this discussion has been moved to a future gathering.
– Looking at terminology: Worship/Gathering: discussion has been moved to a future gathering.
6. Interfaith Leader Update: Cathy will be travelling Dec 6-Jan 5: Looking for others to lead the services
7. Announcments: Steven Greenebaum will be visiting from Seattle, speaking at Banyon Books on Oct 24th, 7pm.
8. Future Meetings Plan: Nov 16th after LIS service
9. Adjourn: Motion: Brynn, 2nd: Markus, Passed. meeting adjourned at 1:30pm
September 21, 2019 Minutes:
Members Present: Dori Luthi-Harrison, President; Brynn Craffey, Treasurer; Markus Radtke; Rev. Peter Sanders (Elected during meeting). Staff Present: Cathy Merchant, Interfaith Leader; Dr. Eloecea, Interfaith Counselor.
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 PM.
Agenda adopted
New/Ongoing Business:
– After some discussion, Markus moved that the Council elect Louise Mangan and Peter Sanders as members. The motion was seconded and approved. It was further suggested that a conversation about officer roles be had at a later meeting where new members could be included in the discussion of officer roles. Council requested that Eloecea make any needed changes to society and charity documentation.
– Given the status of LIS and its current charity status limbo, the decision was made to wait to elicit donations until word is received that the charity application is approved.
– Compassionate Listening Training will take place at Grace Trinity United Church Nov 2-3, and in lieu of service that Saturday, A second training is being planned for Spring, 2020. A second training is being planned for Spring, 2020.
– The next meeting will be on Saturday, October 5th, 2019 after service at Grace Trinity United Church.
– Brynn moved that the meeting be adjourned. The movement was seconded and approved by affirmation. Meeting adjourned at 1:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted, Rev. Peter Sanders
March 23, 2019 Minutes:
Held at DoraLi’s Home
Called to order at 9:50am
Attendance/Regrets/Introductions/Guests: Council present: DoraLi, Katie, Brynn, Markus; Interfaith Leader: Cathy; Guest: Eloecea
Agenda Adopted, motion by Brynn, second by Katie, unanimous passed
New/Ongoing Business:
– Bylaws: Council discussed and reviewed final draft. Then vote was taken and
SANCTUARY BYLAWS, motion by Brynn, seconded by Katie, unanimously approved!
– Update on Advisory Members/Council Members: Nasir and Siddikha have moved off
the Council and are now acting as advisory members instead. Cathy will approach Mary
Fontaine to invite her into the role as well.
– Incorporation Update: Waiting for name registration, and then incorporation to
follow, anticipating it to be complete in the next 1-2 weeks.
– Charitable status: Update is that the application process is on hold until the nonprofit
incorporation comes through. Eloecea, Cathy, and Brynn continue to work on it and
will give an update as needed. Tom B. has suggested that we consider applying for charitable
status with the support of a legal voice- such as LegalAid, or UBC Law School. E and C will
put their feelers out.
– Finances: Brynn has shifted the accounting for the Sanctuary out of Quickbooks for
now, and is investigating Mint or Excel as an easier and more cost effective way to track costs instead. Katie suggested that the Council approach the School of Business or Economics to find a grad accountant who might be a willing to review our financials annually, a pro-bono relationship?
– New Logo: Markus as offered an amended/simplified version of the LIS logo, and we
are waiting for feedback from Mary Fontaine about the image we are considering for
representation of First Nations.
Interfaith Leader Update:
Cathy will be leading a Compassionate Listening project in the summer, which will
complete her training and open her for conducting trainings for the Sanctuary.
Cathy is speaking at:
– April 6th with the Mennonites who are pushing Canada to follow the UN
recommendations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, she’ll be speaking with other
interfaith folks
– April 7th: Or Shalom Cathy and Eloecea both talking
– April 20th: The Sanctuary will be hosting it’s first Community Passover Seder, and the
plans are coming together. Marcus will create a poster for the event.
– June 1st: Cathy will be presenting on the Interfaith Sanctuary at St. John the Evangelist
Church
Future Meetings Plan: next meeting will come after Non-Profit Incorporation, and before Charitable status is submitted.
Adjourn 11:20am
Minutes approved, May 25th, 2019
March 2, 2019 Minutes:
1. Attendance/Regrets/Introductions/Guests:
– Present: Council members- Brynn, Markus, DoraLi; Interfaith Leader- Cathy; Consultant- Eloecea
– Regrets: Nasir, Siddikha, Katie
2. Review/Revise/Adopt Agenda– Passed
3. New/Ongoing Business:
– Non-Profit Vs. Charitable status:
Eloecea spoke about the research around organizational development, with
recommendation from advisors: 1) is for LIS to clarify the organization’s priority under a single stated purpose/mission, and all other activities fall under that umbrella and 2) to pursue getting incorporated as a nonprofit organization first, then applying for charitable status. Cathy and Eloecea will investigate and report back.
– Draft By-Laws: Council and Interfaith Leader reviewed and made further recommendations, the final draft to be passed at next mtg.
– Finances: Brynn requested more feedback for the projected amounts on budget for charitable status. Recommendations are to meet with advisors in the community to review, perhaps from Tom B. or Phil.
– Logo: Markus has been working on a simplified version of the logo, discussions.
Conversations about promotion for LIS
4. Interfaith Leader Update:
– Cathy has many invitations for speaking engagements over the next few weeks, including an interfaith panel in Seattle, and at Or Shalom.
5. Announcements/Events:
6. Future Planning:
– Next meeting on March 23rd, at 9:30am, DoraLi hosting
– Timeline for incorporation and charity status
7. Adjourn
Minutes Approved March 23, 2019
Greetings from Our President and Meeting Minutes from February 16, 2019:
Greetings to all members and friends of the Living Interfaith Sanctuary! I am delighted to be reaching out to share news of developments within the organizational side of this growing community.
There are so many pieces going on behind the scenes that Cathy, Eloecea, and Brynn have been actively working on to move LIS towards charity status. One of the key parts of that process is the formation of an organizational Council (known as a “Board” in other contexts). On Saturday, February 16th, several members gathered after our worship service for our first Annual General Meeting, and elected the founding Council of the Living Interfaith Sanctuary! And that is why you are getting this message from me- DoraLi- I’m honoured to be the new president of the LIS Council!
To bring everyone who is interested up to date- these are the minutes from our first AGM on Feb 16th:
WELCOME: Following a delicious potluck and joyful service…
Our meeting began with an invitation from our fearless leader, Cathy Merchant, for any and all present who wished to add their names to a book of voting members. This is a key process in the establishment of a voting voice for the organization. As the book went around for people to add their name, we made a quick distinction of the different kinds of members in the Sanctuary as outlined by our by-laws (soon to be ratified). This distinction is helpful for everyone to know. The by-laws give a broader definition, so this is just a brief overview:
Participating Member: This is someone who participates with the Sanctuary (on whatever level they choose), but this person doesn’t wish to pursue Voting Membership.
Voting Member: Someone who wishes to participate, and also wishes to be part of the decision making processes of the Sanctuary with a vote. There are a few criteria that a voting member must meet (see By-laws).
Council Member: These are a small group of voting members who have been elected to a board of trustees for the Sanctuary, and are responsible for programming, financials, events, etc.
That means that different people choose different levels of membership… for example, someone might be all three – a Participating member, a voting member and a Council member, OR someone might choose to be simply a participating member, OR someone might be a participating and voting member… ALL are welcome however you feel most comfortable.
NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS:
President: DoraLi Harrison
Vice President: Katie Collins Allenbach
Treasurer: Brynn Craffey
Council member at Large: Siddika Jessa
Council member at Large: Markus Radtke
Council member at Large: Nasir Zaidi
Interfaith Leader: Cathy Merchant
(The role of secretary will be shared by Pres/VP for now.)
UPDATES: We had many conversations about planning and formation of the organization, with updates from Eloecea about where we are sitting in the process of applying for Charity Status, as well as questions she had for the new membership. Brynn Craffey shared information about the current working budget that will be part of the submission for Charity Status. Both Eloecea and Brynn asked any members for input/suggestions. Specifically, if you would like any input, please have a look through the draft by-laws and budget before Saturday, March 1st. We will be voting on those at the next meeting after worship.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES: Cathy outlined plans for the upcoming year:
Spring:
An Interfaith Iftar, breaking the Ramadan fast with our Muslim and non-Muslim friends!
An Interfaith Passover Seder in collaboration with Trinity United.
Summer:
Planning for an Interfaith artist residency in collaboration with Trinity-Grace.
Winter:
An Interfaith, intercultural fair!
OTHER:
It was brought to the attention of the group that the term “Minister” for our Interfaith Leader suggests a Christian flavour. In the interest of being as inclusive and open in our Interfaith community, there was much conversation about the idea of changing the title of this role to reflect a broader community. It also reminds us all to be conscious of our language at all levels, to be as open as possible with inclusivity in the Sanctuary, supporting one another in our quest to become more inclusive. The exact title for our Leader, Cathy, is still evolving- stay tuned!
New Council member Markus offered his design skills to the Sanctuary, and he has offered to submit some new versions of the graphics and logo.
We adjourned at 1pm.
It is so wonderful to have such an array of skills on our Council and in our membership! I look forward to getting to know folks better over the coming weeks and months.
Cheers,
DoraLi Harrison