Unity of Charlotte - Monthly News from Ministers and Board of Directors

Monthly Articles

New Growth Opportunities from the Board of Directors
An Invitation and a Welcome

October 3, 2007

I imagine you are enjoying the great enthusiasm and wonderful smiles expressed by our new minister Nancy Ennis. Unity of Charlotte's Board of Directors wants to welcome her. In reality, Nancy is not new and requires little introduction. So, with gratitude we offer her our love and support.

Nancy has been affiliated with Unity of Charlotte since the late 1980's when she first became a Licensed Unity Teacher. She entered The Field Licensing Program to become a minister in the early 1990s, but following her path, Nancy left Unity of Charlotte for a brief while. Returning to her commitment to becoming an ordained minister, she resumed her training in 2004 and was licensed as a Unity Minister in 2005. She will complete her Field Licensing Program in March of 2008 and then officially will become an ordained Unity minister. Those of us who have known Nancy during this time, however, understand that she has always been a minister and a spiritual leader.

This is the third time that Unity of Charlotte has lost a minister and Nancy has miraculously been here to lead us through our grief and confusion. In return, Unity of Charlotte has financially supported her in her minister training program. At this time, we are only able to offer Nancy a token of financial compensation for her services and a promise for continued support for the completion of her ordination. At the end of March, when Nancy is ordained, we will be reviewing and evaluating Nancy's position in relation to Unity of Charlotte's vision, financial situation, and needs. By praying, working and serving together, we anticipate both the growth of our Consciousness and a more realistic and stable financial approach.

In an eight week Sunday service series beginning October 7, Nancy will be inspiring and teaching us with her messages "Stepping into the Abundant Life - Co-Creating for Ourselves, For Our Spiritual Community, For Our World." On October 7th, Nancy's message will be "Claim and Name", October 14th — "Let Go of What", October 21st, - "Feel As If…", October 28th — "Celebrating the Miracles", November 4th — "Put Legs on Your Prayers", November 11th — "More Letting Go", November 18th — "Take Nothing for Granted", and November 25th — "The Ultimate Prosperity Secret."

Creating a strong financial environment to support our mission will involve all of us. It may appear that we are digging up the garden. We are tilling the soil and preparing the ground for spring plantings at Unity. We can grow Unity of Charlotte into a dynamic and thriving spiritual community by fertilizing our strong roots.

The board of directors invites you to uncover these roots or our core and participate in the development of our vision. The Association of Unity Churches International has been creating their own vision with consultants and a new approach called "Appreciative Inquiry." Through a special gift, we are able to participate in a version of such a process with Rev. Scott Sherman as our facilitator. (Some of you may remember Scott Sherman from previous visits and his work with Sacred Meditation.)

We encourage and welcome you to be at Unity of Charlotte at 1:00 until 5:00 on Saturday, October 27 for a powerful session of "Appreciative Inquiry" with Scott Sherman and to work with us as we bring forth the "DNA," as Scott says, of Unity of Charlotte. Then during Sunday service, October 28, we will, along with Scott, dedicate our discoveries and creations. We are most grateful for this gift and want each of you to share this opportunity for powerful inquiry, creation and understanding. We are indeed Co-Creators.

With love and gratitude,
Susan Shevlin, President, Board of Directors

Unity within Unity …

One in the Spirit

Throughout the past year, Unity within Unity—one in the Spirit has been the theme for the Association of Unity Churches International. What a joy it has been to see this vision or theme happening! Unity Institute has joined with the Association to together create a glorious future worthy of our name…Unity. We are on the cusp of a major spiritual evolution, and Unity is on the leading edge. Predictions are coming true. Megatrends 2000 forecasted Unity to claim a world wide presence, and Bishop John Spong called Unity one of the most exciting movements within Christianity today! James Trapp, CEO and president of the association of Unity Churches International, said Unity is being pulled by a vision. This vision is: CENTERED IN GOD, WE CO-CREATE A WORLD THAT WORKS FOR ALL. Right here at Unity of Charlotte, we can join in the vision and participate in bringing the “Unity” experience into a world crying for spiritual transformation.

Unity begins with each of us finding “unity” within ourselves – oneness with God, the God of our being and understanding. It then involves creating Unity in our spiritual community. Let us join in what Unity calls “Social Action” and claim the sacred responsibility, individually and collectively, for making a positive difference through personal example and active service in our Unity of Charlotte community, our larger community and our world. Let’s fully awaken our Divine nature and be the light of God in the world – everywhere we go and in everything we do and say.

As the song says, “Together we’ll spread the news. God is in our land, and they will know we are one family by our love.”

Love and blessings while we travel the path to spiritual living,

Rev. Nancy Ennis

Inside the Boardroom

Co-creating a World that Works for Everyone

July 2007

For some time, members at Unity of Charlotte have been requesting more communication, and I hope this addition to the monthly newsletter will begin to satisfy your desire and will demonstrate our commitment to serve the membership.

This month, I thought it might be of use to review our governing structure and the way in which the board of directors operates. There are nine members elected from and by the membership. (At each annual meeting, 3 new members are elected to serve a 3 year term.) As the representatives of the membership, the board is responsible for the governing and operation of the church. Under the direction of our recently passed bylaws, the board sets policies and procedures. Until now, we had a senior minister and an associate minister, who sat in on board meetings. In fact, according to the bylaws, the senior minister is considered a voting member—except in executive sessions in which his/her employment is discussed. As in other corporations, the minister acts as the CEO and reports to the board and follows policies and procedures set by the board.

The minutes of the board meetings and financial statements are kept on record in the church office. These records are available for members to review during office hours. In the office, there is also a copy of the office policy and procedures manual and a copy of the Association of Unity Churches’ policies. (Most of our policies have been guided by or adapted from the association.) With our new bylaws, our move, and now the elimination of the senior minister’s position, the board is gradually updating and reviewing the existing policies and procedures and will be making a greater attempt to notify volunteer leaders and teams of policies and procedures which effect their operation.

Many of you were surprised and concerned by the announcement made on June 17 and the letter sent out the previous day. Let me also give a review of the facts. At this time the membership was notified that Rev. Phil Smedstad would be relinquishing his position as senior minister and that Unity of Charlotte was heading into a financial crisis. Such financial concerns have been ongoing at Unity of Charlotte. At the annual meeting in February, we presented a somewhat austere budget which allowed for modest growth. Every month, the board reviews the finances and analyzes the budget trends. Perhaps disguising these trends, in the beginning of the year, we had an $8,000 unexpected donation and we were receiving significant funds from the Keys to the Kingdom classes.
It wasn’t until April and May that we began to observe the possible miscalculations of our budget. The financial team, which included Phil Smedstad, Jim Brinson (board treasurer) Jim Tillotson, and Janis Hall, immediately went to work to revise their projections. We need approximately $7,000 weekly income to meet our expenses. For your information, we will now be printing our weekly income in the Sunday bulletin.

As synchronicities happen, at the same time, the board met in executive session to discuss the automatic renewal of Phil Smedstad’s contract. With the looming financial projections, we could not make a long term commitment, allowing an automatic renewal of this contract, and we were required to notify Rev. Smedstad prior to July 1.

On June 13, several members of the board presented Rev. Smedstad with written notice, as required by the contract, that we would not be able to automatically renew. Desiring a discussion of the financial situation during that meeting, we also asked Rev. Smedstad if he had any suggestions or plans to handle this financial dilemma. He responded that he believe that Holy Spirit was wanting him to leave and that we were overstaffed and had too many salaries for our size. He also emphasized Nancy Ennis’ ability to lead. We agreed and offered to assist Rev. Smedstad in making a transition to a new position and also offered to do whatever possible to insure that we continue to pay his salary until August 31—the end of his current contract.

On August 5, following the service, we will be having a special celebration of Phil and Lura’s tenure with Unity of Charlotte. The Smedstads are preparing to move to their next calling, and it is essential, that we at Unity of Charlotte now also move forward with Rev. Nancy Ennis as our minister. We have heard her speak of “Unity in Unity,” and the board is ready to support that vision. Many of you have offered assistance and support. On August 18, (see calendar) we will be holding an idea workshop/work day for all supporters who are ready to participate in this new vision. We are scheduling a barbecue and a garage sale as fund raisers. The most critical shift, however, is the need for a change in our consciousness. New Unity classes are being planned for the fall, and we look forward to your attendance. Again, thank you for all your prayers and support, and I look forward to our partnership in “co-creating a world that works for everyone.”

With love,

Susan Shevlin, President

Board of Directors