The Chair Award presented at the Annual Meeting

Chair Award

The easy part of being chair of the board is setting the agenda. I simply noted all the “y’aughtas” and “we-oughttas” during my tenure on the Board.

I had two major items on my agenda a year ago.

Form a task force to revise our constitution. The impetus was the opportunity to incorporate. But I believed we should examine our governance covenant.

The other was the strategic plan’s directive to prepare for succession of one or more ministers, and I thought that should be expanded to include a study of Team Ministry.

I also recognized from experience that these two tasks were too demanding on the time of the trustees.

And so, last summer, I experienced the more challenging part of being chair: recruiting willing, able, and cooperative people to undertake this work.

For the constitution, you had the enthusiastic services of:

• Henry Ernstthal, a former trustee and our unofficial father of Policy Governance;
• Barb Hynak, an able lawyer who has served the church in a variety of capacities;
• John Gunning, a former board chair who heads our denominational affairs;
• Juliet Purll, a relatively new member and a lawyer I wanted to bring into the leadership;
• And Peter Overby, a fine reporter for NPR whom I had known in that capacity for years.
• I asked Tom O’Reilly to advise them, as he was familiar with the disconnects in our constitution.

For the ministry, I was able to recruit:

• Maggie Clayton, my partner in the OWL classroom and on the OWL Committee, who had headed the RE Council;
• My dear friend Sally Determan, an extremely able lawyer who worked her will to put me on the Board, so this was payback;
• Lavona Grow, who serves us with such dedication as Social Action Coordinator;
• Gerry Kittner, whom I had begged to fill a vacancy on the Board but who felt a deep loyalty to the Committee on Ministry which at the time he was chairing;
• And John Bohman, another able lawyer, former trustee, and co-chair of the committee that created team ministry more than a decade ago.

One of them, time and again, gave me extraordinary service, particularly when I didn’t ask for it. He would send me emails, generally around 11 at night, suggesting I consider this or that about an issue on the table, within the jurisdiction of his task, or without. And his suggestions were always worth listening to, and generally right to follow.

One evening, I sent to the ministry task force an email I had intended for the constitution task force. John Bohman wrote me back, offering his advice on the issue. I will never forget it. Of the constitution, he directed: read the text. Having spent my career reading laws and legislation, it turned out I needed to be reminded. I am grateful to him. For it was that directive that led the Board to call a meeting to seek your support for the new pews. Politically, I think it was the right call, because it’s your sanctuary. But John’s advice was rooted in the law.

Our constitution is our guidestar.

And so I present the Chair’s Award to John Bohman. Not just for his long service to this church in governance, and arts, and elsewhere, but for helping keep me on the path.