Elected & Volunteer Committees
Elected and Appointed Committees
Board of Trustees
Kathy Astemborski - Co-Chair 2021, 22, 23 Re-Elected 24, 25
Mary Blanton - 2020, 21, 22 - Co-Chair 23, 24, 25
Leon Dunkley - Minister
Ann Wynia - Treasurer
Laird Bradley - 2020, 21, 22 - 2023, 24, 25
Jack Nelson - 2023, 24, 25
Michael Zsoldos - 2023, 24, 25
Amy McElroy - 2024, 2025, 2026
Jo Reichle - 2024, 2025, 2026
Kate Johnson - 2025
See Bylaws Article VII, Administration for more information.
See Bylaws Article VII, Section 2. -The Board of Trustees shall consist of between five and nine members. Each year, the appropriate number of Trustees, as determined by the Board of Trustees, shall be duly elected at the Annual Meeting of the Society for a three-year term. No Trustee shall serve more than two full consecutive terms. Any Trustee who has served two full consecutive terms shall again be eligible to serve as Trustee after an interim of one year.
Finance and Trustees of Funds Committee
Chair: Anne Dean - 2023, 24, 25
Jack Nelson - 2022, 23, 24
Laird Bradley - 2022, 23, 24
Cliff Johnson - 2023, 24, 25
Jo Reichle - 2024, 25, 26
Ann Wynia - As the Treasure of North Chapel, a permanent ad-hoc member
Jobs / duties / activities: Meets at least once a year to assess the financial portfolio.
Mission Statement: To manage the funds of this Society which are not otherwise taken care of by the terms of trust or other conveyance, for the benefit of the Society.
See Bylaws Article X - The Finance/Trustee of Funds Committee (FTOFC) assists the Board of Trustees and other committees to forecast, plan and execute the fiduciary operations of the North Chapel. This includes investing assets and disbursing resources.
Six members shall be elected by the Congregation for terms of three years: two members to be elected every year to serve terms of three years each. The chair of the committee shall be chosen by the members of the committee and shall serve for one year. He/she can be re-elected by the committee for an additional term of one year. Members of the Committee may be elected for a second three year term but then must be off the committee for at least one year before being reelected.
Nominating Committee
Chair: Sherry Belisle - 2021, 22, 23, 24
Joby Thompson - 2022, 23, 24, 25
Tambrey Vutech - 2024, 25, 26, 27
Joanne Boyle - 2024, 25, 26, 27
Kathy Astemborski - Board Liaison
Jobs / duties / activities: Meets prior to Annual Meeting as needed.
Mission Statement: To identify candidates for the church officers and to present a slate at the Annual Meeting for election by the membership.
See Bylaws Article XI, Section 1. a. The Nominating Committee shall consist of four members. The term of the members shall be four years. One member shall be elected each year at the Annual Meeting, so that their terms are staggered. A slate of candidates for the election to the Nominating Committee shall be proposed by the Board of Trustees at the Annual Meeting. Candidates may also be nominated from the floor at the Annual Meeting. In addition, the Board of Trustees shall appoint a Trustee to the Nominating Committee to be a non-voting liaison.
b. The function of the Nominating Committee shall be to present at the Annual Meeting a slate of candidates for the following positions: Moderator, Secretary of the Annual Meeting, the Board of Trustees, Treasurer, and Trustee of Funds. No member of the Nominating Committee shall currently be serving as a Trustee, Moderator, Treasurer, or Trustee of Funds. The Nominating Committee shall support the development of lay leadership by selecting members to represent the congregation at the annual UUA General Assembly, New England Leadership School, regional, district and other training opportunities. The Nominating Committee shall support the work of committees by assisting in the search for new committee members at the request of the committees or the Board of Trustees.
Committee on Ministry
Joby Thompson
Bob WIlliamson
Deb RIce
Barbara Abraham
Jobs / duties / activities: to enhance the relationship between the minister and the congregation by keeping communication channels open.
See Bylaws Article XI, Section 3. The Committee on Ministry shall be a standing committee of the church. It shall consist of no fewer than four (4) legal members of the congregation appointed by the Board of Trustees. The minister shall recommend candidates for vacant positions of the committee. Membership on the committee shall be for three years, and members shall be appointed so that no more than 2 members of the committee will change each year. The purpose of this committee is to provide a conduit for information between the parish minister and congregation, and to attend to the covenant between the minister and congregation.
Volunteer Committees
Music and Worship Committee
Meetings - 1st Tuesdays 5:15
Co Chairs -Diane Mellinger-Director of Music and Anne Macksoud, Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley-Minister, Hope Yeager, Anne Marinello
Jobs / duties / activities: Consulting and assisting with all worship in the church, resource for creation of services. Nourish musical needs; encourage participation; channel feedback and requests.
Mission Statement: To enhance and extend the quality of worship.
Buildings and Grounds Committee
Agata and Radek Marzec, Jack Nelson, Laird Bradley
Jobs / duties / activities: To see to the physical needs of the church and of the parsonage. The Building and Grounds Committee is a standing volunteer committee whose mission is to preserve and improve the physical plant and grounds of the church and the parsonage. It has an unlimited number of members, usually between five and ten, with no fixed terms. There is usually one Board member as liaison. The Chair of the committee is chosen by the committee members annually, and has no fixed term. Meetings are held monthly, currently on the first Tuesday of the month, although special meetings may be held as needed. The Sexton or Sextons if they are in residence in the parsonage are non voting members of he committee. The committee elects a Secretary annually, who is responsible for recording the minutes of the meetings and for sending them to the members and to the Office Manager to reproduce for their monthly Board of Trustee meetings.
Before every Annual Meeting, the committee prepares a list of projects that are needed to maintain or improve the buildings and grounds, together with an estimate of the cost of the projects, for the Finance Committee to present to the annual meeting. When this list is approved by the Board of Trustees as part of their budget preparation, the committee selects individuals and businesses to carry out the required work. When a major expense is involved, the committee gets a minimum of three bids, but is not bound to the lowest bidder. The annual budget can be exceeded if emergency repairs are needed. In that case, the Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee notifies the Minister or the Chair of the Board of Trustees that an emergency condition exists that either threatens extensive personal or property damage or will seriously impair the ability of North Chapel to function unless it is repaired immediately. With the approval of the Board the repair may then be made, and the cost is announced from the pulpit and listed in the Quest and the weekly newsletter.
The committee is responsible for setting rates for rentals of any part of the property and for negotiating terms for long term leases. Building and Grounds is also responsible for determining rental policy and prices with the approval of the Board of Trustees. The committee also works with the Sextons to determine the regular and special activities of the Sextons, and oversees the work the Sextons do to insure it fits within the terms of their contract. The committee is responsible for advertising for and choosing a new Sexton or Sextons on an as needed basis.
Mission Statement: To preserve and improve the physical plant and grounds of the church and the parsonage.
Welcoming, Engagement, and Membership Committee
Chair - Sherry Belisle, Fran Lancaster, Judy Williamson, Maryann Postans, Ann Wynia - Board Liaison
Jobs / duties / activities: The Welcoming, Engagement and Membership (WEM) Committee is charged with fulfilling three goals fundamental to the long-term sustainability of the North Chapel community.
Welcoming: We seek to identify and implement ways to recognize newcomers to our community so that we may warmly acknowledge the value of their presence; to demonstrate by our words and through our deeds that we are a warm, open, and welcoming community; and to share our capacity to be available to newcomers in whatever way might serve to facilitate their comfort-level.
Engagement: We seek to identify and implement ways to foster social connections between members. We do so by initiating and coordinating events and activities which serve to bring members of our community together (either virtually or in-person).
Membership: For individuals whose relationship with our community is in the early stage, we seek to identify and implement ways to provide them a deeper understanding of Unitarian Universalist principles, as well as the people, committees, and culture of the North Chapel as a means of encouraging membership.
Members of the WEM are free to focus their energies on any one or more of the goals which speak to them personally.
Contact Sherry Belisle
