At this meeting several of the Board Members, as well as the Senior Pastor, Ulla Marie Gunner were unable to attend due to feeling unwell.
Here is a selection of the most important points for the meeting.
1. The Board’s Work Models
The conversation continued from the previous Board Meeting regarding the Board’s work models. The aim is that this will lead to a guide document for the Board Members. Among the topics are:
- Board Reports
- How the Board make decisions
- The Board’s communication with the Members of the Congregation
- The Board’s committees
- What a Board Member’s responsibilities are
2. Work description for the newly instated Organizational Committee
During the Board meeting on October 21st, it was decided to appoint a temporary Organizational Committee who will present a suggestion for possible changes in the Constitution and within the Organization. The Committee presented a suggestion for a work description that the Board finalized after a few minor changes.
3. Delegation discipline
The Board decided on a delegation discipline that regulates who has mandate to make decisions on different matters upon the Board’s delegation.
4. Future recruitments of Pastors
The Congregation are facing the need of recruitments for several of our Pastors positions. The Board discussed both how some of these needs may need to be handled through temporary solutions and how the more long-term solutions will look. Not the least in relation in to reviewing of the Congregations organization that is presently ongoing.
5. Decision on Probitas and IFABs dividends and rent
During the fall, the Board decides on the level of yearly funding for the Congregation from our companies Probitas as well as IFAB. The Church’s rent to Probitas is equivalent to consumer price index.
6. Suggestion for an aim for the 2022 Budget work
At the Board Meeting on the 9th of December 2021 a decision will be made on the budget for 2022. The Finance Committee presented a suggestion for an aim for the budget, including scopes for various costa, such as staff and ministry costs for example.
7. Suggestion for a decision on questions from The Uniting Church of Sweden’s Church Conference
The Board attended to and made partial decisions based on the decisions that were made at the Uniting Church of Sweden’s Church Conference, which took place earlier this fall. Among those decisions was the extremity of climate change that was brought up at the conference, but also questions surrounding HBTQ where The Uniting Church of Sweden distance themselves from any type of discrimination due to sexual orientation or gender identity. The Congregation encouraged deeper knowledge within questions on Palestine-Israel and the development of contacts within the area.
8. Support for the Ansgarii Church in Jönköping
The Board have received a question if the Congregation can support the Ansgarii Church in Jönköping in some way, as they now don’t have a place to worship due to their Church burning down on August 3rd of this year. The Board decided to appoint the Chair of the Board, Greger Hjelm, the task to contact the Ansgarii Church to find out what type of support the Congregation may need.
9. Reports
At last, we received several reports. Among them, Gunilla Hjelmåker raised the problems and faults in the Congregation’s way of communicating. A question that the Board need to return to during the next Board Meeting.
10. New restrictions from the Public Health Agency
We just received news that all organizers of public meetings or public events indoors, starting December 1st must take some measures against infectivity. For example, ensuring the possibility for participants to wash their hands or to have access to hand sanitizer. The organizer can also decide that all participants should show proof of vaccination, if the event takes place indoors and has more than 100 participants. If the participants don’t need to show proof of vaccination the organizer needs to take other measures:
- The participants should have an appointed seat.
- parties should consist of 8 people max.
- parties should be able to keep a distance of at least one meter between each other.
This will affect the ministries of our Congregation, especially our services. The Board decided to give the Senior Pastor, the Chair of the Board, and the Vice Chair of the Board the mandate to, during the period up until the next Board Meeting, together decide on how the Congregation should handle these new restrictions.
/ Greger Hjelm, Chair of the Board