First UU Congregation of Second Life

Date: January 22, 2015

Minutes of the FUUCSL Leadership Group Meeting

Tee called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm SLT

Present: Bel, Dav0, Et, Peter, Sofia, Tee, Zyzzy

Absent:

Observing: Mitchmoon

Old Business

Minutes – Zyzzy

• Previous minutes’ approval moved, seconded, and carried.
• Tee suggested putting pictures and/or links to events into the minutes.

Treasurer’s Report – Sofia

Treasurer’s report December 31, 2014 (compares 2013 with 2014)

Stewardship. The Leadership Group approves this Stewardship message.

—-

Attention voting members of the First UU Congregation of SL

This UU congregation needs your support! Please IM our treasurer FUUCSLTreasurer Byk indicating your pledge of monetary support for calendar year 2015. Voting members are expected to make a pledge, in addition to plate collections.

This congregation is running a deficit budget because of rental and program costs. However, we could support all of our programs if just 20 individuals pledged between $50 and $100 a year. Please consider being one of those members upon whose support we can depend. FYI: $50 is 12,500 Lindens and $100 is 25,000.

Payments may be made, to Byk, anytime this year, in a lump sum or partial payments.

If you would like to become a voting member of FUUCSL, please see the attached notecard.

—-

UUtopia Report – Zyzzy

• Ori dropped the smaller one of her parcels, so we now have a 1024 available in UUtopia.
• Therru came back, to Alcott SW
• Occupancy is very good.
• Comments on security guidelines?

• Et mentioned that you can freeze an avi while you talk to them. Under Annoyance in the right-click menu. It doesn’t keep you from voice chat, but it stops typing chat or walking.
• Z needs to examine the ban list and remove anyone that doesn’t seem like a real griefer
• I should send a notice to UUtopians asking them to check their parcel groups and set them to UUtopians.

Outreach – Et

• Talked to Andy Pakula, but unable to get him in-world. Not much activity lately.

Library Report – Bel

• World Religion Day Sunday January 18, 2015

There were 50 people total on the visitor counter (1 was my alt taking pictures) You can find my pictures at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/belovanzuta/sets/72157650371861635/

• New Buildings well received

• We have had several compliments on UUtopia from visitors in the last few months. The discussion area has been used by some just to hang out and chat and also for small events.
• New Content starting to be put in place in the new library building. I’ve started to add posters with url’s inside them. I’m in the process of reviewing the content of the library adding and updating as I go a long.
• I’m also still working on moving items to LuvWorldReligions intentory so UUtopia will always have them.

Peter had this to say inworld:

“Dear friends,

A heart-felt thanks to each of you for making this year’s World Religion Day celebration such a success” …

“Together we clearly met the goal of exploring different views on what prayer is and how it can enrich our personal and collective life, and of praying for unity and peace among the diverse peoples of the world. In fact, the synergy generated through the unity in diversity that the panel demonstrated clearly sparked a level of interfaith harmony, spirituality and joyful celebration that I have seldom seen before!

Technically, most of it went smoothly, even though some of you were using a notecard reader for the first time. Despite some initial scares, all but Quddus were finally able to use voice. We were able to stay within the two hours allotted to the event, and although some had to leave after the first hour, according to Belovan’s monitoring, we broke our record this year with a total of 50 participants!

Please feel free to share any links you find on follow-up of the event. Belovan has posted her photos to FaceBook, and mine are at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28493913@N03/sets/72157649979352310/.
One of the participants also posted his experience to
http://www.fravel.net/2015/01/18/devotional-and-interfaith-activities-second-life/.
Hopefully KJ’s video will soon be available and he will give us the link.

Warm greetings,

Peter

We had a visitor while setting up the last minute details. He had not been in Second Life in a long time. Monday when I signed in I had a message from him. He has written a blog post about his experience and you can see it here:
http://www.fravel.net/2015/01/18/devotional-and-interfaith-activities-second-life/

We had another successful event for the third year in a row and I can’t thank Peter enough for bringing this event to us. We were the first to hold a virtual World Religion Day event and the First to have an annual event :-). We have made history in our own small way.

• Et adjusted the Agent Limit for UUtopia to 100, since we seem to have hit that limit. We’ll adjust it down if there are problems.

Worship Report – Tee

• Backup Mom will lead on 2015-01-29. She may need technical assistance.

Groundswell – Tee

• Tee is unclear about how we might use Groundswell. Neither it nor KickStarter seems applicable to us.
• Upgrading Your Organizing with Groundswell http://www.groundswell-mvmt.org
• The call will be a chance to learn how to use digital tools to amplify your faith-rooted work for change. The Groundswell trainers – Isaac and Michelle – are experts in using digital for social change. And not just in theory, but in practice. They’ve been working with faith leaders and lay folks to start and run campaigns on their free platform – so they come equipped with case studies, practical tips, and skills in digital chaplaincy

New Business

Ballroom

• We have talked about moving the Ballroom. Any ideas where you want it placed and do you want the current one moved or a new one built? Belovan is willing to take on the project if no one else does. Having it on the ground would be ideal as we can start holding dances and events there and bring people into UUtopia. BZ
• We agreed that it would be a good idea to move the ballroom to UUtopia so that it would be on the UUtopia teleport system.
• It might be good to just have the arcade part on the ground. It seems that it would be preferable to keep the ballroom in the sky. BZ

Alcott Skyboxes

• Bel thought we might offer newbie skyboxes in Alcott at a reduced rate with fewer prims but furnished to help people get started. A place to change clothes and give them a home base. Nothing fancy, just a sitting area for private conversations and changing area. No real control. Just can use the space. Might get some more permanent residents and members this way.
• Bel suggested moving it to UUtopia so that it could be on the UUtopia teleport system.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 pm SLT