January 10, 2026 Board minutes

January 31, 2026

Attendance: Allen, Annie, Kelly, Robert; Viorica (absent); Visiting: Eve.

Opening verse

Minutes of the previous meeting here. Comments or corrections? With no objections, the minutes were approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s report: (Robert)

The Christmas Festival financial results:

Income $444.00 (20? participants)
Expenses $652.89
- Food and supplies: $477.89
- UGMC rental donation: $100.00
- Honorarium for presenter: $75.00 (Martha Kelder)
Net Expense $208.89

TO DO: (Elena and Robert?) create a checklist for planning Branch events.

Financial results overall for 2025

Statement of Income and Expense report
- Income: Dues (33 members): $1,200
  - General donations: $295 + $50 restricted Heart Fund
  - Scholarship donations: $5,000
  - Events (Joan of Arc, Michaelmas Gathering, Christmas Festival): $999
  - Youth Gathering net income (to restricted fund): $624
  - Interest on CDs/MoneyMkt: $1,632
- Total Income: $9,800
- Expenses:
  - General operations (Bank chgs, Liab.Ins, 1stCls rental, Website & SW, POBox): $1,744
  - Grant: $5,000
  - Event expenses: Food & Supp ($552), honorariums ($985), rent ($175): Total $1,713
- Total Expenses: $8,457
- Net Income: $1,342 but note that interest income was $1,632, so the net available cash was a loss of $290 which caused us to dip into our unrestricted reserves.

Financial Position Comparison report
- Assets: $500 moved from SH Money Market acct to General Truist Account to provide cash for 2026
  - Youth Fund is now listed $623.74.
  - Our two CDs increased in value by $1,535 to $42,328.
  - Our Money Market reserves currently are $4,996.

Suggestion: Restart the Events Calendar devoted solely to Branch events.

Can a Google forms calendar be open for posting for events, meetings, etc. by designated people?

Community events: Review and comments

Lynn Jericho presentation: December 14, 2-5 PM.
- Lynn Jericho gave a slide presentation on The Mystery of the Threshold at the Mays home.

Shepherd’s Play: December 19 at Union Grove UMC.
- Maybe 150 people attended.
- Spiral of Light afterward arranged by Elena and several youths.

Christmas Festival (Elena): December 20 at Union Grove UMC.
- About 20 people attended.

Jon Lyerly: did the 3 Kings prep gatherings.

DONE: Robert sent an email inviting people to hold Holy Night gatherings.

Preparation for Annual Meeting

We need to set the date, send out a notice of the date, and call for (1) time to renew annual membership, (2) any topics for discussion at AGM, and (3) any nominations for Board members to join the Board. Robert’s and Viorica’s terms end at the upcoming AGM — are they willing to renew for another 3 years?. A good day would be at the end of March, Saturday, March 28, 3-5 PM.
We will need to meet one more time before the Annual Meeting. Call for reports from Anthroposophical organizations and groups.

- Motion by Robert to set the time of the time of the Annual General Meeting to Saturday, March 28, 3-5 PM, at the Mays home: passed unanimously.

- TO DO: Robert to send out notice of Annual General Meeting plus other notices to renew membership and to propose additional members to serve on the Board.
- TO DO: Robert to include a summary of what the Branch does and what the Board does.

Upcoming Events

Melody Miller: Creative Speech Graduation presentation (A Spark of Light): Saturday, January 31.
- Viorica reserved the Brown Wing for Jan. 31, 1:30-4:00 with time before and after for set up and take down.
- The initial notice was sent out to the RSB-NC list and blind copied all donors we know of.
- Melody provided a flyer and a writeup of her program. We need further publicity, emphasizing that Melody is an EWS graduate in the first high school graduating class. Melody says that the program is appropriate for children 12 and up. Here is her description of the program:
  - A Spark of Light was born out of the glimmer that appears at the end of the journey through the dark night of the soul. Yet, that light is an ever-present sliver, even in the darkest of moments, for the human being can hold faith that they will overcome this too and dawn shall break. I chose to work with a theme that explores dark and light; inspired by my journey through the refining fires, bringing transformation. The program starts with the journey to earth from the spiritual world, from pre-birth and even pre creation and then moves into aspects of human struggle and in the end emerging into rebirth and divine love.
- We need to get the notice included in the EWS Honeybee.
- Can we have Q&A? Do we want some light refreshments?
- We should ask for donations to cover the rent and other costs, suggested $15.
- TO DO: Robert to prepare an announcement for this gathering with a photo of Melody.
The Festival of the Unborn is nominally to be held on February 1st. Another date might be February 7 or 14 (both conflict with PoF Study Grp, but that shouldn’t preclude holding it). February 21 is 1st Class. February 28 would be good (Robert will not be able to be there). Eve really would like it to be held but she cannot be the lead organizer. Robert has not had a chance to discuss this with Claire. Christina has said that she can provide a eurythmy piece but also can’t be the lead organizer. This could be held on a weekday evening or a Saturday late morning (11-1 PM).
Allen will do the flyer. Ideas for the program needed: eurythmy (Eve, Christina, RongRong?), speech (Melody?), music (Annie), poetry, stories, a talk (Peter Selg book on Unbornness (Kelly), Steiner lecture about souls planning to incarnate together). Stories of NDErs about pre-planning their life (Robert & Suzanne). Need an iconic poem (Wordsworth? Novalis?). Light refreshments at a break(?) (Supreet?).
Lead person: Annie with Eve’s assistance. The agreed time is March 7, 2-5 PM in the EWS eurythmy room(?) – do we need room for a eurythmy class performance? Robert & Annie to talk to Claire (after the service?).
Elena’s proposal to hold an Easter Festival, around Glen Williamson’s Fire in the Temple play. Has anyone reached out to Glen about his availability and pricing? It will be very helpful to have more guidance from the Board in advance about the financials and the overall logistics for an initiative. Easter is April 5th.
Elena’s work toward a shared Community building. Is the board interested to participate in this conversation? TCC and EWS are interested in exploring it further. Elena proposed an exploratory conversation for January 19 at 10 AM. Allen read the email from Gareth about this.
TO DO: Robert will contact Elena that RSB-NC wants to participate.

Report on the status of Branch activities

Study groups: Philosophy of Freedom study group; Study at the Christian Community & visits to community members (Judy Frey, Ron Evans). Reading & discussion from the St. John’s gospel at Judy Frey’s with CC.
EWS:
Christian Community: musician ensemble forming, Shepherds’ Play singing group, Valentine’s event, CC camping trip in June
Other Waldorf initiatives:
Other initiatives: visit the Raphael exhibit (200 paintings) in New York at the Met

Set date for next Board meeting:

March 14, 10-12 PM. Membership renewals, prepare for Annual Meeting in March. Suggestions for new Board members.