In Attendance: Jackson, Marc (secretary), Ty (moderator)
Meeting Start: 7:07 PM

Event Review
– The Social Justice in Christianity panel went really well. Marc is writing up thank-you cards to the panelists and moderator, and they should be sent out by tomorrow.
– A preliminary screening of the panel recording also turned out good, according to Ty. Ty said that it should be fairly straightforward to edit and upload to YouTube, though he doesn’t have an exact timeline when that will happen. Ty hopes to have the video finished this week.
– Jackson plans on sharing the recording with left-leaning churches once it’s uploaded.

Upcoming Event: Counter Protest at the Walk for Life
– The counter protest will happen at the end of January. The event has been posted, but it could use a cover photo. Ty will find an appropriate photo from our archives and/or from a friend.
– Marc can help host a virtual planning meeting. Interested attendees will be told to express interest in taking part in this planning discussion by reaching out to the BCH Facebook page privately, to help avoid the chat becoming overrun by bad actors.

Upcoming Event: Black Musicians and Liberation
– Jackson is writing up an email to a potential panelist. One of the folks who worked on planning the event last year has also spoken with them. We may need to find a moderator, as the person we originally had in-mind to be a mod is on the fence about doing so.
– We’ll need a separate event poster, similar to last year. Marc will take point on designing and printing it. We also need to clarify whether the event will be co-sponsored by the Institute for Ethnic Studies again.
– We would also like to explore working with another international panelist.

Library Donations
– Jackson donated a ton of books to the library. Many of these titles were published fairly recently as well.

Spring Calendar
– COVID is still raging on, so we’ll continue to consider and prioritize safety while planning events.
– Ty pointed out that we may be able to hold in-person events outdoors, in addition to online events, particularly as March/April roll around.
– We’ll definitely do a garden day in March or April, weather permitting.
– Ty and Marc will be unavailable to plan during the 2nd half of April.
– Our online panels have been pretty successful so far and drummed up community interest from outside our usual attendees. Marc proposed trying to do at least 1 online panel per season.
– Potential Topics:
Social Justice and religion beyond Christianity: We have some ideas of who/where we could ask for potential panelists, e.g. the Unitarian Church, South Street Temple, and a few individuals in mind. We would like a more diverse representation of religious belief, including pre-colonial European, Native American religion, etc. Depending on who participates, this event could be tied into ecology or Earth Day.
– Yard Sale: We plan on having our yearly yard sale fundraiser. We may shoot for mid-May for this event. Our tentative dates are May 20th and 21st.
– Reading Discussion during the first week of May. May Day would be an easy topic to read about and find an appropriate reading for.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:14 PM

BCH Meeting – November 1, 2021

In Attendance: Marc (sec), Jackson, Wyatt (mod)

Meeting Start: 7:23 PM

Meeting Adjourned: 8:34 PM

Event Review

– Our movie showing, Nightbreed, went well. Viewers had a lot of fun. It was difficult to keep an eye on mask-wearing (probably a mix of comfort through low attendance, plus the snack table), so we need to consider this for future indoor events, should we have them.

– The discussion also went really well. Most everyone was engaged and had a lot to say.

– We also scheduled this during a Husker game day, but in the future we also need to be cautious to avoid this. It’s possible that we missed some attendees due to this time conflict.

Upcoming Event

– Women in Christianity discussion will occur on November 13^th, so we still have a bit of time to promote it.

– Wyatt posted the event on Facebook, and it still needs to be cross-posted to the site. Either Marc or Ty will take care of cross-posting.

– There is a lot to grapple with for this discussion, and we hope a lot of people are interested in taking part.

– It would be good for BCH members to read up on this history so we can talk about a variety of related issues, and push against dominant narratives.

Facebook Message

– We received a message from a neighbor who may be able to provide some IT guidance and support. Since fixing our site is a big task, having his help would be ridiculously appreciated!

– We more or less agreed that Marc would be the primary contact if we work with him in the future. We’re excited to work with him in the future. Wyatt will also offer a tour to our neighbor.

Logo Commission

– The artist we’re working with agreed to make the logo for $50 and 3 years’ worth access to the herb spiral. It should take about a month to complete.

– Marc got into touch with her to explain the final details.

– Wyatt just needs to send the payment; we unanimously agreed to pay her, and reimburse Wyatt for covering the payment initially.

Interview

– Ty and Jackson were interviewed by a grad student studying self-described anarchists tonight. Ty spoke to the interviewer for a bit over an hour or so.

– Apparently the interviewer is in the business college of her university, and is studying anarchism and entrepreneurship. It was an interesting interview and we were happy to share our perspectives and look forward to reading her thesis.

Winter Calendar & Outreach

– We have noticed a larger amount of people reaching out who are new to organizing/realize that things are difficult and want to help make things better. The garden also draws a lot of people in—likely because it’s so visible and honestly really awesome. It would be really useful to also set up a little free library/pantry so people who notice the garden will also potentially check out calendars, materials, etc.

– We also talked about needing more visual content on our site—photos/vids of events and the space, etc.

– We discussed having more 101-type events to specifically reach people who are looking for ways to get involved.

– Potential Winter events:

– Liberation Theology: Marc and Ty reached out to a friend who indicated they might be interested. Jackson also reached out to another potential panelist, who also expressed interest. We’d like this discussion to be very grassroots in nature, rather than from the perspective of more academic sorts. One of the questions we’d like to explore specifically is how can leftists work with Christian (and other religious) groups to create a better world. We also will reach out to the Unitarian Church in Lincoln to see if any Unitarians might want to take part in a panel. We also need a moderator for this panel. We discussed potential people to reach out to, including Methodists who experienced the recent split in the sect, as well as another companion who was raised in the Black Southern Baptist tradition.

– Marc will write up a more focused description to provide to potential panelists. We would also like to get folks’ permission to record the panel to add to our YouTube channel, if possible.

– In the past, panels have been really worthwhile; they’re a bit more work to set up, but they’re SO worth it.

In Attendance: Wyatt, Jackson, Ty, Marc (secretary)
Start Time: 7:10 PM

Upcoming Event: Anti-Columbus Day Protest
We have committed to attending the event from 1-3 PM as listed in the printed calendar. Folks may still stick around to hit rush hour, and we might have the benefit of hitting the post-lunch crowd and after-school pickups.

Marc will make some educational zines/handbills about the Nebraska state legislature’s decision to celebrate both Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day. These will include a “why are we protesting” explanation. We already published a zine a few years back about the topic and why Columbus was a scumbag, so Marc will use that as the basis with an updated intro.

Ty will cross-post the event to our site. Due to the protest and long days for multiple members, we have decided to cancel next Monday’s meeting.

Movie: Nightbreed
Ty and Marc will watch Nightbreed this week to provide a more complete description for the event post. They will also identify a pausing point so attendees can break for snacks, etc.

Marc and Ty will also loan BCH an air purifier for the event, and Wyatt will be on mask compliance duty.

Facebook
The site was down for a long time today and we should review our pages/posts for potential data loss. There was also a whistleblower who talked about the grossly unethical practices of Facebook. We also discussed using our site as our event/info hub more, and encouraging people to check the site first for updates and events. Ty also mentioned that we could begin using our listserv again.

Our long-term goal is to stop using Facebook entirely. However, as we move away from the platform, we should be gradual and purposeful so we don’t lose our connection to people. We plan on being transparent in why we’re doing this (security, ethics, longevity). Additionally, we need to figure out a new platform for online discussion between members, and Marc and Ty suggested Discord.

We discussed using zines and other publications to help encourage word of mouth in the community. There are lots of little free libraries and coffee shops in the area that such publications could be left at.

New Logo
Marc will talk to our artist friend about what we need from a logo, so it can be used digitally.

Tabled Items
Timeline for ditching Facebook, new online discussion platform, website, inside of the house video, library catalog, little library, winter calendar, and probably more

Meeting Adjourned: 8:21 PM

In Attendance: Jackson, Ty (moderator), Marcus (secretary), Wyatt
Start Time: 7:40 PM

Upcoming Event – The gardening day event on August 14 is all ready and set to go. The Facebook event is live and sharable, and Wyatt prepared a list of things attendees can do and learn about.

Reimbursement – We needed to renew the domain for our website, which cost $32.99. Jackson covered the cost of the renewal, and we unanimously voted to reimburse him for the full amount from the treasury.

Fall Calendar – Marc designed the calendar and handbills for our fall events. The designs were approved, and we’re ready to print and post them!

We also need to look over the list of businesses/etc. to distribute calendars, as some may have been pandemic casualties or don’t truly have public posting boards. Our previous posting list is in the minutes of November 4, 2019, from when we expanded said list. (Right before the pandemic, no less. Yeeeowch!)

We discussed adding a few new locations: Indigo Bridge’s new location, Transformations thrift store, F Street Community Church, Pepe’s, a new vegan Cajun food place, plus the other Mill locations and Cultiva East.

For now, we plan on printing 25 copies of both the large calendars and the handbills for distribution. At least one large calendar will go into the BCH archives.

YouTube – Jackson created an outline for the video tour of the inside of BCH. We talked extensively about what the video could contain, how to organize information within it, how to arrange the house, and additional parts of the BCH to include. Ty edited Jackson’s outline to include the following info: Kitten Corner, accessibility, that we accept library donations, a list of supplies we make available, tying elements of the space to events we’ve held, setting up the space to be “presentation/move” style, and inviting the viewers to participate in the BCH by attending events or joining these planning meetings.

Additionally, the trailer video for YouTube can only be a certain length, so we will need to edit our filmed trailer so it fits within those parameters. Marc will find some editing software to take care of this. Depending on how easy the video editing process is, we can also plan to do more editing for the BCH inside tour video.

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

Meeting Minutes – June 21, 2021
In Attendance: Ty (moderator), Marc (secretary), Jackson
Started: 7:20 PM
Adjourned: 8:45 PM

Event Review: Pride on the Porch
– Due to the heat, we switched from an in-person discussion to meeting over Jitsi. Marc updated the event on Facebook and announced the change a couple of days prior.
– The discussion went well; we had a small but engaged group of people.
– The discussion was a bit unfocused and we did get off-topic often.

Upcoming Event: Local Politics Discussion
– Jackson will draft the description for this event soon.

YouTube Gardening Videos
– Wyatt wants to create some how-to videos about gardening and the water barrel collection system.
– When he’s back in town, we’d like to hash out some ideas and plans with him to discuss the videos–namely tone/approach, how much editing they would need, what equipment we should procure, etc.
– Ty pointed out that we should keep the videos pretty consistent in tone.
– The videos could also be used on the site to show off the BCH space online.

Site Updates:
– We have regained access to the admin account on WordPress.
– Jackson still needs to be able to get emails sent through the BCH site to appear in his inbox. We tried to figure out what the issue could be, and it might be related to our hosting service.
– Marc will create an account for himself via WordPress.
– Going forward, we have some additional plans in-mind for site content, including: aesthetic update, explicit connection to Facebook, connection to YouTube channel, fixing the event calendar, posting news posts and not just minutes, better tagging system for posts, better calendar (color-coded events, recurring events, etc.), showcase/tour of the physical space as a venue, revisiting the About Us page, Library information, collaboration form, add candid photos, potentially adding bios for active members if desired

Longterm Space Projects
– We need to reassess the accessibility of the BCH in terms of comfort, mobility concerns, and creating a welcoming environment.
– For example, there is a small (2″) ledge at the front door that may be difficult for wheelchair-users to access, and we need to be able to keep the driveway empty so the ramp to the porch can be accessed for events.
– We discussed what could be done outdoors and indoors to achieve some of these goals, including adding some landscaping details to the garden, using more comfortable furniture, adjusting lighting so it’s brighter, and so on.