All Saints' Episcopal Church Vestry Meeting
February 19, 2008

Call to Order
Present: Donna Seniff, Denise Parker, Tom Litras, Jim Cox, Eleanor Peckham, John Aulls, Fr. Tom Momberg, Dan Lajewski, Ian McGreevy, Jennifer Mariano, Waymon Wright, Dunbar Ashbury, Bill Gibb, Hunt Hendrickson, Gary Crump, Darren Andrews, and Simon Arendt.

Prayer/Devotional
Jennifer Mariano offered the devotional reflecting on the life of Mother Teresa. Following the devotional, the vestry broke into small groups for introductions.

Approval of Minutes
A motion was made to approve the electronic version of the minutes. The motion was seconded and approved. Following the approval, Jim suggested that the new vestry members be brought up to date on vestry procedures and practices, such as the use of email communication, the time and date of normal meetings, including the vestry retreat, which some newly elected members were not aware of. To take further advantage of email, Dunbar will begin providing a summary of the financial report prior to each meeting. The financial report is the only regular remaining document that's provided in hard copy, so we will probably discontinue the use of vestry folders.

Treasurer's Report
Dunbar summarized each vestry member's responsibility to make the Sunday bank deposits. He also explained that each year, for IRS purposes, each clergy member must designate a percentage of his/her salary as a housing allowance. Fr. Tom has asked that $30,000 be allocated as his housing allowance.
A motion was made to allocate that amount per his request; it was seconded and approved. Fr. Tom noted that the amount might change because his current temporary housing situation may remain in flux for a period of time.
John Aulls reported on the bookcase in the rectory, a piece that was purchased in the early 1980's for $2250. John will have an appraiser in this week to assess the value for resale of the bookcase and other pieces in the rectory.
Dunbar indicated that the Audit report hasn't been finalized yet. For the first month of 2008, both income and expenses are under budget. This resulted in a $3000 decrease in net assets for the month, $4800 better than budgeted. The Budget Committee will meet later this month to review the cash flow status. Fr. Tom noted that during the retreat in March, we would plan on spending a portion of the day on understanding the financial reports.
A motion was made to accept the financial report. The motion was seconded and approved.

Rectors Report
Fr. Tom presented a written report summarizing his key areas of responsibilities, including Administration and Finance; Staff; Stewardship; and Worship and Music. He will attend all budget and finance meetings for the foreseeable future. He also plans to make visits to the families who pledged last year but didn't in 2008 to determine if there are pastoral reasons for that. Sharon O'Rear, as Chair of the Stewardship Committee, will be part of that information gathering team. He noted several upcoming events that will affect the clergy. Tomorrow (February 20th) through Saturday, both he and Fr. Tommy will be in St. Louis for the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes meeting. Rev. Columba Gillis will provide pastoral coverage during that time. The Budget and Finance committee meets on the 26th.
The Celebration of Ministry has been postponed indefinitely because of time constraints and other critical upcoming events. The Outreach Committee meets on March 12th. Holy Week activities include a Vigil on Saturday evening. On April 2 the Strategic Planning Committee will meet.
The Vestry Retreat is March 8th at Claggett Center. Tom Claggett's 70th birthday is February 20th. Fr. Tom will be reviewing job descriptions and compensation plans for several of the staff over the next few months. The church staff meets each Monday morning. Robin Taylor is a postulant and will be visiting several seminaries in the near future. The church email system is having problems, and we are changing IT consultants, so all staff is using their home email addresses until that is resolved. All new clergy vestments have arrived and will be premiered next week.
A Monday night class, led by Fr. Tom, titled "Who is Jesus?" is ongoing during Lent. The Youth group is going strong and has scheduled a retreat March 14-15. Adults are welcome to attend the activities on the 15th. A first communion class is slated for April 19th. The vestry will be invited to Fr. Tom's temporary domicile for a social event on the Friday night prior to the retreat. Tom's affiliation with the Frederick Ministerial Alliance is off to a good start. Fr. Tom will preach at Evangelical Lutheran during Holy Week services. Fr. Tom's plan is to relocate to a more central apartment location in the near future. Eyleen, his wife, is committed to staying with her parish through June, but she will be visiting Frederick in the next few weeks as she continues to seek a call to a parish in the tri-state area. All clergy will have assigned hospital visitation days to avoid missing any hospitalized parishioners. Finally, Fr. Tom emphasized the strong need to build a systematic approach to welcoming newcomers who complete an information pew card, and to carefully follow up with those people.

Senior Warden's Report
John Aulls welcomed Tom and the new vestry members. He also noted the significance of the meeting as the first for the new Rector and the new vestry. A sign-up sheet went around for members to volunteer for the monthly devotionals. John felt that the Annual meeting went well with mostly positive comments, but not without some negative ones dealing with the sale of the rectory. There was some discussion about the process to decide to sell the rectory, and it was suggested that the new vestry members be provided a copy of Tom Litras' Options Committee summary as background in case they get questions. As part of the process of letting go of the rectory, it was suggested that the parish might have a "Good Bye" party to provide "closure" when the deal is finalized on the rectory.

Junior Warden's Report
Dan asked that it be noted in the minutes that this is the first time he has remained totally silent for more than one hour. He noted that a large natural gas-powered warming tray has been disconnected to free up more space in the kitchen. If there is a market for it, we will sell it. The fire alarm system in the tower will finally be completed by the end of March. If anyone is interested in an in depth walk through the church, Dan is usually available after services on Sunday.
A question came up about the need for the Parish Administrator to attend each vestry meeting. That will be added to the agenda for the vestry retreat.

Committee Reports
Communications-Waymon- there was a very good write-up in the local papers on Fr. Tom's arrival.
Bylaws- the draft has been updated to reflect the most recent comments. It's agreed that it may take awhile to complete the rewrite and approve new bylaws, but it's not time sensitive because changes will be approved at the 2009 Annual Parish Meeting.

Old Business
A discussion on the status of St. Barnabus was deferred until next month.

New Business
The Parish Council is still relatively unknown to the congregation. Fr. Tom noted that it might take quite awhile to really get the Council up and running smoothly. The Council will meet on March 9 after services. There are two key functions of the Council: Program events (including the California Guitar Trio, scheduled to appear this fall), and vestry integration. The other is direct involvement in the budget process. Denise Parker provided an update on the Council's involvement in monitoring the budget situation.

She will find out who is on the council and identify their responsibilities. The Parish Council is still an unknown entity that needs a clearly defined mission.

The four incumbent vestry officers, Senior Warden John Aulls, Junior Warden Dan Lajewski, Treasurer Dunbar Ashbury, and Registrar Gary Crump, will continue in their present positions. A motion was made to affirm those reappointments. It was seconded and approved.

Evaluation
Following discussion about the meeting, Fr. Tom distributed information about the Millennium Development Goals. He reflected on Daughters of the King, particularly the life of Charlotte Winters, a local resident who was the last surviving female WW I veteran and a member of Daughters of the King, who recently passed away.

Following a closing prayer, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20.

Respectfully submitted,
Gary E. Crump, Registrar