Vestry Meeting

October 14, 2008

Call to Order at 7:00 pm. Donna Seniff offered the evening devotional based upon Psalm 139.

Present: Donna Seniff, Waymon Wright, Jennifer Mariano, Ian McGreevy, Fr. Tommy, Simon Arendt, Dunbar Ashbury, Dan Lajewski, Bill Gibb, Eleanor Peckham, Tom Litras, Gary Crump, Father Tom, John Aulls, and Darren Andrews

Guest: Nancy Hennessey

Nancy presented to the vestry her decision to begin exploring a possible call to enter the priesthood. The first step is a yearlong orientation process in which she will continue to investigate the call.

Approval of Minutes

With minor corrections, the vestry accepted the minutes of the September meeting and a motion was made to accept. The motion was seconded and the minutes were approved.

Financial

Dunbar reminded Hunt and Eleanor that they would be making deposits in November. We have completed a photographic and written inventory of the physical assets in the church buildings. An electronic backup of the inventory should probably be stored offsite as well as secured on our in house system. Dunbar suggested that determining fair valuation of some of the assets, such as chairs or folding tables, might be a challenge. Pledge and plate income are under by $8145 YTD but he expects that will normalize. Use of church facilities will be on budget by end of year. For YTD, we’re still under budget in operating assets by $15,833. However, we’re almost $1000 better in the deficit, with an actual deficit of ending net operating assets of $63,000.

Rector’s Report

Fr. Tom submitted a comprehensive draft policy from the Communications committee. There are numerous data points through which information is conveyed to the congregation, so Fr. Tom submitted an interim working policy that will carry us through the approval of a formal Communications policy. A motion was made and seconded to open the discussion. Following discussion and questions about promotion of businesses, it was decided that the vestry would approve special exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Under the interim policy, the Rector or the Parish Administrator will interpret the policy on a daily basis. The motion was approved.

Senior Warden’s Report

John offered his thanks to all who worked on the pictorial directory. The rectory furniture is still on the market. John checked with Bert Anderson, but Bert is planning to go out of business so John will follow up with the antique assessors that we have used in the past.

Junior Warden’s Report

Dan noted that the Buildings and Grounds committee would be meeting monthly. The Parish Hall will be celebrating its bicentennial in 2013. The old gutters on the historic church have been removed and Gutters For Less will be installing new copper gutters this wee. Also, Colonial Renovations is working on the windows in the Parish Hall now and will remove the remaining damaged shutters from the rectory. A question came up about why we are using copper gutters. Besides the aesthetics and durability of copper, the historic district requirements dictated the material required

Memorials Committee
Tom made a motion to approve creation of a Memorial Committee. The mission and purpose of the committee will need to be identified since it will work with other committees. Some memorial gifts will be for specific purposes, while others will not, so the committee will need to oversee how the gifts are designated. After additional discussion, the motion was approved.

Personnel
Tom reported that the committee has met to begin working on salaries for staff in 2009. The recommendations will come to Budget and Finance for budget consideration. The diocese has recommended a 4.1% COLA for all staff. He also noted that medical premiums are going up about 8%, which is less than some segments of the industry.

Budget and Finance
Dunbar said that budget request forms for 2009 have been distributed to all ministry areas and staff.

Strategic Planning is meeting tomorrow night. The Dream afternoon comments are being tallied.

Communications
Waymon provided an update on the promotion of the California Guitar Trio performance on Oct. 21 st.
Ann Weatherholt will be here in early Nov to speak about domestic violence.

Executive Committee – Gary briefed the vestry on plans to hold two retreats for 2009, an all day meeting for leadership, and an overnight for vestry.

Options-Tom summarized the process of gaining the needed approvals to place the rectory up for sale. He noted that for the last 15 months the holdup has been with Loiderman Associates, but now it is the Frederick Planning Commission that didn’t give its approval at the October meeting. Following the October meeting, Tom met with the City and has since been assured that we will be on the November meeting agenda for the Aldermen, and that we will not be turned down. Tom has met with Anna Estep for developing a promotions brochure to assist in the listing of the property, and he also met with a very interested prospective buyer.

St. Barnabus-John Aulls thanked the Over the Hill Gang for their recent work to get the building in shape prior to turning it over to the tenants. The paperwork has been signed, with lots of help from Lee Radcliffe and Todd Salisbury in finalizing the legal documents. The lease commenced October 1 st.

Bylaws-There is no diocesan approval required for amending the bylaws, and the committee will begin meetings tomorrow, and for the next two or three Wednesdays, to complete a draft of the bylaws for vestry approval before the Annual Meeting.

Vestry Nomination Committee- We were reminded that the nominating committee should include five members, not more than two of whom are from the vestry. Nominees must be pledging members and communicant in good standing.

New Business

Nancy Hennessey noted that she will need to invest $600 in her first year of exploration and discernment. Tom Litras made a motion that the vestry supports her financially. The motion was seconded and approved. Waymon noted that the Communications Committee may need to request unbudgeted funding for promotion of All Saints’ week in November.

Dunbar reported that Kristi Essey is doing very well in her new position as the parish accountant.

The next meeting is Nov. 18 th, while the December meeting will be on the 16 th.

Following evaluation, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Respectfully,
Gary E. Crump, Registrar