Vestry Meeting

November 18, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. Hunt Hendrickson offered the evening devotion.

Present: Tom Litras, John Aulls, Ian McGreevy, Fr. Tommy Rogers, Eleanor Peckham, Fr. Momberg, Hunt Hendrickson, Darren Andrews, Denise Parker, Dunbar Ashbury, Waymon Wright, and Jennifer Mariano,

Guests: Barbara Cartwright, Rebecca Layman, and Allison Cox from Trinity School.

Absent: Donna Seniff, Jim Cox, Dan Lajewski, Bill Gibb, and Simon Arendt

Trinity School Update- Rebecca provided a brief summary of Trinity’s search for a replacement for Pam Seale, and introduced Barbara Cartwright as the new Head of Trinity. Barbara then shared her thoughts about the mission of Trinity School and where she sees the school going in the future.

Approval of Minutes- The October meeting minutes were distributed electronically prior to the meeting. A motion was offered and seconded to accept the minutes, and the motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Dunbar submitted the financial report electronically and also distributed copies of the highlights report. He noted that pledge and plate offerings are behind, but he expects that will normalize by end of year. Spirituality and Fellowship ministries have been split out to conform to our own guidelines. Although we still have a significant deficit, it appears that our revised budget was an accurate one. We are still paying a partial payment to the diocesan assessment and will need to catch up with those payments, so we may need to find the funds to cover expenses through the end of the year. The Budget &Finance Committee will be making end of year recommendations at the December vestry meeting. A complete photographic and written physical assets inventory has now been completed with disc backup in several locations on site and off site. A vestry letter of thanks will be drafted in appreciation for Tom Haines and Dunbar Ashbury for their efforts on this large project.

Rector’s Report- Fr. Tom’s written report focused on upcoming events for Advent and Christmas. The Sunday after Christmas service may also be in the Historic church this year because of logistics concerns in the Great Hall. On January 4 th there will be downtown church Epiphany service at Grace UCC at 6:00 pm. Fr. Tom asked for a motion to move the date of the Annual Meeting to February 8, 2009. It was noted that a proposed change in the bylaws would also officially move the date of the meeting. The motion was seconded and approved.

Fr. Tom also noted that the Christmas Eve candle light service has generated some concerns from the Altar Guild about fire safety and candle wax damage to the pew cushions. There was open discussion about eliminating real candles in the service without compromising the beauty and integrity of the service. Fr. Tom and Fr. Tommy will go back to the Altar Guild for more discussion about how to balance the concerns.

Senior Warden’s Report John distributed his report electronically.

Junior Warden’s Report-The new rain gutters are in place on the Historic Church and the painting is progressing on the Court St. building exterior.

Standing Committee Reports-

PersonnelOur newest staff members, Katie Arendt and Kristy Essey are doing well in their respective positions.

Budget and Finance-Denise noted that the audit is ongoing. Hunt updated the status of a pending estate gift from a deceased parishioner. Dunbar distributed a schedule scenario for possible use of those funds, as well as the proceeds from the rectory and St. Barnabas sale, based on Dec ‘08 projections. The gift can provide a launch point for establishing a Planned Giving dialog for the parish. Dunbar made a motion that the income earned from the estate in ‘08 be used to reduce ‘08 operating budget deficit. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Dunbar then made a second motion that would add the principal of the estate to the vestry-designated endowment. That motion was also seconded and approved unanimously.

Strategic Planning- Fr. Tom will meet with the committee chairs next week.

Communication-new website was launched last week but continues to be a work in progress.

Stewardship- 215 pledges have been received totaling about $540,000. A letter is going out to families who have not yet returned pledges but who did pledge in 2008.

Buildings & Grounds-On December 6 th there will be a rectory cleanup day to prep the rectory for showing and sale.

Options-Tom has been assured that final approval for moving on with the sale of the rectory will be granted in the meeting this week before Mayor and Alderman. Ana Estep is developing a marketing brochure to be used in the sale of the rectory.

St. Barnabas- John Aulls gladly announced that all the papers are signed and we are now receiving rental income.

Nominations-Bill Gibb has agreed to chair the committee. Fr. Tom is working on filling the remaining five seats on the nominating committee.

Bylaws-A draft of proposed changes to the 1994 bylaws was distributed electronically and by mail to all vestry members. A motion was submitted to amend bylaws as presented. There was a section-by-section review of the proposed changes, followed by lengthy discussion on several sections of the proposed changes. Later, the vote was taken to accept the proposed amendments. The motion passed unanimously. Fr. Tom expressed his thanks to the members of the bylaws committee for their efforts.

New Business Eleanor distributed a list of parishioners who have not picked up their parish directories. Those parishioners will be contacted.

The next vestry meeting is Dec. 16 with a potluck at 6:00 pm in the Parish Hall.

Following an evaluation, the meeting finally adjourned at 10:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Gary E. Crump, Registrar