Minutes of the Vestry Meeting

Present:  Gillian Ball, John Ballard, John Becker, Anne Brightwell, Katherine Byrne, Phillip Cofer, Bill Connerat, Erwin Greene, Matthew Hicks, Vince Howard, Nancy McDuff, Naomi Norman, Betsy Turner, Lisa Yarn, Father Robert, Mother Nancy.

Absent:  Robin Krause .

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Father Robert.  The devotional was given by Betsy Turner on the different forms of prayer that should be included in prayerful meditations.

There were no additions to the agenda.

Visitors:  Carol Jones and Polly Connerat presented plans for the revitalization of the Stephen Ministers program at Emmanuel.  Carol and Polly recently completed the training as Stephen Minister Leaders.  The program has been active at Emmanuel for over 20 years and has had 70 Stephen Ministers.  Classes to train new ministers will take place from late August to early December and will involve 50 hours of training.  Current ministers’ training also needs to be updated.  A request for funding for the materials will be forthcoming to the Vestry.

Commission Reports:

Commission reports were filed electronically.  Additions to these reports were as follows:

Betsy Turner of Parish Life highlighted the reception after the Evensong Service on March 2.

John Becker of Resources reported that estimates are needed for roofing and guttering.  There will be a parish workday March 15 for tasks inside and outside the church.  Volunteers are being recruited for both the Guild of St. Francis and the Facilities Committee.  The Vestry needs to do a walk-around of the facilities to observe the state of the buildings.  A priority list of outside work must be prepared.  Outside repairs should be completed before those on the inside.

Information & Discussion Items:

 Naomi led a discussion about the sign for the front yard of Emmanuel.  It was agreed that the sign should identify the church as well as invite people to visit and participate.

Motion:  Naomi moved that a small ad hoc committee be created by the rector with representatives from the AGM, Welcome, and Resources committees to meet with a sign designer.  The Vestry requires the  following checklist of characteristics be included: the sign should identify the church, give the website address, have the Episcopal shield, be a unique design, have at least three options with at least one option from stone, and perhaps include “welcomes you” in the wording.  The budget will be $5000.

The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Budget Review:

Nancy pointed out changes from the November draft budget to the final version being presented.

Motion:  Nancy moved to approve the budget as presented for 2008.

The motion was seconded and passed.

Nancy reminded the commission chairs of their responsibility to make sure the line items in the budget are not exceeded.  Karen Holland will not reimburse beyond the approved budget.  There is a form to request an adjustment in the budget with the process outlined on the form.  This will be placed on the Vestry section of the website.

Junior Warden’s Report:

Katherine distributed a checklist for locking the church buildings on Sunday.  Also presented was the Emmanuel Security Proposal with comments from Katherine and John Becker.  It was asked if an alarm system should be included with the proposal.  A full proposal will be presented at the March Vestry meeting.

Senior Warden’s Report:

Naomi thanked everyone for their work on the “Mortgage Burning” dinner and celebration, especially Katherine and Betsy.

In an update on the cottages she reported that our attorney, Darrell Begnaud, is reviewing the deed for CASA and the Land Trust.  A letter will be sent to the Diocese for permission to move forward.  CASA has offered to include a position on their board for an Emmanuel Vestry member.  Matthew Hicks was appointed by the rector.

The Vestry supports the Safe Families Project in principle and will send the proposal to the MEMC to determine if Emmanuel will participate.

A subcommittee of the Finance Committee will draft a document for the creation of a Legacy Society at Emmanuel.  This will be reviewed by Stewardship and the Vestry and, if approved, presented to the congregation.  Naomi requested suggestions for the name of our society.

Naomi discussed the topic of “how to be a good commission chair” and invited all chairs to meet with Father Robert and her to define the roles and needs of their commissions.  All chairs need to touch base periodically with all the committee chairs under their commission.  Gillian emphasized that the commission and committee chairs need to contact those who expressed a desire to participate in the work of the commission on the Time and Talent sheets returned with the pledge cards.

Rector’s Report:

Father Robert reported that Church Women United has requested a special collection before May 2, a “Least Coin Collection.”

Motion:  Father Robert moved that we take up a “Least Coin Collection” for Church Women United if he finds we have participated in the past.

The motion was seconded and passed.

An excerpt from The National Church Compensation Report was distributed and Father Robert pointed out that Emmanuel is in line with those figures.

Copies of Sizing Up the Congregation by Arlin Rothauge and Navigating the Transitions in the Midsize Congregation by Alice Mann were given to the Vestry members to read.   Robert said Emmanuel has 966 registered members and the average Sunday attendance is 400-460.  Emmanuel is still functioning as a “family-size” church when we are now a “corporate-size” church.

Fr. Robert is requesting funding to join the Alban Institute which is a great resource for information and guidelines for building congregations and parish life.  The Vestry was asked to read the distributed Alban Institute information in the following week for an e-vote on Emmanuel’s becoming a member.

Members of the Vestry sometimes receive questions or concerns that need to be directed to the clergy or another specific leader.  In such situations the response should be to help that person understand that he/she needs to speak directly to the clergy or the person responsible for the program concerned.

Action Items:

Motion:  Lisa moved to approve the Emmanuel Episcopal Day School By-Laws.

The motion carried.

Motion:  The Vestry was asked to approve the rector’s nomination of Chris Lloyd to the Endowment Board.

The motion carried.

Good of the Order:

Katherine thanked everyone for their help on the “Burn the Mortgage” celebration.

The Vestry was reminded that they will serve as greeters at the 10:30 service on March 30 and April 6.

Betsy commented that Emmanuel needs to own a wheelchair to be available when needed.

Several offered that the music and the choir have been wonderful.

John Ballard announced that there will be a golf tournament as a fund raiser for Camp Mikell on April 26.

The meeting was closed with a prayer and adjourned.

Next Meeting:  March 26, 2008, 7 pm. 

The devotional and Bible study will be presented by Father Robert.

Submitted by Lee Albright, Clerk of the Vestry

Approved by: Gillian Ball, John Ballard, John Becker, Anne Brightwell, Katherine Byrne, Phillip Cofer, Bill Connerat, Erwin Greene, Matthew Hicks, Vince Howard, Robin Krause, Nancy McDuff, Naomi Norman, Betsy Turner, Lisa Yarn