Emmanuel Episcopal Church
April 22, 2009
Minutes of the Vestry Meeting
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
April 22, 2009
Present Father Robert Salamone, Father Edwin Beckham, John Becker, Phillip Cofer, Joe Clements, Curt Collier, Dee Forester, Chuck Galis, Erwin Greene, Matthew Hicks, Vince Howard, Matt Humphrey, Marty Kemp, Nancy McDuff, Naomi Norman, Lisa Yarn
Absent: Anne Brightwell
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Father Robert. There were no additions to the agenda.
John Becker gave the devotion with the theme of letting go of everything that stands in the way of your mission to follow Jesus’ teachings. Setbacks produce opportunities to move forward.
Information/Discussion Items
For Stewardship, Joe thanked Curt and Anne for their articles for the Tower on their commitments and feelings toward stewardship. He encouraged all on the Vestry to go through this exercise and submit an article for the Tower.
For Mission and Extended Ministries, Vince noted a correction to the amount approved by the Vestry for the school in Haiti from $2400 to $2500 per quarter.
Matthew reported for the new Committee on Ministry that the members of the committee are:
Matthew Hicks (chair), Butch Bush, Emily Kleiber, Betsy Turner, Chrissy Marlowe, and Fred Johnson. The committee will assist John Ballard in the discernment process of his calling to the ministry and will make a recommendation to the Vestry. The Vestry in turn will make a recommendation to the Bishop. The committee has met twice and plans to have a recommendation by the May Vestry meeting. Matthew provided copies to the Vestry of the yearly schedule for the Vocational Discernment Program for the Priesthood for 2009.
In reporting on the Huddle House property, Matthew explained that Robin Smith owns the Huddle House. The ground lease from the Emmanuel Foundation expires in July 2011. Smith wants to sell the Huddle House because his franchise lease expires on June 30, 2009. Since the Foundation owns the ground, we could buy the building or Smith could find another tenant.
Motion: Phillip moved that an ad hoc committee be formed to investigate the lease, obtain an appraisal of the building, and bring back a proposal for action to the Vestry.
The motion was seconded and passed.
Chuck Galis and Matthew Hicks comprise this committee.
Marty reported for the ad hoc Fundraising Committee (to close the budget gap for 2009) that an event will be held in August. Plans are for a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction. The committee is continuing the planning and will report at the May Vestry meeting.
Naomi presented the committee’s nomination for the Faithful Servant Award, Eileen Sisley. The committee is chaired by Katherine Byrne and includes Betsy Turner, Chuck Galis, Fr. Robert and Naomi Norman. Betsy has been working with Jim Norton to design a special pin/pendant for the recipients and Naomi shared a rendering with the Vestry. The cost will be approximately $120 for the cross, plus a chain. The recipient will also receive a framed declaration of the award and be the guest of honor at the May reception honoring the Christian Education teachers (May 17, 2009). A permanent plaque will be placed in the Common Room to list all the recipients. The committee also hopes to develop an oral history of Emmanuel from the memories of each recipient and to present a CD of these interviews to each honoree.
Reports
There were no questions or comments on the submitted reports. Father Robert reserved his comments to the discussion of the Capital Campaign Feasibility Report.
Financial Review
Nancy notified the Vestry that the financial statements will now be sent by email as a PDF file. The Finance Committee will have access to the financial portion of the Vestry section of the Emmanuel website. She noted that the Cash on Hand puts Emmanuel in a good position as to cash flow. Treasurer Johnny Terrell and Director of Finance Karen Holland are transferring some of this cash to CDs in order to earn some interest; half will be in a six-month CD and half in a12-month CD. She reiterated that the pre-paid pledges will now be added into the income monthly (one twelfth each month).
Action Items
Motion: Vince moved to increase the amount of the quarterly payments to the school in Haiti from $2400 to $2500 per quarter in 2009.
The motion was seconded and passed.
Motion: From the Faithful Servant Award Committee, Naomi presented Eileen Sisley to be the 2009 recipient of the newly created award.
The recommendation was passed unanimously.
Special Discussion of Rob Townes’ Report on the Capital Campaign Feasibility Study
Father Robert noted that the called Vestry meeting on April 20 with Rob Townes was for gathering information. The conclusions in the report were positive overall, but the surveys indicated there is still some ambiguity among parishioners. He asked for input from each of the Vestry to determine how the Vestry feels about the report. To move forward we need strong consensus. We will move forward in some way, but the Vestry must discern how and in what time frame.
A summary of the conclusions from the Vestry comments includes:
- For Stage One, we need an architect, a land planner, and a budget to move forward with our vision. This would include a complete maintenance audit of our facilities. This gives the Vestry time to share the needs and plans and to see where the economy is going.
- We need a realistic timetable based on the architectural and land use plans and the full audit.
- The Vestry believes more funds can be raised once there is a specific plan to present. Leadership is now in place to keep this moving.
- The parish needs to know the Vestry has heard their ideas and is proceeding with a plan.
- The Vestry needs to have parishioners believe in them and see them moving forward.
- While these plans are being solidified, we can begin to do the maintenance work with funds already set aside for this.
- For Stage Two, there must be plans to show the parish what else needs to be accomplished to encourage people to contribute more to meet those goals.
Two committees will be formed:
- Committee One - to search for an architect to do the maintenance audit, to develop a budget, and formulate a plan to proceed.
- Committee Two – to make a list of the needs of the parish to be included in the overall plan.
Naomi asked that any of the Vestry who would be willing to serve on one of these committees contact either Father Robert or her.
In reporting the outcome of the feasibility study to the parish, the following points need to be made:
- The parish listed needs in the priority order: campus improvement and maintenance, renovation of the Potter’s House property for church use, and new building construction.
- There is an understanding of financial concerns because of the economy, but parishioners are excited and want to move forward.
- The Vestry will be bringing in an architect to do an audit and present plans.
- The Vestry will determine a real budget to be presented.
The next step from the Feasibility Study is to begin putting the pieces together to develop a capital campaign. The results of the study indicate that we should go forward in the campaign. The Vestry has heard the concerns and priorities of the parish.
Motion: Naomi moved for the Vestry to state that: The Vestry is committed to a capital campaign and is moving forward on the planning and preparations.
The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by consensus.
Good of the Order
John Becker was honored as Man of the Year by Helping Hands.
Emmanuel was named the Donor of the Year by the Athens Land Trust.
Naomi read a quotation from the December 4, 1899, Rector’s Report, that she thought was true for our current situation. “In our great struggle for money, let us not forget that the raising of money for any purpose whatsoever, is not the primary or most important work of a congregation! I would urge upon the congregation the importance of hearty cooperation with your Rector in the matter of building up the parish, strengthening the members we already have and bringing in many new ones to share the blessings that have come down to us.”.
The meeting was closed with a prayer from Father Edwin and adjourned at 10:25 pm.
Submitted by Lee Albright, Clerk of the Vestry
Approved by: John Becker, Anne Brightwell, Phillip Cofer, Joe Clements, Curt Collier, Dee Forester, Chuck Galis, Erwin Greene, Matthew Hicks, Vince Howard, Matt Humphrey, Marty Kemp, Nancy McDuff, Naomi Norman
Absent: Ann Brightwell