St. Peter’s Church - March 13, 2006

Fr. George Young opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Present: The Rev. Lisa Flores, Toby Atkinson, Lynn Grant, Cheryl Smith, Ginger Mock, Cathy Kaltenbach, Bill Dickson, Neil Blalock, Neil Frink, Francis Flood, Early McCall, and Ben Stephens, as well as guests Jim Carpenter (Treasurer) and Joe Crim. John Dyal was absent.

Following Toby Atkinson’s “centering” meditation, Lynn Grant shared spriritual reflections.

NEXT MEETING: APRIL 10, 2006 @ 6 pm; Devotional: Early McCall

Broome St. Property Update:

Treasurer Jim Carpenter reported:

-of the 27 Invitations to Bid sent, we received 2 responses. One (in the astounding sum of $2.4 million) was withdrawn shortly after being submitted, with the explanation that the property wasn’t large enough for purposes of the developer.

-the other (in the amount of $1.1 million) was from the Jacksonville firm of Harry Trevett and was submitted with a contract evidencing seriousness of intent.
With this bid in hand, Jim Carpenter (with the recommendation of the Technical Committee designated by the Vestry to assist with evaluations in this matter) requested a motion approving the next step in the process: negotiating a contract (and seeking necessary Diocesan approval) for the sale of the property to the subject firm at a price of $1.1 million.

After discussing the 10-month “how we got here” (since we received the original letter from Housing Assistance Corp) and matters pertaining to stewardship responsibilities of the Vestry (pertaining to the financial well-being of the Parish), a motion was made by Neil Blalock (seconded by Francis Flood) authorizing the Treasurer (collaborating with the Technical Committee) to accept the Trevett bid, and negotiate a definitive purchase/sale contract. The motion carried without exception (two abstentions).
The review and approval process is expected to take about 90 days; closing could therefore occur mid-summer. The largest “uncertainty”: the rezoning sought or unknown problems with the land. Intended use is for “median” income, condo-type housing.

Vestry “Thank You’s”:

1) Beth Thorton - for her years of dedicated service as HEAD of the Altar Guild, not to mention the many other areas of Parish life to which she is so regular a contributor.

2) Pat Burns - in particular, for editing, arranging, and publishing the 2006 edition of Lenten Reflections

3) EYC - for their creative and wonderfully enriching Lenten supper soup offerings.

4) The Brotherhood of St. Andrew - for their bountiful and delicious Shrove Tuesday pancake supper offering.

Minutes from the meeting of February 13th were approved without exception.

Rector’s Report:

Fr George began with mention that Bill Dickson is assembling a small committee to initiate a Ministry Review of and for the Rector (something not undertaken for several years); separately, the salary review of compensation schedules for clergy & staff continues.

Fr George’s upcoming service as a Deputy to General Convention and Member of the Diocesan Standing Committee will require his being away from the Parish (and thus less available) until July. He is grateful to the Parish for their understanding and for the opportunity to serve in these capacities.

As previously mentioned the Parish has acquired/subscribed to the Episcopal Church Foundation’s publication “Vestry Resource Guide”; now filed in colored binders according to title/content and assigned for reading as follows: Servants called to Leadership - Volume I (red) is to circulate (PRIOR TO the next Vestry meeting) among first year members; Servants called to Leadership - Volume II (blue), among second year members; and Cornerstone - Volume III (grey), among third year members. At the April meeting, each Volume will then pass to the next level membership, so that at the June 5th meeting, each Member will have read all 3 Volumes. As Bill Dickson has written (paraphrased): after reading these three Volumes, you are sure to agree that these publications are indeed informative and helpful.

Fr George asked that all who had not submitted his/her “profile” from the Vestry retreat do so as soon as possible.

Staff Openings:
The search for a Christian Ed Director is gathering visibility, and resumes/expressions of interest are now coming in. Hopefully, the same will be happening soon in the search to replace Becky Kaufman as Youth Director (leaving end May).

Capital Campaign:
It’s been difficult getting the group of former senior wardens together but the consensus seems to be that as a first step, we ought to identify the immediate maintenance and repair projects that either are scheduled or need to be scheduled and report those to the Congregation.

There then needs to be discussion among the Membership about the responsibilities of property maintenance; the “historic” aspect of the Church building and the added responsibilities that come with that; giving Parishioners (some who were not members at the time of the last Capital Campaign) the opportunity to learn more about BUB; the cost/benefits of BUB as well as some of the other uses to which “capital” funds may be applied.

Proceeds from the sale of the Broome St property should not be considered as “available” - there is consensus that these should become part of the Parish’s “endowment”. There is general feeling that keeping the BUB obligation separate from repair/maintenance is also appropriate. The obligations of property maintenace/repair are different from the obligation to repay BUB and these distinctions need to be explained with care and with clarity.

Assistant Rector’s Report:

Lisa referred to her (Retreat-generated) mission statement: “I challenge to transform” and gave testimony that her commitment is to “name, claim, lift it up, and be proud of it.” She shared guidelines she follows in pursuit of this commitment.

A sumary of the projects she is most involed with at the moment include:

–the Katrina Mission trip to Long Beach, MS 4/20-25. Three volunteers have signed on so far; all interested are encouraged to call for more information.

–Habitat for Humanity’s Spring work day on Amelia will be April 8. Again, no expertise is required, simply the desire to participate.

–the reinvigorated St Peter’s Pastoral Care initiative will kick off with a muster call on April 2 at 5:30 in the Parish Hall. Ed White is developing a new “outreach ministries board” to be displayed in the Parish hall.

And finally, Lisa mentioned that we can expect to hear more about the “For Whom the Bells Toll” death penalty initiative at a future Vestry meeting.

Vestry Initiatives:

1. Parish diversity/inclusiveness (Cheryl Smith/Neil Frink): with the successful conclusion of Black History month, new events are now being developed for the rest of the year (meeting with Pente 4/4).

2. Adult education (Lynn Grant): a new class is being organized (”Ethics After Easter”) to commence April 23 and run for four Sunday’s.

3. Young People - “Under the Hill Gang” (Ginger Mock) - Wine tasting successful though not as well attended as last year; next event: luncheon for high school seniors (5/21), followed by “Cheeseburger in Paradise (August). “Promotional” tee shirt is being developed to raise group awareness and expand membership. Look for young adults actively involved in Habitat Day (4/8).

4. Year-round Stewardship…(Ben Stephens): With assistance from Pente, mission has been better defined and near-term goals established: a committee is being formed to write a mission statement and establish 3-year goals. To get people thinking about “stewardship” in ways that reflect the Parish’s true and multi-faceted involvements, the term “congregational development” will be adopted. A bulletin board/collage exemplifying this is now on display in the Parish Hall (thanks to Pat Burns & Rich Smith).

5. Enhance music program …(Early McCall): will meet with Pente April 4; hoping to develop 3-year plan.

6. Membership - growth, retention, nurturing & assimilating (Neil Blalock):
Still searching for list of inactive members.

7. Spiritual formation…(Toby Atkinson): working with John Dyal on developing a spritual formation model.

8. Pastoral Care… (Cathy Kaltenbach): the preliminary list of potential “shepherds” has been developed and invitations to the April 2 “muster” have been sent. Commencement of the new program is targeted for Oct 1.

Senior Warden’s Report:

The St. Peter’s Foundation is nearly ready for launch, thanks to efforts of Clyde Davis (legal) and Margaret Tassey (word processing). Daryl Holcomb will see that appropriate accounting approvals are obtained.

Missing Document: Brian Laing’s dissertation on the Delaney family. Information on its whereabouts is requested.

Vestry Person of the Day: Bill reviewed the history (Roy Taylor, 1998), begun to ensure seamless execution of the various activities each Sunday. The responsibilities are large, several, and important; service participants (servers at liturgy, ushers, greeters) are now being phoned on Thursday’s as reminders. VODs should inform Pat Burns of any no-show.

Junior Warden’s Report:

Francis requests being excused due to the press of family obligations; replacement is being sought.

Other business:

Grants - Neil Blalock reported that hearings will be held in Tallahassee the last several days of the month; if possible, the Parish should be represented. Discussions with advisor Susan Little suggest that a Grants Committee should be formed to guide/coordinate future efforts in this area.

Bus - Ben Stephens heads the new committee (Neil Frink, Alan Vanderheiden, Becky Kaufman, and Pat Burns) whose mission is to explore/assign responsibility for: operations (including mileage monitoring and driver designation); maintenance; insurance; fund raising/support;and rehab/redesign. Considerable excitement and energy have developed around this project (thanks Ben).

Conclusion:

The meeting adjourned with closing prayer at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,