St. Peter’s Church - April 10, 2006
Fr. George Young opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Present: The Rev. Lisa Flores, Toby Atkinson, Cheryl Smith, Cathy Kaltenbach, Bill Dickson, Neil Blalock, Neil Frink, Francis Flood, Early McCall, and John Dyal, as well as guest Joe Crim. Lynn Grant, Ginger Mock, and Ben Stephens were absent.
Following Toby Atkinson’s “centering” meditation, Early McCall shared spriritual reflections.
NEXT MEETING: May 8, 2006 @ 6 pm; Devotional: Cathy Kaltenbach
Vestry “Thank You’s”:
- Jerrie Richardson - for making all those many phone calls, reminding folks of their upcoming service (as Lectors, Chalice Bearers, Ushers, Greeters, etc) (this in addition to the REGULAR duties of being a REGULAR office Volunteer!).
- ALL those responsible (the choir, musicians, organizers, readers, Clergy, acolytes, altar guild etc etc) who participated in making our Palm Sunday services so full, rich, and memorable.
- Bob Grant, Joe Crim, Rich Smith and all who volunteered for the campus clean-up on Saturday, April 8th.
- Those who provided the wonderful Soups for our Lenten suppers: the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, the ECW, the Under the Hill Gang, the Inquirer Class Foyer Group, as well as the EYC.
- Gail Crim, Linda Lentjes, & Joe Crim, and all who participated in making over 500 Palm Sunday crosses.
Election of Junior Warden:
By unanimous vote, Neil Blalock was elected to fill the position for the remainder of the year.
Minutes from the meeting of March 13th were approved without exception.
Rector’s Report:
Fr George reminded those who serve as Vestry Person of the Day, that a new procedure has been adopted to help montitor “servers” who fail to show (despite now the phone reminders by Jerrie Richardson): a note is to be placed in the VOD envelope on the Volunteer desk in the Office.
The effort to fill the two open Staff positions (Christian Ed and Youth Director) is gathering momentum; meaningful news should be forthcoming in the next several weeks.
With all that’s going on both in the Parish and in the larger Church, any decision about a Capital Campaign has been put off until the Fall.
General Convention: Bishop Howard is making an effort to keep people informed of what is likely to come before the Convention and thereby avoid the surprises which occured last time. All are thus urged to read with care messages received either directly from the Bishop’s office or circulated by Fr George/the Parish Office.
Following discussion of how we might express our support for Bishop Howard and his episcopate, the decision was made to pick the matter up again at the May Vestry meeting by which time the agenda of the Convention will be somewhat clearer. In the meantime, we will be adding to our Parish prayer list candidates for the position of Presiding Bishop as well as Convention attendees.
Diocesan Convention: Fr George circulated a Resolution “On Congregational Support of the Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida” which as drafted is to be sponsored by St. Peter’s and the parish of St. John’s Cathedral. The Resolution cites the historic 15% - 20% “standard” of financial support from congregations to the Diocese, which standard was reduced in 1999 to 10%, resulting “…in a severe diminishment of the health, vitality, and mission of our diocesan ministry;” and resolving therefore that the financial support from congregations be increased to 15% of a congregation’s annual operating revenues by 2010, in steps of 2% in ‘07 & ‘08 and 1% in ‘09.
After discussion which focused on whether sanctions might be imposed on parishes which fail to comply with this measure (which there was general feeling against); and whether parishes (and missions) which have less than $100,000 in annual operating revenue might be exempted, the view was shared a) that we should support the Resolution and b) that an amendment might be offered at Convention to cover those two issues.
With assurances from Fr George that those points would be voiced, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved that St. Peter’s join St. John’s Cathedral as a co-sponsor of the Resolution.
The Oyster Roast: revenues - $12,220; expenses - 2,615; income available for Mission - 9,604.
Assistant Rector’s Report:
– 7 volunteers have signed up for the Katrina Mission trip to Long Beach, MS 4/20-25, six of them from St. Peter’s
–the reinvigorated St Peter’s Pastoral Care initiative kick-off April 2 was very successful and enthusiastically received; (see Vestry Initiative #8 below).
Vestry Initiatives:
1. Parish diversity/inclusiveness (Cheryl Smith/Neil Frink): early plans underway for a Fall “Gospel musis explosion” as well as for a summer evening musical event.
5. Enhance music program …(Early McCall): with input from the Pente Group, a 3-year strategic plan is being developed; will contact Tim McKee (Christ Church, Ponte Vedra) for assistance in writing job description for Music Director.
7. Spiritual formation…(Toby Atkinson): Jerry Torchia has enthusiastically signed on to assist Toby and John Dyal with the next “developmental” phase; stay tuned!
8. Pastoral Care… (Cathy Kaltenbach): The April 2 “muster” was well-attended and generated much interest/enthusiasm; six “shepherds” have accepted the call. Commencement of the new program is targeted for Oct 1, with much “education” planned prior to that.
Senior Warden’s Report:
In Jim Carpenter’s absence, Bill briefly reviewed the financial report for the 3 months through March. Expenses remain well in check and revenues are nearly $15,000 ahead of budget. Most impressively, our “net income” for the 3 months is positive by some $35,000 (and that’s pre-Easter).
Bill reminded everyone that VOD switches should be e-mailed both to Pat Burns and to himself.
Junior Warden’s Report:
Only days in the new job, Neil Blalock has already met with waterproofing specialist Dennis Blanchard (who was involved the last time this work was done for us) about the exterior of the church building. Apparently, the condition, and treatment required, is not as serious as we once thought; overall, the exterior is quite sound. The interior will require attention but it too is in good shape.
Conclusion:
The meeting adjourned with closing prayer at 8:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
John C. Train, Clerk
