MINUTES - AUGUST VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - August 14, 2006
Fr. George Young opened the meeting at 6:05 p.m. Present: The Rev. Lisa Flores, Toby Atkinson, Cheryl Smith, Cathy Kaltenbach, Lynn Grant, Bill Dickson, Neil Blalock, Francis Flood, Early McCall, and Ben Stephens. Ginger Mock, John Dyal, and Neil Frink were absent.
Kristina Smith and Brian Moody were present, to meet and be greeted. Following introductions, they departed.
Following Toby Atkinson’s “centering” meditation, Neil Blalock shared spriritual reflections.
NEXT MEETING: September 11, 2006 @ 6 pm; Devotional: Ben Stephens
Vestry “Thank You’s”:
1) All the folks who offered up prayers for the individual youth members.
2) Liz McCall and those whom she enlisted to participate and energize the special prayer celebration for Janet Hayes
3) Margaret Tassey for her regular and ongoing contributions in assisting with the word processing requirements; and Clyde Davis for his legal work, on documention for the St. Peter’s Foundation.
Minutes from the meeting of June 5 and from the Special Meeting of July 24 were approved without exception.
Senior Warden’s Report:
BY-LAWS - St. Peter’s Foundation: A draft, incorporating comments/suggestions from the Special Vestry Meeting (July 24) of of the BY-LAWS was handed out with the request that any comments on the latest draft be forwarded to Bill as soon as possible so the Vestry can vote on a final draft at the Sept Meeting. This will give accountant Daryl Holcomb time to submit the final documents with our application to the IRS for tax exempt status prior to the Sept 30 quarter end.
New Vestry Nominations: In selecting Vestry members to replace those retiring, the By-Laws of St. Peter’s Church stipulate 1) that a nominating committee will be formed for the purpose of developing and submiting a slate of nominees to the Parish; and 2) that the number of nominees will be at least two more than the number of vacancies.
The Senior Warden suggested (and so moved) that 1) the requirement that the list of nominees (submitted by the nominating committee) be greater than the number of vacancies be eliminated; and 2) that the By-Laws of the Parish be modified accordingly. The motion was seconded (a lively discussion followed). The matter will be taken up at the September meeting; if 2/3 of the full Vestry approves it, the By-Laws will be so modified.
Other items covered in Bill’s report had to do with the handsome republishing of Brien Laing’s history of the Delaney period; the status of the circulation of the Vestry Guides; and the new procedure whereby the Vestry Person of the Day is provided a packet with the most up-to-date information as to the various Servers at Liturgy, which packet is now placed in the Sacristry for pick-up.
Junior Warden’s Report:
Neil reviewed the status of the mildew/mold clean-up effort (pressure washing seems to have eliminated some of the urgency to repaint as extensively as we once thought). A new lawn mower is needed (cost of $1,500-3,000). Dead tree on back side of the campus will be removed.
Neil’s more urgent appeal was that we begin thinking of budgeting for some of the significant capital requirements that will invariably arise in the future. For example, there are some 16 air conditioning compressors serving the various Parish buildings; there is no schedule of what the age or status of these units is; thus we could be hit with a significant expense of replacing several of them at one time, with no “reserve” to cover the outlay. This echoes some comments made by the prior Junior Warden during his time of service.
Rector’s Report:
The upshot of Fr George’s report was: there is a host of exciting things currently going on in the Parish and/or soon to be announced; he is optimistic that these are indicative of and a precursor to a meaningful uptick in Parish growth over the next several years. In light of this and the associated financial requirements, it seems prudent that we revisit the topic of a capital campaign in early Fall. He will more specific suggestions and a proposed timetable at the Sept meeting.
Fr George is very pleased with the enthusiasm and creativity Kristina Smith has brought to her position (Christian Formation), in particular the “Godly Play” curriculum for our grade school children and the ideas being generated for the Nursery. Brian Moody has also hit the ground running and is well along designing a list of Fall activities for the youth group.
He also briefly reviewed the Financial Report (7 months thru July): bottom line, we have taken in $38 thousand more than we’ve spent and it appears that the trend for the balance of the year is positive.
Assistant Rector’s Report:
Lisa reviewed progress on the Gulf Coast recovery effort and the partnerships the Parish has going with St. Paul’s - New Orleans (her home parish) and the Diocese has with St. Patrick’s - Long Beach, MS. August 27 will be a day of Remembrance for the devastaion that occurred in the aftermath of Katrina, and will also be the 1st Sunday services will be held in St. Paul’s restored church building.
Another mission Trip is being planned to Long Beach Oct 25-31 - interested folks should contact Lisa.
Vestry Initiatives:
1. Parish diversity/inclusiveness (Cheryl Smith/Neil Frink): music fest (Sleepy & the Gang) August 25th, 7-9 in the Parish Hall; refreshments will be served.
On August 27th, Jessie Lee, vocalist and guitar player, will offer gifts of gospel music during the breakfast hour; and our “Gospel music explosion” will be the Oct 29, 3:30-5pm (reception to follow).
4. Year-round congregational development…(Ben Stephens): committee in formation. Regifting dinner (Aug 31) will replace what used to be known as the “ministry fair” and will be the “time & talent piece” of the Pledge Process. Ben is commited to seeing that the information developed during this process is better cataloged and more easily accessible.
Christian Formation for All (previously Rally Day) kicks off Sept 10: the three service schedule resumes and formation-orientation classes will be available for everyone.
5. Enhancing Music Program…(Early McCall): An outline of proposed plans, created with help of Pente and drawing on input from the Survey, will be available at next the Vestry meeting. A summer camp for aspiring musicians is one idea.
7. Spiritual formation…(Toby Atkinson/John Dyal): brochure describing model for formation (and listing Parish resources available) is still in process (Jerry Torchia assisting).
8. Pastoral Care… (Cathy Kaltenbach): Christ Church Ponte Vedra is providing assistance in planning the September “overnight” at Epworth on St. Simons and the fall launch of the “shepherds” program.
Conclusion:
The meeting adjourned with closing prayer at 8:10 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
John C. Train, Clerk
