MINUTES - MAY VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - May 12, 2008

Fr. George Young opened the meeting at 6pm. Present: The Rev. Kimberly Still, Mary Lynn Torchia, Dolores Lord, Lena Watson, Neil Blalock, Ed Grissom, Jon Lasserre, Asa Gillette, Dave Lott, Neil Frink, Francis Flood. Absent: Bob White, Norma Norris

Next Meeting : June 9, 2008 @ 6 pm ; Devotional: Jon Lasserre

Vestry Thank You’s:

1) THE TROPHY WINNING SHRIMP FESTIVAL FLOAT, and all who painstakingly gave hours of dedicated, creative and inspired attention to making St. Peter’s the 2008 stand-out entry.

2) Caroline & Thomas Morrison, Pat Burns, Shelly Wilson, Lorraine & Jim Corbett, and Brian Moody, who in the wee small hours of Pentecost, meticulously attended to decorating and preparing the Church for that special day we affectionately refer to as “the Church’s birthday” (and which serendipitously coincided with Mother’s Day).

3) Harrison Neal, Bert Way, and all who participated in the car parking effort on Saturday and Sunday of Shrimp festival.

4) All who served as Shrimp festival “hosts” and “greeters” in the Church, offering nourishing welcome and refreshing hospitality.

5) The Bereavement Luncheon Committee and all who have played so comforting a role in our most recent funeral observances (notably that for Paul Burns and Don Neal).

6) Bonnie Johnson, for her extraordinary energy and leadership as head of ECW for the last 2 years.

7) Frank Paolillo, who will be “retiring” as a regular participant in the acolyte program, for all the leadership and guidance he has given to that ministry the last several years.

8) Karen Miller, for her extraordinary contributions to our Wednesdays-4-All program by sharing so consistently her culinary talents and love for St. Peter’s.

9) Margaret Tassey, for her dedication to the Lay Eucharistic Ministry, and thus keeping it so well organized, and inspired.

Rector’s Report:

O Burns Hall: Fr George gave a bit of the background leading up to the announcement/dedication of the Parish Hall’s being renamed Burns Hall at Paul’s funeral. New signage is presently underway.

O Clint Weinberg will begin his period of overlap with Caroline Morrison on 5/19; he will be invited to the June Vestry meeting but all are encouraged to stop by the office to meet Clint. In that he will continue his current Sunday responsibilities in Orange Park, he will not be at St. Peter’s for Sunday services for the forseeable future.

O Parish Bus: Bob white is coordinating adding new markings (with shield) to the current identification on the exterior of the bus.

O The Rev John Rodgers, who has assisted at St Peter’s in various clerical and pastoral capacities, will begin a 10-month interim assignment at St. Mark’s Brunswick and thus will be less seen in Fernandina.

O Giving Campaign: As we approach the 1st anniversary of the highly successful capital campaign, plans are to publish a summary of projects completed, underway, and scheduled in the year ahead. It’s a good thing to remind everyone periodically of the important, ongoing effort emanating from this wonderful expression of community stewardship.

O St. George’s: Fr. George read a letter of gratitude from clergy and people of St. George’s for the contribution of our previously-used kneelers and for the historic ties of affection and cooperation between the two parishes.

O Fr. George drew from a survey he had recently been asked to complete, by extracting one of the questions and asking for Vestry input: the most important issue facing the St. Peter’s community. The ensuing discussion was thoughtful, constructive and revealing, and will undoubtedly be pursued on future occasions in a number of different forums. (more…)

MINUTES - APRIL VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - April 7, 2008

Fr George Young opened the meeting at 6pm. Present: The Rev. Kimberly Still, Mary Lynn Torchia, Dolores Lord, Lena Watson, Neil Blalock, Ed Grissom, Norma Norris, Jon Lasserre, Asa Gillette, Absent: Dave Lott, Francis Flood, Bob White, Neil Frink

Next Meeting : May 12, 2008 @ 6 pm ; Devotional: Dolores Lord

Vestry Thank You’s:

1) Bob White, Ed Grissom, Ben Stephens & Brian Moody, for their dogged, thorough, and compelling research and recommendation leading to the acquisition of our new Parish Bus.

2) Children’s Choir, their parents, and Jan Smith for the wonderful contribution of joyful music and heavenly voices to our Easter celebrations.

3) The Men’s Celebration Breakfast Team and their indefatigible leader, Darrell Powell.

4) The ECW and their wonderful contribution of food and program to our first after-Easter Wednesdays for All.

5) Bo LeClaire for invaluable assistance with the Wednesday night children’s program and her help with the choir.

Rector’s Report:

O Update on efforts to enliven the liturgical/worship experience for the entire Parish community: 1) members of the Youth Group will assist and become more actively involved at our Family service on the 2nd Sunday of each month; 2) at the 2nd service Memorial Weekend (5/25) (when we will switch to our two-service summer schedule), we will celebrate the Eucharistic with the 18th century liturgy used at the time of St. Peter’s founding.

O George shared the Wellness Report for Clergy & Lay Leaders, required annually by the Diocese, in which the Parish’s pastoral care of/for its Clergy is evaluated. Categories of Prayer (ie retreat & renewal), Study (Sabbatical), Physical Exercise, and Recreation (days off and vacation) are to be reported on individually. It is fortunate that the Bishop keeps tabs on such matters and that St. Peter’s is well regarded in this area.

O On this point, however, Neil Blalock mentioned that there is a financial obligation (a “stewardship” matter) associated with Clergy sabbaticals which are not ordinarily budgeted; and that we ought to begin including it in our annual budget discussions. (more…)

MINUTES - SPECIAL VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - March 13, 2008

Pursuant to discussions at the regular Vestry meeting (March 10, 2008), Fr George Young called a Special meeting, to further consider the offer from Housing Assistance Corp or Nassau County (HAC) to purchase the 5+ acres of undeveloped property the Parish owns, located at Broome & 11th Streets.

The meeting was convened at 5pm. Present: Rev. George Young, Neil Blalock, Mary Lynn Torchia, Neil Frink, David Lott, Dolores Lord, Lena Watson, Bob White, Jon Lasserre, Ed Grissom, Norma Norris.

Following a few minutes of “orientation”, we were joined by Harold Perry, CEO of HCA & HCA’s attorney, Jeffrey Tonasetti.

There ensued an open discussion of the project that HCA has in mind; aspects of their application for funding that have implications for their offer to St. Peter’s and the necessity of our prompt response; and a number of “what if’s”.

After our guests departed, there was further discussion among St. Peter’s members about the possibility of HCA’s being willing to consider a ground lease versus an outright purchase (pursuant to a memo submitted by Jon Lasserre). This discussion resulted in two separate motions:

1) Motion approving the next steps in contract process: made by D Lott and seconded by R White, the motion to move ahead with HCA’s offer to purchase the property for $705,000 was approved without exception.

2) Motion to suggest to HCA a lease option: made by J Lasserre and seconded by E Grissom, the motion acknowledges the sales contract but recommends that HCA be made aware of St. Peter’s willingness to discuss the option of a ground lease in lieu of sale, in the event that that option may be of interest to them. The motion passed with no dissent but with one abstention (ML Torchia prefers the outright sale).

The meeting concluded at 6:10 pm.

MINUTES - March VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - March 10, 2008

Fr George Young opened the meeting at 6pm. Present: Rev. Kimberly Still, Mary Lynn Torchia, Neil Frink, David Lott, Dolores Lord, Lena Watson, Asa Gillette, Bob White, Francis Flood. Also present: Jim Carpenter (Treasurer), Joe Crim. Absent: Jon Lasserre, Neil Blalock, Ed Grissom, Norma Norris

Next Meeting : April 7, 2008 @ 6 pm ; Devotional: Asa Gillette

Treasurer’s Report:

Jim Carpenter briefly reviewed the Feb Financial Report: though slightly behind in our “collections”, our expense pay out is also below budget and on balance, we are in fine shape. He cautioned: there are rumors that our financial condition is strained, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. Pursuant to instructions from the Feb Vestry meeting, two CDs ($75K for 3 months and $100K for 6) had been purchased with excess capital campaign receipts, still leaving cash in different accounts exceeding $100K. He reviewed the “Revised” 2007 Giving Campaign cash flow projections for the next two years. After projected receipts and expenditures of roughly $400K this year, he expects to have about $100K to begin in ‘09 the final phase of collecting and deploying Campaign proceeds.

Property at Broome & 11th

Jim distributed a 3-year summary of discussions between/among St Peter’s folk and various other parties interested in helping us decide the disposition of our 5+ acres of vacant property. The Parish has received a new letter from Housing Assistance Corp of Nassau Co (HAC) to purchase the land for $705,000. While the discussion about this proposal was made a bit difficult by the fact that several new Vestry members were not familiar with the history, the tenor was generally supportive of selling the property based on HAC’s intention to build “affordable” housing, for which there is critical need in Fernandina Beach. That said, Fr George felt that given the number of Vestry not present and the need to give all more time to consider, a special meeting would be called and a representative of HAC be invited to attend. A motion delaying the vote until the further meeting was held passed with only one dissent (Mr. Flood, who felt that we should accept the Treasurer’s recommendation to move forward with the HAC offer). (more…)

MINUTES - February VESTRY MEETING
St. Peter’s Church - February 11, 2008

Fr George Young opened the meeting at 6pm. Present: Rev. Kimberly Still, Neil Blalock, Ed Grissom, Mary Lynn Torchia, Neil Frink, Norma Norris, David Lott, Dolores Lord, Lena Watson, Jon Lasserre, Asa Gillette and Bob White. Absent: Francis Flood, Dave Lott. Also present: Jan Smith, (Music Director), Jim Carpenter (Treasurer), Joe Crim.

Next Meeting : March 10, 2008 @ 6 pm ; Devotional: Bob White

Treasurer’s Report:

Jim Carpenter did not make a report but did ask for Vestry approval to begin investing excess cash in bank CDs, for terms (generally 3 & 6 months) that would not jeapordise our access to cash when we needed it. A motion was made authorizing the Treasurer to invest excess cash in short term CDs; the motion passed without exception.

Minutes of the Jan 28th meeting were approved without exception

Vestry Thank You’s:

1) Martha Skirven, for her six years plus of uplifting and inspired service as St. Peter’s Music Director and choir master.

2) The Youth of the Parish and Brian Moody, for a very successful Youth Sunday & Rummage sale.

3) All who assisted in collecting and organizing things for offer at the Rummage sale (with particular mention: Aaron Morgan, Bert Way, Inga Warren, Kim & David Page, Kay & Tom Basnight, Rob Hicks).

4) Kristina Smith and all who participated in the best ever Epiphany pageant.

5) The Altar Guild, whose tireless efforts and relentless attention to detail during our many advent and Christmas service occasions, truly make St. Peter’s the “crown jewel” of Center Street.

6) The flower arrangers and deliverers, an unsung ministry that lends a spirit of majesty and uplifting beauty to our worship and outreach.

7) Mary Lynn Torchia for her contribution of altar chalices, patens, and vases; and Nancy Carpenter for cleaning/tidying up the Parish Hall vesting room, each reflecting skilled and loving hands and true dedication.

8) Jim Carpenter for his consistent, unwavering dedication as our parish treasurer, particularly in areas of budgeting, audit, cash management, planning, and report preparation - skills only exceeded by dedication and fastidious attention to detail! (more…)