Vestry Meeting Minutes
March 11,
2003
The meeting was called to order with a prayer at 7:15 p.m.
The first order of business was corrections of the February
Minutes. Minutes were amended and approved.
Finance and Investment: The Finance Committee Report was
presented by Pat Rimroth who pointed out line items that are already
over budget (YTD actual vs YTD budget). Pat informed Vestry that
total assets now stand at $46,000, as opposed to total assets in
January of $57,000. Office and communications expenses were found to
be unusually high to date ($852.00). Stephen and Lorraine will
follow up by discussing these expenditures with Maryke. For a
clearer picture of monthly expenses it was suggested that the
rectory mortgage and rectory improvements be broken down to two line
items. Pat will speak with Maryke about this. A process for expense
approval was suggested and Pat Rimroth will follow up by discussing
this with Maryke. It was determined that more information is needed
about the Shadinger Fund and Pat will contact Len for more
information. It was pointed out that 12-15 families who have pledged
in prior years have not yet made pledges for 2003. Pat and Elizabeth
will attempt to obtain additional pledges by contacting these
families. It was suggested that Memorial Fund monies are available,
but we don't have a clear understanding as designation or parameters
for use of these funds. Suggestions included calling people to ask
about any special designations and/or to ask permission to use the
funds for specific purposes or as Vestry sees fit. It was also noted
that we have no current process for acknowledging donations to the
Memorial Fund and giving donors an annual accounting of fund
expenditures and balances. Stephen will see that a letters for both
these purposes are drafted after he and Lorraine discuss and hammer
out a process with Maryke. The Finance Report was accepted.
E-Scrip: Pat Rimroth reported on the progress of setting
up E-Scrip to raise funds for ECA. Maryke is responsible for the
E-Scrip account and Elizabeth Ward is getting information from AVUCC
regarding how their program is set-up. E-Scrip contacts will be Pat
Rimroth and Elizabeth Ward. Pat will determine a launch date for
scrip sign-ups and inform Allan who will then write up an article to
submit for publication in the April SHAPE.
Rector's Report: Stephen informed Vestry that Shirley
Harned-Kelley has resigned from her position as newsletter editor
and Lorraine perform this function for the April issue of SHAPE.
Alex Dykes then volunteered, for an indefinite period of time, to
take on the position newsletter editor. He also reported that our
Lenten Soup and Movie series and the Judas class are coming along
nicely and are well-attended. Confirmation class will start on March
12 and end in May.
Fellowship: Susie Ferguson shared that many Fellowship
events were planned at the recent fellowship planning party. She
requested volunteers from Vestry to join committees to coordinate
these events. She also asked each Vestry member to answer the
question she submits each month for the Vestry Vibe portion of
SHAPE. Another SHAPE article Susie coordinates is "Gift of
Gratitude". She requested each Vestry member to think of people
in their ECA family that they are grateful for and submit a brief
write up.
Advertising: Allan mentioned our ad in the Yellow Pages
and asked if we want to make any changes. Stephen already deleted
unnecessary verbiage to make room for publication of our website. It
was agreed to leave the ad as is with these minor changes. Stephen
said that he would like to get other area Episcopal Churches to
jointly coordinate and pay for an ad in the San Jose Mercury News to
be published just before Easter.
Prayer Books: Alex noted that our prayer books are getting
frayed and need to be replaced. Susie Ferguson reported the Worship
Committee has done a survey and determined that we need to replace
about 100 prayer books. Alex said he had priced them and they could
be purchased for $13.50 each with free shipping. Alex said he would
donate 20 books himself and would write an article for the SHAPE
soliciting donations for additional books, especially in celebration
or in memory of a loved one.
Outreach: Terry Root pointed out that the only continuing
group participation in outreach projects/programs is the Montgomery
Meals project. He designed a survey for to learn what interests ECA
members have in community outreach and distributed copies to all
Vestry members. He will work on distributing and getting responses
from the congregation in order to see what other Outreach ministries
might appeal to and generate the participation of ECA members. Ken
McCormick suggested that each of the ministry areas might have
questions they wish to ask the congregation. He suggested that each
ministry area prepare questions and bring them to the next Vestry
meeting for inclusion in the survey.
Jr. Warden: Allan Jones reported that all is well with the
rectory. JV board has decided that, when the Youth Center is in use,
the door to the Sunday School room should remain open in order to
provide protection from pockets of cold air in this room. JV is also
looking into possible solutions for the "dead" air problem
in the sanctuary. Regarding facility use, the Boy Scouts approached
JV to request building one facility which they could use and share
with Joint Venture Churches. Another request for facility use was
made by KinderMusic which is a for-profit organization.
Considerations include insurance or a "hold harmless"
agreement and determination of a fee for facility use. Allen
emphasized to Vestry the role of the Joint Venture Board as being
responsible for facilities and their upkeep and related funds.
Staffing: Ken updated Vestry on the search for recruiting
candidates for Music Director/Organist and Christian Education
Director. The Christian Education committee will be meeting this
week with Penny to learn all they can about the work, processes,
procedures, and structure of Christian Education programs at Joint
Ventures. Ellen noted that staffing for Christian Education could
take various forms and may involved hiring more than one person.
Stephen noted that the members of the Christian Education/Youth
Search Committee are Ellen Lukanc, Jon Mills, and Linda Nollette;
and members of the Music Director/Organist Search Committee are Todd
Axtell, Gwen Hacker, and Andy Kerr. He emphasized his high regard
for these people and their abilities to perform the tasks at hand.
Member Directory: Ken mentioned the recently published
member directory Although a few ECA members have commented that the
directory was "measly", most people said that it was
concise, functional, and up to date. Ken said that we need to decide
whether to proceed with a photo directory and this will be discusses
at our next meeting.
The meeting closed with a prayer at 9:15 p.m.
Next meeting: Tuesday, April 8th at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Lorraine Zeller
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