The vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on February 21, 2017 at 6:31 pm. Present were members Doug Miller, David Edmonson, Ann Templeman, Bettyrene Pope, The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander, Mary Pat Croft, The Reverend Mark Riley, Bill Brown, Val Bowen, Pat Dennehey, Bob Harper and Whiting Chisman Jr. and Treasurer Linda Curtis. Absent from the meeting were Duncan Garnett, Rose Hobart, and Youth Representative Will Olson. Bill Saunders was also in attendance.
Samantha began with a prayer and introductions of the vestry members. Treasurer’s Report Linda reviewed the January 2017 financials. January income was very favorable. The entire year’s allotment of $65,000 was received from the Mary Williams Trust (MWT), $17,500 as a bequest of Ann Ward’s estate, and $20,000 for outreach from the Nickerson fund. Expenses were higher than budgeted due to Workman’s Comp was paid for the year and bulk postage for the year was purchased in January. Linda reviewed pledged income for 2016 and taking into account 2016 money received in 2015, 2016 and 2017 pledgers exceeded what they promised to pay in 2016. The Hoffman House budget is healthy; $25,000 will be withdrawn to supplement the general church budget at a later date. Linda walked through the spreadsheets for the new members of the vestry. A summary of the restricted accounts was given. The Assistant Rectors Fund has been renamed, Mark’s Continuing Education Fund. Whiting questioned Linda why the entire insurance wasn’t paid for the year. That is why MWT gave the entire $65,000 upfront so they could pay it ahead of time and receive a discount. Linda was not aware of any available discount for paying in advance but will look into it. Housing Allowance – Linda asked that we approve the housing allowances for Samantha and Mark for 2017 ($12,000 for Samantha and $12,300 for Mark). Samantha explained that the vestry needed to approve it since it is non-taxable income. Whiting made a motion to approve the housing allowances, Bill seconded the motion, the vestry voted and the motion was carried.
Presentation on MWT- Bill Saunders gave a presentation on the MWT – how it came to be and how it is being managed. He also asked the vestry consider renting a safe deposit box to house the pictures of the church’s stained glass windows for insurance purposes. He also suggested housing a copy of the compilation of all the trusts at the church and a safe deposit box. He explained that first class craftsmen can be afforded and used. Bill would also like a simple pamphlet be created about the church funds where a summary would be given about the donors and their wishes for the funds. Bill said he would be happy to come talk to the vestry each year, especially the new members about the purpose and intention of the funds. Doug thanked Bill for the work that he and Wells Fargo had done for a very small fee to manage the fund.
The minutes were reviewed for January and a correction was made. Under the Jr. Warden’s report the phrasing “the roof repair went over” was replaced with “potential repairs for the roof to the Parish Hall were reviewed”. Bettyrene moved that the minutes be approved as amended, David seconded the motion and it was passed.
Rector’s Report –
- The new vestry members signed the Declaration.
- Amending the by-laws was discussed to move the election of the board members from March to February. It was suggested to remove the month from the by-laws and tie it instead to the annual meeting. By-laws need to be sent to the new members.
- Election of officers: Doug described his duties of the Sr. Warden. Vestry Training – March 4th is the vestry training day put on by the diocese at Eastern Shore Chapel in Virginia Beach. Vestry members who had attended in the past highly recommended attending it especially new members.
- Samantha explained to the new members about the scripture reading vestry members read at each meeting. A section of the scripture is read each month by one of the vestry members, the vestry member explains why they chose it and then they ask for input from the other vestry members. A sign-up sheet was passed around.
- An impromptu vestry meeting was held at the Vestry’s Nights Welcome evening. Samantha wanted the results of that meeting to be reflected in the minutes. Connie Heath was elected to the Endowment Board and Nancy Adams was elected to the Charitable Trust. It was suggested to have someone from the foundation and board come talk to the vestry about what they do. Come and See-Samantha reported on the program. She was pleased. Over the 2 Sundays, 20 people visited. But beyond those 2 Sundays people are still bringing visitors. That is a part of the program to change the culture and environment of the church. To get members comfortable about asking people to visit. There was 100% participation by the vestry and Samantha received good feedback on the postcards. The Newcomers Committee will meet on Monday, February 27th on how to integrate new members into the church. Whiting asked about follow-up. Samantha explained the newcomer integration and that the process cannot end. A next step will be cards or letters sent to people who have moved into the area. The Come and See program is new to Samantha and the Episcopal Church, it is not our strength yet but we need to be deliberate and do it every year. Mark stressed we need to invite people to other events as well, not just church on Sunday. Samantha cited the statistic: churches that grow have people who enter on a day other than Sunday.
- The retiring members of the vestry were thanked for their service and presented with beautiful flowers from Samantha.
Jr. Warden Report – Bettyrene gave an update on the maintenance performed during the month. There were problems with the A/C unit but she is thrilled that there is now a technician in Hampton who can work on it. Plumbing issues occurred during Night’s Welcome. A summary of Night’s Welcome was given.
Prior Sr. Warden Report Doug thanked Bettyrene for hard work on Night’s Welcome (and Jack).
At the next vestry meeting Samantha would like to have a discussion on committees and have vestry members connected with ministries. Also the By-laws need to be addressed about officer elections.
Other business Whiting discussed getting a professional architect or engineer to survey the roof and put a plan together for the repairs. Whiting made a motion to accept a donation of MWT to have an architect or engineer to perform a survey of the roof, woodwork and painting for up to $12,000. Bob seconded the motion and it was passed. Secondly Whiting made a motion for the Jr. Warden to solicit proposals from 2-3 firms (Hudson Architects and Q Design were mentioned) to perform the work. Bob seconded the motion and it was passed. Whiting asked Bettyrene if she could get that by the next meeting.
Samantha instructed new members that if a vestry meeting is going to extend beyond 2 hours, it must be agreed upon and voted on by the vestry.
The meeting was closed with Compline and the vestry was adjourned at 8:18 pm.
Submitted by Ann Templeman, registrar