The vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on April 20, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.
Present were: Senior Warden Charlie Edmonson, Junior Warden Bettyrene Pope, Anne Abraham, Greg Brauer, Dan Clark, Jay Hogg, Doug Perry, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Registrar Emily Klotz, Treasurer Linda Curtis, The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander, and The Reverend Mark Riley. This meeting was held in St. John’s parish house.
The meeting opened at 6:30p.m.
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis: The report was distributed to vestry prior to the meeting.
March vestry minutes were accepted.
Confederate Memorial Committee Report: Linda Curtis, Chair of the Confederate Memorial Committee, presented the committee’s report and their recommendations to the vestry.
Motion by Elizabeth Zimmerman, seconded by Dan Clark: Vestry approves the wording of the memorial plaque. Approved unanimously.
Motion by Dan Clark, seconded by Anne Abraham: The memorial plaque shall be made of bronze and measure approximately 27″ x 27″ (option #1 in the committee report). Approved unanimously.
Motion by Elizabeth Zimmerman, seconded by Anne Abraham: The vestry approves the edited wording of the post-mounted marker, and it shall be made of bronze (option #1 in the committee report). The edited marker shall read:
This memorial was erected in 1901 in memory of local Confederate soldiers by the Hampton Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy with permission of St. John’s Church. While some soldiers are buried in our cemetery, many of the dead were never returned home, and this monument provided a site for remembrance.
In 2020, St. John’s sought to evaluate the monument* in light of its historic and current cultural contexts. The memorial originally included a confederate flag, which to some represents heritage and history, but to others conveys a message of racism and exclusion. It does not reflect the values we hold sacred and was covered with the inscription you see today.
As a church, we mourn the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the Civil War and the terrible tragedy of slavery as well as subsequent racial discrimination and violence. Acknowledging our imperfection, we work and pray for equality and continued reconciliation and healing.
O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Motion approved unanimously.
April 25, 2021: It is unanimously approved by the St. John’s vestry by email vote that the word “monument” be replaced by the word “memorial” in the first sentence of the second paragraph of the contextual sign as approved by the vestry on April 20, 2021.
Motion by Charlie Edmonson, seconded by Jay Hogg: The vestry will make the Confederate Memorial Committee report available to parishioners upon their request. Specific names of guest speakers will be redacted. Motion approved unanimously.
Rector’s Report, The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander The Rector’s Report was submitted prior to the meeting:
Sabbatical Planning: My last Sunday will be on May 30th. My first Sunday back is August 8th . This will be 9 weeks rather than 12. I have some things I had hoped to do that I cannot because of the pandemic. Thus, I will save 3 weeks for later. Thus far I have the following scheduled: Yoga Training, Yoga Retreat, Writing Retreat, Hybrid worship online training, and a 2 month writer’s workshop. One thing I would like to delve into during my retreat will be post pandemic worship and what that looks like when worshipping in person and presenting online options.
Return to in person worship has gone as smoothly as possible. Our Vestry retreat will be on May 8th, rather than May 1st. We will take part in the diocesan bishop and vestry day in the morning on zoom. In the afternoon, we will come together in person to discuss what we have learned and start planning for the Fall. There are two people who cannot attend, but will able to watch the recorded presentation. [After some review, it was decided to find a meeting date in May when all vestry members could attend and discuss the presentation. Vestry members will register themselves for the zoom vestry day or watch the recorded presentation if they are unable to attend the live presentation. Samantha will send out a poll to find a suitable date for a meeting.] I would like to see if we can schedule a special vestry gathering in August to regroup and continue planning for the Fall. It might be helpful to have something with vestry and staff. If we have time, we can talk about potential dates.
Shannon Olson has been out for 3 + weeks after catching COVID. She is doing ok now, but we are not sure when she will be back. If you have had any issues getting in touch with us, this might have something to do with it.
Charitable Trust At this point, Dan Clark recused himself from the meeting. Charlie Edmonson reported that the board of the Charitable Trust recommended the appointment of Dan Clark to a five-year term, effective in 2021. The Charitable Trust can have a maximum of 10 board members. Motion by Charlie Edmonson, seconded by Jay Hogg: The vestry appoints Dan Clark to the Charitable Trust Board. Approved Unanimously with one abstention (Dan Clark).
The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.