Vestry Minutes

Vestry Meeting, October 17, 2023

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

The Vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on October 17, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Present were: Senior Warden Bill Beach, Treasurer Linda Curtis, Registrar Lynn Kirkland, Anne Abraham, Darden Barrett, Ron Kindley, Jim Klotz, Brad Norris, Elizabeth Zimmerman, and The Reverend Mark Riley. Absent: Junior Warden Jay Hogg

The meeting opened at 6:30 p.m. with Litany for 17 October, 2023

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the September meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis: Linda reported that the income was down for September but was expecting the months of October, November and December to improve. She also cautioned that due to inflation there may not be a surplus at the end of the year but on a positive note, there is $200,000.00 in the reserve.

Rector’s Report: On Hold

Associate Rector’s Report, The Reverend Mark Riley

  • Summary/Update Since Last Meeting – Sunday Updates – The past 5 weeks has seen a 22% increase in attendance with 86 people attending. That is 17 more than the average attendance at this time last year.
  • Stewardship Update – Darden Barrett, Betsy Clark and Bill Martin are our Stewardship Committee and they will be sending out letters to the congregation within the next week. Interest is being shown by parishioners asking questions about the letters hanging from the church ceiling and puzzles in the pews.
  • Blood Drive – The blood drive is scheduled for November 2, 2023, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Nine people have signed up so far; walk-ins are welcome. Please share this event with friends and neighbors. A mailer will be going out soon.
  • Racial Healing Program – Three people have completed the program to date. Additional dates and places to participate will be forthcoming.
  • HVAC Discussion – Mark would like to sit down and have a discussion with HVAC experts, the Jr. Warden and all that play the organ to come up with a solution for consistency of temperature control in the church. With two different systems and the humidity in the church, it is affecting the organ and impacting the music program.
  • Invitation/Reception/Event(s) – Mark would like to invite the new President of Hampton University to St. John’s and reestablish some long term relationships. He would like to establish a relationship with the students by opening up the parish hall to students for pizza, conversations and board games. Contacting the music department is another avenue to make connections.

Warden Reports

  • Senior Warden, Bill Beach
    • Vestry Retreat – The retreat is scheduled for January 19-20, 2024. The cost will be $117.00 per person which includes a room and meal ticket. A motion was made by Ron Kindley for each vestry member attending to pay for their own room and was seconded by Anne Abraham. The motion was approved unanimously.
    • Proposed Church Commemoration Event – The 400th Anniversary of the Baptism of the First Black Child, William Tucker, is being put on hold to gather more information/facts of the actual event. Jamestown also claims this event.
    • New Rector Conversation – Bill has a meeting with the Bishop and Canon Roy to discuss the Priest In Charge option offering the position to Mark.
  • Junior Warden, Jay Hogg – Reported by Bill Beach
    • The conversion of the boilers from oil to gas is complete and the City Inspector provided final approval.
    • While cleaning and organizing half of the basement under the stage area, a HVAC leak was found. Warwick Plumbing & Heating performed a trouble call and cleared a drain line. (2nd time in recent months)
    • There was a leak in the ceiling of the handicap bathroom. Roof Engineering inspected the roof/vent pipe and resealed the flashing over that area. They also reinstalled a dislodged slate shingle over the church’s north vestibule.
    • The mold in the HVAC system on the 1st floor education wing was cleaned by Stanley Steamer. The hallway carpet was cleaned as well.
    • The floor tiles in the closet where chairs are stored in the Parish Hall are disintegrating. There is a concern of asbestos. A motion was made by Jim Klotz to let Jay, in conjunction with the Mary Williams Trust Fund, have an asbestos abatement firm come in to inspect and make recommendations to fix the flooring and was seconded by Darden Barrett. The motion was approved unanimously.

Old Business

  • Invite, Welcome, Connect Questions –
    • Business Cards and QR Codes – Business cards are in the vestibules and Parish House. Ron will check on the tracking of the QR codes.
    • Yard Signs – Darden obtained a quote but ordering was put on hold when Samantha announced her departure.
    • Banners – Bettyrene was working on this but Patrick can provide assistance.
    • Training for Ushers – We don’t feel they need anymore training but should be reminded to clean out any trash left in the pews after services.
    • Coffee Hour – Thank you to Brad for continuing to sign-up for coffee hour. People are coming over after services.
    • Name Tags – Please continue to wear the name tags located in each pew and Mark will continue to make an announcement each week.
    • Newcomer Packets/Information – Anne will get together with Will Andrews to make some new packets. The information forms can be found on our website under Resources then New Members. They can be emailed or mailed as well.
    • New Member Social – There are approximately 20 new members/attendees. A newcomer social should be scheduled for November in the evening or after a Sunday service

New Business

  • Stanley Steamer also cleaned the stairwell and the children’s chapel carpet costing $351.00. A motion was made by Ron Kindley to ask the Mary Williams Trust to incur the $351.00 expense to clean the additional carpets and was seconded by Elizabeth Zimmerman. The motion was approved unanimously.
  • As a result of changing the heating system from oil to gas we now have a 5000 gallon oil tank underground that has approximately 800 gallons of oil and sludge remaining in the tank. Jay and Bill will speak with E. T. Lawson for the best way to resolve that issue.

Committee Reports

  • Jim reported that Christian Formation has plenty of volunteers

The meeting concluded with a prayer and adjourned at 8:10 p.m.