Vestry Meeting
The regular meeting of the Vestry of St. John’s Church, Elizabeth City Parish, Hampton, Virginia was held on June 7, 2005. The Reverend Donna-Mae Siderius, Rector, opened the meeting with prayer at 7:10 p.m. Vestry members present were Greg Brauer, Linda Curtis-Senior Warden, Nelson Durden, Charles Edmonson, Ben Ferris, Bill Forinash, Bob Harper, Peggy Hayes, Connie Heath-Treasurer, Vestal Lewis, Kay Olson, Bettyrene Pope, Sandy Smith-Registrar, and Bill Terrill-Junior Warden. William Andrews was absent. David and Susan Copley were at Camp Chanco, at Fresh Start, a retreat for newly ordained clergy and those clergy who are new to a parish.
Devotions from “Day by Day” were provided by Bill Forinash.
Minutes
The May Vestry minutes were approved with a correction to page three under Security Issues.
Treasurer’s Report
Connie Heath reported a checking account balance of $9,770.00. Income for May was $31,556.31. Expenses for May were $34,866.15. We continue to be on target with our budgeted income and expenses. Bill Boyer, Jr. sent statements to parishioners in May. Donna-Mae reminded the Vestry of the cyclical nature of church income, decreasing in the summer and increasing again in the fall. She also reminded the Vestry that effective July 1, we pick up one-half of an assistant clergy position, plus health insurance for both David and Susan Copley.
Connie asked the Vestry for permission to borrow up to $10,000 from the Hoffman House account, like we did last year, if the balance in the checking account reaches a level where salaries and other expenses cannot be paid. Any amount borrowed would be repaid by December 31, 2005. A motion to this effect was made by Nelson Durden and seconded by Bill Terrill. The motion was unanimously passed by the Vestry.
Action: The Treasurer is authorized to borrow up to $10,000 from the Hoffman House account, if necessary to meet expenses, with repayment by December 31, 2005.
Donna-Mae reported that parishioners were very generous with donations toward the burial costs of Sexton Willie Parker’s niece.
The Treasurer’s report was unanimously approved.
Finance Committee Appointments
Charles Edmonson, chair of the Finance Committee, reported that nominations for the two vacancies on the Finance Committee will be presented to the Vestry at the July meeting. Charles asked that a letter of thanks be sent to Gwen Cumming and Ann Ward, whose 3-year terms have expired.
Action: A Thank You letter will be sent on behalf of the Vestry to retiring Finance Committee members Gwen Cumming and Ann Ward.
Junior Warden’s Report
Bill Terrill provided the following report on our buildings: (1) Interstate Pest Control is coming on June 8 to look at the parish house and the church building. We are looking at a new contract for pest control. Donna-Mae Siderius commented that she thought we had one year of free service from our previous contractor, National Exterminating Company. Donna-Mae and Bill will discuss this matter further; (2) The freezer has been fixed. It was plugged into the wrong receptacle; (3) The drain by the dishwasher has been fixed and now drains properly; (4) Bill asked about the problem with the dishwasher. It appears someone was supposed to come and check out the dishwasher, but no one came Bill will follow up on this matter; (5) We have an outstanding invoice with Crest for $4200. We will not pay this until some outstanding work is finished; (6) The garbage disposal was clogged with grease and had to be repaired at St. John’s expense.; (7) Our heating and air conditioning contract with RS Andrews has expired. Bill is seeking a proposal from E.T. Lawson who did the original duct work for us.; (8) The light above the ramp at the back of the parish house needs repairing. Bill asked for help with this project.; (9) A new light and a new lock in the children’s play area will be installed.; (10) Bill is working to determine why there is no power in the receptacles in the room across from the Ladies’ restroom.; (11) The crawl space cover in David Copley’s office needs replacing.; and (12) Mark Hollingsworth notified Bill that the items in storage need to be removed.
Bill also reported that he and Don Heath visited the second site of our parish and removed the broken sign. The picture in the sign is being stored. The sign needs to be rebuilt. Donna-Mae Siderius asked Bill to investigate the feasibility of a metal versus a wooden frame and to provide a cost estimate to the Vestry at the next meeting. Bob Harper stated that the back of the tile display on the site needs a lock.
Donna-Mae informed the Vestry that any maintenance needs we notice should be entered into the binder in Bill Terrill’s mailbox.
Action: Bill Terrill will determine the cost of a metal sign to replace the wooden sign at the second site of St. John’s Parish and report to the Vestry at the July meeting.
Rector’s Report
David and Susan Copley have been with us two years in July. They have more than fulfilled our hopes for their ministry with us. Donna-Mae, David and Susan met on May 25 to (1) discuss priestly formation; (2) review initial job descriptions and accomplishments; (3) identify priorities for St. John’s in the next year and clergy areas of interest; and (4) work on new job description outline.
In regards to priestly formation, both David and Susan felt good about the opportunities to share responsibilities. Susan still needs to conduct a funeral on her own. Both expressed a desire to learn more about administrative and financial areas and will spend time with Bill Boyer, Jr. Donna-Mae will also encourage them to be part of our stewardship campaign. All clergy need to look at the time they spend in terms of units. For example, morning, afternoon and night are each one unit of time. A full time person should have 12-15 units per week; a person working � time should have 9-11 units per week, ideally with only one week per month of 15/11 units. All clergy need to strive to balance work and personal time. In regards to the accomplishments, a handout was provided, outlining seven areas.
Donna-Mae, David and Susan decided to concentrate on five priorities during the next year: (1) Christian Education for youth and adults. For adults, there will be a large group opportunity through “via media” and small group opportunities through spiritual nurture, book study and the men’s group. For youth, there will be program interfacing with Rite 13, J2A and EYC. The EYC will be divided into a junior and a senior high group; (2) Outreach – restructuring into an umbrella organization which pulls together leaders; an on-going men’s outreach and a domestic mission trip.; (3) Buildings and Grounds – in development with the Junior Warden, organizing a Building and Grounds Committee. This committee will look at different areas that need attention and will draw from the varied skills of parishioners. The Junior Warden will have oversight responsibility. Long term goal is planned maintenance.; (4) Commission System and Leadership; and (5) People and ideas for the 2010 Anniversary Celebration. The clergy decided who was interested in doing what over the next year in relation to the priorities. Donna-Mae is interested in working on the Commission System and the 2010 planning. Donna-Mae and David are both interested in the Buildings and Grounds Committee. David is interested in men’s outreach, automation, including possible computer repair, and a domestic mission trip, with a lay coordinator/facilitator. Susan will continue to work with the EYC, specifically integrating the Rite 13 and J2A programs. Susan is also interested in continuing her work with the Newcomer Ministry, with lay leadership taking more of a role. All clergy will work on “via media”, which is planned for October and November, and an intergenerational Advent program. There is also a plan to revise the St. John’s Brochure this summer, complete with color pictures, and in the future, to create in-house a pictorial parish directory.
Donna-Mae distributed the “Staff Away Schedule for Summer 2005”. David Copley will be in Liberia from July 19-28. He will receive an award for his work with Cuttington College. It will be a very busy summer for clergy and staff at St. John’s. Anyone who has some time to volunteer in the office between 9-2 is welcome.
Donna-Mae also distributed the “J2A Pilgrimage Itinerary” and the “Provisional Agenda for the Belize Mission Trip”. Donna-Mae will be going with the J2A group. David and Susan Copley (and Megan), staff members Kathy Dansey and Harper Lewis will join Ben Ferris and Sandy Smith from the Vestry on the mission trip to Belize. Sandy Smith gave a brief update on the mission training event recently held. A commissioning for both groups will be held on Sunday, June 19 at the 10:00 service.
Vestry members were asked to sign up for Sunday Sexton duties in July and August.
Vestry Reflection (retreat) will be June 10-11. The Vestry will continue discussing their vision for St. John’s over the next five years. On June 2, David Copley, Peggy Hayes, and Bill Terrill met with Donna-Mae Siderius and the retreat facilitator, Reverend Win Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary, to plan the retreat. Bible study will be on Friday night.
Old Business
Security
Ben Ferris provided a handout comparing services and cost between our existing service provider, Johns Brothers Security, and SCAT Security Systems. There was some concern that the charge from the last Vestry meeting was to pursue answers to questions over specific features and not the consideration of another company. Ben stated he was confident that SCAT could provide the same service as Johns Brothers at a much better cost. There was much discussion regarding the features outlined on the handout in relation to our needs and whether or not we should contract with SCAT. Donna-Mae stated that we need a security camera in the new museum area. The Vestry looked at two options; (1) contract with SCAT for both the parish house and the church building or (2) retain Johns Brothers for the church building and contract with SCAT for the parish house. There was a great deal of discussion about whether to switch the church building over to SCAT or to maintain contracts with two different companies, one for the church and one for the parish house. Bill Terrill made a motion that we have one contract, with SCAT, for both the parish house and the church. The motion was seconded by Kay Olson and unanimously passed by the Vestry. Bill Terrill will request funding from the Williams Trust.
Action: Vestry voted to contract with SCAT Security Systems to provide security for both the parish house and the church building. Bill Terrill will request funding from the Williams Trust.
Blinds
Vestal Lewis provided a second estimate from Chesapeake Bay Shutters for the installation of plantation shutters in the parish hall and the clergy offices. The services and costs were compared to those previously provided by Custom Plantation Shutters. Even factoring in the additional cost for two windows that were not included in the original estimate from Custom Plantation Shutters, the estimate was less than Chesapeake Bay Shutters. There was discussion about the $11,000+ cost, what kind of warranty, and whether the shutters serve an aesthetic or utilitarian purpose. The shutters will serve to reduce the amount of sunlight coming into the building and therefore, a reduction in air conditioning costs should occur. Vestal Lewis made a motion that we purchase plantation shutters from Custom Plantation Shutters, subject to approval of funding by the Endowment Board. The motion was seconded by Kay Olson. The motion was passed by a vote of 13 to 1. After the vote was final, Bill Terrill asked that the Vestry minutes reflect his desire to change his vote.
Action: Plantation shutters for several windows in the parish hall and clergy offices will be purchased from Custom Plantation Shutters, subject to approval of funding by the Endowment Board. (At the Vestry retreat on June 11, Donna-Mae stated that she and Hansi Haufler, a member of the Decorating Committee, would take our request to the Endowment Board.)
Program
There was no formal program this meeting. Donna-Mae Siderius distributed an article “What it Takes to be a Leader” and requested the Vestry read it prior to the retreat. Donna-Mae reminded us of our responsibilities as a Vestry. A Vestry is different from a Board of Directors of a corporation. As leaders, we are expected to put aside personal agendas and determine what is God’s call for us. We are vision bearers of the parish and need to stay focused on our mission and provide guidance for the parish. It is Donna-Mae’s hope that in the future all the work regarding building issues can be done in committee, with proposals brought to the Vestry for consideration.
Donna-Mae also distributed an article from The Jamestown Cross, “Report From YOUR Standing Committee”, and commended it to the Vestry for reading. St. John’s had two articles in the recent edition of The Jamestown Cross. Sandy Smith also commended for reading the EYC President’s address.
Good of the Order
Nelson Durden reported on behalf of the “Tree Committee” that an allay of crepe myrtles has been planted in the cemetery. Future plans include the planting of six oak trees and an oyster shell roadway from the back of the cemetery. Funding comes from donations.
Donna-Mae asked the Vestry to call their Care Groups and invite them to the coronation mass and picnic on Sunday, June 13.
Donna-Mae reported that Andy Andrews had offered St. John’s a stackable washer and dryer for use in the parish house. His wife will pay for the installation costs. Peggy Hayes made a motion that we accept this gift. The motion was seconded and unanimously passed by the Vestry. Vestal Lewis and Bill Forinash said they could provide temporary storage.
Action: A stackable washer and dryer were accepted as a donation from Andy Andrews. Installation will be at no cost to St. John’s.
Kay Olson reminded the Vestry that June is United Thank Offering month. Donation envelopes were included in the June Epistle and can be turned in each Sunday in June.
The St. John’s Summer Soup Kitchen has fed about 43 individuals since it started on Memorial Day. This ministry will continue each Monday through Labor Day. We expect more people, especially children, once school is out. St. John’s also provides a Bread Ministry on Wednesday afternoons. Plastic grocery bags are needed.
Tacky Light Award
Vestal Lewis reported that last month’s Tacky Light Award (a tacky white crab) broke on “holy ground”. An equally tacky Minnie Mouse was passed from Vestal to Bob Harper to “add to his collection.” Bob was the very first recipient of this award (way back when)!
Donna-Mae adjourned the meeting with prayer at 9:20 p.m.
The next Vestry meeting will be July 12 (the date was changed from July 5 at the retreat). Bob Harper is scheduled for devotions and snacks.
Sandy Smith
Registrar