The regular meeting of the Vestry of St. John’s Church, Elizabeth City Parish, Hampton, Virginia, was held on November 1, 2005. The Very Reverend Donna-Mae Siderius, Rector, presided, opening the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Vestry members present were Greg Brauer, Linda Curtis-Senior Warden, Nelson Durden, Charlie Edmonson, Ben Ferris, Bill Forinash, Bob Harper, Peggy Hayes, Connie Heath-Treasurer, Vestal Lewis, Bettyrene Pope-Junior Warden, and Sandy Smith-Registrar. William Andrews, Ben Ferris, and Kay Olson were absent. The Reverend Susan Copley and Bill Boyer, Financial Administrator, were also present.
In honor of All Saints Day, the Vestry sang “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God.”
Devotions appropriate to All Saints Day were provided by Charlie Edmonson.
Donna-Mae Siderius encouraged the Vestry to attend the All Saints Evensong service on Sunday, Nov 6 at 5:00 p.m., where we will remember all our parishioners who have died during the past year.
Program
Susan Copley previewed the Stewardship presentation she plans to provide for the children on Sunday, November 20. This is the first time that our children have received an explicit presentation on Stewardship.
Donna-Mae Siderius led the Vestry in a discussion of Stewardship, stating that messages we received as children about money shaped us as adults. She reminded us that we are called to fund ministry. Donna-Mae read the article “How Healthy is Our Money Identity?’ and asked the Vestry to determine St. John’s financial identity. The consensus of the group was that we are a high anxiety, moderate-asset church, where the first question generally raised is “Where will we get the money” instead of “Does God call us to do this?”
Minutes
The minutes from the October Vestry meeting were approved with corrections regarding the amount of Daisy McMenamin’s bequest and the status of pledges received.
Treasurer’s Report
Connie Heath presented the Treasurer’s report. She reviewed the Income/Expense Statement, the Special Accounts Report, and the Balances of Designated Accounts Report. The Vestry was provided with a written report from Debbie Williams regarding the status of the St. John’s Mission Fund for our adopted Katrina family.
Connie reported that the checking account balance, as of November 1, was $1,358.92. Connie moved the balance of Daisy McMenamin’s bequest on November 1 from the General Fund to the Memorial Fund, as previously requested by the Vestry. Income for October was $33,463.66. Expenses were $36,542.21. With 83% of the year complete, our total pledged income is at 73.68%. Our expenses are at 79%.
Connie reported that she had moved $3,000 from the Hoffman House account in October to the General Fund, as previously approved by the Vestry. We have now borrowed a total of $18,000 from the Hoffman House account, which must be repaid by December 31, 2005. There was some concern about our ability to repay the Hoffman House by this date. Since our average yearly pre-paid pledges are $19,000, and this looks like it will be an average year, we should have the money to repay this debt.
Bill Boyer reported on a current financial need. Payroll must be met on November 14. State taxes must be paid by November 18. We will not be able to meet these expenses with the income anticipated over the next two Sundays. Bill suggested that we borrow $10,000 from the bequest of Daisy McMenamin to meet these expenses. Since the bequest was undesignated, it is the Vestry’s choice on how to spend the money. Another option presented was to take out a bank loan, which must be repaid with interest. There was much discussion about using the McMenamin money, although undesignated, to cover general operating expenses. Bob Harper made a motion that we borrow $10,000 from the undesignated bequest of Daisy McMenamin, to be repaid by December 31, 2005. The motion was seconded by Bettyrene Pope. The motion was passed on a vote of 10 to 1.
Bill led a discussion about our general financial situation. We are about 6% behind in pledges. Because of deaths and moves, we are losing about $8,000-$10,000 in pledged income. It was suggested that we factor in “write-offs” in future budgets. One Vestry member suggested that Vestry members consider accelerating their pledges to help with our shortfall. The Hoffman House account is also low. Another invoice for work done on the parish house had to be paid, which means our line of credit did not decrease as much as we anticipated, resulting in about $1200 more in interest payments than projected. It was suggested that we include a statement about the need to keep pledges current in the Sunday service leaflet.
Bill reported that we passed our annual financial audit. He distributed the St. John’s Church Financial Report for 2004, as prepared by Whitt Mares, Certified Accountants and Consultants.
Action: The Treasurer was authorized to borrow $10,000 from the undesignated bequest of Daisy McMenamin in order to meet payroll for November 14 and to pay State taxes due on November 18. The money must be repaid by December 31, 2005.
Stewardship Report
Bob Harper reported on the activities of the Stewardship Committee. Bob drafted a letter to parishioners for the Committee to review. The letter will be mailed, with pledge cards, by the end of the week.
Follow-up letters and calls will be made to parishioners as necessary. The Vestry may be asked to make telephone calls. A Stewardship Brunch is scheduled for Sunday, November 20. Baxter Simmons will prepare the food. The Vestry was asked to set-up, serve, and clean-up. There was a question regarding how the event would be funded. There is $500 in the budget for Stewardship activities. Bob reported that Donna-Mae Siderius provided a wonderful sermon on Stewardship this past Sunday. Susan and David Copley will continue this theme in their sermons over the next two weeks.
Junior Warden’s Report
Bettyrene Pope provided a written report of activities since our last meeting. A Building Committee, consisting of John Chiasson, Jack Pope, William Yagel, and David Copley, met on October 11. Greg Brauer attended as the Vestry representative from the Building Issues group formed at our last Vestry retreat. The Committee will be working on concerns and developing a Maintenance Schedule for the church and the Parish House. The Hoffman House has been treated for termites and added to the pest control contract. Heating/Air Conditioning checked out problems with insulation falling off the vents. They have not returned to do the repairs. Bettyrene discussed a leak in the stage ceiling with Jeff Ambrose of W.M. Jordan. Jordon will replace the sheet rock. The status of various other projects was outlined in the written report.
Rector’s Report
Donna-Mae Siderius presented the following information.
A Thanksgiving Service with the downtown churches will be held on Sunday, November 20 at 4:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church. The Thanksgiving Service with the Hampton Episcopal churches will be at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
Since Christmas is on a Sunday this year, there will be one service only at 9:00 a.m. There will also be only one service on New Years Day at 9:00 a.m.
Donna-Mae and Harper Lewis will be at CREDO from November 6-11. Harper will be in training. Volunteers will be in the office from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. weekdays. The Sunday service leaflets have been done. Ann Ward is available if any other leaflets need to be created.
Donna-Mae distributed the final St. John’s Facility Use Policy, Procedures and Guidelines document.
The Sunday Sexton schedule for December was passed around for Vestry members to sign-up.
Other Business
A decision on Anoush Wiggins’ request to use the Parish Hall for scrap booking events and a vote on the revisions to the Memorandum of Agreement with the Port Hampton Research Group were tabled until the December meeting.
Tacky Light Awards
Charlie Edmonson passed the Vestry Tacky Light to Sandy Smith. Connie Heath passed the Mission Tacky Light to Bill Forinash.
The Reverend Susan Copley closed the meeting with prayer at 9:10 p.m.
The next Vestry meeting will be Tuesday, December 6.
Sandy Smith
Registrar