The vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on November 19, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Present were: Senior Warden Bob Harper, Junior Warden Bettyrene Pope, Pat Dennehey, Charlie Edmonson, Stephen Rous, Ruth Simmons, Denine Miller, Greg Brauer, Emily Klotz, Youth Representative Darius Rowe, Treasurer Linda Curtis, The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander, and The Reverend Mark Riley.
Mark Riley opened the meeting with a reading from Tobit 12:6b-9 and a discussion of Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary (1231 ).
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis Linda presented the October report. She is working on the 2020 budget for the vestry’s review in December. The audit committee recommended that St. John’s staff use credit cards rather than debit cards, since credit cards offer more financial protection. Motion by Charlie Edmonson, seconded by Ruth Simmons: The vestry authorizes three credit cards with a limit of $3,000 per card. Motion approved unanimously.
Rector’s Report, Samantha Vincent-Alexander Website: After some discussion and comparison of two web designers’ work, the vestry preferred that of Doebank Designs. Motion by Bettyrene Pope, seconded by Pat Dennehey: The vestry approves Doebank Designs as St. John’s web designer and for continued maintenance. Motion approved unanimously.
Sacred Ground: David Paulsen, a reporter from the Episcopal News Service, called St. John’s to learn about our experience with the Sacred Ground program. He will be meeting with a small group of Sacred Ground participants and joining the class for dinner. He will not observe an actual class session. Mr. Paulsen will also meet with David Bishop.
Canoeing the Mountains: St. John’s will be creating a task force to look into recommendations that came from the Canoeing the Mountains program. Samantha will ask Ed Austin to chair.
Annual Meeting: The meeting will be January 26.
Vestry Terms: Vestry discussed the need to correct the dates for new members’ terms. One of the newly elected should end their term in 2020 rather than 2021. Motion by Denine Miller, seconded by Bob Harper: Denine Miller’s term will end in 2020. Motion approved unanimously.
Sabbatical: Samantha is planning to take a sabbatical from mid-May to mid-August 2020. Some of her plans include completing her yoga certification, exploring how to reach the unchurched through exercise, attending a conflict mediation seminar, and writing a book.
Assistant Rector’s Report, Mark Riley Adult Forum: The program on the Apostles’ Creed is two-thirds through. The next forum will be The Way of Love for Advent.
Night’s Welcome: St. John’s week is February 8-15.
Youth Group: The youth will be constructing two “little free pantries” after service on Sunday.
Senior Warden’s Report, Bob Harper
Potluck: Bob thanked Bettyrene and Denine for their work on the Episcopal Churches potluck which was November 16. There were about 60 people in attendance, and the churches would like to do it again.
Diocesan Pledge: Bob reported that St. John’s pledge is due to the diocese by December 1. In 2019, the pledge was $29,000. Motion by Bob Harper, seconded by Stephen Rous: The vestry pledges $30,000 to the diocese for 2020. Motion approved unanimously.
Junior Warden’s Report, Bettyrene Pope
Gas Leak: The leak was repaired.
Water Leak: The Mary Williams Trust denied the vestry’s request to pay for the water bill that came after a water leak.
Faucet: The faucet in the sacristy has been replaced, resulting in better water pressure.
Security System: The new system is up in the church. If it works out, we will replace the parish house system too.
Committee Reports
Stewardship: Stephen reported that we have received about 85 pledges. The committee will mail out a reminder letter and then make phone calls to those who still have not turned in pledges.
St. Anne’s Guild: Denine reported that the guild has been sending cards and e-cards. They have also hosted a number of speakers from Hampton.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.