The vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on April 19, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. Present were: Senior Warden Jay Hogg, Junior Warden Bettyrene Pope, Registrar Lynn Kirkland, Treasurer Linda Curtis, Anne Abraham, Bill Beach, Dan Clark, Jim Klotz, Doug Perry, Elizabeth Zimmerman, The Reverend Mark Riley and The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander.
The meeting opened at 6:30 p.m. with a reading from Acts 5:27-32.
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis
See attached draft report. A final report for March will be submitted in May.
Finance Committee: Linda asked that Rick Bagley be appointed to the Finance Committee. A motion by Jim Klotz, seconded by Jay Hogg: The vestry votes to appoint Rick Bagley to the Finance Committee. Approved unanimously.
Allocation of Special Offerings Fund: The vestry discussed plans to allocate the funds to various outreach organizations. A motion by Dan Clark, seconded by Bettyrene Pope to designate the entire Special Offerings Fund, $3,338.22 to Ukraine. Approved unanimously.
Nickerson Trust: Mark Riley suggested that Wendy Cumming be asked to be the new signer on the Nickerson Trust. A motion by Jay Hogg and seconded by Dan Clark to designate Wendy Cumming as the new signer on the Nickerson Trust. Approved unanimously.
The March minutes were approved with a noted correction of Anne Abraham’s last name being misspelled.
Charlie Edmonson: Charlie presented to the vestry a proposal entitled, “Discovering Early Hampton” also known as the 2nd site dig, by Archaeological & Cultural Solutions, Inc. The project will be completed in 3 stages at the cost of $373,962.00. Funding has been secured by the Mary Williams Trust and an unknown amount has been placed in the Cemetery Fund to be controlled by David Bishop for payments. To proceed with this project it is required that the vestry vote to approve the dig on St. John’s property. A motion to approve the proposed dig, subject to a complete and satisfactory MOU with Archaeological & Cultural Solutions, Inc., was made by Elizabeth Zimmerman and seconded by Anne Abraham. The motion was approved 7 Aye to 2 No and clergy abstained.
Samantha will ask the Mary Williams Trust to provide a report of finances to the Vestry at the next scheduled meeting, May 17, 2022.
Rector’s Report, The Reverend Samantha Vincent-Alexander
The Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 22, 2022 directly after the 9:15 AM service in the church with breakfast to follow in the Parish Hall.
Samantha is looking into scheduling an overnight vestry retreat September 16-17, 2022 at Chanco, but she will also look into Roslyn Retreat and Conference Center in Richmond, VA.
Jim Klotz is a new committee member of the Endowment Fund
All members of the vestry must complete the Safe Church course. The course can be taken online or in person. Jim, Jay and Bill will need to complete the course.
Assistant Rector’s Report, The Reverend Mark Riley
The Outreach Committee has $20,000.00 to spend and $18,000.00 of these funds are unallocated. They would like these funds to remain flexible with Doug Perry having control to disburse for upcoming needs. Some of these funds will be used for the summer lunch program and Rise Against Hunger in the fall. Mark is looking for other outreach opportunities that will bring members of the church in to get more involved.
The Lil Pantry is going strong with a dependable weekly crew keeping it full. Donations are coming in daily from members and the community. St. Marks makes a weekly donation as well.
THRIVE is still going strong and Mark made a referral this week.
HELP has asked Mark to be on their board. Matt Stearn shared that HELP has the capability to print in 3D night mouth guards for people that may not have access to dental care.
Warden Reports
Senior Warden, Jay Hogg – Jay reported that in speaking with Deborah Carr, the Music Academy is doing very well. There is a need for more teachers due to the number of students participating. This year marks Deborah’s career 50th year and would like for her to be recognized. June 12, 2022 is Music Sunday and there was discussion that that might be the appropriate time to celebrate her achievements.
Junior Warden, Bettyrene Pope – The inside of the church will be painted Monday, April 25, 2022. Everything will need to be cleared from the Altar area.
Committee Reports
Samantha asked that each Vestry Liaison contact their committee chair for updates and to see how things are going.
New Business
A motion by Anne Abraham, seconded by Bill Beach, to extend the Vestry Meeting past 8:30 p.m. Approved Unanimously.
A discussion was held to allocate the disability income of $12,000.00 A motion by Dan Clark and seconded by Elizabeth Zimmerman to distribute the funds in the following manner:
- Mark Riley – $5000.00
- Dana Vanvliet-Pullin – $1000.00 gift
- Deborah Carr – $500.00 continuing education
- Samantha Vincent-Alexander – $1,500.00 for her health savings account to cover her medical expenses.
- The remaining $4000.00 would remain in the account fund
The motion was approved unanimously.
The meeting concluded with a prayer and adjourned at 8:34 p.m.