The Vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on August 20, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. Present were: Senior Warden Bill Beach, Junior Warden Bettyrene Pope, Treasurer Linda Curtis, Registrar Lynn Kirkland, Scott Curtis, Ellen Griffith, Ron Kindley (by telephone), Jim Klotz, Brad Norris and The Reverend Lisa Erdeljon. Absent: Darden Barrett
The meeting opened at 6:37 p.m. with a prayer.
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis: Linda reported that our income was ahead for the month of July with contributions from The Endowment Fund, The Hoffman House and The Mary Williams Trust. The electricity bill was high due to hotter than normal temperatures for the month. The water bill continues to be high with no apparent leaks. We still believe it has to do with the new meter but can’t get anyone at Newport News Waterworks to come take a look. See attached budget reports.
Two CDs came due August 2, 2024 and Linda renewed them at the following rates: $50,000.00 for 6 months at 5% and $10,000.00 for 48 months at 4%.
The Finance Audit had 3 recommendations:
- Complete an inventory of everything in the church and parish house
- Put Operations Procedures in a binder
- Prepare a Disaster Recovery Plan (Bettyrene says we have one)
The Finance Committee will need to have a new member appointed soon. Margot Rous will be cycling off of the committee. Members consist of: Reverend Lisa Erdeljon, Senior Warden Bill Beach, Junior Warden Bettyrene Pope, Dan Clark, Rick Bagley, Charlie Edmonson and Margot Rous.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June meeting were approved.
Rector’s Report: The Reverend Lisa Erdeljon
- Lisa’s hour will be:
- Off Monday
- Fri-Sat are flex days (sermon writing, weddings, funerals, etc.)
- Sunday
- Lisa is rearranging the offices to include a large working office and a small conference room to meet with families or individuals
- September 8, 2024 we will go to 2 services, 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. This Sunday will be Commissioning Sunday where Sunday School Teachers will be commissioned.
- September 15, 2024 will be Kick Off Sunday with a Baptism at the 9:00 AM service and The Tom Cats (bluegrass band) at the 11:00 AM service. We will also have a Taize Service at 4:00 PM.
- The Blessing of the Animals will be held on Friday, October 4, 2024 at 6:00 PM. We are asking the Hampton Police Department (HPD) to participate with the blessing of the HPD service dogs.
- There are 2 funerals scheduled for August.
- Lisa would like to meet with all financial groups to discuss fundraising and stewardship.
Warden Reports
Senior Warden – Bill Beach
- Bill is looking into permanent name tags for parishioners
Junior Warden – Bettyrene Pope
- Alarm calls for the kitchen door, replacing batteries and sensor.
- Someone has been called to fix the door to the parish house that sticks.
- Currently, the city doesn’t have anyone to perform safety inspections for playground equipment.
- Bettyrene will call to order a new safe. The Mary Williams Trust will pay any difference between the cost of the safe and the donation made by a parishioner.
Committee Reports
- Outreach – Doug Perry – Dave Messersmith will be taking over A Night’s Welcome this year.
- Music – Scott Curtis – The choir will return September 8,2024
- InReach/St. Anne’s Guild – Ellen Griffith – Linda McMahon is the contact for St. Anne’s Guild
- Newcomers – Ron Kindley – New brochures have been created. The committee will be scheduling a meeting soon.
- Liturgy – Brad Norris – No report at this time
- Christian Formation – Jim Klotz – The curriculum is dated and needs to be replaced. There are only 6 children that participate each Sunday. Need to look at new ways to recruit children and adult male teachers. Lisa has a lot of experience in this area and will work with this committee.
Old Business
- To be able to obtain a bench for the playground we need to collect 1000 lbs of plastic. To date, St. John’s has collected 50 lbs and the Buckroe Improvement League has donated 700 lbs thank you to Leslie Crandol.
New Business
- Visitor cards are being updated to remove the names of Samantha and Mark and add Lisa.
- A member confronted Ron about the church not being friendly to the aging. Where can wheelchair people sit that isn’t in the way?
The meeting concluded with a prayer and adjourned at 7:35 p.m.