The Vestry of St. John’s Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on January 20, 2026, at 6:35 p.m. by Rev. Lisa Erdeljon. Present were Darden Barrett – Senior Warden, Bettyrene Pope – Junior Warden, Ellen Griffith – Registrar, Bob Harper, Andrew Mackey, Brad Norris, Scott Curtis, Anne Rutherford, Ron Kindley, Rev Lisa Erdeljon, and Linda Curtis – Treasurer.
The meeting opened at 6:34 p.m. with a prayer.
Ascertainment of Quorum: A quorum was present.
Approval of Agenda: A motion was made by LIsa Erdeljon to amend the agenda to include Charitable Trust Report after the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Bob Harper. The motion was approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to approve the agenda as amended. Seconded by Darden Barrett. The motion was approved unanimously.
Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Scott Curtis to approve the minutes of the December 16 meeting as written. Seconded by Anne Rutherford. The motion was approved unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis
The report that was included in the Vestry packet includes the preliminary December (end of year) report. Q4 Diocesion pledge was paid in January, so that will be accrued in the December final report. The bookkeeper will finalize the report this week and they will zero everything out and move the remaining amounts to the reserves. Once this happens a final report will be given.
Over $30,000 is anticipated to be transferred to the reserves, most of this would be due to the Curate position not being filled for the majority of the year.
There was an error on the 2025 pledge amounts, what was input as $342,624, should have been $324,624. The numbers were transposed when moving them from the 2025 pledges to the 2025 budget spreadsheet. The pledged amount received is actually higher than what was actually pledged, but shows lower than what was budgeted for the pledged amount.
Linda will be working with Towne Bank once the Old Point merger is completed to ensure that the church’s accounts are all within the maximum covered under FDIC.
A motion was made by Bob Harper to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Anne Rutherford. The motion was approved unanimously.
Senior Warden’s Report, Darden Barrett
It’s the last meeting for Brad, Ron, and myself. It’s been nice serving on the Vestry and as the Senior Warden.
Junior Warden’s Report, Bettyrene Pope
Nothing to report, waiting on some vendors to get back with her.
Rector’s Report, Lisa Erdeljon
Wanted to thank Brad, Darden, and Ron for their service on Vestry.
- Personal Updates – On December 22, Lisa had to put Betti down.
- Worship Plans – Ash Wednesday is February 18 at noon & 5:30.
- Staff Meeting to plan out the calendar until Music Camp is scheduled for this month.
- Project Updates – Larry Cumming is working on the organ contract, he wants the payment plan to be more benchmark based than time based. Lisa has given Larry contact information for our 3 organists so that they can answer some technical questions. The contract actually had a cost associated with a temporary organ and it wasn’t part of the repair cost. Deborah has a contact that has a personal organ who is willing to let us borrow that organ while ours is being repaired.
Board Appointments and Approvals
Charitable Trust – No terms expire this year, so no appointments are needed.
Finance Committee – Charlie Edmonson, Rick Bagley, and Dan Clark terms are expired.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to appoint Charlie Edmonson, Rick Bagley, and Al Banwell to the Finance Committee. Seconded by Ron Kindley. The motion was approved unanimously.
Endowment – Susan Edmonson term expired. The bylaws for the Endowment Fund require that the person be a “communicant in good standing” and “The Vestry of St. John’s Church, Hampton, Virginia, shall elect the members of the Board of Directors”.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to appoint Darden Barrett to the Endowment Board. Seconded by Ron Kindley. The motion was approved unanimously with Darden Barrett and Andrew Mackey abstaining.
Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting is this Sunday, January 25th. There will be one service at 10:00, with the Annual Meeting starting roughly 10-15 minutes after that service. The weather report for Sunday is currently calling for snow. A decision will be made by 3:00 on Saturday afternoon on if the service will be held in person or if it will go virtual. Canon allows for the annual meeting to be held virtually, including the election of Vestry members.
Vestry Slate – Jon Wallner, Wendy Cummings, and Dory Holder
Reports – Most reports will be typed in the handout, however the below reports will be given in person.
- Senior Warden – Darden Barrett
- Junior Warden – Bettyrene Pope
- Mary William Foundation – Doug Miller
- Trustees – Bob Shuford
- Cemetery – David Bishop
- Endowment – Nancy Beach
- Charitable Trust – Dan Clark
Meal – The Vestry will provide a meal of soup and salad in the Parish House after the annual meeting.
Vestry Retreat
The Vestry Retreat will replace the February Vestry meeting. The retreat will be a dinner and planning session. Dinner will be on Friday, February 27th; the retreat will be in the Parish House on Saturday, February 28th. The planning session on Saturday will begin at 9:00.
Visioning and Planning
We will work on the next steps at the February retreat. Complete the Stakeholder homework if you haven’t already.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to adjourn the meeting at 8:19. Seconded by Bob Harper. The motion was approved unanimously.
A closing prayer was given by Rev. Lisa Erdeljon.