The Vestry of St. John’s Church, Elizabeth City Parish, was called to order on September 15, 2026, at 6:50 p.m. by Anne Rutherford. Present were Scott Curtis – Senior Warden, Ellen Griffith – Registrar, Wendy Cumming, Jon Wallner, Bob Harper, Dory Holder, Bettyrene Pope – Junior Warden and Linda Curtis – Treasurer. Rev Lisa Erdeljon and Andrew Mackey were absent.
The meeting opened at 6:50 p.m. after a prayer and social gathering.
Ascertainment of Quorum: A quorum was present.
Approval of Agenda: A motion was made by Scott Curtis to amend the agenda to include Alan Strong presenting and move the Treasurer’s Report to after the Junior Warden’s Report. Seconded by Ellen Griffith. The motion was approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Scott Curtis to approve the agenda as amended. Seconded by Ellen Griffith. The motion was approved unanimously.
Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Bob Harper to approve the minutes. Seconded by Scott Curtis. The motion was approved unanimously.
Senior Warden’s Report, Scott Curtis
Stewardship is going great. Oct 4 will kick-off stewardship and pledges will be due Oct 25. The theme this year is Rooted in Abundance. Letters will be mailed out on Sept 28.
Organ Placement and Considerations and Recommendations
Alan Strong spoke about the options of placing the organ with the piano verse removing the modesty pew and placing it there. Drawings were given showing the needed space including for the bench. It was decided that no action would be taken as this was all new information
Junior Warden’s Report
The church water heater had to be replaced due to being cheaper than repairing, this might be the source of the water leak. A heat sensor had to be replaced on the stage. New flood lighting is being installed on the Parish House and above the doors of the church for dusk to dawn lights. Warwick Mechanical installed a new mini split in the bell tower.
After more research around the panic bars on the South doors, the doors might need to be replaced due to their age. Bettyrene is researching all options.
Rector’s Report, Rev. Lisa Erdeljon
Personal Updates
Lisa is on vacation and returns Sept 25.
Worship Updates
- Sept 20 – Derek Pringle will preach.
- Sept 27 – Lisa has invited Canon Willis to come and give the Sermon
Staffing
A curate candidate was interviewed on the Saturday of Labor Day and included eating lunch with a couple members of the church. No decision has been made on either side, however the feedback from parishioners at the lunch was that the candidate would be a good fit.
Treasurer’s Report, Linda Curtis
August only shows 2 deposits instead of the normal 4 due to Linda being on vacation. Not reflected is a gift from the Catherine Dycus Trust that was received. Interest income and drawdown from Perpetual Honor Fund were received.
The Waterworks bill was high and we’ve been notified that they think we have a leak. Bettyrene can’t trace it, but we have replaced the water heater in the church due to it breaking. The Dominion bill was lower than July.
It was brought up that Lisa’s Letter of Agreement includes 6 paid Sundays off, however the line for Supply Priest doesn’t include enough money for 6 Sundays of a Supply Priest. There is money in the grouping that line falls under in the budget. There isn’t currently a policy on when we need to amend the budget and when we allow lines to go over budget. It was discussed and determined that until that budget group goes over budget an amend does not need to be made. Ellen said she would bring it up to Policy and Procedures to draft a formal policy on the matter.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to approve the August Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Wendy Cumming. The motion was approved unanimously.
Project Updates
- Accessibility and Welcome: Due to length for 3rd architect to get their quote in, a 4th architect was asked to provide a quote. The third quote was received the same day that the 4th architect did a site visit. The committee will meet once all quotes are in.
- Children’s Faith Formation: Sunday School is in year 2 of the curriculum and are looking forward to a great year. Currently have a 1st-5th class and potty trained to Kindergarten and under. They switched to the annual online subscription instead of buying the books, it has been a positive feedback from the teachers. Christmas Pagnant will be happening and is most likely going to be rehearsal free so that any children that show up are able to be a part of the pageant.
- Lay Pastoral Care: Pastoral visits are happening and Lay Leadership has been trained to do pastoral visits.
- Community Engagement: Digital Directory has gone live. The Golf Outing is scheduled for Saturday, October 17. For 2 weeks in November, we will be hosting 7th graders from Hampton City public Schools, for tours. This is in partnership with the Hampton History Museum. They are taking the lead and providing the volunteer tour guides.
- Sacred Storytelling: Will begin with 2 upcoming Saturdays in October. Please send Andrew any names of people you think would be good to interview.
- Policies and Procedures: Meets again in Oct. Lisa is working on updating the Wedding Policy, so there will be discussion around that soon, as there might be fees tied to Weddings/Funerals.
- Music Ministry Stewardship: Deborah drafted a contract, based on the contract used by the area’s musical instrument leasing company. It is in Larry’s inbox. We got an updated project flow document from Parsons, and things are progressing nicely. We also got photos and videos from the removal, which we are going through to use in social media and other promotional pieces.
Ministry and Other Requests
Diocesan Convention Delegates
A motion was made by Anne Rutherford to approve the Diocesan Convention Delegates of Patrick Crandol, Al Banwell, Bettyrene Pope, and Susan Edmonson, with Dan Clark as an alternate. Seconded by Scott Curtis. The motion was approved unanimously.
A motion was made by Ellen Griffith to adjourn the meeting at 8:20. Seconded by Bob Harper. The motion was approved unanimously.