Council - Revised

May 16, 2008

Present:
Jean Siulinski, Terry LaPointe, Sally Sutton, Sally Hinckley, John McCall, Chris Keiter, Dave Allen, Stan Jordan, Matt Brucker, Debra Andrews, Nancy MacLean, Dan Cummings, Carol Zechman, Chris Dow and Guy Gledhill from the Administration Team.

Opening:
Chris Dow opened the 6:30 pm meeting with a reading by Mary Oliver followed by a prayer. Minutes of last month’s meeting were approved. Following introductions, Sally Hinckley, Terry LaPointe and Nancy MacLean were welcomed as members of the class of 2011. Phil Whitney will also be joining the class.

Ministers’ Time:
Elsa noted that the new delegates to the Maine UCC Conference are Verna Andrews and Rick Angell. She also provided a 2008- 2009 Church calendar and a list of Church contacts. These can be emailed to Church members and paper copies are available in the office. Elsa is also working on posting the Team and Committee meeting minutes on the internet.

John reported we are looking for a volunteer to upgrade the Church’s website.

The Church will recognize Kim Early on 18 May 2008. Some responses have been received from our advertising for Kim’s position.

Sixteen (16) new members joined the Church on 11 May 08 and another group will be joining on 22 June 2008.

Council Operations:
Chris Keiter presented an update on the Chancel project. The timeline for the work to be done is between 23 June 2008 and 28 July 2008. There will be a penalty if the project is not completed on time. Of three bids received, the B.D. Heanssler Construction company’s bid was accepted.

The contract with Bob Faucher, contractor for the organ work, is to be signed by 15 May 2008.

The project is estimated to cost $50,000. Chris Keiter reviewed several prospective sources for the funds. The following was approved by the Council:

The Music Fund will contribute $2,000, subject to agreement from the Music Committee.

The North Church Memorial Fund will contribute $4,000 subject to agreement from the Spiritual Life and Worship Team.

The Organ Maintenance Fund will contribute the amount to be paid to the organ contractor (about $7,000), subject to agreement from Shirley Curry.

Fund-raising will contribute as much as is raised by 15 July 2008.

The sale of unused choir pews will contribute as much as they are sold for.

The unrestricted endowments will fund the remaining costs.

Lyndalee Landry is drafting a letter to the Congregation providing them with an opportunity to contribute to the project.

The piano has been selected.

Governance Structure Feedback:
Stan and Carol met with the Admin Team. They feel the Council is supportive and there are no problems. Guy Gledhill gave an update on the activities of the Admin Team.

Chris Dow and Dave met with Spiritual Life and Worship and determined there’s a lot of interest in getting more people involved in the life of the Church.

Elinor Redmond, Dave Allen and Chris Dow have formed a small committee to brainstorm ways to increase volunteerism.

The SL&W team feels it would be beneficial to have a Council member attend one of their meetings every couple of months.

Chris Keiter met with Mission Outreach and reported that all is well.

Space Use Request:
Carol contacted George Pressley’s references and reported they were ‘glowing’. Mr. Pressley submitted a proposal to use Church space to assist low-income persons in accessing affordable medications.

Mr. Pressley agreed to work under Med Access, the organization Carol Zechman is with. Med Access will fund office supplies expenses. Having his own computer, he’ll utilize office space in our Church with access to one of the phone lines.

By-Laws:
Due to the late hour and the number of comments on the first draft of the proposed by-laws revision, it was agreed that a special meeting of the Council would be held on 12 June 2008 at 6:30pm for this purpose.

Council members were asked to email their comments on the proposed by-law changes to all Council members by 10 June 2008. Dan will email a copy of the current by-laws.

Next Monthly Council Meeting:
Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 6:30pm. Note: All future meetings will be at 6:30pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Chris Dow