Council

September 18

Present: Jean Siulinski, Debra Andrews, Chris Keiter, Phil Whitney, Nancy MacLean, Andy Ellis, Elsa Peters, Sally Hinckley, Dave Allen, John McCall, Chris Dow and Carol Zechman.

Guests: Aaron French, Kathy Sahrbeck, Cathy Bickford and Cyndi Alden

Opening: Chris Dow opened the meeting at 6:30 PM with a reading and a prayer. Chris Keiter welcomed Aaron French to the meeting.

Draft Bylaws Feedback and Next Steps: Chris Keiter reviewed the feedback from the various teams and individuals on the Bylaws draft. There was discussion and work on this feedback, and Chris will incorporate the agreed upon changes into the draft of the Bylaws. The exception was Article2, section 2.2 on Membership qualifications. It was decided that this section needed more work. John McCall, Dave Allen, Andy Ellis and Chris Dow volunteered to work on this section and report back to the Council.

Review 2008 Actuals vs. Budget: Chris K. passed out copies of the Operating Budget ( Budget vs. Actual ) for the purpose of determining any potential budget challenges. Cyndi Alden told us that we are in very good shape being 72 % through the year. Pledges are behind only about 8%, which is due in part to a significant pledge by one family not coming in until stock is sold. It is sold at various times of the year, and has not come in yet. The budget is on line with those in most recent years, and the deficit of $28,176.00 for 2008 will not be as bad due to savings with personnel and proceeds from the rummage sale.

Welcome Back: Chris K. invited us to take a break and asked each of us to share with the group some special event from the summer.

Fundraising Question: Kathy Sahrbeck and Cathy Bickford came to ask the Council to approve a fundraising event sponsored by Artascope Studios in which the works of 24 artists would be displayed at our church and at their studio. The items would then be auctioned off in a silent auction and the proceeds would be donated to the Community Crisis Ministries. The Council agreed that provided Community Crisis was agreeable to this proposal, the art could be displayed at the church as part of the Hollydaze Bazaar ( provided space is available ) and/or after worship some Sunday.

Volunteerism Subgroup Update: Dave Allen reported the Volunteerism Subgroup met with the Growth Group to determine if there were commonalities in these two groups. The Growth Group has been focused on addressing the drop in membership and the Volunteerism Subgroup is involved in finding ways to engage new members in church life. It was agreed that these two groups will meet again on Oct. 6.

Ministers’ Time: John reported October 26th is the date for the dedication of the chancel renovation and the baby grand piano. Choir chairs are scheduled to arrive about this time.

Elsa’s new job with the addition of faith formation for all ages added to her job description is going well. Sunday School is thriving. The church ministry and Elsa’s review is nearing completion and is going well. Aaron French is doing well in his position as Youth Minister.

Elsa stated the question has been raised by the Education Fellowship and Growth and Mission and Outreach Teams as to the effectiveness of the fair portion of Homecoming Sunday. There is a lot of work that goes into this event and it does not seem to attract enough people to make it worthwhile. The Council will discuss this at a future meeting.

Chris K. thanked Sally Hinckley and Jean Siulinski for hosting the Council’s table at this event this year.

Meeting was adjourned.
Next Meeting: October 16th at 6:30 PM

Respectfully submitted.

Chris Dow