December 4, 2008
Present: Janis Albright, Louise Davis, Sarah Ellsworth, Leslie Gatcombe-Hynes, Barbara Merrill, Dick Merrill, Elsa Peters, Ed Saxby, Jim Van Hoeven
Ed Saxby led our meeting and each person had an opportunity to share particular concerns.
The Mission Board approved a $50 honorarium for our October speaker Ray Sirois. Leslie provided a card which we all signed and expressed our appreciation to Ray.
The Mission Outreach Team will be including in their budget request an item for the Social Witness Ministries Fund. This will provide a source for expenses like an honorarium. Greg Wyman will keep us informed.
Barbara spoke with Guy Gledhill, a member of the House Committee of the Administration Team and invited him (or a Committee member) to come to one of our meetings and educate us about the work his group is doing regarding greening our church.
Barbara suggested we consider the possibility of working with the Eskimos, the Hilltop Guild, and the church school in suggesting programs relating to our stewardship of the earth. This would give us an existing group with whom to work in our educational efforts.
Jim donated the book “Redeeming The Creation” by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson to the Green Action Group’s section of our church library. Louise added more articles to the reference notebooks she is creating for the library.
Elsa Peters met with us for a discussion on Communication.
We agreed to write articles relating to Earth stewardship for The Beacon on a regular basis. Articles for the Beacon should “educate the community and further their faith with this community”. The articles might be part of the Green Corner or they might fill up to a half page. Dick will do an article for the next Beacon.
Our minutes are posted on meetinghousehillminutes.blogspot.com. Elsa has an article in the current Beacon that includes information about blogs.
We are able to put announcements in the bulletin and just need to contact the Church Office.
Elsa encourages us to think about personal invitations (i.e. a telephone call) to encourage people “to participate in the things we care about”.
Ed suggested generating a list of people who would like to have access to a computer site where information about caring for our earth could be shared.
Ed would like to have a meeting in January or February where we generate ideas of what people can do themselves relative to greening their homes. Leslie talked about the Green South Portland group that is offering to help people make their homes more energy efficient. Jim will contact Roger Addor to see if the Eskimos might be interested in joining us in this effort. Sarah suggested presenting very practical ideas based on what people might benefit from right now—such as how you could prepare a meal for 6 people on $3. She also mentioned the concept of Eco Angels wherein we could help each other and share our skills and knowledge.
Janis reported on the work to complete our Mission statement and on some suggested additions to the book list she generated for our Green Space in the library. We will work on these at our next meeting.
Louise shared information about a 90 movie that she highly recommends for a program that we would arrange. Ed will look into this possibility.
Dick reported on a program he attended at Maine Audubon. Rick Renner, Portland architect and designer of 2 LEED Platinum-rated green building homes was the presenter.
Ed shared with us several relevant items of interest including work by the Maine Council of Churches and its Environmental Council and some thoughts about the new administration in Washington in January and possible impact on the environment.
We decided to continue meeting on the last Thursday of each month. Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 29, at 7 pm in Davidson Lounge. This arrangement has been cleared with Cyndi Alden.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Merrill
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Administrative Team Meeting
Minutes of Meeting: December 4, 2008
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Deb Sandler, Guy Gledhill and Cyndi Alden.
The meeting was called to order by the Meeting Chair Eben Marsh at 7:05 p.m. Ron Bennett was appointed Meeting Secretary.
The minutes of the November 6, 2008 meeting were reviewed and accepted.
Old Business:
Financial Statements and Budget: Cyndi lead a review of our financial statements and budget. Revenues are slightly behind budget. Cyndi expects rents to be at the budgeted totals by year end. Because the Council has requested all teams to spend only truly necessary funds for the rest of 2008, Cyndi estimates that total expenses will be below budget, and the deficit which was originally budgeted at $-28,176 will come in at a lower deficit.
Tenant review: Our tenants were current in their rent payments through November. No rent payments have been received for December.
Planned Giving: Ron reported that Ellie Baker and Chris met on November 20. The committee intends to prepare messages to be inserted in the Beacon on a regular basis starting in late January or early February. Ellie will prepare the messages, which will be reviewed at the next PGC meeting on January 4. Ellie strongly believes that the message should be kept simple at first and emphasize bequests.
Bulletin Board Policy: The Bulletin Board Inventory prepared by Deb (see attached) was reviewed. The Team agreed with Deb’s comments on the attached Inventory and decided that no policy is required. A policy could negatively affect the life and spirit of the church.
Committee Reports:
Counting: No new report. To date, the system appears to be working fine.
House: Guy presented the report based on the House Committee Meeting Minutes (see attached). It was specifically pointed out that the burned out bulbs in the sanctuary chandeliers cannot be change by Tom until the choir pews saved by the Chancel Committee are removed from in front of the large ladder at the bottom of the stairs.
New Business:
The proposed By-Laws were reviewed. The Team suggested changing the first responsibility of the Admin Team at section 6.3 (A) from “oversight for establishing procurement policies” to “overseeing (or monitoring) procurement policies”. This change was suggested because the policies have already been established.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
The next AT meeting will be held on January 8, 2009.
Respectfully submitted by: Ron Bennett, Meeting Secretary
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Deb Sandler, Guy Gledhill and Cyndi Alden.
The meeting was called to order by the Meeting Chair Eben Marsh at 7:05 p.m. Ron Bennett was appointed Meeting Secretary.
The minutes of the November 6, 2008 meeting were reviewed and accepted.
Old Business:
Financial Statements and Budget: Cyndi lead a review of our financial statements and budget. Revenues are slightly behind budget. Cyndi expects rents to be at the budgeted totals by year end. Because the Council has requested all teams to spend only truly necessary funds for the rest of 2008, Cyndi estimates that total expenses will be below budget, and the deficit which was originally budgeted at $-28,176 will come in at a lower deficit.
Tenant review: Our tenants were current in their rent payments through November. No rent payments have been received for December.
Planned Giving: Ron reported that Ellie Baker and Chris met on November 20. The committee intends to prepare messages to be inserted in the Beacon on a regular basis starting in late January or early February. Ellie will prepare the messages, which will be reviewed at the next PGC meeting on January 4. Ellie strongly believes that the message should be kept simple at first and emphasize bequests.
Bulletin Board Policy: The Bulletin Board Inventory prepared by Deb (see attached) was reviewed. The Team agreed with Deb’s comments on the attached Inventory and decided that no policy is required. A policy could negatively affect the life and spirit of the church.
Committee Reports:
Counting: No new report. To date, the system appears to be working fine.
House: Guy presented the report based on the House Committee Meeting Minutes (see attached). It was specifically pointed out that the burned out bulbs in the sanctuary chandeliers cannot be change by Tom until the choir pews saved by the Chancel Committee are removed from in front of the large ladder at the bottom of the stairs.
New Business:
The proposed By-Laws were reviewed. The Team suggested changing the first responsibility of the Admin Team at section 6.3 (A) from “oversight for establishing procurement policies” to “overseeing (or monitoring) procurement policies”. This change was suggested because the policies have already been established.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
The next AT meeting will be held on January 8, 2009.
Respectfully submitted by: Ron Bennett, Meeting Secretary
Monday, December 8, 2008
Spiritual Life & Worship, Music Committee
November 6, 2008
Present: Dolores Broberg, Judy Magnuson, Kim Early, Anna O’Connor, Sheryl Kieran and Shirley Curry
1. Reviewed and accepted October minutes with a date change.
2. Reviewed Vespers Program for December 14th at 5:30 PM. There are about 18 performers scheduled with a combination of solos, duets, quartets, and instrumental accompaniment.
Reviewed refreshments: Shirley is to bring tea. Dolores will provide the cider (3 hot and 1 cold). Judy will bring a large pan for one of the warm ciders. Anna, Judy, Kim, and Sheryl will bake. Anna will provide a centerpiece. Committee members will arrive by 5 P.M. to set up. Judy will call and see if the Skeffington girls would like to distribute programs.
Sheryl will write an article for the Beacon. Shirley will handle the program.
3. The pianos were tuned (the music room and the chancel) and the organ as well.
4. The ad for the reed organ was placed in Vbox and there has been no response. Other options were discussed for advertising. Kim will place an ad on Craig’s List.
5. Next meeting scheduled for February 5, 2009 at 7 P.M.
Present: Dolores Broberg, Judy Magnuson, Kim Early, Anna O’Connor, Sheryl Kieran and Shirley Curry
1. Reviewed and accepted October minutes with a date change.
2. Reviewed Vespers Program for December 14th at 5:30 PM. There are about 18 performers scheduled with a combination of solos, duets, quartets, and instrumental accompaniment.
Reviewed refreshments: Shirley is to bring tea. Dolores will provide the cider (3 hot and 1 cold). Judy will bring a large pan for one of the warm ciders. Anna, Judy, Kim, and Sheryl will bake. Anna will provide a centerpiece. Committee members will arrive by 5 P.M. to set up. Judy will call and see if the Skeffington girls would like to distribute programs.
Sheryl will write an article for the Beacon. Shirley will handle the program.
3. The pianos were tuned (the music room and the chancel) and the organ as well.
4. The ad for the reed organ was placed in Vbox and there has been no response. Other options were discussed for advertising. Kim will place an ad on Craig’s List.
5. Next meeting scheduled for February 5, 2009 at 7 P.M.
Administration Team Meeting
Minutes of Meeting: November 6, 2008
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Deb Sandler, Jim Otis, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills and Cyndi Alden.
The meeting was called to order by the Acting Chair Deb Sandler at 7:05P.
The minutes of the October 2, 2008 meeting were reviewed and accepted.
Old Business:
Financial Statements and Budget: Cyndi lead a review of our financial statements and Budget. Also, the Admin Team reviewed its proposed 2009 Budget. All team budgets are being solicited by the Council’s Budget Committee. Cyndi will represent the Admin Team on the Budget Committee. The AT made no changes from what was proposed, and voted to submit as proposed and dated 11/6/08.
Tenant review: Our tenants were current in their rent payments through October. No rent payments have been received for November.
Coffee Hour: The EF & G Committee will continue to solicit volunteers to put the coffee out following Sunday service. Thus, the AT’s proposal of 10/2/08 is withdrawn.
AT talk: It was reported that Chris did a great job!
Bulletin Board Policy: This matter came about last year in anticipation of the 275th Anniversary. Chris developed and submitted to the AT a sample policy. Using it, the AT developed a suggested policy guideline which will be presented to the Council.
Committee Reports:
Counting: Brian Wallace has created a counting schedule and staffing through December 31, 2008. To date, it appears to be working fine.
House: The painting on the front of the Church is underway. We are having a heating consultant come in to analyze our heating system. The objective is to gain efficiency and to save on heating costs. The recently renovated stained glass window in the Chapel must have a protective shield placed over it per our insurance provider. The chandelier lights are being replaced with higher efficiency bulbs. A rug was repaired??? The Simplex cost was reduced to $902/year.
Planned Giving: Ron reported that Ellie Baker will develop a suggested approach at an upcoming meeting. Ron anticipates that a simple and educational packet will become available for use by the PGC. Ellie suggests that the Maine Community Fund be used for ???
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20P
The next AT meeting will be held on December 4, 2008
Respectfully submitted by: Eben Marsh, Acting Secretary
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Deb Sandler, Jim Otis, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills and Cyndi Alden.
The meeting was called to order by the Acting Chair Deb Sandler at 7:05P.
The minutes of the October 2, 2008 meeting were reviewed and accepted.
Old Business:
Financial Statements and Budget: Cyndi lead a review of our financial statements and Budget. Also, the Admin Team reviewed its proposed 2009 Budget. All team budgets are being solicited by the Council’s Budget Committee. Cyndi will represent the Admin Team on the Budget Committee. The AT made no changes from what was proposed, and voted to submit as proposed and dated 11/6/08.
Tenant review: Our tenants were current in their rent payments through October. No rent payments have been received for November.
Coffee Hour: The EF & G Committee will continue to solicit volunteers to put the coffee out following Sunday service. Thus, the AT’s proposal of 10/2/08 is withdrawn.
AT talk: It was reported that Chris did a great job!
Bulletin Board Policy: This matter came about last year in anticipation of the 275th Anniversary. Chris developed and submitted to the AT a sample policy. Using it, the AT developed a suggested policy guideline which will be presented to the Council.
Committee Reports:
Counting: Brian Wallace has created a counting schedule and staffing through December 31, 2008. To date, it appears to be working fine.
House: The painting on the front of the Church is underway. We are having a heating consultant come in to analyze our heating system. The objective is to gain efficiency and to save on heating costs. The recently renovated stained glass window in the Chapel must have a protective shield placed over it per our insurance provider. The chandelier lights are being replaced with higher efficiency bulbs. A rug was repaired??? The Simplex cost was reduced to $902/year.
Planned Giving: Ron reported that Ellie Baker will develop a suggested approach at an upcoming meeting. Ron anticipates that a simple and educational packet will become available for use by the PGC. Ellie suggests that the Maine Community Fund be used for ???
The meeting was adjourned at 8:20P
The next AT meeting will be held on December 4, 2008
Respectfully submitted by: Eben Marsh, Acting Secretary
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Spiritual Life and Worship
Minutes - November 6, 2008 7:30pm – 9:00p
For the opening prayer Betsy read a beautiful meditation on the persona of “Joy” from the “Book of Qualities”.
The October Minutes were reviewed and approved.
Updates from John
John let us know that we have a vacancy for church secretary. Jodie Ramsey is doing a wonderful job filling in and will train the new secretary. We currently have four candidates we are considering.
Special services – John told us that he thought the dedication of the chancel went well, and applauded Chris Keiter’s work in making everyone involved feel welcome. John reminded us that this coming Sunday is the dedication of the kickoff of the 275th anniversary celebration. He also asked for feedback on the new method of serving of communion with deacons seated as part of the congregation. Our consensus was that the new way of serving was generally going well and John heard some positive feedback from both participating deacons and the congregation about this more “intimate” way of serving.
Pastor parish relations meets in two weeks. John will take them first draft for plans concerning church life during John’s sabbatical.
Conversation on “What is Worship?”
Betsy shared that Elsa asked us to put this item on the agenda as a way to reignite conversations that had happened during the discernment process about alternate worship services. SLW was seen as a body that would be interested in hosting a congregation conversation about these opportunities. We talked about the difference between “What is Worship” being a different focus than “What are other special worship opportunities?” We all agreed that Chris Mills, Elsa, Peggy Murray and the others who initiated this idea should be part of this discussion. Betsy said she’d email this group and try to find a time for them to meet with SLW.
On-Going Events/discussion
• By-Laws Update - Council is working on it.
• SL & W Mailbox Responsibility - Betsy generously volunteered to attend to this.
• Pew Papers - Betty Deschaine has generously volunteered to attend to this.
• Use of Multimedia in Worship Service - Rick shared that Bryan and he went to Saco to review the multimedia system in the First Parish church there. Rick said that chapel service there was similar to ours, but with the addition support multimedia. He said the church there intends to expand their ministry through worship. We discussed copyright issues and how we might implement multimedia services in our church. Bryan shared that he thought SLW could help facilitate such a service if the energy and idea came from a group in the church. Rick said that there were resources from first Parish that would help us with this. We saw this as a service to have at a different time than chapel or 10 am service. Rick wants to research some more by going to other services and said that the growth group has interest about this as well. Deb suggested we put an article in the Beacon about our church’s capabilities. Rick saw multimedia as a way to stimulate growth in our church. We had a discussion about what would be needed in terms of cost, resources, and staff involvement to get something like this to be a regular worship opportunity at church. Rick said he could talk to Abby about the steps needed to implement such a plan.
• November Coffee Hour Schedule.
Upcoming Events – For next month
• 275th Anniversary Celebration – November 9.
• November Coffee Hour Schedule and Coordination.
• Advent.
New Items?
Shirley’s Request – Shirley reminded us that she sent us a memo about the use of the sanctuary for the upcoming Longfellow concert. Betsy mentioned that Chris spoke for the council in authorizing SLW to make the decision about permitting this to happen, but asked if there would be a fee for the concert. John recommended that since there was admission charged that we let the council make the final decision. The SLW sent the request to the council with our endorsement for the concert. Debbie expressed her appreciation that the new sanctuary was welcoming people outside of the church.
SLW expressed their strong endorsement for appropriate use of the sanctuary by outside groups as a way to introduce our church to the wider community. Issues such as security and charging fees made this an issue that needs to be considered by the church council.
Budget
• $2500 for SLW budget will stay the same.
• Combined SLW and music budget will go from $7205 to $7380 (music committee ($4880 - $175 more and SLW budget – increase for piano maintenance).
• $600 for signing last few years $345 used to date – balance is available for Christmas Eve signing.
Hymnal Info - moved that we approve memorial fund for $3900 for new hymnals.
Next Meeting Date: December 4th – 7:00 p.m. next time.
• Items for next month’s Agenda?
• Volunteer for November’s Opening Prayer – Bryan; taking Minutes – Betsy.
Adjourn
For the opening prayer Betsy read a beautiful meditation on the persona of “Joy” from the “Book of Qualities”.
The October Minutes were reviewed and approved.
Updates from John
John let us know that we have a vacancy for church secretary. Jodie Ramsey is doing a wonderful job filling in and will train the new secretary. We currently have four candidates we are considering.
Special services – John told us that he thought the dedication of the chancel went well, and applauded Chris Keiter’s work in making everyone involved feel welcome. John reminded us that this coming Sunday is the dedication of the kickoff of the 275th anniversary celebration. He also asked for feedback on the new method of serving of communion with deacons seated as part of the congregation. Our consensus was that the new way of serving was generally going well and John heard some positive feedback from both participating deacons and the congregation about this more “intimate” way of serving.
Pastor parish relations meets in two weeks. John will take them first draft for plans concerning church life during John’s sabbatical.
Conversation on “What is Worship?”
Betsy shared that Elsa asked us to put this item on the agenda as a way to reignite conversations that had happened during the discernment process about alternate worship services. SLW was seen as a body that would be interested in hosting a congregation conversation about these opportunities. We talked about the difference between “What is Worship” being a different focus than “What are other special worship opportunities?” We all agreed that Chris Mills, Elsa, Peggy Murray and the others who initiated this idea should be part of this discussion. Betsy said she’d email this group and try to find a time for them to meet with SLW.
On-Going Events/discussion
• By-Laws Update - Council is working on it.
• SL & W Mailbox Responsibility - Betsy generously volunteered to attend to this.
• Pew Papers - Betty Deschaine has generously volunteered to attend to this.
• Use of Multimedia in Worship Service - Rick shared that Bryan and he went to Saco to review the multimedia system in the First Parish church there. Rick said that chapel service there was similar to ours, but with the addition support multimedia. He said the church there intends to expand their ministry through worship. We discussed copyright issues and how we might implement multimedia services in our church. Bryan shared that he thought SLW could help facilitate such a service if the energy and idea came from a group in the church. Rick said that there were resources from first Parish that would help us with this. We saw this as a service to have at a different time than chapel or 10 am service. Rick wants to research some more by going to other services and said that the growth group has interest about this as well. Deb suggested we put an article in the Beacon about our church’s capabilities. Rick saw multimedia as a way to stimulate growth in our church. We had a discussion about what would be needed in terms of cost, resources, and staff involvement to get something like this to be a regular worship opportunity at church. Rick said he could talk to Abby about the steps needed to implement such a plan.
• November Coffee Hour Schedule.
Upcoming Events – For next month
• 275th Anniversary Celebration – November 9.
• November Coffee Hour Schedule and Coordination.
• Advent.
New Items?
Shirley’s Request – Shirley reminded us that she sent us a memo about the use of the sanctuary for the upcoming Longfellow concert. Betsy mentioned that Chris spoke for the council in authorizing SLW to make the decision about permitting this to happen, but asked if there would be a fee for the concert. John recommended that since there was admission charged that we let the council make the final decision. The SLW sent the request to the council with our endorsement for the concert. Debbie expressed her appreciation that the new sanctuary was welcoming people outside of the church.
SLW expressed their strong endorsement for appropriate use of the sanctuary by outside groups as a way to introduce our church to the wider community. Issues such as security and charging fees made this an issue that needs to be considered by the church council.
Budget
• $2500 for SLW budget will stay the same.
• Combined SLW and music budget will go from $7205 to $7380 (music committee ($4880 - $175 more and SLW budget – increase for piano maintenance).
• $600 for signing last few years $345 used to date – balance is available for Christmas Eve signing.
Hymnal Info - moved that we approve memorial fund for $3900 for new hymnals.
Next Meeting Date: December 4th – 7:00 p.m. next time.
• Items for next month’s Agenda?
• Volunteer for November’s Opening Prayer – Bryan; taking Minutes – Betsy.
Adjourn
CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
NOVEMBER 20, 2008
Meeting called to order at 6:35 PM by Moderator Chris Keiter
Opening prayer by Phil Whitney
All Council members and both ministers present
Review of October Minutes approved
MINISTERS’ TIME: Elsa indicated that the Mission Team will be organizing some activities to involve the whole congregation. The first will be to serve at Preble Street after Christmas. As part of the conclusion of her first 360 review, Elsa mentioned a wish to have a definitive statement in the church files describing the vision of our church. After a brief discussion, there did not seem to be a consensus. Chris elected to postpone further discussion to a meeting in 2009.
UPDATE BY CHRIS REGARDING 11/17 BUDGET MEETING: All of the pledges have not been received. A general overview suggests this is in line with last year. He will attend another budget meeting in mid-December when more information will allow a decision whether or not new approaches will be necessary to meet goals. The Council decided to have Chris send a note to the Teams requesting them to not use remaining 2008 budget funds if they are not really needed, noting that this would not affect their 2009 budget requests.
ARTASCOPE/SILENT AUCTION: This group of independent artists and crafters named Artascope has been given permission to have a table at the Holly Daze Bazaar. The Crisis Ministries will be given all of the proceeds collected from the sale of their art objects. The drawing for the objects will be held on Dec. 21.
CHURCH SECRETARY: A new church secretary has been hired and will start on Dec. 1. Her name is Jennifer Dealaman and she is from the Freeport area. She previously worked at UM Lewiston as an administrative assistant.
VISIT WITH EG&F: Jean visited with EG&F during their November meeting. They appreciated a member of the Council with them as they discussed their budget request, feedback from their coffee hour proposal and other matters.
COFFEE HOUR IN RESPONSE TO EG&F TEAM REQUEST: In response to their memo sent to various teams and committees in the church, EG&F has received help from several teams and other volunteers. It is assumed that EG&F will contact the council if they need help in finding servers and bakers in the future. Chris made it clear that teams with problems need to ask the council for input before seeking solutions that put other teams at risk for further duties beyond those prescribed in the By-Laws. The Council decided that it is fine for Teams to request help from other teams and their members, but not to assign duties to other Teams and members.
CHANCEL RAILINGS: The choir, after using the reconfigured chancel since September, feels just fine without railings. Problem solved.
CHORAL CONCERT IN CHANCEL: Approval has been given by the Council for a concert by the Portland-based Longfellow Singers (who put Longfellow poems to music). This non-profit choral group will sing in the sanctuary in mid-February on a Sunday afternoon under the supervision of Shirley Curry. Voluntary contributions will be collected.
JANE EBERLE – POT LUCK SUPPER: State representative Jane Eberle has asked to use Guptill Hall for a supper to thank supporters – with invitations for up to 150. Expected turnout closer to 40.
Discussion included precedence for political groups to use the church (though Democrats already use the church once per month) and the conflict of dates with Parenting Pot Luck on the same night of Dec. 7. John McCall will contact Jane to discuss the conflict and work out details.
BUILDING USE POLICY FOR NON-CHURCH GROUPS: Most of this policy is known already by John and Cyndi who handle such inquiries. It was agreed to ask John, Elsa and Cyndi to prepare a list of possible gray areas for discussion by the Council. With the new Chancel configuration possibly attracting more entertainment groups, it is necessary to discuss this use of space in more detail.
MAINE CONFERENCE / APPEAL FOR FUNDS: The ME Conference has asked for an architectural study of the three common buildings belonging to ME UCC churches: Rockcraft, Pilgrim Lodge and Pennell administrative building. Study cost is $7500 with the idea of repairing, expanding, replacing or selling one or more buildings or locations. After discussion John was asked to call the Conference to ask how the canvass is going. Further questions include whether to send up to $500 if the campaign is going well.
CHANGE IN BY-LAWS; Sections 1.5, 2.2, 3.3, 4.3, 5.3F and articles 6 and 6.1A were approved and will go to the teams for approval. This completes the Council’s work on the By-Laws revisions which now match the new governance format.
The meeting was adjourned by Chris at 8:20 PM.
Acting Secretary
Philip G. Whitney
Meeting called to order at 6:35 PM by Moderator Chris Keiter
Opening prayer by Phil Whitney
All Council members and both ministers present
Review of October Minutes approved
MINISTERS’ TIME: Elsa indicated that the Mission Team will be organizing some activities to involve the whole congregation. The first will be to serve at Preble Street after Christmas. As part of the conclusion of her first 360 review, Elsa mentioned a wish to have a definitive statement in the church files describing the vision of our church. After a brief discussion, there did not seem to be a consensus. Chris elected to postpone further discussion to a meeting in 2009.
UPDATE BY CHRIS REGARDING 11/17 BUDGET MEETING: All of the pledges have not been received. A general overview suggests this is in line with last year. He will attend another budget meeting in mid-December when more information will allow a decision whether or not new approaches will be necessary to meet goals. The Council decided to have Chris send a note to the Teams requesting them to not use remaining 2008 budget funds if they are not really needed, noting that this would not affect their 2009 budget requests.
ARTASCOPE/SILENT AUCTION: This group of independent artists and crafters named Artascope has been given permission to have a table at the Holly Daze Bazaar. The Crisis Ministries will be given all of the proceeds collected from the sale of their art objects. The drawing for the objects will be held on Dec. 21.
CHURCH SECRETARY: A new church secretary has been hired and will start on Dec. 1. Her name is Jennifer Dealaman and she is from the Freeport area. She previously worked at UM Lewiston as an administrative assistant.
VISIT WITH EG&F: Jean visited with EG&F during their November meeting. They appreciated a member of the Council with them as they discussed their budget request, feedback from their coffee hour proposal and other matters.
COFFEE HOUR IN RESPONSE TO EG&F TEAM REQUEST: In response to their memo sent to various teams and committees in the church, EG&F has received help from several teams and other volunteers. It is assumed that EG&F will contact the council if they need help in finding servers and bakers in the future. Chris made it clear that teams with problems need to ask the council for input before seeking solutions that put other teams at risk for further duties beyond those prescribed in the By-Laws. The Council decided that it is fine for Teams to request help from other teams and their members, but not to assign duties to other Teams and members.
CHANCEL RAILINGS: The choir, after using the reconfigured chancel since September, feels just fine without railings. Problem solved.
CHORAL CONCERT IN CHANCEL: Approval has been given by the Council for a concert by the Portland-based Longfellow Singers (who put Longfellow poems to music). This non-profit choral group will sing in the sanctuary in mid-February on a Sunday afternoon under the supervision of Shirley Curry. Voluntary contributions will be collected.
JANE EBERLE – POT LUCK SUPPER: State representative Jane Eberle has asked to use Guptill Hall for a supper to thank supporters – with invitations for up to 150. Expected turnout closer to 40.
Discussion included precedence for political groups to use the church (though Democrats already use the church once per month) and the conflict of dates with Parenting Pot Luck on the same night of Dec. 7. John McCall will contact Jane to discuss the conflict and work out details.
BUILDING USE POLICY FOR NON-CHURCH GROUPS: Most of this policy is known already by John and Cyndi who handle such inquiries. It was agreed to ask John, Elsa and Cyndi to prepare a list of possible gray areas for discussion by the Council. With the new Chancel configuration possibly attracting more entertainment groups, it is necessary to discuss this use of space in more detail.
MAINE CONFERENCE / APPEAL FOR FUNDS: The ME Conference has asked for an architectural study of the three common buildings belonging to ME UCC churches: Rockcraft, Pilgrim Lodge and Pennell administrative building. Study cost is $7500 with the idea of repairing, expanding, replacing or selling one or more buildings or locations. After discussion John was asked to call the Conference to ask how the canvass is going. Further questions include whether to send up to $500 if the campaign is going well.
CHANGE IN BY-LAWS; Sections 1.5, 2.2, 3.3, 4.3, 5.3F and articles 6 and 6.1A were approved and will go to the teams for approval. This completes the Council’s work on the By-Laws revisions which now match the new governance format.
The meeting was adjourned by Chris at 8:20 PM.
Acting Secretary
Philip G. Whitney
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