Meeting Minutes of February 10, 2009
PRESENT: Scott Berry, Terry Dellaire, Ann Googins.
ABSENT: Trish Naddaff, Jerry Onos, Kathy Sahrbeck.
Scott called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m., and offered a prayer.
OLD BUSINESS:
As reported last time, the Council has expressed interest in holding a discussion regarding the outreach relationships of the CCM Team and the Mission Outreach Team. Scott reported on his discussion with John about it, and we discussed it further.
A speaker is not yet finalized for CCM Sunday in April. Scott and Kathy will try to do this before our next meeting. We spent some time with the Lectionary readings and looking for alternates. Before our next meeting we will look at hymns in the Songs of the Spirit.
The next meeting will be February 23 at 7:00 p.m.; the meeting after that will be held March 9 at 7:00 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Googins
See: Matt 6:1-4, Ps 82:3-4, and Heb 13:16.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Education, Growth and Fellowship
Meeting Minutes of February 5, 2009
Attendance: Ginny Gledhill, Jayne Quinn-Sawtelle, Karen Pierce Souza, Elsa Peters, Aaron French
Absent: Amy Foster, Margaret Thibodeau
The January Minutes were approved.
Elsa:
Sunday School - going well. Two subs found.
Bible Discovery - will run 3/19, 3/26, 4/2; Deb Sandler and Cindy Arn will run.
Kids' Service – Graduate Soup Supper - from Bible Study on Good Friday.
Soup Supper – Hilltop Guild- would they be willing to do or help out.
Adult Formation – Ethical Will was a great success.
March 1st – Lent Class.
Diversity Committee – Biblical ideas of Marriage- Looking at a Dialogue.
Aaron:
Youth Ministry – $227.00 was raised from Sub Sale and given to Pilgrim Lodge.
Coffee Hour:
Going along OK; continue struggle to get volunteers.
Nursery:
Going smoothly right now.
Library:
Everything’s fine.
Bulletin Check:
Elsa brought up the comment to be passed along if anyone feels there is too much information or if there is not enough added. What is everyone’s feedback on this subject?
Growth Group: Dave Allen is spokes person.
Next Meeting: March 5, 2009
Respectfully submitted: Ginny Gledhill
Attendance: Ginny Gledhill, Jayne Quinn-Sawtelle, Karen Pierce Souza, Elsa Peters, Aaron French
Absent: Amy Foster, Margaret Thibodeau
The January Minutes were approved.
Elsa:
Sunday School - going well. Two subs found.
Bible Discovery - will run 3/19, 3/26, 4/2; Deb Sandler and Cindy Arn will run.
Kids' Service – Graduate Soup Supper - from Bible Study on Good Friday.
Soup Supper – Hilltop Guild- would they be willing to do or help out.
Adult Formation – Ethical Will was a great success.
March 1st – Lent Class.
Diversity Committee – Biblical ideas of Marriage- Looking at a Dialogue.
Aaron:
Youth Ministry – $227.00 was raised from Sub Sale and given to Pilgrim Lodge.
Coffee Hour:
Going along OK; continue struggle to get volunteers.
Nursery:
Going smoothly right now.
Library:
Everything’s fine.
Bulletin Check:
Elsa brought up the comment to be passed along if anyone feels there is too much information or if there is not enough added. What is everyone’s feedback on this subject?
Growth Group: Dave Allen is spokes person.
Next Meeting: March 5, 2009
Respectfully submitted: Ginny Gledhill
Spiritual Life and Worship Team
Meeting Minutes of January 8, 2009
Present: Debbie Riley, Betsy Keiter, Bryan Wiggins, Sandy Hansen, Elinor Redmond, Richard Angell, John McCall
Opening Prayer: Sandy opened with a beautiful, thoughtful prayer.
Review of Minutes: November and December minutes were approved.
News from John McCall: The following items were discussed:
Summer Sabbatical: John reviewed with the committee his tentative summer sabbatical plans and asked for input regarding three Sunday mornings during the summer when we will need someone to deliver a message.
Church Directory: The church directory will be completed within 90 days. 161 households participated.
Budget: There is good news regarding the budget. Instead of a deficit of $28,000 which was predicted, we only have a deficit of $5,000. The congregation heard our budget concerns and responded with great generosity.
The 2009 budget will be a big stretch. Teams have been asked to cut 10% - 20 % of their budgets and salary increases will remain at 2%. The biggest dilemma is the Mission budget which is the only truly flexible church budget. Mission has been asked to cut 20% and to look carefully at organizations that have other funding sources available.
It seems that we should facilitate a workshop between the Mission Team and the Community Crisis Ministry Team so that we might build a bridge between them. Some members feel that the work of mission board is no longer valued. At this point CCM spends $100.000 and Mission Team spends $60,000.
New Hymnals: As of today we have raised $2000 of the $9000.00 needed to cover the cost of the hymnals. There are plans to have a Hymn Sing in late March to retire the Pilgrim Hymnal.
Confirmation: John gave us all a calendar of upcoming events and announced that there will be no Confirmation class this year.
Communion: Elinor made a few suggestions regarding the procedure for serving communion. She will speak with John and Elsa .
Multi Media Use: Richard reported that the Saco UCC has been very helpful. They network with other churches. It was suggested that Richard write an article for the Beacon to assess the congregation’s interest in having a multi media worship option.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
The next meeting will be on February 5th at 7:00 p.m.
Sandy will take the minutes and Elinor will begin with a prayer.
Submitted by: Debbie Riley
Present: Debbie Riley, Betsy Keiter, Bryan Wiggins, Sandy Hansen, Elinor Redmond, Richard Angell, John McCall
Opening Prayer: Sandy opened with a beautiful, thoughtful prayer.
Review of Minutes: November and December minutes were approved.
News from John McCall: The following items were discussed:
Summer Sabbatical: John reviewed with the committee his tentative summer sabbatical plans and asked for input regarding three Sunday mornings during the summer when we will need someone to deliver a message.
Church Directory: The church directory will be completed within 90 days. 161 households participated.
Budget: There is good news regarding the budget. Instead of a deficit of $28,000 which was predicted, we only have a deficit of $5,000. The congregation heard our budget concerns and responded with great generosity.
The 2009 budget will be a big stretch. Teams have been asked to cut 10% - 20 % of their budgets and salary increases will remain at 2%. The biggest dilemma is the Mission budget which is the only truly flexible church budget. Mission has been asked to cut 20% and to look carefully at organizations that have other funding sources available.
It seems that we should facilitate a workshop between the Mission Team and the Community Crisis Ministry Team so that we might build a bridge between them. Some members feel that the work of mission board is no longer valued. At this point CCM spends $100.000 and Mission Team spends $60,000.
New Hymnals: As of today we have raised $2000 of the $9000.00 needed to cover the cost of the hymnals. There are plans to have a Hymn Sing in late March to retire the Pilgrim Hymnal.
Confirmation: John gave us all a calendar of upcoming events and announced that there will be no Confirmation class this year.
Communion: Elinor made a few suggestions regarding the procedure for serving communion. She will speak with John and Elsa .
Multi Media Use: Richard reported that the Saco UCC has been very helpful. They network with other churches. It was suggested that Richard write an article for the Beacon to assess the congregation’s interest in having a multi media worship option.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
The next meeting will be on February 5th at 7:00 p.m.
Sandy will take the minutes and Elinor will begin with a prayer.
Submitted by: Debbie Riley
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Community Crisis Ministries
MEETING MINUTES OF
JANUARY 19, 2009
PRESENT: Scott Berry, Terry Dellaire, Ann Googins, Kathy Sahrbeck.
ABSENT: Jerry Onos, Trish Naddaff
Scott called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., and Kathy read an opening story.
EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS: Scott presented the total numbers for 2008: Income was $111,260 and expenditures for assistance were $111,314. This compares with 2007 where income was $91,624 and assistance was $98,202. Needs have been higher in 2008 because of the price of oil and the economy. The major focus of CCM continues to be housing and utility assistance.
NEW BUSINESS: An interest has been expressed to join CCM, and we discussed adding new members.
The Council has approved the date for CCM Sunday for 2009; it will be April 26. Both John and Elsa will help although John is away April 23-25. Scott will get the lectionary from Elsa.* Possible themes were suggested and discussed. One suggestion of an outside speaker will be pursued before our next meeting after we have discussed these ideas with both ministers.
The subject of pledging for CCM was discussed briefly. Most people respond right away when they receive the card although a growing number of the congregation now give for Christmas or end-of-year tax purposes. It was noted that it would be helpful to the Team to know how much aid CCM provides to the city of South Portland each year for general assistance. They are our largest social agency requesting local aid to needy citizens; we will start keeping that record in 2009.
The Council has expressed an interest in holding a discussion regarding the outreach relationships of the CCM Team and the Mission Outreach Team. Scott will contact John to get the ball rolling.
The next meeting will be February 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Laity Room.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Googins
*Lectionary readings are Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, I John 3:1-7, and Luke 24:36b-48.
JANUARY 19, 2009
PRESENT: Scott Berry, Terry Dellaire, Ann Googins, Kathy Sahrbeck.
ABSENT: Jerry Onos, Trish Naddaff
Scott called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., and Kathy read an opening story.
EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS: Scott presented the total numbers for 2008: Income was $111,260 and expenditures for assistance were $111,314. This compares with 2007 where income was $91,624 and assistance was $98,202. Needs have been higher in 2008 because of the price of oil and the economy. The major focus of CCM continues to be housing and utility assistance.
NEW BUSINESS: An interest has been expressed to join CCM, and we discussed adding new members.
The Council has approved the date for CCM Sunday for 2009; it will be April 26. Both John and Elsa will help although John is away April 23-25. Scott will get the lectionary from Elsa.* Possible themes were suggested and discussed. One suggestion of an outside speaker will be pursued before our next meeting after we have discussed these ideas with both ministers.
The subject of pledging for CCM was discussed briefly. Most people respond right away when they receive the card although a growing number of the congregation now give for Christmas or end-of-year tax purposes. It was noted that it would be helpful to the Team to know how much aid CCM provides to the city of South Portland each year for general assistance. They are our largest social agency requesting local aid to needy citizens; we will start keeping that record in 2009.
The Council has expressed an interest in holding a discussion regarding the outreach relationships of the CCM Team and the Mission Outreach Team. Scott will contact John to get the ball rolling.
The next meeting will be February 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the Laity Room.
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Googins
*Lectionary readings are Acts 3:12-19, Psalm 4, I John 3:1-7, and Luke 24:36b-48.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Church Council
Meeting Minutes of January 15, 2009
Present: John McCall; Elsa Peters, Andy Ellis, Phil Whitney, Nancy Maclean, Sally Hinckley, Chris Dow, Deb Andrews, David Allen, Sally Sutton, Jean Siulinski, Chris Keiter, Cyndi Alden (for discussion of budget)
Sally Sutton read the opening prayer.
Budget Proposal Discussion – Chris K. presented the budget proposal from the Budget Committee. Highlights of the budget include the fact that for 2008, there was only a deficit of $3,730 when a much greater deficit had been anticipated. This was the result of the Teams limiting their spending at the end of the year and the very supportive response of the congregation in the final weeks of the year. Consequently, much more money is now available in the Retained Earning Segregated Fund for use in the 2009 Budget. Chris reviewed the proposed budget and answered questions. The 2009 budget takes advantage of some of the segregated funds as well as an anticipated $19,520 from the Retained Earnings Fund. Chris cautioned the Council that this is still not a balanced budget and that we continue to operate with a deficit. The Council approved the 2009 proposed budget to be voted on by the congregation.
Review of the Agenda – Chris K. reviewed the agenda and added the discussion of a bequest to the agenda.
Review of December Minutes – The December minutes were reviewed. It was pointed out that the minutes should note that Jane Eberle is a State Representative from South Portland.
Ministers’ Time – John reported that Christmas and Epiphany went wonderfully. He also stated that he was touched by the responsiveness of many people regarding the year-end financial situation. He also mentioned that there would be some exciting programs in the next several months.
In his sermon on 1/25 John will thank people for their support. Chris K. will also express appreciation as part of his presentation of the budget.
Elsa discussed some programs. She suggested that it may be appropriate for Community Crisis Ministries and the Mission Outreach to discuss how the work of the two programs might be congruent. She mentioned that on 2/8 there will be a program for 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders and their parents to discuss confirmation. There will be some heart to heart conversations going on in the coming year.
Budget and Bylaw Review Meeting on January 22 – There will be a meeting to allow members of the congregation to ask questions about the proposed bylaw changes and the proposed budget. Everything will be ready and out to people before Sunday morning. There was discussion about how to make these available electronically. An e-mail will be sent to those who have provided their addresses with the hidden website address for how to access these documents.
There was discussion about who should attend on Thursday and it was suggested that it not be a large group, but that it should include people who can both explain the budget and the bylaws. John, Chris K., Nancy and Sally H. will attend on behalf of the Council.
Allocation of a New Bequest – An unrestricted bequest of $2,700 has been received from the estate of Leslie Andrews. The gift allocation formula was reviewed. 10% ($270) will go to the Mission Fund. 10% ($270) will go to the Major Maintenance Fund. The remainder will be invested in the unrestricted endowments, with the income to support the annual budget. Nancy suggested and the Council agreed that the Council recommend to the Mission Board that their portion of the bequest ($270) be sent to OCWM.
Date of the Annual Meeting – John recommended that the 2009 Annual Meeting be held on May 31st and the Council agreed. Recognizing Elders and 50 year-members will take place on June 7th.
Growth Group – Dave reported that this group is looking for ways to grow the church both in terms of more members and greater attendance. Last Sunday the Growth Group held a focus group to get a better insight about how to make improvements. The overall objective is to develop an extravagant welcome for people to join and participate in the church. Another effort of the Growth Group is to set-up a Parish Host Program. This will be a group of people who are trained and skilled at being open and welcoming. As people start to attend they will be appointed a parish host (if they want one) who will give them a better introduction to the church. The goal is to get this initially started in a couple of months and then after some experience, really get it up and running in the fall.
Discussion of Future Topics to Tackle – Chris K. lead the discussion about future issues for the Council to tackle. Ideas include:
- asking members of the Teams to come to a Council meeting, have Council members attend Team meetings.
- articulate the Church’s Vision Statement – what is special about our church?
- CCM and Mission Outreach relationship – look at assumptions that underlie both
- discussion about alternative sources of income.
- Center for Progressive Christianity – a loosely affiliated national program that looks beyond doctrines that have traditionally defined Christianity.
The Council set its priorities:
- the Vision Statement may logically be first.
- CCM and MO and how they relate to each other and the rest of the church.
- Team/Council connections – the Council can serve as a promoter of the Teams; the Teams/Council can invite feedback from congregation.
- Volunteerism – get a better understanding of how we can improve this in our church.
At the next Council meeting the Council will discuss:
- how the Council interacts with the teams.
- start the conversation about the Vision Statement.
- discuss meeting with Teams – and as we visit Teams, ask what they would like to see the Council work on.
- schedule one of the Council’s committees/month to present to the Council (Pastor/Parish, Investment Oversight, Stewardship, Personnel), starting with the Investment Oversight Committee.
- Elsa will talk to Mission Outreach to help them sit-down with CCM. The Council just needs to wait to see what happens.
Minutes prepared by: Sally Sutton
Present: John McCall; Elsa Peters, Andy Ellis, Phil Whitney, Nancy Maclean, Sally Hinckley, Chris Dow, Deb Andrews, David Allen, Sally Sutton, Jean Siulinski, Chris Keiter, Cyndi Alden (for discussion of budget)
Sally Sutton read the opening prayer.
Budget Proposal Discussion – Chris K. presented the budget proposal from the Budget Committee. Highlights of the budget include the fact that for 2008, there was only a deficit of $3,730 when a much greater deficit had been anticipated. This was the result of the Teams limiting their spending at the end of the year and the very supportive response of the congregation in the final weeks of the year. Consequently, much more money is now available in the Retained Earning Segregated Fund for use in the 2009 Budget. Chris reviewed the proposed budget and answered questions. The 2009 budget takes advantage of some of the segregated funds as well as an anticipated $19,520 from the Retained Earnings Fund. Chris cautioned the Council that this is still not a balanced budget and that we continue to operate with a deficit. The Council approved the 2009 proposed budget to be voted on by the congregation.
Review of the Agenda – Chris K. reviewed the agenda and added the discussion of a bequest to the agenda.
Review of December Minutes – The December minutes were reviewed. It was pointed out that the minutes should note that Jane Eberle is a State Representative from South Portland.
Ministers’ Time – John reported that Christmas and Epiphany went wonderfully. He also stated that he was touched by the responsiveness of many people regarding the year-end financial situation. He also mentioned that there would be some exciting programs in the next several months.
In his sermon on 1/25 John will thank people for their support. Chris K. will also express appreciation as part of his presentation of the budget.
Elsa discussed some programs. She suggested that it may be appropriate for Community Crisis Ministries and the Mission Outreach to discuss how the work of the two programs might be congruent. She mentioned that on 2/8 there will be a program for 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders and their parents to discuss confirmation. There will be some heart to heart conversations going on in the coming year.
Budget and Bylaw Review Meeting on January 22 – There will be a meeting to allow members of the congregation to ask questions about the proposed bylaw changes and the proposed budget. Everything will be ready and out to people before Sunday morning. There was discussion about how to make these available electronically. An e-mail will be sent to those who have provided their addresses with the hidden website address for how to access these documents.
There was discussion about who should attend on Thursday and it was suggested that it not be a large group, but that it should include people who can both explain the budget and the bylaws. John, Chris K., Nancy and Sally H. will attend on behalf of the Council.
Allocation of a New Bequest – An unrestricted bequest of $2,700 has been received from the estate of Leslie Andrews. The gift allocation formula was reviewed. 10% ($270) will go to the Mission Fund. 10% ($270) will go to the Major Maintenance Fund. The remainder will be invested in the unrestricted endowments, with the income to support the annual budget. Nancy suggested and the Council agreed that the Council recommend to the Mission Board that their portion of the bequest ($270) be sent to OCWM.
Date of the Annual Meeting – John recommended that the 2009 Annual Meeting be held on May 31st and the Council agreed. Recognizing Elders and 50 year-members will take place on June 7th.
Growth Group – Dave reported that this group is looking for ways to grow the church both in terms of more members and greater attendance. Last Sunday the Growth Group held a focus group to get a better insight about how to make improvements. The overall objective is to develop an extravagant welcome for people to join and participate in the church. Another effort of the Growth Group is to set-up a Parish Host Program. This will be a group of people who are trained and skilled at being open and welcoming. As people start to attend they will be appointed a parish host (if they want one) who will give them a better introduction to the church. The goal is to get this initially started in a couple of months and then after some experience, really get it up and running in the fall.
Discussion of Future Topics to Tackle – Chris K. lead the discussion about future issues for the Council to tackle. Ideas include:
- asking members of the Teams to come to a Council meeting, have Council members attend Team meetings.
- articulate the Church’s Vision Statement – what is special about our church?
- CCM and Mission Outreach relationship – look at assumptions that underlie both
- discussion about alternative sources of income.
- Center for Progressive Christianity – a loosely affiliated national program that looks beyond doctrines that have traditionally defined Christianity.
The Council set its priorities:
- the Vision Statement may logically be first.
- CCM and MO and how they relate to each other and the rest of the church.
- Team/Council connections – the Council can serve as a promoter of the Teams; the Teams/Council can invite feedback from congregation.
- Volunteerism – get a better understanding of how we can improve this in our church.
At the next Council meeting the Council will discuss:
- how the Council interacts with the teams.
- start the conversation about the Vision Statement.
- discuss meeting with Teams – and as we visit Teams, ask what they would like to see the Council work on.
- schedule one of the Council’s committees/month to present to the Council (Pastor/Parish, Investment Oversight, Stewardship, Personnel), starting with the Investment Oversight Committee.
- Elsa will talk to Mission Outreach to help them sit-down with CCM. The Council just needs to wait to see what happens.
Minutes prepared by: Sally Sutton
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Green Action Group
Minutes of January 29, 2009
Present: Sarah Ellsworth, Barbara Merrill, Dick Merrill, Ed Saxby, Jim Van Hoeven
Ed opened our meeting with a discussion of our group accepting John McCall’s invitation to work with him or with Elsa to plan the worship service for April 19, 2009, Green Sunday, and to host a conversation in Davidson Lounge after the 10 a.m. service. We decided we would like to do that and Ed Saxby and Sarah Ellsworth will help plan the day. Ed will contact John. Ideas shared included a celebration of Earth Day with Food, Fun, and Fellowship; inclusion of thoughts around food, i.e. Community Supported Agriculture, families growing their own food; and possibly for a later time sharing information about environmental bills before the legislature and how individuals could become involved.
There was discussion around offering a book group this spring. Ed is interested in offering one. Sarah and Jim will work on initiating a group where people could meet for a period of time in each other’s homes during April/May to enjoy fellowship while discussing a selected book.
Jim presented each of us with copies of “Our Defining Moment: A Call to Create the Future We Truly Want” by Jacqueline McMakin, published in January, 2009. Jim may write a Beacon article relative to this article.
As a follow-up to our December meeting, Jim contacted Roger Addor to learn if the Eskimos might be interested in working with us on a project to offer to help people make their homes more energy efficient. Roger was supportive of this effort and thought others would be as well. Jim will check back with Roger to help this move forward.
Ed shared a thank you note from Ray Sirois regarding the honorarium and thank you card our group sent him in appreciation for the program he presented on Climate Change in October. Ray was moved by our response, returned the check with a note asking that we “apply $50 to your church’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and educate your community on how important it is to live more sustain-ably. Let me know if I can help you in 2009. There is so much public education that is needed. “Pray with your feet moving!” (African proverb). The voided check has been returned to our church. When we decide how we want to use the $50, we can request the money from the Social Witness Ministries budget. We plan to advise Ray of how we used his gift.
We plan to invite Guy Gledhill of the House Committee to speak to our group regarding the work being done at our church to help the environment.
There is considerable interest in our group in doing something with our congregation regarding community supported food efforts such as buying shares in agriculture of in fisheries. A Master Gardener could explain that program and encourage people to consume healthier foods grown locally and cut back on the transportation of foods.
Ed reported that on February 8 from 1-4 pm and the First Parish Church on Congress Street there will be a program on Community Supported Food. Information will be shared and there will be opportunity to buy shares from farmers and fishermen.
On February 15 from 1-4 at First Parish there is a program on The Irreplaceable Wild—Climate Change effect on species becoming extinct.
Ed recommended the book “Blessed Unrest” by Paul Hawkins.
Sarah attended the workshop at Woodfords on January 10 titled “Saving Money, Energy and the Environment”. She shared information and materials from the conference which focused on what congregations can do in churches to conserve energy.
Sarah has joined the U.S. Green Build Chapter and is committed to green action.
Sarah is developing a time and talent survey for us based on one used in Farmington. We could use the information to learn who in our church might have time and talents to contribute to environmental programs and efforts. Some church members might be interested in helping people make their homes more energy efficient, for example. This could be helpful in getting the program with the Eskimos underway. Workshops could be offered to help people develop particular skills—for example, raised bed gardening.
Members will share responsibility for writing articles for The Green Spot in the Beacon. Ed will write an article for the next Beacon. He may also write about the Environmental Coalition and current legislative bills for the second March Beacon. The First April article will relate to the April 19 service of worship. Janis offered to write an article about planting for wildlife in your backyard and another article about the work she is doing to establish environmental resources in our library. The first Beacon in March and the second one in April are possible dates for those articles.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Merrill
Present: Sarah Ellsworth, Barbara Merrill, Dick Merrill, Ed Saxby, Jim Van Hoeven
Ed opened our meeting with a discussion of our group accepting John McCall’s invitation to work with him or with Elsa to plan the worship service for April 19, 2009, Green Sunday, and to host a conversation in Davidson Lounge after the 10 a.m. service. We decided we would like to do that and Ed Saxby and Sarah Ellsworth will help plan the day. Ed will contact John. Ideas shared included a celebration of Earth Day with Food, Fun, and Fellowship; inclusion of thoughts around food, i.e. Community Supported Agriculture, families growing their own food; and possibly for a later time sharing information about environmental bills before the legislature and how individuals could become involved.
There was discussion around offering a book group this spring. Ed is interested in offering one. Sarah and Jim will work on initiating a group where people could meet for a period of time in each other’s homes during April/May to enjoy fellowship while discussing a selected book.
Jim presented each of us with copies of “Our Defining Moment: A Call to Create the Future We Truly Want” by Jacqueline McMakin, published in January, 2009. Jim may write a Beacon article relative to this article.
As a follow-up to our December meeting, Jim contacted Roger Addor to learn if the Eskimos might be interested in working with us on a project to offer to help people make their homes more energy efficient. Roger was supportive of this effort and thought others would be as well. Jim will check back with Roger to help this move forward.
Ed shared a thank you note from Ray Sirois regarding the honorarium and thank you card our group sent him in appreciation for the program he presented on Climate Change in October. Ray was moved by our response, returned the check with a note asking that we “apply $50 to your church’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and educate your community on how important it is to live more sustain-ably. Let me know if I can help you in 2009. There is so much public education that is needed. “Pray with your feet moving!” (African proverb). The voided check has been returned to our church. When we decide how we want to use the $50, we can request the money from the Social Witness Ministries budget. We plan to advise Ray of how we used his gift.
We plan to invite Guy Gledhill of the House Committee to speak to our group regarding the work being done at our church to help the environment.
There is considerable interest in our group in doing something with our congregation regarding community supported food efforts such as buying shares in agriculture of in fisheries. A Master Gardener could explain that program and encourage people to consume healthier foods grown locally and cut back on the transportation of foods.
Ed reported that on February 8 from 1-4 pm and the First Parish Church on Congress Street there will be a program on Community Supported Food. Information will be shared and there will be opportunity to buy shares from farmers and fishermen.
On February 15 from 1-4 at First Parish there is a program on The Irreplaceable Wild—Climate Change effect on species becoming extinct.
Ed recommended the book “Blessed Unrest” by Paul Hawkins.
Sarah attended the workshop at Woodfords on January 10 titled “Saving Money, Energy and the Environment”. She shared information and materials from the conference which focused on what congregations can do in churches to conserve energy.
Sarah has joined the U.S. Green Build Chapter and is committed to green action.
Sarah is developing a time and talent survey for us based on one used in Farmington. We could use the information to learn who in our church might have time and talents to contribute to environmental programs and efforts. Some church members might be interested in helping people make their homes more energy efficient, for example. This could be helpful in getting the program with the Eskimos underway. Workshops could be offered to help people develop particular skills—for example, raised bed gardening.
Members will share responsibility for writing articles for The Green Spot in the Beacon. Ed will write an article for the next Beacon. He may also write about the Environmental Coalition and current legislative bills for the second March Beacon. The First April article will relate to the April 19 service of worship. Janis offered to write an article about planting for wildlife in your backyard and another article about the work she is doing to establish environmental resources in our library. The first Beacon in March and the second one in April are possible dates for those articles.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Merrill
The Food Pantry
Meeting Minutes
January 15, 2009
Present: Betty Crane, Nance Driscoll, AnnElissa Leveque, Francis Jane Addor, Burt Randall, Barbara Merrill, Gail Dransfield, Kathy Sahrbeck and Jan Files.
Balance: $5,056.37
Requests: Sept. 18, 2008 – Jan. 15, 2009
Families – 152; Adults – 265; Children – 24
Old Business:
We had a very long list of food and money donations, which you will find attached to these minutes. We at the meeting picked donors names to write Thank You notes to. Notes will be written from home.
Gail will write the Thank You notes on donations as they come in, while Judy is away.
It was mentioned that Chris Mill has been bringing bakery products to us for a long time and most likely has never been thanked. It was suggested that we send him a note.
Twice there have been bags left in the pantry with food donations that had no names on them. Kathy thought some of the bags were donations from Jane Eberle’s pot luck supper.
Barbara has just bought $120 worth of Gift Cards.
New Business:
Gail suggested that we take $300 out of our budget and buy flats of our most needed foods, such as small instant coffee, cereal, canned fruit, peanut butter, jelly, and canned meats. All agreed and AnnElissa will go shopping.
AnnElissa suggested that we write up some recipes to put in bags with the ingredients to make casseroles made with pasta. We have an abundant amount of pasta that was collected at one of our food drives. She said she would write up the recipes and leave copies to put in bags.
We were asked, when we shelved, not to put the cans way back in the rear and to make sure we put things in the right places. All extra large cans are to be put in a box to go to the Soup Kitchen. All baking supplies are to be given to Holly for her Soup Kitchen baking that she does.
Francis Jane said her husband, Roger, would be glad to hang our plaque we’d made to commemorate Verna Andrews and Beryl Brink. If it is not going to be hung by our door, the plaque by the door should be moved so that both plaques will both located alongside each other.
Request to Holly Daze Bazaar: We’d like to have some money to replace our rug and to build some more shelves. The name of Guy Gledhill was brought up as someone who could give us an estimate as to how much money would be needed to do this. Gail will look into this.
Gail wants to be put on the sub-list.
AnnElissa is going to make up a list of allergies for a child that she knows that we donate to. A note will be attached to her file, reminding us to check to list before packing for her.
A date for our coffee hour sale of post dated food was chosen. It will be Sunday, March 1. Gail will take care of putting a note in the Beacon and making a poster. AnnElissa and I will be doing the setting up before church and stay for sales. The money we make at these sales will be set aside for pantry improvements, whenever needed.
Respectfully submitted by Jan Files.
January 15, 2009
Present: Betty Crane, Nance Driscoll, AnnElissa Leveque, Francis Jane Addor, Burt Randall, Barbara Merrill, Gail Dransfield, Kathy Sahrbeck and Jan Files.
Balance: $5,056.37
Requests: Sept. 18, 2008 – Jan. 15, 2009
Families – 152; Adults – 265; Children – 24
Old Business:
We had a very long list of food and money donations, which you will find attached to these minutes. We at the meeting picked donors names to write Thank You notes to. Notes will be written from home.
Gail will write the Thank You notes on donations as they come in, while Judy is away.
It was mentioned that Chris Mill has been bringing bakery products to us for a long time and most likely has never been thanked. It was suggested that we send him a note.
Twice there have been bags left in the pantry with food donations that had no names on them. Kathy thought some of the bags were donations from Jane Eberle’s pot luck supper.
Barbara has just bought $120 worth of Gift Cards.
New Business:
Gail suggested that we take $300 out of our budget and buy flats of our most needed foods, such as small instant coffee, cereal, canned fruit, peanut butter, jelly, and canned meats. All agreed and AnnElissa will go shopping.
AnnElissa suggested that we write up some recipes to put in bags with the ingredients to make casseroles made with pasta. We have an abundant amount of pasta that was collected at one of our food drives. She said she would write up the recipes and leave copies to put in bags.
We were asked, when we shelved, not to put the cans way back in the rear and to make sure we put things in the right places. All extra large cans are to be put in a box to go to the Soup Kitchen. All baking supplies are to be given to Holly for her Soup Kitchen baking that she does.
Francis Jane said her husband, Roger, would be glad to hang our plaque we’d made to commemorate Verna Andrews and Beryl Brink. If it is not going to be hung by our door, the plaque by the door should be moved so that both plaques will both located alongside each other.
Request to Holly Daze Bazaar: We’d like to have some money to replace our rug and to build some more shelves. The name of Guy Gledhill was brought up as someone who could give us an estimate as to how much money would be needed to do this. Gail will look into this.
Gail wants to be put on the sub-list.
AnnElissa is going to make up a list of allergies for a child that she knows that we donate to. A note will be attached to her file, reminding us to check to list before packing for her.
A date for our coffee hour sale of post dated food was chosen. It will be Sunday, March 1. Gail will take care of putting a note in the Beacon and making a poster. AnnElissa and I will be doing the setting up before church and stay for sales. The money we make at these sales will be set aside for pantry improvements, whenever needed.
Respectfully submitted by Jan Files.
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