Spiritual Life & Worship

Meeting Minutes of February 5, 2009 @ 7:00 p.m.

In Attendance: Elinor Redmond, Debbie Riley, Betsy Keiter, Rick Angell, Dana Wiggins, Sandy Hansen, and John McCall.

Opening: Elinor shared a thoughtful reading to begin the meeting.

Review of January Minutes: Deb Riley wrote and shared the January minutes. They were approved as written.

Minister’s Time:
The Budget - John reported good news with the 2008 budget coming in within $3,700 of budget, which is much better than had been anticipated. This was due to pledges from new members; teams cutting back during the year; and additional unexpected gifts from members of the congregation. The 2009 Budget was approved at the Congregational Meeting on January 25th, and John expressed his gratitude to the Budget Committee for all their work on it.

Weekly Church Bulletins - The office has been asked to print more bulletins for Sunday services by usher captains. John asked for our thoughts about asking those attending Sunday morning service to share bulletins with one another, in an effort to be more environmentally responsible and save on expenses. It was agreed that the bulletins are a valuable method of getting information out to people, and helpful to visitors unfamiliar with our church; however, it would be sensible and acceptable to ask ushers to encourage couples or friends coming together to share a bulletin so that we don’t run out of bulletins on Sunday mornings.

Member Status - Nancy Wentworth has been on our Inactive Membership List, and has recently asked to be put back on the Active List again. The Team was pleased to hear that she’s come back to church, and approved the change.

John’s Sabbatical - John gave the team his updated “To Do List” in regards to his coverage and thoughts about what is pertinent to his being away from the church for his Sabbatical, starting May 3rd.

Weddings - The Congregation voted in 2002 to authorize the ministers of our church to use their discretion in extending the Blessing of our Church to any couple who requests it in light of their faith, and who are prepared to make vows of fidelity and permanence. A Maine marriage license is not necessary for receiving the church’s blessing. John and Elsa believe that signing the state document, the marriage license, which is permitted only for heterosexual couples, is in conflict with their role as pastors, and their authorization to offer the church’s blessing to any couple desiring a wedding or Blessing of the church upon their commitment. John said that he and Elsa believe this step is consistent with our congregation’s 2002 vote, and that they want to share this with the congregation during the message on March 15th. Anyone interested in discussing the issue will be invited to Davidson Lounge following the service.
John and Elsa will continue to sign the certificate that verifies the church’s blessing, but no longer intend to sign the state license. If a couple wants to have a blessing ceremony by one of our pastors and want it to be recognized by the state as a legal marriage, they have two options: a Notary Public present at the ceremony can sign the license; or a civil service can be performed before the church’s blessing ceremony. John reminded us that both he and Elsa offer the church’s blessing to committed couples in the context of their Christian beliefs; he does so on church premises while she is open to doing so in other settings as well.
The team talked about the possible repercussions this may have with some members of the congregation. However, it was agreed that it would be good to raise awareness about the injustice in Maine law regarding the definition of marriage.

SL & W Team Membership & Volunteers:
The team began discussing the current membership and the need to recruit new members for the fall. Last April, the current members had agreed to the following schedule of participation:
Term Ending Summer 2009: Sandy Hansen, Bryan Wiggins, Betsy Keiter
Term Ending Summer 2010: Elinor Redmond, Debbie Riley
Term Ending Summer 2011: Dana Wiggins
(Rick Angell, where are you in this schedule?) We need to find a volunteer to lead the Communion Group, as Mary Anne would like to have someone else take on this responsibility. The team began discussing other areas where we may need some volunteers and names of a few people who may be interested in participating. To be continued.

On-going Issues:
•Hymnal Update - Over 100 donations have come in for dedications. The new hymnals should be here on or around Easter. The question of what would be done with the old hymnals? They could be offered to the families of the person in whose name it was dedicated; they could be offered to members for a donation.
•Serving Communion - Elinor made a few suggestions to improve the way in which serving Communion is being done. The new ideas were tried this past Sunday, and seemed to work well.
•Multi-media Usage – Rick is writing a letter to go into the Beacon to inquire about interest level within the congregation about multi-media use, and appreciated feedback from some of the team members on the letter.

Upcoming Events:
Ash Wednesday - Feb 25: The team will coordinate the breakfast at 7:00am. Plan for 25 people. The general plan is as follows:
Sandy – will bring paper products and set up Tuesday evening; Debbie – will bring bagels, cream cheese, and butter; Elinor – will bring coffee, tea, milk, sugar, and juice; Betsy – will bring muffins; Dana – will bring fruit.

Good Friday – April 10 and Easter - April 12: To be discussed at a later date.

Elders Sunday – June 7: To be discussed at a later date.

Next Meeting is March 5th at 7:00p
•Dana volunteered, saying that she or Bryan would lead the Opening Prayer for March
•Elinor volunteered to take minutes

Adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:
Sandra Hansen