Spiritual Life and Worship

Meeting Minutes of September 3, 2009

Attending: Elaine Brownell, Betsy Keiter, Dana Wiggins, Debbie Riley, Rick Angell, John McCall

Opening Prayer by Betsy

Review of June 9 Minutes – Approved as written

Request from Sue Stevens – Sue has been the Executive Assistant at the Maine Conference office for 2.5 years and has grown in her faith while serving in matters of administration and communication there. As a continuation of her faith journey she is beginning her second year of studies to become a Commissioned Minister, one of three types of authorized ministers within the UCC. Commissioned ministers would not perform duties of an ordained minister but would specialize in their own area of expertise within the operation of the church. Sue asks for our support as she continues her studies. Betsy will craft a letter that will be reviewed at our next meeting. At that point we'll discuss a submission in the Beacon describing Sue's endeavor and our support of it.

Homecoming Sunday and Fair – Signup sheets were produced and will be on the tables this Sunday. SL&W tables will be in the Gallery opposite the curved wall hallway. Other groups will be set up throughout the church encouraging members to visit and learn about each group. Rick, Dana and Betsy and Debbie will be answering questions and acquiring new members for SL&W sub-groups of Greeters, Ushers, Acolytes, Narthex, Communion, Chancel, Worship Leader, Altar Flowers . We also hope to sign another member for SL&W to fulfill the minimum number. (Music and Lay Visitation, sub-groups of SL&W, will have their own sign up people.)

Salt and Light – Elsa has requested the SL&W create a worship moment about salt to tie in with the Homecoming 2009 theme of Salt and Light, reflecting on Matthew 5:13-16. We opted to talk as a group about salt in our language, expressions, food, cravings and needs. We'll start with definition of salt from the dictionary and assign characters to speak - such as an "old salt", a "salt of the sea" etc.

Hymnal Memorial Bookplates – Debbie and Dana will meet again to work on the book plates, estimating 2 weeks to finalize design, 2 weeks for printing with a target date of Oct. 4 for placement.

Website Update – Upgrades to the site would enable online forms for Sunday school registration, Youth Group permission slips, a link for web based donations, photo additions, more organized information, easier readability and navigation. John has a contact interested in discussing a site upgrade with us. Chris Keiter, Elsa, John, Dana and other interested members will form a group that will consult with the web-designer regarding available options, our priorities, and moderating costs. Once a new site is launched, text and photo updates can be made by a point-person, a volunteer within our church, to whom we can send new and changing content.

Altar Table - With communion going smoothly from the lower placement of the communion table, it's time to consider a table that can stay in the sanctuary rather than be moved each month from from Davidson Loung. A smaller, lighter and more portable table was suggested. We discussed costs of ready made or custom built. Debbie suggests submitting a diagram and dimensions to the Windham Correctional Institution for an estimate as they have an amazing woodworking shop with work being done by the inmates.

Multimedia in Worship Service - After discussion and research on multimedia worship services, Rick is tabling the idea due to lack of time to pursue start up and content development. He hopes the subject can be taken up at another time.

Discussion on John Attending SL&W Meeting – John will continue to meet with SL&W this year.

Next Meeting: Oct.1, 2009

Adjourned at 8:55 PM

Respectfully Submitted,
Dana Wiggins