Education Growth and Fellowship

Meeting Minutes of June 3, 2010
Recorded by: Margaret Thibodeau

Team members attending: Karen Pierce, Ginny Gledhill, Margaret Thibodeau, Jennifer Fetting, Elsa Peters, Jana Frank.

The meeting began with the approval of the May Minutes.

Jana reported that no one volunteered to serve “Lemonade on the Porch” last Sunday (May 30th) despite a sign-up sheet located outside the sanctuary for the past couple weeks. John did mention during Sunday’s worship, the need for volunteers, and a congregation member stepped-up to serve refreshments after the service. Jana will continue to monitor Lemonade on the Porch during the summer months. However, Jana informed the Team that she will no longer be able to serve on EG&F come September, due to family obligations. The Team appreciates her efforts coordinating Coffee Hour this past year.

Karen shared that the Library and Scholarship Committees have reported no concerns.

Ginny shared that coverage in the Nursery during the summer months will be provided by Diana. For the past several years, high school students have been paid to volunteer in the nursery. The Team was unaware that Diana would be happy to provide nursery coverage, and had just not been asked in the past. The Team appreciates her service and willingness to help out each Sunday.

Margaret reported that the Church Picnic was very well attended, and we had a beautiful day! Many more items were donated this year, and the savings to our budget was almost $150.00! Some suggestions for next year include more tables and chairs set up, and two large containers of lemonade instead of one. Our next fellowship event is the Confirmation Celebration on June 13th. The Team began planning for the event, using the template outlined several years ago, which had the reception taking place in Guptill Hall, and including coffee hour service. As coffee hour has now been replaced by fellowship on the porch, the Team decided to have the reception take place on the porch. A cake, flowers, and balloons will be part of the festivities as the congregation celebrates the confirmation class.

Elsa shared the Faith Formation update. The new Faith Formation Committee will have its first meeting in June. The Team reviewed next year’s calendar for Sunday School, which looked well-organized. Sunday School will use the on-line version of Seasons of the Spirit curricula, and Christ Kid’s Club will use the newly purchased “Faith Practices” curriculum, which incorporates games and experiential learning. Adult Faith Formation has “Beach Chair Theology” starting in July, and many plans for the fall. The Confirmation Class has 8 youth to be confirmed on June 13th. These young adults and some of the mentors plan to continue their faith exploration next fall.

The Team discussed two questions proposed by Council: whether Homecoming Sunday is a valuable activity as it has been conducted in the past, and secondly, should the date by changed to later in September (9/19/2010). Our Team was supportive of moving the date to 9/19 next fall. We also did not think that Homecoming Sunday was a valuable event, as far as recruiting Team & committee volunteers. There was concern about getting information about the various functions of the Teams and sub-committees out to the congregation. Members wondered if each Team might do a brief presentation during worship on Homecoming Sunday, regarding their Team and sub-committee responsibilities and plans for the upcoming year. We also support the idea of a “pot-luck” type fellowship activity for Homecoming this September, rather than the tables and sign-ups as were offered in the past.

As Ginny and Margaret are leaving the EG&F team, members discussed roles for next year. Jennifer Fetting has agreed to be the contact person for the Team. Karen would like to continue her connection with the library and scholarship committees, and Carolyn expressed interest in continuing her efforts with Sunday School. The EG&F Team will be looking for three new members to join the Team for next fall.