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Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Spiritual Life and Worship
Recorder: Dana Wiggins
ATTENDING – Tex Haeuser, Dana Wiggins, Rick Angell, Debbie Riley, Elaine Brownell, Frank Arsenault, John McCall, Elsa Peters.
OPENING PRAYER – passages shared from Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth.
REVIEW OF FEBRUARY MINUTES – approved as read.
MINISTER'S TIME – John McCall: Life of church is going well with good attendance. Energy is on an upswing. Some key words throughout Lent will be used such as "Rising" and "Testing".
Elsa: Opened discussion on a new Lenten liturgy; accepted by all.
LENTEN EVENTS – Debbie will ask Kathy Cotter about Lenten Library materials.
(March 9, 7-7:30 a.m., followed by chancel service at 7:30 a.m.) SL&W hosts the Ash Wednesday breakfast – Simple fare of scones, muffins, fruit and beverages offered for 27 participants. Elaine, Dana and Debbie set up night before and Tex, Frank and Dana served in morning. Sexton was emailed to request table and coffee pot set up.
HOLY WEEK – School vacation falls within Holy Week so this may alter attendance patterns.
(April 17, time?) Palm Sunday – Debbie and Elaine organized palms last year, finding them stored in the downstairs fridge and in a box by the office. They placed in tall vases in the morning for the ushers to hand out. Many were collected and saved after the service for table decorations for the Soup Supper on the following Friday.
(April 21, 7:30 p.m. service) Maundy Thursday communion offered by intinction at 7:30, (may need 2 ushers, 2 deacons, 2 chalices and 2 and half loaves).
(April 22, 6pm service and 7:30 p.m. service) Good Friday Soup Supper(6:00-7:15 p.m.) – co-hosted by SL&W and Guild, serving approx. 80 between two services that evening. Tex and Rick offered to work in the kitchen. Elaine will organize 10 soup donations and serving help from the Guild. Bry Wiggins will bake bread. Dana will help serve and list menu items on easel. Some will meet night before to set up and decorate tables (Debbie used palms last year-left from Sunday's service).
(April 22, 23, 24) Easter Vigil - sign ups March 13 through April 17. The vigil begins after the 7:30 p.m. service on Good Friday and ends after Sunrise service on Easter morning.
(April 24, 6:00 a.m.) Sunrise Service led by Elsa – communion offered (may need 2 loaves, 2 chalices and 2 deacons), 100 or more expected.
(April 24, 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.) Easter Sunday - 2 Sanctuary services led by John.
ELDER LUNCHEON – (June 5) Invitations were discussed: Tex brought a sample to show and Debbie offered to hand address. Deadline for nominations is April 8, one week later than last year. Tex has worked out a schedule for acquiring and deciding on nominations - new and from previous year. Beacon ad calling for nominations was found and will be resubmitted this year with new dates. To cover expenses, Rick will ask the Eskimos for $100 and groceries, stamps and invitation costs come out of the administration budget.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS – (March 12) Elaine and Debbie considered availability to help with Joel Pond's baptism at 10:30 a.m. in chapel; (March 26) Auction for Mission trip; (May 15) Children's Celebration Sunday as the last day of church school with the church picnic afterwards; (May 22?) Annual Church Meeting; (June 5) Founder's Day with celebration of Elders of the Church; (June 12) Confirmation Sunday.
Next Meeting: April 7, 2011
Agenda: Dana Minutes: Debbie Prayer: Elaine
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
ATTENDING – Tex Haeuser, Dana Wiggins, Rick Angell, Debbie Riley, Elaine Brownell, Frank Arsenault, John McCall, Elsa Peters.
OPENING PRAYER – passages shared from Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth.
REVIEW OF FEBRUARY MINUTES – approved as read.
MINISTER'S TIME – John McCall: Life of church is going well with good attendance. Energy is on an upswing. Some key words throughout Lent will be used such as "Rising" and "Testing".
Elsa: Opened discussion on a new Lenten liturgy; accepted by all.
LENTEN EVENTS – Debbie will ask Kathy Cotter about Lenten Library materials.
(March 9, 7-7:30 a.m., followed by chancel service at 7:30 a.m.) SL&W hosts the Ash Wednesday breakfast – Simple fare of scones, muffins, fruit and beverages offered for 27 participants. Elaine, Dana and Debbie set up night before and Tex, Frank and Dana served in morning. Sexton was emailed to request table and coffee pot set up.
HOLY WEEK – School vacation falls within Holy Week so this may alter attendance patterns.
(April 17, time?) Palm Sunday – Debbie and Elaine organized palms last year, finding them stored in the downstairs fridge and in a box by the office. They placed in tall vases in the morning for the ushers to hand out. Many were collected and saved after the service for table decorations for the Soup Supper on the following Friday.
(April 21, 7:30 p.m. service) Maundy Thursday communion offered by intinction at 7:30, (may need 2 ushers, 2 deacons, 2 chalices and 2 and half loaves).
(April 22, 6pm service and 7:30 p.m. service) Good Friday Soup Supper(6:00-7:15 p.m.) – co-hosted by SL&W and Guild, serving approx. 80 between two services that evening. Tex and Rick offered to work in the kitchen. Elaine will organize 10 soup donations and serving help from the Guild. Bry Wiggins will bake bread. Dana will help serve and list menu items on easel. Some will meet night before to set up and decorate tables (Debbie used palms last year-left from Sunday's service).
(April 22, 23, 24) Easter Vigil - sign ups March 13 through April 17. The vigil begins after the 7:30 p.m. service on Good Friday and ends after Sunrise service on Easter morning.
(April 24, 6:00 a.m.) Sunrise Service led by Elsa – communion offered (may need 2 loaves, 2 chalices and 2 deacons), 100 or more expected.
(April 24, 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.) Easter Sunday - 2 Sanctuary services led by John.
ELDER LUNCHEON – (June 5) Invitations were discussed: Tex brought a sample to show and Debbie offered to hand address. Deadline for nominations is April 8, one week later than last year. Tex has worked out a schedule for acquiring and deciding on nominations - new and from previous year. Beacon ad calling for nominations was found and will be resubmitted this year with new dates. To cover expenses, Rick will ask the Eskimos for $100 and groceries, stamps and invitation costs come out of the administration budget.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS – (March 12) Elaine and Debbie considered availability to help with Joel Pond's baptism at 10:30 a.m. in chapel; (March 26) Auction for Mission trip; (May 15) Children's Celebration Sunday as the last day of church school with the church picnic afterwards; (May 22?) Annual Church Meeting; (June 5) Founder's Day with celebration of Elders of the Church; (June 12) Confirmation Sunday.
Next Meeting: April 7, 2011
Agenda: Dana Minutes: Debbie Prayer: Elaine
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Administration Team
Meeting Minutes of March 3, 2011
Recorder: Ron Bennett
Present: Ron Bennett, Chris Mills, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order: Deb called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Ron agreed to record this meeting and run the next meeting in April.
Minutes of the Admin. Team February 4 Meeting: reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
• Financial Statements and Budget: Financial results through February 28 were presented by Cyndi. The year is 16% complete. Revenues are at 14.2% of year’s budget. Decrease in revenues is due to the fact that no revenue from endowments has been requested as of yet. Without the endowment revenue, we were on budget.
Expenses are at 16.9% of year’s budget, which is essentially on budget.
• Tenant Update: We reviewed Guy’s report on the tenant at the 509 Sawyer Street house. His report was generally positive. We have replaced the old refrigerator and will be replacing the stove. The electric service will be upgraded to 100 amp service. We will remove the old unused oil tank in the basement. The front porch also needs repairs. In return for this we will insist on a restoration of the monthly rent to $1,000 on July 1st. Cyndi was asked to write a letter to the tenant outlining the upgrades and new rent.
The tenants in the corner house report no problems. All tenants are current on their rent.
• Insurance Renewals: To be discussed at the April meeting.
• Team Member Replacement: No update.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
• Counting: No report. All appears to be going well.
• House: See above comments under Tenant Update.
• Planned Giving: Ron indicated that he will write a fifth article to appear for the Beacon in a few months.
NEW BUSINESS:
• Energy Efficiency Presentation - Discussed and agreed to send information to Dick & Barbara Merrill as well as Tom. We believe improvements undertaken during the past 3 years have made our properties energy efficient.
• Emergency Guidelines - We reviewed email from Nancy MacLean, Moderator, concerning usher guidelines for handling emergencies, the absence of evacuation maps in rooms, and the battery backup for fire alarm systems and the elevator. Many of these issues have already been addressed by Stan Jordan, Rick Angell and Tom. The House Committee will review all of the issues carefully at their next meeting and get back to the Council.
• Financial statement review by Smith & Associates - Review work completed. We are awaiting a draft of the financial statements.
• Nancy MacLean also inquired into our team’s role overseeing the personnel committee for non-clergy. Deb agreed to contact Nancy to provide some history about this oversight role being removed from the A Team by the Council in 2008.
• Web site issues were discussed with no action taken.
• We reviewed an email from the Maine Conference UCC announcing a seminar on April 2 for those responsible for church financial matters. Cyndi will not be available that day. We discussed the correspondence and believe we are compliant with appropriate policies and procedures.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday April 7 at 7 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 8:08 p.m.
Recorder: Ron Bennett
Present: Ron Bennett, Chris Mills, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order: Deb called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Ron agreed to record this meeting and run the next meeting in April.
Minutes of the Admin. Team February 4 Meeting: reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
• Financial Statements and Budget: Financial results through February 28 were presented by Cyndi. The year is 16% complete. Revenues are at 14.2% of year’s budget. Decrease in revenues is due to the fact that no revenue from endowments has been requested as of yet. Without the endowment revenue, we were on budget.
Expenses are at 16.9% of year’s budget, which is essentially on budget.
• Tenant Update: We reviewed Guy’s report on the tenant at the 509 Sawyer Street house. His report was generally positive. We have replaced the old refrigerator and will be replacing the stove. The electric service will be upgraded to 100 amp service. We will remove the old unused oil tank in the basement. The front porch also needs repairs. In return for this we will insist on a restoration of the monthly rent to $1,000 on July 1st. Cyndi was asked to write a letter to the tenant outlining the upgrades and new rent.
The tenants in the corner house report no problems. All tenants are current on their rent.
• Insurance Renewals: To be discussed at the April meeting.
• Team Member Replacement: No update.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
• Counting: No report. All appears to be going well.
• House: See above comments under Tenant Update.
• Planned Giving: Ron indicated that he will write a fifth article to appear for the Beacon in a few months.
NEW BUSINESS:
• Energy Efficiency Presentation - Discussed and agreed to send information to Dick & Barbara Merrill as well as Tom. We believe improvements undertaken during the past 3 years have made our properties energy efficient.
• Emergency Guidelines - We reviewed email from Nancy MacLean, Moderator, concerning usher guidelines for handling emergencies, the absence of evacuation maps in rooms, and the battery backup for fire alarm systems and the elevator. Many of these issues have already been addressed by Stan Jordan, Rick Angell and Tom. The House Committee will review all of the issues carefully at their next meeting and get back to the Council.
• Financial statement review by Smith & Associates - Review work completed. We are awaiting a draft of the financial statements.
• Nancy MacLean also inquired into our team’s role overseeing the personnel committee for non-clergy. Deb agreed to contact Nancy to provide some history about this oversight role being removed from the A Team by the Council in 2008.
• Web site issues were discussed with no action taken.
• We reviewed an email from the Maine Conference UCC announcing a seminar on April 2 for those responsible for church financial matters. Cyndi will not be available that day. We discussed the correspondence and believe we are compliant with appropriate policies and procedures.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday April 7 at 7 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 8:08 p.m.
Church Council
Meeting Minutes of March 17, 2011
Recorder: Robin Reinhold
Present: Sally Hinckley, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, Robin Reinhold, Carrie Skeffington, Elsa Peters, Carl Murphy, Bob Morse, Andy Ellis, John McCall, Peggy Murray, Nancy MacLean. Absent: Matt Early, John Shoos
Opening: Nancy MacLean opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Robin offered a reflection about how the proverb “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” applies to our church.
Meeting Minutes: from the February meeting were reviewed and approved.
MINISTERS’ TIME:
John - reported that there will be a fundraiser on Saturday evening, April 2nd in the sanctuary. It will be a musical program by 3 groups to raise money for the medical team that is going to Konbit Sante in Haiti. Tickets are $15. John said that it was heartwarming that we can and want to make our space available for the wider community.
Elsa - reported that there are now 17 people going on the Maine Seacoast Mission trip this July. She reported that the group is planning a Spaghetti Supper fundraiser on Saturday evening, March 26th at 5:30. The ticket costs are $7 for adults, $3 for children, and $20 for a family. There will also be an auction at the supper. Tickets will be on sale in Wright Pavilion on Sunday.
Elsa also reported that she is working on arranging for camperships for the people that will be attending Pilgrim Lodge this summer. She sent a letter last week to parents of kids she knows are interested. The Church Council is responsible to hand out money for these camperships from the interest earned from 3 endowment funds (these are listed in the segregated funds in budget). In addition, the Hilltop Guild and the Holly Daze Bazaar each donated money for camperships. Elsa requested authorization from the Council to distribute the funds, and all members were in agreement of this.
Elsa also began a discussion about how we can create a larger sum of money for camperships in the future. Suggestions included:
1. Ask the parents of the children who are planning to attend Pilgrim Lodge to organize some fundraisers. Elsa said that other churches in the area do this.
2. Host an “Adopt a Camper” program where sponsors are found who would be willing to donate money to send a child to camp. This would be a tax-deductible contribution.
3. Host a “Winter Picnic” in Guptill Hall where box lunches are sold.
Questions were raised about how to get the word out about opportunities (perhaps an announcement from the pulpit?). Perhaps Elsa should form a committee (like the Scholarship Committee under CF&G). Or should CF&G oversee this committee? Council decided to look at this again next year.
OLD BUSINESS UPDATES:
Emergency Guidelines - Nancy reported that these guidelines are complete and are in circulation. The Administrative Team is working on signage, elevator access, and phone access. The User Guidelines for Emergencies document was modified and a line was added in the middle of the guidelines specifying that, in case of an emergency, all Sunday School children would be evacuated by their teachers to the Church parking lot. Other issues (from last month’s minutes) concerning fire drills, the fire alarms, the phone system, and the elevator were presented by Stan Jordan to the Administrative Team and are currently being looked into.
Discovery Center Legal Status - Andy reported that he reviewed the documents for the Discovery Center and they appear to be in order. He explained the history of how the Discovery Center Corporation was established and that the Church Council is responsible for electing the members of the Board of Directors of the Discovery Center.
UCC Conversation (Part 2), The Association - Elsa shared information about the history of the United Church of Christ. She explained the difference between contracts and covenants and helped to clarify how Biblical covenants are instituted by God whereas historical covenants are instituted by people. Elsa then shared a diagram of the origins of the UCC and explained how the two entities (the Congregational Christian churches and the Evangelical and Reformed church) came together to form the UCC.
Elsa explained that there are currently 37 churches in the Cumberland Association, of which we are a part, and that each church contributes to the energy that goes into the association. A portion of our per capita dues goes to the association through the conference. Churches are assessed per member, and the association uses this money mostly for administrative costs.
Financial Futuring Tasks - Nancy and John met to discuss the role of a Working Group and what its mission would be.
John proposed the question: “Do we want the Working Group to generate next steps or just come back to the Council with information and have the Council decide what to do? In other words, do we want only information or do we want recommendations, too? This was discussed, and it was suggested that the Working Group should gather information, report to the Council, and then based on discussions and feedback, come back with recommendations. This should be done in steps, with conversations happening throughout the process.
A timeline for the process was discussed, and it was decided that, if we identify the task and ask people to be in the group, realistically they probably would only get to meet once before the summer and then would pick up the work again in the fall. The hope is to engage the congregation with some questions to help the group determine what direction they will be going in. It is anticipated that the recommendations will not be ready for the 2012 budget process.
The next step is to decide who is to be in this group. Several names were suggested, and Council members were asked to forward any recommendations to Nancy.
Filling Vacancies:
Four members of the Council are finishing up their term (Andy, Sally, Phil, and Nancy). New members need to be found for the Council and for the Stewardship Committee. Council members were asked to come up with 5 people they would like to recommend for these vacancies and forward the names to Nancy by next Wednesday, March 23rd.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: April 28th; Carl Murphy will be the opener and recorder.
Recorder: Robin Reinhold
Present: Sally Hinckley, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, Robin Reinhold, Carrie Skeffington, Elsa Peters, Carl Murphy, Bob Morse, Andy Ellis, John McCall, Peggy Murray, Nancy MacLean. Absent: Matt Early, John Shoos
Opening: Nancy MacLean opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Robin offered a reflection about how the proverb “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” applies to our church.
Meeting Minutes: from the February meeting were reviewed and approved.
MINISTERS’ TIME:
John - reported that there will be a fundraiser on Saturday evening, April 2nd in the sanctuary. It will be a musical program by 3 groups to raise money for the medical team that is going to Konbit Sante in Haiti. Tickets are $15. John said that it was heartwarming that we can and want to make our space available for the wider community.
Elsa - reported that there are now 17 people going on the Maine Seacoast Mission trip this July. She reported that the group is planning a Spaghetti Supper fundraiser on Saturday evening, March 26th at 5:30. The ticket costs are $7 for adults, $3 for children, and $20 for a family. There will also be an auction at the supper. Tickets will be on sale in Wright Pavilion on Sunday.
Elsa also reported that she is working on arranging for camperships for the people that will be attending Pilgrim Lodge this summer. She sent a letter last week to parents of kids she knows are interested. The Church Council is responsible to hand out money for these camperships from the interest earned from 3 endowment funds (these are listed in the segregated funds in budget). In addition, the Hilltop Guild and the Holly Daze Bazaar each donated money for camperships. Elsa requested authorization from the Council to distribute the funds, and all members were in agreement of this.
Elsa also began a discussion about how we can create a larger sum of money for camperships in the future. Suggestions included:
1. Ask the parents of the children who are planning to attend Pilgrim Lodge to organize some fundraisers. Elsa said that other churches in the area do this.
2. Host an “Adopt a Camper” program where sponsors are found who would be willing to donate money to send a child to camp. This would be a tax-deductible contribution.
3. Host a “Winter Picnic” in Guptill Hall where box lunches are sold.
Questions were raised about how to get the word out about opportunities (perhaps an announcement from the pulpit?). Perhaps Elsa should form a committee (like the Scholarship Committee under CF&G). Or should CF&G oversee this committee? Council decided to look at this again next year.
OLD BUSINESS UPDATES:
Emergency Guidelines - Nancy reported that these guidelines are complete and are in circulation. The Administrative Team is working on signage, elevator access, and phone access. The User Guidelines for Emergencies document was modified and a line was added in the middle of the guidelines specifying that, in case of an emergency, all Sunday School children would be evacuated by their teachers to the Church parking lot. Other issues (from last month’s minutes) concerning fire drills, the fire alarms, the phone system, and the elevator were presented by Stan Jordan to the Administrative Team and are currently being looked into.
Discovery Center Legal Status - Andy reported that he reviewed the documents for the Discovery Center and they appear to be in order. He explained the history of how the Discovery Center Corporation was established and that the Church Council is responsible for electing the members of the Board of Directors of the Discovery Center.
UCC Conversation (Part 2), The Association - Elsa shared information about the history of the United Church of Christ. She explained the difference between contracts and covenants and helped to clarify how Biblical covenants are instituted by God whereas historical covenants are instituted by people. Elsa then shared a diagram of the origins of the UCC and explained how the two entities (the Congregational Christian churches and the Evangelical and Reformed church) came together to form the UCC.
Elsa explained that there are currently 37 churches in the Cumberland Association, of which we are a part, and that each church contributes to the energy that goes into the association. A portion of our per capita dues goes to the association through the conference. Churches are assessed per member, and the association uses this money mostly for administrative costs.
Financial Futuring Tasks - Nancy and John met to discuss the role of a Working Group and what its mission would be.
John proposed the question: “Do we want the Working Group to generate next steps or just come back to the Council with information and have the Council decide what to do? In other words, do we want only information or do we want recommendations, too? This was discussed, and it was suggested that the Working Group should gather information, report to the Council, and then based on discussions and feedback, come back with recommendations. This should be done in steps, with conversations happening throughout the process.
A timeline for the process was discussed, and it was decided that, if we identify the task and ask people to be in the group, realistically they probably would only get to meet once before the summer and then would pick up the work again in the fall. The hope is to engage the congregation with some questions to help the group determine what direction they will be going in. It is anticipated that the recommendations will not be ready for the 2012 budget process.
The next step is to decide who is to be in this group. Several names were suggested, and Council members were asked to forward any recommendations to Nancy.
Filling Vacancies:
Four members of the Council are finishing up their term (Andy, Sally, Phil, and Nancy). New members need to be found for the Council and for the Stewardship Committee. Council members were asked to come up with 5 people they would like to recommend for these vacancies and forward the names to Nancy by next Wednesday, March 23rd.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: April 28th; Carl Murphy will be the opener and recorder.
Education Growth and Fellowship
Meeting Minutes of March 3, 2011
Committee Attendance: Jennifer Fetting, Tom Hamerski, Elsa Peters.
Subcommittee Guests: Margaret Thibodeau and Elinor Redmond
This month the EFG committee invited representatives of the subcommittees to attend our March meeting. The representatives of the Inquirer’s group (Margaret) and the Growth group (Elinor) accepted and visited.
Inquirer’s:
1) Margaret is taking care of Inquirer’s Meeting this month (with Tom).
2) Church picnic (which is not Inquirer’s but also discussed at this time).
a. Margaret offered to take charge of the picnic.
b. The church picnic will be May 15, 2011.
c. Seating was an issue (may be again if it is nice out, fingers crossed). It’ll be important to line up lots of volunteers to bring different sides; Eskimos usually handle the grilling.
Growth:
1) Elinor put together a handout on the history of the Growth Group, and the approaches they’ve taken in the past.
2) Current projects include bookmarks, handouts, etc. Things seem to be going well with the group; like all groups, including ours, they could use more volunteers.
Important Upcoming Dates:
• Church Picnic – May 15.
• Confirmation Sunday - June 12.
• Capture the flag game – 2:00 p.m. 5/22/11. It’ll be held in a park in either South Portland or Cape Elizabeth.
Bible discovery will be led by Beth Hess & Deb Theriault (many thanks to them both!). Dates unknown at this time.
Committee Attendance: Jennifer Fetting, Tom Hamerski, Elsa Peters.
Subcommittee Guests: Margaret Thibodeau and Elinor Redmond
This month the EFG committee invited representatives of the subcommittees to attend our March meeting. The representatives of the Inquirer’s group (Margaret) and the Growth group (Elinor) accepted and visited.
Inquirer’s:
1) Margaret is taking care of Inquirer’s Meeting this month (with Tom).
2) Church picnic (which is not Inquirer’s but also discussed at this time).
a. Margaret offered to take charge of the picnic.
b. The church picnic will be May 15, 2011.
c. Seating was an issue (may be again if it is nice out, fingers crossed). It’ll be important to line up lots of volunteers to bring different sides; Eskimos usually handle the grilling.
Growth:
1) Elinor put together a handout on the history of the Growth Group, and the approaches they’ve taken in the past.
2) Current projects include bookmarks, handouts, etc. Things seem to be going well with the group; like all groups, including ours, they could use more volunteers.
Important Upcoming Dates:
• Church Picnic – May 15.
• Confirmation Sunday - June 12.
• Capture the flag game – 2:00 p.m. 5/22/11. It’ll be held in a park in either South Portland or Cape Elizabeth.
Bible discovery will be led by Beth Hess & Deb Theriault (many thanks to them both!). Dates unknown at this time.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Mission and Outreach
Meeting Minutes of February 3, 2011
Recorder: Suzanne Lindner
Attendees: Sandy Dyer – Co-Chair, Sarah Randall, Jan Bosse, Richard Parker, Mike Kasputes, and Suzanne Lindner.
Opening Prayer: Richard Parker offered opening prayer.
January Minutes: Minutes from the January 6, 2011 were approved with one revision noted: $200 is to be given as an honorarium to our guest speaker on Mission Sunday.
Treasurer’s Report: Presented by Mike Kasputes who noted that both the Elder Program and Social Witness ministries budgets have been lowered from last year.
Minister’s Moment:
• Elsa noted that the educational process is already planned.
• Noted that she had spoken to the guest speaker for Mission Sunday and that he will be at both services. Also noted that he has stated that he does not need us to worry about his accommodations; he will be able to make his own plans.
• News of Budget: the budget was passed this Sunday with no discussion. Two things that pertain to us:
- We were note given the increase that we asked for
- Council is undertaking a project. They will be looking at staffing, giving, etc,and how we are using our assets. This should start soon and they will be looking to us for information. They know that we are looking into our groups that we give money to.
• Elsa brought a mock up of the Mission Sunday bulletin.
OLD BUSINESS:
Mission Sunday Service: Noted that all pieces should be e-mailed to Elsa and the following was confirmed:
• Call to Worship – JanBosse
• Unison Prayer – Laurie Carey
• Children’s Time – Mike Kaputes
• Prayer of Illumination & Scripture – Kristen Silvia
• Prayers of the People – Elsa Peters
• Tithes & Offerings – Jan Bosse
• Benediction – Suzanne Lindner & Sarah Randall
• Hymns – Elsa suggested switching Be Thou My Vision to be the first
song. Committee agreed. Order of hymns was agreed to be:
1) Be Thou My Vision
2) What Gift Can We Bring
3) I The Lord of Sea & Sky (Here I Am Lord)
Elsa asked what we wanted on our Bulletin cover. Committee decided we would
use a picture of Acadia.
Request was made to Elsa to mention at this week’s service that there will be envelopes in the pews this Sunday. Committee then discussed and decided that we will wait until week of the service to put envelopes in the pews as the information on the Mission Sunday service is already in the Bulletin and Sandy will mention the envelopes in “Life of the Church.”
Elsa reminded us to say at the beginning of the service that any offerings not in the envelopes will go to the church.
Preparation for Discussion of Donation Guidelines with John McCall in March: John’s e-mail to the Committee asking us to focus on those charities that are not receiving money from other sources was read. Also his request for us to examine the charities that we do give money to was discussed.
• Noted that we need to come up with a filter/criteria when considering
charities. Noted also that once we have the criteria, we will then need to consider how we prioritize. Lastly, we will then need to balance the needs in some way: food, shelter, etc. Many needs to balance.
• Elsa suggested that it comes down to: Who are we? Who do we support to express that?
• Homework: Each committee member should think about what criteria they think are important. Elsa suggested that we look at scripture, too, to gain insight into the work that we do. Richard also suggested that we should look at things that are supported in other areas of the church as that might help us to know what to focus on, too.
Thank You Notes:
Received by Good Shepherd Food Bank, Long Creek Youth Development Center (for the presents), Preble Street.
With regards to the Mission Mall, thank you’s were received from Cancer Community Center, Animal Refuge League, Hospice of Maine and Preble Street.
NEW BUSINESS:
One Great Hour of Sharing Material: Noted that this will happen on April 3rd.
• Discussed Bulletin inserts and envelopes.
• Noted that it is predetermined where the money will go.
• Noted that we will ask Laurie how we do this.
• Decided that we can hang posters to remind people that it is coming and that
we will wait until March to do this.
• Discussed that we will want to place notices in two Beacons: February 28th
and March 14th.
How to Divide Distributions This Year Based on the 2011 Budget:
Decided we will determine this after next month’s discussion and be more fluid in how many organizations we give to and how much money we give based on prioritization, special needs, etc.
Jan noted an increased need for housing security deposits because the stimulus money is all gone now. Jan noted that she would speak to Crisis Ministries.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Committee discussed the membership of our team: Who will be here, who will not, what we need.
• It was decided that we will need to discuss again in one of our next meetings.
• Discussed the limit for membership in the Committee is two 3-year terms.
• Discussed how many members we are allowed. It was noted that the by laws state at least six members but that we currently have nine members.
• Realized that we will potentially need 3 new members.
• Noted that we need to turn in information in May for new members in June.
Closing Prayer: Richard Parker offered closing prayer.
Next Meeting: Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Laity Room
• Co-Chair: Sarah Randall
• Devotions: Jan Bosse
• Recorder: Laurie Carey
Recorder: Suzanne Lindner
Attendees: Sandy Dyer – Co-Chair, Sarah Randall, Jan Bosse, Richard Parker, Mike Kasputes, and Suzanne Lindner.
Opening Prayer: Richard Parker offered opening prayer.
January Minutes: Minutes from the January 6, 2011 were approved with one revision noted: $200 is to be given as an honorarium to our guest speaker on Mission Sunday.
Treasurer’s Report: Presented by Mike Kasputes who noted that both the Elder Program and Social Witness ministries budgets have been lowered from last year.
Minister’s Moment:
• Elsa noted that the educational process is already planned.
• Noted that she had spoken to the guest speaker for Mission Sunday and that he will be at both services. Also noted that he has stated that he does not need us to worry about his accommodations; he will be able to make his own plans.
• News of Budget: the budget was passed this Sunday with no discussion. Two things that pertain to us:
- We were note given the increase that we asked for
- Council is undertaking a project. They will be looking at staffing, giving, etc,and how we are using our assets. This should start soon and they will be looking to us for information. They know that we are looking into our groups that we give money to.
• Elsa brought a mock up of the Mission Sunday bulletin.
OLD BUSINESS:
Mission Sunday Service: Noted that all pieces should be e-mailed to Elsa and the following was confirmed:
• Call to Worship – JanBosse
• Unison Prayer – Laurie Carey
• Children’s Time – Mike Kaputes
• Prayer of Illumination & Scripture – Kristen Silvia
• Prayers of the People – Elsa Peters
• Tithes & Offerings – Jan Bosse
• Benediction – Suzanne Lindner & Sarah Randall
• Hymns – Elsa suggested switching Be Thou My Vision to be the first
song. Committee agreed. Order of hymns was agreed to be:
1) Be Thou My Vision
2) What Gift Can We Bring
3) I The Lord of Sea & Sky (Here I Am Lord)
Elsa asked what we wanted on our Bulletin cover. Committee decided we would
use a picture of Acadia.
Request was made to Elsa to mention at this week’s service that there will be envelopes in the pews this Sunday. Committee then discussed and decided that we will wait until week of the service to put envelopes in the pews as the information on the Mission Sunday service is already in the Bulletin and Sandy will mention the envelopes in “Life of the Church.”
Elsa reminded us to say at the beginning of the service that any offerings not in the envelopes will go to the church.
Preparation for Discussion of Donation Guidelines with John McCall in March: John’s e-mail to the Committee asking us to focus on those charities that are not receiving money from other sources was read. Also his request for us to examine the charities that we do give money to was discussed.
• Noted that we need to come up with a filter/criteria when considering
charities. Noted also that once we have the criteria, we will then need to consider how we prioritize. Lastly, we will then need to balance the needs in some way: food, shelter, etc. Many needs to balance.
• Elsa suggested that it comes down to: Who are we? Who do we support to express that?
• Homework: Each committee member should think about what criteria they think are important. Elsa suggested that we look at scripture, too, to gain insight into the work that we do. Richard also suggested that we should look at things that are supported in other areas of the church as that might help us to know what to focus on, too.
Thank You Notes:
Received by Good Shepherd Food Bank, Long Creek Youth Development Center (for the presents), Preble Street.
With regards to the Mission Mall, thank you’s were received from Cancer Community Center, Animal Refuge League, Hospice of Maine and Preble Street.
NEW BUSINESS:
One Great Hour of Sharing Material: Noted that this will happen on April 3rd.
• Discussed Bulletin inserts and envelopes.
• Noted that it is predetermined where the money will go.
• Noted that we will ask Laurie how we do this.
• Decided that we can hang posters to remind people that it is coming and that
we will wait until March to do this.
• Discussed that we will want to place notices in two Beacons: February 28th
and March 14th.
How to Divide Distributions This Year Based on the 2011 Budget:
Decided we will determine this after next month’s discussion and be more fluid in how many organizations we give to and how much money we give based on prioritization, special needs, etc.
Jan noted an increased need for housing security deposits because the stimulus money is all gone now. Jan noted that she would speak to Crisis Ministries.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Committee discussed the membership of our team: Who will be here, who will not, what we need.
• It was decided that we will need to discuss again in one of our next meetings.
• Discussed the limit for membership in the Committee is two 3-year terms.
• Discussed how many members we are allowed. It was noted that the by laws state at least six members but that we currently have nine members.
• Realized that we will potentially need 3 new members.
• Noted that we need to turn in information in May for new members in June.
Closing Prayer: Richard Parker offered closing prayer.
Next Meeting: Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the Laity Room
• Co-Chair: Sarah Randall
• Devotions: Jan Bosse
• Recorder: Laurie Carey
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Church Council
Meeting Minutes of February 17, 2011
Recorder: Bob Morse
Present: Roger Addor, Matt Early, Andy Ellis, Sally Hinckley, Nancy MacLean, John McCall, Bob Morse, Carl Murphy, Peggy Murray, Robin Reinhold, John Shoos, Carrie Skeffington, & Phil Whitney.
Absent: Elsa Peters
Guests: Rick Angell & Stan Jordan
Nancy MacLean, Moderator, opened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. Bob Morse read a reflection questioning whether meaning and enjoyment in life can be found solely by keeping score.
January Minutes: Reviewed and Accepted.
Usher Emergency Guidelines: Reviewed a draft created by Rick Angell and Stan Jordan.
Broad areas: Fire Emergencies, Medical Emergencies and Security Emergencies.
Guidelines to be simple and streamlined so usher can readily see them.
• A laminated copy will be located at the back of the church for ushers.
• Not necessary to post on wall anywhere
Concern: There is nothing about the Sunday School in these Guidelines.
• Evacuation drawings no longer located in each room. Important to replace them - refer to Admin Team.
• Teachers are given "fire drill" guidelines - they lead children to parking lots.
• Parents need to be informed that they are not to go to classrooms.
- If a parent removes a child, the child’s teacher or emergency personnel may have no idea where that child is.
• Concern that rotating parents in the nursery have never been given instruction on what to do in case of fire. They need to be informed.
• Question: Do Fire drill guidelines go to parents? Just to teachers?
Editorial suggestion for Usher Guidelines:
• Decision: Reference to separate Sunday School Guidelines needs to be added to Usher Emergency Guidelines near the bottom. " See separate guidelines for the Church School".
• Add a set to Actions by Ushers: Notify Worship Leader that a problem exists if they are not in a position to see it.
Suggestion to identify ENTs and doctors in advance who might be in church when a medical emergency with a parishioner occurs.
• Reflection about possibility of training some members in CPR.
If the church loses electrical power:
• Does the fire alarm system have a battery back-up? Yes. Who checks it? How often?
• If a cell phone were used to dial 911, would it be possible to know where the person calling is located? Yes. South Portland has a GPS system for just that reason.
• If people were in the church elevator, could they get out? Need to mark where key is located.
With power, would someone be able to successfully operate the church telephone?
• Suggestion that instructions need to be placed on each phone on how to use them for emergencies. Refer to Admin Team for signage.
Thanks and appreciation given to both Rick Angell and Stan Jordan for their excellent work with these Emergency Guidelines. Stan will prepare another draft incorporating suggestions.
Web Page: John McCall reported that work for the past three weeks has been intensive with a goal of working out every bug. It is very intuitive, adaptable, and flows well. It should be ‘live’ on Monday, February 21. Possibility of demonstration at some time in Davidson Lounge to show how it works.
Scholarship Committee: They have done excellent work. Council unanimously agreed that special approval is not needed for Committee to request donations to the Scholarship Funds.
Budget Adjustment: Nancy Foran will be taking a Sabbatical from mid-June to mid-October, and will not be paid for her Sabbatical. However, one month of the four months is her vacation, for which she will be paid ($474.25). There was a mix-up in the budget. It will not be changed to reflect the additional vacation payment: we will simply be aware of this over-ride at the end of the year.
UCC Conversation, Part I: At the Council’s request, John McCall shared a diagram of “The Covenant Partners in the United Church of Christ” - individual, local, state, national. Emphasis was placed on the importance of covenant, since lack of hierarchy might suggest we can do whatever we want, thus losing track of meaningful relationships within the larger UCC. “Our glue is covenant.” We make mutual promises to each other, and hold each other “gently accountable.” John talked about the UCC as the merging of 4 historical denominations, but emphasized this does not change the reality that each church remains autonomous.
Financial Futuring:
Questions:
• How do we manage to live with a limited amount of money and do everything that we want to do?
• How do we fund what we want to be as a church?
• How do we apportion our resources? How do we decide to do that?
Realities and Questions:
• Membership trends are down in progressive protestant churches.
• Who will be in the pew in 2015, and how will they be supporting the church?
• We need to be thinking of the long-term. What is a realistic change in our income in the next five years?
Defining Role of a Working Group to be set up to consider facts and trends:
• Financial forecasting through fact gathering from similar churches
- Percentage of staff compensation.
- Percentage of budget for mission outreach.
- Personnel Committees and what they deal with.
• May find reluctance to share, protectiveness, and a level of resistance.
• Will quite certainly be a need to look outside Maine for comparisons and trends.
• What about alternative worship services? How do we attract new members to the church?
• How to we think about and look into the possibility of renting out more space?
• Possible exploration: Tolerance for a congregation to spend money from endowment
• What time line are we thinking about for this to take place? December 2011 for the 2012 Budget year; AND 2015 long term.
Need for sharp focus on what we are asking the Working Group to do -- a Mission Statement.
• John McCall and Nancy MacLean will meet to prepare a draft for the next meeting.
Gratitude and Appreciation: Nancy passed around a thank-you card from three Harle siblings for financial support which enabled them to attend camp at Pilgrim Lodge.
Meeting Adjourned: 8:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: March 17; Robin Reinhold - Opener/Recorder
Recorder: Bob Morse
Present: Roger Addor, Matt Early, Andy Ellis, Sally Hinckley, Nancy MacLean, John McCall, Bob Morse, Carl Murphy, Peggy Murray, Robin Reinhold, John Shoos, Carrie Skeffington, & Phil Whitney.
Absent: Elsa Peters
Guests: Rick Angell & Stan Jordan
Nancy MacLean, Moderator, opened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. Bob Morse read a reflection questioning whether meaning and enjoyment in life can be found solely by keeping score.
January Minutes: Reviewed and Accepted.
Usher Emergency Guidelines: Reviewed a draft created by Rick Angell and Stan Jordan.
Broad areas: Fire Emergencies, Medical Emergencies and Security Emergencies.
Guidelines to be simple and streamlined so usher can readily see them.
• A laminated copy will be located at the back of the church for ushers.
• Not necessary to post on wall anywhere
Concern: There is nothing about the Sunday School in these Guidelines.
• Evacuation drawings no longer located in each room. Important to replace them - refer to Admin Team.
• Teachers are given "fire drill" guidelines - they lead children to parking lots.
• Parents need to be informed that they are not to go to classrooms.
- If a parent removes a child, the child’s teacher or emergency personnel may have no idea where that child is.
• Concern that rotating parents in the nursery have never been given instruction on what to do in case of fire. They need to be informed.
• Question: Do Fire drill guidelines go to parents? Just to teachers?
Editorial suggestion for Usher Guidelines:
• Decision: Reference to separate Sunday School Guidelines needs to be added to Usher Emergency Guidelines near the bottom. " See separate guidelines for the Church School".
• Add a set to Actions by Ushers: Notify Worship Leader that a problem exists if they are not in a position to see it.
Suggestion to identify ENTs and doctors in advance who might be in church when a medical emergency with a parishioner occurs.
• Reflection about possibility of training some members in CPR.
If the church loses electrical power:
• Does the fire alarm system have a battery back-up? Yes. Who checks it? How often?
• If a cell phone were used to dial 911, would it be possible to know where the person calling is located? Yes. South Portland has a GPS system for just that reason.
• If people were in the church elevator, could they get out? Need to mark where key is located.
With power, would someone be able to successfully operate the church telephone?
• Suggestion that instructions need to be placed on each phone on how to use them for emergencies. Refer to Admin Team for signage.
Thanks and appreciation given to both Rick Angell and Stan Jordan for their excellent work with these Emergency Guidelines. Stan will prepare another draft incorporating suggestions.
Web Page: John McCall reported that work for the past three weeks has been intensive with a goal of working out every bug. It is very intuitive, adaptable, and flows well. It should be ‘live’ on Monday, February 21. Possibility of demonstration at some time in Davidson Lounge to show how it works.
Scholarship Committee: They have done excellent work. Council unanimously agreed that special approval is not needed for Committee to request donations to the Scholarship Funds.
Budget Adjustment: Nancy Foran will be taking a Sabbatical from mid-June to mid-October, and will not be paid for her Sabbatical. However, one month of the four months is her vacation, for which she will be paid ($474.25). There was a mix-up in the budget. It will not be changed to reflect the additional vacation payment: we will simply be aware of this over-ride at the end of the year.
UCC Conversation, Part I: At the Council’s request, John McCall shared a diagram of “The Covenant Partners in the United Church of Christ” - individual, local, state, national. Emphasis was placed on the importance of covenant, since lack of hierarchy might suggest we can do whatever we want, thus losing track of meaningful relationships within the larger UCC. “Our glue is covenant.” We make mutual promises to each other, and hold each other “gently accountable.” John talked about the UCC as the merging of 4 historical denominations, but emphasized this does not change the reality that each church remains autonomous.
Financial Futuring:
Questions:
• How do we manage to live with a limited amount of money and do everything that we want to do?
• How do we fund what we want to be as a church?
• How do we apportion our resources? How do we decide to do that?
Realities and Questions:
• Membership trends are down in progressive protestant churches.
• Who will be in the pew in 2015, and how will they be supporting the church?
• We need to be thinking of the long-term. What is a realistic change in our income in the next five years?
Defining Role of a Working Group to be set up to consider facts and trends:
• Financial forecasting through fact gathering from similar churches
- Percentage of staff compensation.
- Percentage of budget for mission outreach.
- Personnel Committees and what they deal with.
• May find reluctance to share, protectiveness, and a level of resistance.
• Will quite certainly be a need to look outside Maine for comparisons and trends.
• What about alternative worship services? How do we attract new members to the church?
• How to we think about and look into the possibility of renting out more space?
• Possible exploration: Tolerance for a congregation to spend money from endowment
• What time line are we thinking about for this to take place? December 2011 for the 2012 Budget year; AND 2015 long term.
Need for sharp focus on what we are asking the Working Group to do -- a Mission Statement.
• John McCall and Nancy MacLean will meet to prepare a draft for the next meeting.
Gratitude and Appreciation: Nancy passed around a thank-you card from three Harle siblings for financial support which enabled them to attend camp at Pilgrim Lodge.
Meeting Adjourned: 8:30 p.m.
Next Meeting: March 17; Robin Reinhold - Opener/Recorder
Adminstration Team
Meeting Minutes of February 3, 2011
Recorder: Deb Sandler
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Rod Redstone, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order: Chris called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Deb agreed to be secretary for this meeting and Jim agreed to be secretary for the March 3 meeting.
Minutes of the Admin Team January 6, 2011 Meeting: Reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Financial Statements and Budget:
Financial results for the month of January were reviewed. The year is 8.3% complete. Revenues stand at 8.3% of the year’s budget.
Expenses are about 10.7% of the year’s budget. Overall, actual income and expenses vs. the budget appear reasonable. The financial report was unanimously accepted. Once the Discovery Center has provided Cindy with their year-end data she will be prepared for the annual financial review with Smith & Associates which will take place on February 8. The Discovery Center and Holly Daze Bazaar are included in that review as requested by the Council in 2009.
Tenant Update:
509 Sawyer Street: Guy and Tom will do an inspection of this house this month to check on several electrical issues brought forward by the tenant. Pending the inspection the A-Team will decide whether it is time to return the rent to the original cost of $1000/month.
331 Cottage Road, 1st Floor: The Art Gallery held its Open House in January. The new inside basement door was installed to create privacy from those people bringing rummage sale items to store in the basement. 2nd Floor: All’s well.
Church Insurance Renewals:
Cyndi sent a copy of our insurance policy to the team in January. We tabled any further discussion until we hear a review from Scott Stacy.
Team Member Replacement:
Chris agreed to take a list, provided by Cyndi, of the current Counting Members and write a letter asking if any of them would be interested in serving on the A-Team in the future.
Committee Reports:
Counting: All appears to be working smoothly.
House: The door has been installed. Signage has been ordered for the Narthex/coatroom area. Placement for those signs will be determined with the help of David Allen. The committee will meet soon to discuss the bids for painting the Sanctuary which Tom has been busy compiling.
Planned Giving: Ron agreed to run the same 4 articles, which he wrote last year, in the Beacon later on this year.
NEW BUSINESS:
Annual Meeting: Both Ron and Deb expressed gratitude to Matt Early for the excellent job that he did explaining the 2011 Proposed Church Budget at the Annual Meeting last Sunday. His presentation was so clear, concise and complete that the vote was taken with no questions needing to be asked. Thank-you Matt!
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 7:55 p.m.
Recorder: Deb Sandler
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Rod Redstone, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order: Chris called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Deb agreed to be secretary for this meeting and Jim agreed to be secretary for the March 3 meeting.
Minutes of the Admin Team January 6, 2011 Meeting: Reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Financial Statements and Budget:
Financial results for the month of January were reviewed. The year is 8.3% complete. Revenues stand at 8.3% of the year’s budget.
Expenses are about 10.7% of the year’s budget. Overall, actual income and expenses vs. the budget appear reasonable. The financial report was unanimously accepted. Once the Discovery Center has provided Cindy with their year-end data she will be prepared for the annual financial review with Smith & Associates which will take place on February 8. The Discovery Center and Holly Daze Bazaar are included in that review as requested by the Council in 2009.
Tenant Update:
509 Sawyer Street: Guy and Tom will do an inspection of this house this month to check on several electrical issues brought forward by the tenant. Pending the inspection the A-Team will decide whether it is time to return the rent to the original cost of $1000/month.
331 Cottage Road, 1st Floor: The Art Gallery held its Open House in January. The new inside basement door was installed to create privacy from those people bringing rummage sale items to store in the basement. 2nd Floor: All’s well.
Church Insurance Renewals:
Cyndi sent a copy of our insurance policy to the team in January. We tabled any further discussion until we hear a review from Scott Stacy.
Team Member Replacement:
Chris agreed to take a list, provided by Cyndi, of the current Counting Members and write a letter asking if any of them would be interested in serving on the A-Team in the future.
Committee Reports:
Counting: All appears to be working smoothly.
House: The door has been installed. Signage has been ordered for the Narthex/coatroom area. Placement for those signs will be determined with the help of David Allen. The committee will meet soon to discuss the bids for painting the Sanctuary which Tom has been busy compiling.
Planned Giving: Ron agreed to run the same 4 articles, which he wrote last year, in the Beacon later on this year.
NEW BUSINESS:
Annual Meeting: Both Ron and Deb expressed gratitude to Matt Early for the excellent job that he did explaining the 2011 Proposed Church Budget at the Annual Meeting last Sunday. His presentation was so clear, concise and complete that the vote was taken with no questions needing to be asked. Thank-you Matt!
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 7:55 p.m.
Growth Group
Meeting Minutes of 2/14/11
Recorder: Elinor Redmond
Members Present: Rick Angell, Elinor Redmond, Dave Allen, Sue Ross. Guest: Sarah Bloom.
Dave opened with a reading entitled ‘the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee’.
1. Sarah Bloom is a new member of our church who agreed to share her experiences and impressions. Sarah grew up in the Catholic Church and had not attended any church in many years, except for a UCC church on Cranberry Island. She had visited several churches in the Portland area and happened to talk with her neighbor, Ellie Chatto, who suggested Sarah try our church. Sarah appreciated all the information she received on visiting the church, being especially impressed with the history of the church and the statement of faith. She read all of the pamphlets in the welcome envelope thoroughly and saves the bulletin each week. She felt welcome from her first visit. She joined the bell choir. John called as he does with all visitors. As an oboist, she thoroughly appreciates the quality of the music at our church. The only negative she has found is the fact that people chat during the prelude and the postlude. She wants to use that time for prayer and to appreciate the music. Dave asked her what is what like the first time she came. She came alone and went to the coffee hour where people reached out to her – and she reached out to others. She preferred attending services alone as she was evaluating the experience and did not want to be distracted by another (she would not have wanted to have a ‘parish host’). She appreciated the flexibility to learn as she wanted to learn. She recommends that more current members attend the Inquirer’s meetings.
2. SL&W and Welcome Packets: Rick read from the SL&W meeting minutes concerning the ‘vigorous discussion’ held by members. The church staff has the responsibility to determine what information is in the pew racks and what is included in the welcome envelopes. Our group continues to be very interested in having the brochures updated so that they are easier to read (simpler, with bullets instead of long sentences). Sue is making a list of the brochures presently in the envelope.
3. Elinor will represent GG at the 3/3 EG&F meeting.
4. Welcome Brochure: Dave will pass along the wording changes to Bryan.
Update on activities:
5. Welcome Notes: Sue called Darla twice. There have not been any new visitors leaving contact information.
6. Friendship Pad Options: Elinor brought information on a cloth covered pad (~$10) which may hold up better than the vinyl covered version. Also, Staples yielded few options. Elinor brought in a ‘sheet protector’ which seemed too flimsy. Dave is going to continue the search. We want to see samples of the options.
7. Bookmarks: not much to report. Bryan will work on them in March.
8. Signage:
• An individual is very upset at the thought of having any signage in the narthex.
• The A-team has ordered sign.
• Rick and Stan are working on emergency signage.
9. Homework: Each member will review our ‘idea’ materials and bring 1 idea for the group to work on. Dave will e-mail the ‘ideas’.
Next Meeting: Monday, March 21.
Recorder: Elinor Redmond
Members Present: Rick Angell, Elinor Redmond, Dave Allen, Sue Ross. Guest: Sarah Bloom.
Dave opened with a reading entitled ‘the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee’.
1. Sarah Bloom is a new member of our church who agreed to share her experiences and impressions. Sarah grew up in the Catholic Church and had not attended any church in many years, except for a UCC church on Cranberry Island. She had visited several churches in the Portland area and happened to talk with her neighbor, Ellie Chatto, who suggested Sarah try our church. Sarah appreciated all the information she received on visiting the church, being especially impressed with the history of the church and the statement of faith. She read all of the pamphlets in the welcome envelope thoroughly and saves the bulletin each week. She felt welcome from her first visit. She joined the bell choir. John called as he does with all visitors. As an oboist, she thoroughly appreciates the quality of the music at our church. The only negative she has found is the fact that people chat during the prelude and the postlude. She wants to use that time for prayer and to appreciate the music. Dave asked her what is what like the first time she came. She came alone and went to the coffee hour where people reached out to her – and she reached out to others. She preferred attending services alone as she was evaluating the experience and did not want to be distracted by another (she would not have wanted to have a ‘parish host’). She appreciated the flexibility to learn as she wanted to learn. She recommends that more current members attend the Inquirer’s meetings.
2. SL&W and Welcome Packets: Rick read from the SL&W meeting minutes concerning the ‘vigorous discussion’ held by members. The church staff has the responsibility to determine what information is in the pew racks and what is included in the welcome envelopes. Our group continues to be very interested in having the brochures updated so that they are easier to read (simpler, with bullets instead of long sentences). Sue is making a list of the brochures presently in the envelope.
3. Elinor will represent GG at the 3/3 EG&F meeting.
4. Welcome Brochure: Dave will pass along the wording changes to Bryan.
Update on activities:
5. Welcome Notes: Sue called Darla twice. There have not been any new visitors leaving contact information.
6. Friendship Pad Options: Elinor brought information on a cloth covered pad (~$10) which may hold up better than the vinyl covered version. Also, Staples yielded few options. Elinor brought in a ‘sheet protector’ which seemed too flimsy. Dave is going to continue the search. We want to see samples of the options.
7. Bookmarks: not much to report. Bryan will work on them in March.
8. Signage:
• An individual is very upset at the thought of having any signage in the narthex.
• The A-team has ordered sign.
• Rick and Stan are working on emergency signage.
9. Homework: Each member will review our ‘idea’ materials and bring 1 idea for the group to work on. Dave will e-mail the ‘ideas’.
Next Meeting: Monday, March 21.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Spiritual Life and Worship
Meeting Minutes of 2/3/11
Attending: Rick Angell, Dana Wiggins, Deb Riley, Elaine Brownell, Tex Haeuser.
Meeting Start: 7:00 p.m.
Opening Prayer: Once again Elaine offered a prayer of hope and thanksgiving. Deb added her thoughts and prayers for Elaine’s father who recently passed away.
Review of January Minutes: Approved without correction.
Minister’s Time: John was attending a conference and was unable to attend the meeting.
Ash Wednesday, 3/9/11 at 7:00 a.m.: Dana provided the group with an outline of the activities drawn from previous years experience that need to be accomplished for a successful breakfast this year. Decisions on food, personal support, material needs and activity time frames were made. A final review will be made at the 3/3/11 meeting.
Dana is the Team Leader.
Maundy Thursday Communion, 4/21/11
Good Friday Soup Supper, 4/22/11 at 5:30 p.m.: A brief discussion was held covering amount of food required, personnel required and equipment needs. More detailed planning will be done over the next two meetings on 3/3 and 4/7/2011.
Elaine is the Team Leader.
Easter Vigil: Bryan Wiggins will provide a sign up poster that will be placed in the Narthex and near the Wright Pavilion at various times beginning on March 13 and going through April 17 at least. Sign up notices will also be placed in the Beacon and Bulletin.
Easter Sunrise Service: Several members have volunteered to help John/Elsa at the service. A more detailed planning is required over the next two meetings.
Elder Luncheon, 6/5/11: Tex provided the group with a detailed outline listing all of the functions needed to be performed to put the luncheon together. The who, what, and when of each item needs to be identified and them monitored by SL&W.
Tex is the Team Leader.
Possible agenda items for the next meeting:
- Finalize Ash Wednesday plans.
- Maundy Thursday planning.
- Good Friday Soup Supper planning.
- Easter Vigil update.
- Easter Sunrise Service update.
- Elder Lunch detailed planning.
Meeting Adjourned: 8:00 p.m.
Next Meeting: March 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Attending: Rick Angell, Dana Wiggins, Deb Riley, Elaine Brownell, Tex Haeuser.
Meeting Start: 7:00 p.m.
Opening Prayer: Once again Elaine offered a prayer of hope and thanksgiving. Deb added her thoughts and prayers for Elaine’s father who recently passed away.
Review of January Minutes: Approved without correction.
Minister’s Time: John was attending a conference and was unable to attend the meeting.
Ash Wednesday, 3/9/11 at 7:00 a.m.: Dana provided the group with an outline of the activities drawn from previous years experience that need to be accomplished for a successful breakfast this year. Decisions on food, personal support, material needs and activity time frames were made. A final review will be made at the 3/3/11 meeting.
Dana is the Team Leader.
Maundy Thursday Communion, 4/21/11
Good Friday Soup Supper, 4/22/11 at 5:30 p.m.: A brief discussion was held covering amount of food required, personnel required and equipment needs. More detailed planning will be done over the next two meetings on 3/3 and 4/7/2011.
Elaine is the Team Leader.
Easter Vigil: Bryan Wiggins will provide a sign up poster that will be placed in the Narthex and near the Wright Pavilion at various times beginning on March 13 and going through April 17 at least. Sign up notices will also be placed in the Beacon and Bulletin.
Easter Sunrise Service: Several members have volunteered to help John/Elsa at the service. A more detailed planning is required over the next two meetings.
Elder Luncheon, 6/5/11: Tex provided the group with a detailed outline listing all of the functions needed to be performed to put the luncheon together. The who, what, and when of each item needs to be identified and them monitored by SL&W.
Tex is the Team Leader.
Possible agenda items for the next meeting:
- Finalize Ash Wednesday plans.
- Maundy Thursday planning.
- Good Friday Soup Supper planning.
- Easter Vigil update.
- Easter Sunrise Service update.
- Elder Lunch detailed planning.
Meeting Adjourned: 8:00 p.m.
Next Meeting: March 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Church Council
First Congregational Church, UCC
South Portland, Maine
Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2011
Recorder: Andy Ellis
Present: Matt Early, Sally Hinckley, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, John Shoos, Robin Reinhold, Carrie Skeffington, Elsa Peters, Cyndi Alden, Carl Murphy, Bob Morse, Andy Ellis, John McCall.
Absent: Peggy Murray, Nancy MacLean
The meeting was opened at 6:30 p.m. opening by Matt Early followed by a reflection and prayer by Andy.
The meeting minutes from the December meeting were approved.
Minister’s Time:
Elsa reported that she had checked in with pastor parish relations committee as part of the ongoing 360 review process and had very good conversation.
John described current progress on website. There is no “go live” date yet, but Chris Keiter is working with web developers and we will be updated on progress.
Discussions:
A special fundraising request was brought to the Council for the Maine Seacoast Mission trip in July. A spaghetti dinner and auction is planned for the 26th of March. Elsa anticipated that there will be about 20 people on the trip. There is an enthusiastic group planning the dinner and auction and they are hoping to raise enough money so that all interested people can go without paying out of pocket. The Council approved the request.
The Mission Team has decided that half of the Christmas offering will also be used for the Maine Seacoast Mission trip. It has also been requested that there be an additional special offering for the trip on February 13th in which people can designate (by noting in subject line on check, or on the outside of pew envelope) that the offering should be used for this special purpose. The Council approved this request as well.
Discussion of Proposed Budget:
Matt Early reviewed work of the budget committee with input from Cyndi Alden and the other Budget Committee members (John Shoos, Andy Ellis, Elsa Peters and John McCall).
Income: Actual pledges seem to be holding steady. The pledge number in budget is has been increased by 6% (over pledges received so far) based on historical performance of budgeted pledges vs. actual. Rental property figures are based on rents from current tenants. Expected interest income / endowment support is based on a formula that has been used in the past (may be slightly optimistic, but endowment has seen some recovery in past year). The “Revenue Other” line includes rummage sales, Holly Daze bazaar, and other gifts. The Per Capita contribution campaign was successful last year, so this income line was raised vs. last year’s budget.
Expenses: The Committee reviewed expenses trying to trim where possible. Matt discussed long-term examinations that we will need to undertake in order to establish a balanced budget in the future. Mission had asked to have budget raised back to 2008 levels, but committee proposed staying at current level. Matt discussed OCWM Conference giving, and the fact that we may not be able to maintain current levels in the face of declining membership and revenues.
Other than Mission, Personnel is the other major expense category. For the second year in a row, there are no staff pay increases slated for this year. The overall Personnel expense line is fairly static despite increases in benefit costs because of some other changes (the Youth Minister position has been eliminated and Nancy Foran, the Elder Chaplain, is taking leave of absence.) It was suggested that the Congregation will need to take the opportunity to examine personnel and expense issues over the next year before we draft our next budget.
It was noted that we are very fortunate to be in such good financial shape compared to many other churches in Maine.
Teams have done a very good job of cost containment. Education Growth & Fellowship has reduced their budget request from last year. The Budget Committee will recommend that a few line items in the Music budget draw from designated funds (Easter Brass, etc.) and suggest that monies requested for chair replacement in the rehearsal room be drawn from Major Maintenance. Phil Whitney also reported that the Eskimos will be donating money from their annual fudge and cookie sale for replacement chairs. Expenses for Spiritual Life & Worship are budgeted to be in line with last year.
It is expected that heating expenses will go up this year, along with benefit costs.
Actual revenues were well above what we forecasted for 2010, leaving less of a deficit than we had expected for the current year. The budget deficit for 2011 is projected to be slightly under $15,000.00 with the ability to support from retained earnings (now at $31,746).
Matt Early discussed the packet that will be presented at the Congregational budget meeting, including informational reports of past year activities related to the endowment, the Major Maintenance Fund, and Community Crisis Ministries. Reports for the Discovery Center, and Holly Daze Bazaar will be included later in the Annual Report.
The history of the retained surplus and current income trends were discussed. The retained surplus had been approximately $100,000.00 at its height several years ago. Current giving has leveled off as expenses have trended higher generally and the retained surplus has diminished over time.
The Council approved the proposed budget.
The Council discussed the relationship of the Discovery Center to the Church. Nancy MacLean had reported in an earlier email that Dan Cummings has offered to speak with members of the council about the history and intent of establishing the Discovery Center as separate corporate entity. The Council looks forward to that hearing the details of that conversation.
Roger Addor suggested that we thank the Stewardship Committee for their hard work this year and John Shoos thanked those who assisted in making calls, including Roger Addor, Phil Whitney, and Bob Morse.
Matt Early discussed current financial status of the Discovery Center and the Council reviewed balance sheet and profit and loss. The Discovery Center has suggested a repayment plan for their earlier loan in which payments would be made during the school year only as tuition revenue is received. The Council accepted the plan.
Bob Morse reported on the selection of delegates to represent the Church at Association and Conference meetings:
We now have 6 potential lay delegates to UCC meetings. Rick Angell, Peggy Murray, Dick & Barbara Merrill, and Adam & Jean Siulinski.
John discussed future series of discussions about structure of UCC, Maine Conference, and Cumberland Association. These discussions could help the Council to understand some of the issues in the budgeting process such as our Church’s giving to OCWM. The Council agreed that they would like to have these discussions, and they will start in February.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
South Portland, Maine
Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2011
Recorder: Andy Ellis
Present: Matt Early, Sally Hinckley, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, John Shoos, Robin Reinhold, Carrie Skeffington, Elsa Peters, Cyndi Alden, Carl Murphy, Bob Morse, Andy Ellis, John McCall.
Absent: Peggy Murray, Nancy MacLean
The meeting was opened at 6:30 p.m. opening by Matt Early followed by a reflection and prayer by Andy.
The meeting minutes from the December meeting were approved.
Minister’s Time:
Elsa reported that she had checked in with pastor parish relations committee as part of the ongoing 360 review process and had very good conversation.
John described current progress on website. There is no “go live” date yet, but Chris Keiter is working with web developers and we will be updated on progress.
Discussions:
A special fundraising request was brought to the Council for the Maine Seacoast Mission trip in July. A spaghetti dinner and auction is planned for the 26th of March. Elsa anticipated that there will be about 20 people on the trip. There is an enthusiastic group planning the dinner and auction and they are hoping to raise enough money so that all interested people can go without paying out of pocket. The Council approved the request.
The Mission Team has decided that half of the Christmas offering will also be used for the Maine Seacoast Mission trip. It has also been requested that there be an additional special offering for the trip on February 13th in which people can designate (by noting in subject line on check, or on the outside of pew envelope) that the offering should be used for this special purpose. The Council approved this request as well.
Discussion of Proposed Budget:
Matt Early reviewed work of the budget committee with input from Cyndi Alden and the other Budget Committee members (John Shoos, Andy Ellis, Elsa Peters and John McCall).
Income: Actual pledges seem to be holding steady. The pledge number in budget is has been increased by 6% (over pledges received so far) based on historical performance of budgeted pledges vs. actual. Rental property figures are based on rents from current tenants. Expected interest income / endowment support is based on a formula that has been used in the past (may be slightly optimistic, but endowment has seen some recovery in past year). The “Revenue Other” line includes rummage sales, Holly Daze bazaar, and other gifts. The Per Capita contribution campaign was successful last year, so this income line was raised vs. last year’s budget.
Expenses: The Committee reviewed expenses trying to trim where possible. Matt discussed long-term examinations that we will need to undertake in order to establish a balanced budget in the future. Mission had asked to have budget raised back to 2008 levels, but committee proposed staying at current level. Matt discussed OCWM Conference giving, and the fact that we may not be able to maintain current levels in the face of declining membership and revenues.
Other than Mission, Personnel is the other major expense category. For the second year in a row, there are no staff pay increases slated for this year. The overall Personnel expense line is fairly static despite increases in benefit costs because of some other changes (the Youth Minister position has been eliminated and Nancy Foran, the Elder Chaplain, is taking leave of absence.) It was suggested that the Congregation will need to take the opportunity to examine personnel and expense issues over the next year before we draft our next budget.
It was noted that we are very fortunate to be in such good financial shape compared to many other churches in Maine.
Teams have done a very good job of cost containment. Education Growth & Fellowship has reduced their budget request from last year. The Budget Committee will recommend that a few line items in the Music budget draw from designated funds (Easter Brass, etc.) and suggest that monies requested for chair replacement in the rehearsal room be drawn from Major Maintenance. Phil Whitney also reported that the Eskimos will be donating money from their annual fudge and cookie sale for replacement chairs. Expenses for Spiritual Life & Worship are budgeted to be in line with last year.
It is expected that heating expenses will go up this year, along with benefit costs.
Actual revenues were well above what we forecasted for 2010, leaving less of a deficit than we had expected for the current year. The budget deficit for 2011 is projected to be slightly under $15,000.00 with the ability to support from retained earnings (now at $31,746).
Matt Early discussed the packet that will be presented at the Congregational budget meeting, including informational reports of past year activities related to the endowment, the Major Maintenance Fund, and Community Crisis Ministries. Reports for the Discovery Center, and Holly Daze Bazaar will be included later in the Annual Report.
The history of the retained surplus and current income trends were discussed. The retained surplus had been approximately $100,000.00 at its height several years ago. Current giving has leveled off as expenses have trended higher generally and the retained surplus has diminished over time.
The Council approved the proposed budget.
The Council discussed the relationship of the Discovery Center to the Church. Nancy MacLean had reported in an earlier email that Dan Cummings has offered to speak with members of the council about the history and intent of establishing the Discovery Center as separate corporate entity. The Council looks forward to that hearing the details of that conversation.
Roger Addor suggested that we thank the Stewardship Committee for their hard work this year and John Shoos thanked those who assisted in making calls, including Roger Addor, Phil Whitney, and Bob Morse.
Matt Early discussed current financial status of the Discovery Center and the Council reviewed balance sheet and profit and loss. The Discovery Center has suggested a repayment plan for their earlier loan in which payments would be made during the school year only as tuition revenue is received. The Council accepted the plan.
Bob Morse reported on the selection of delegates to represent the Church at Association and Conference meetings:
We now have 6 potential lay delegates to UCC meetings. Rick Angell, Peggy Murray, Dick & Barbara Merrill, and Adam & Jean Siulinski.
John discussed future series of discussions about structure of UCC, Maine Conference, and Cumberland Association. These discussions could help the Council to understand some of the issues in the budgeting process such as our Church’s giving to OCWM. The Council agreed that they would like to have these discussions, and they will start in February.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Mission and Outreach
Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2011
Recorder: Kristen Silvia
Members Present: Maureen Clancy, Richard Parker, Laurie Carey, Sarah Randall, Sandy Dyer, Jan Bosse, Mike Kasputes, Kristen Silvia.
Opening prayer offered by Maureen Clancy.
Treasurer’s Report was presented by Mike Kasputes. No concerns were raised regarding the report.
Minutes from the December 2, 2010 were approved with the following change: “Our Christian World Mission” should be “Our Church’s Wider Mission”.
OLD BUSINESS:
Mission Sunday Service
• The order of service and each member’s role was reviewed.
• Maureen will submit a Beacon announcement regarding the Service by January 24th.
• Final draft of the service and hymns will be submitted to the office by February 7th.
• Laurie will create envelopes for the pews for members to donate to the Maine Seacoast Mission trip.
• Elsa will contact the Director from MSCM regarding his plan for the sermon and his preferences regarding accommodations.
• Maureen will contact the SMCC McKearnan Center about accommodation rates if the Director prefers staying there.
Coffee Hour
• Members volunteered to bake, setup and cleanup for the two upcoming coffee hours we are hosting on January 9 and January 16.
Upcoming Meeting
• John will be joining us in March to discuss our protocol for deciding which organizations to which we donate money. At our February meeting, we plan to develop a framework for discussion of this important topic.
NEW BUSINESS:
Thank You Notes
• Received from Bangor Theological Seminary, Wayside Soup Kitchen, Maine Council of Churches, FCCUCC Food Pantry, Preble Street, and Family Crisis Services.
Email from Carol Zechman
• This email involved a request for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Champion(s) in our church to help support local agriculture and promote CSA shares.
• We decided to redirect this to Social Witness Ministries. Maureen will contact Carol to let her know.
Closing Prayer was offered by Maureen.
Next Meeting: February 3, 2011 in the Laity Room
• Co-Chair: Sandy Dyer
• Devotions: Richard Parker
• Recorder: Suzanne Linder
Recorder: Kristen Silvia
Members Present: Maureen Clancy, Richard Parker, Laurie Carey, Sarah Randall, Sandy Dyer, Jan Bosse, Mike Kasputes, Kristen Silvia.
Opening prayer offered by Maureen Clancy.
Treasurer’s Report was presented by Mike Kasputes. No concerns were raised regarding the report.
Minutes from the December 2, 2010 were approved with the following change: “Our Christian World Mission” should be “Our Church’s Wider Mission”.
OLD BUSINESS:
Mission Sunday Service
• The order of service and each member’s role was reviewed.
• Maureen will submit a Beacon announcement regarding the Service by January 24th.
• Final draft of the service and hymns will be submitted to the office by February 7th.
• Laurie will create envelopes for the pews for members to donate to the Maine Seacoast Mission trip.
• Elsa will contact the Director from MSCM regarding his plan for the sermon and his preferences regarding accommodations.
• Maureen will contact the SMCC McKearnan Center about accommodation rates if the Director prefers staying there.
Coffee Hour
• Members volunteered to bake, setup and cleanup for the two upcoming coffee hours we are hosting on January 9 and January 16.
Upcoming Meeting
• John will be joining us in March to discuss our protocol for deciding which organizations to which we donate money. At our February meeting, we plan to develop a framework for discussion of this important topic.
NEW BUSINESS:
Thank You Notes
• Received from Bangor Theological Seminary, Wayside Soup Kitchen, Maine Council of Churches, FCCUCC Food Pantry, Preble Street, and Family Crisis Services.
Email from Carol Zechman
• This email involved a request for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Champion(s) in our church to help support local agriculture and promote CSA shares.
• We decided to redirect this to Social Witness Ministries. Maureen will contact Carol to let her know.
Closing Prayer was offered by Maureen.
Next Meeting: February 3, 2011 in the Laity Room
• Co-Chair: Sandy Dyer
• Devotions: Richard Parker
• Recorder: Suzanne Linder
Monday, January 31, 2011
Administration Team
Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2011
Recorder: Chris Mills
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Deb Sandler, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Rod Redstone, Cyndi Alden (Business Manager) and Scott Stacy (visiting).
Call to Order: Ron called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Per the rotation schedule, Chris will record this meeting and run the next meeting.
Introductions: Ron introduced Scott Stacy who is considering A-Team membership.
Minutes of the Admin Team December 2010 Meeting: reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: Cyndi reports that 2010 expenses were down 9% and revenues were up 12%. The budget deficit for 2010 was just under $4000, reduced from $27,000.
Tenant Update:
• Sawyer - Cyndi has not heard from tenant concerning tenants job status. Cyndi believes tenant will not be in a position to raise rent (currently $800 mo.) soon . In our desire to work with tenant, the rent was to move from $800 to $900 to $1000 by June. Guy suggested Cyndi keep us informed of situation.
• Cottage Road (1st floor) - the first floor has been rented as of December 15 as an Art Gallery. The Art Gallery owners signed a one year lease and paid the December and January rent of $1200 month. They requested that a new door be installed above the side door steps to prevent people who are using the basement to store rummage sale items from entering their first floor space. The A-Team agreed to do this.
• Cottage Road (2nd floor) - this lease is for $750 month. Cindy reports the tenant is happy.
Major Maintenance Fund: The fund was explained for the benefit of our guest.Major projects to all three properties in recent years were reviewed for Scott.
Signage: The House Committee is working on 2 new directional signs for the Narthex.
Insurance: After a discussion on our insurance policy,Cyndi agreed to scan the current policy and send a copy to the Team, including Scott, for review. Insurance is up for renewal in October. The Team agreed a review should be done by March/April.
Team Member Replacement: The A-Team needs two new members by June. Scott will inform us of his intentions and Guy will talk with his son-in-law. Chris suggested polling counting team for interest.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Counting: Chair Peggy Murray sent Cindy a list of who is scheduled to count each week. Things are working well.
House: Chair Guy Gledhill. We are still in the waiting phase to see if there are any leaks from the steeple work before we consider painting the sanctuary.We have had one quote so far.
Guy reports that the east wall of Guptill Hall is damp. Many teams have worked on trying to solve this issue in the past. The House Committee is watching and brainstorming new causes and solutions.
Planned Giving: Ron put an article in the December Beacon.
NEW BUSINESS:
Cornerstone Fund: We were asked by Elsa to look into the option of recommending participation in the Cornerstone Fund to the congregation. After looking over the fund Ron advised that it would not be in our best interest to participate. Both Elsa and the
A-team strongly agreed.
Financial Review: Smith and Associates will have a report by the end of February.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday February 3, 2011 at 7 p.m..
Meeting adjourned 8:06 p.m.
Recorder: Chris Mills
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Deb Sandler, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Rod Redstone, Cyndi Alden (Business Manager) and Scott Stacy (visiting).
Call to Order: Ron called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Per the rotation schedule, Chris will record this meeting and run the next meeting.
Introductions: Ron introduced Scott Stacy who is considering A-Team membership.
Minutes of the Admin Team December 2010 Meeting: reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: Cyndi reports that 2010 expenses were down 9% and revenues were up 12%. The budget deficit for 2010 was just under $4000, reduced from $27,000.
Tenant Update:
• Sawyer - Cyndi has not heard from tenant concerning tenants job status. Cyndi believes tenant will not be in a position to raise rent (currently $800 mo.) soon . In our desire to work with tenant, the rent was to move from $800 to $900 to $1000 by June. Guy suggested Cyndi keep us informed of situation.
• Cottage Road (1st floor) - the first floor has been rented as of December 15 as an Art Gallery. The Art Gallery owners signed a one year lease and paid the December and January rent of $1200 month. They requested that a new door be installed above the side door steps to prevent people who are using the basement to store rummage sale items from entering their first floor space. The A-Team agreed to do this.
• Cottage Road (2nd floor) - this lease is for $750 month. Cindy reports the tenant is happy.
Major Maintenance Fund: The fund was explained for the benefit of our guest.Major projects to all three properties in recent years were reviewed for Scott.
Signage: The House Committee is working on 2 new directional signs for the Narthex.
Insurance: After a discussion on our insurance policy,Cyndi agreed to scan the current policy and send a copy to the Team, including Scott, for review. Insurance is up for renewal in October. The Team agreed a review should be done by March/April.
Team Member Replacement: The A-Team needs two new members by June. Scott will inform us of his intentions and Guy will talk with his son-in-law. Chris suggested polling counting team for interest.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Counting: Chair Peggy Murray sent Cindy a list of who is scheduled to count each week. Things are working well.
House: Chair Guy Gledhill. We are still in the waiting phase to see if there are any leaks from the steeple work before we consider painting the sanctuary.We have had one quote so far.
Guy reports that the east wall of Guptill Hall is damp. Many teams have worked on trying to solve this issue in the past. The House Committee is watching and brainstorming new causes and solutions.
Planned Giving: Ron put an article in the December Beacon.
NEW BUSINESS:
Cornerstone Fund: We were asked by Elsa to look into the option of recommending participation in the Cornerstone Fund to the congregation. After looking over the fund Ron advised that it would not be in our best interest to participate. Both Elsa and the
A-team strongly agreed.
Financial Review: Smith and Associates will have a report by the end of February.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday February 3, 2011 at 7 p.m..
Meeting adjourned 8:06 p.m.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Education Growth and Fellowship
Meeting Minutes of January 6, 2011
Attendance: Scott Ayre, Jennifer Fetting, Carolyn Foster, Tom Hamerksi, Karen Pierce, Elsa Peters.
1) Standing Sub-Committee Reports
a. Coffee hour: There hasn’t been any problems with getting volunteers this year, which is great. There have been some breakdowns in communication, but overall it is going well.
b. Sunday school: Carolyn reported that the 2nd semester teachers are recruited - lots of enthusiasm.
c. Library: Karen reported that they’ve spent their money and bought new books. New ones are being catalogued, and new purchases will be displayed on tables before worship so that people can see them.
d. Scholarship: Scott was in contact with Nancy re: how people can donate to the scholarship fund. The committee’s first meeting is in late January or early February.
e. Growth: Next Inquirer’s meeting is Monday, March 7.
f. In general, there is a sense that there is too little communication between the EFG team and the people on the subcommittees. Scott Ayre is going to send the leaders of each subcommittee an email, inviting them to send a representative to our March 3 meeting (and twice a year hereafter) to report on their activities, needs, etc. and let us know what we can do to help them.
g. Jennifer will email Tom in the church about turning the heat on in Wright Pavilion at 7:00 pm on the first Thursday of the month. Brrrr it’s cold in there.
2) New Business
a. Concerns were raised that too much team meeting time is bogged down with the details of the different subcommittees, and not enough generating new ideas for activities, etc. So there is going to be a huge, seismic shift in how the committee works. This is a good thing.
b. Next meeting will be agenda-free and will involve lots of brainstorming, so show up with ideas!
Attendance: Scott Ayre, Jennifer Fetting, Carolyn Foster, Tom Hamerksi, Karen Pierce, Elsa Peters.
1) Standing Sub-Committee Reports
a. Coffee hour: There hasn’t been any problems with getting volunteers this year, which is great. There have been some breakdowns in communication, but overall it is going well.
b. Sunday school: Carolyn reported that the 2nd semester teachers are recruited - lots of enthusiasm.
c. Library: Karen reported that they’ve spent their money and bought new books. New ones are being catalogued, and new purchases will be displayed on tables before worship so that people can see them.
d. Scholarship: Scott was in contact with Nancy re: how people can donate to the scholarship fund. The committee’s first meeting is in late January or early February.
e. Growth: Next Inquirer’s meeting is Monday, March 7.
f. In general, there is a sense that there is too little communication between the EFG team and the people on the subcommittees. Scott Ayre is going to send the leaders of each subcommittee an email, inviting them to send a representative to our March 3 meeting (and twice a year hereafter) to report on their activities, needs, etc. and let us know what we can do to help them.
g. Jennifer will email Tom in the church about turning the heat on in Wright Pavilion at 7:00 pm on the first Thursday of the month. Brrrr it’s cold in there.
2) New Business
a. Concerns were raised that too much team meeting time is bogged down with the details of the different subcommittees, and not enough generating new ideas for activities, etc. So there is going to be a huge, seismic shift in how the committee works. This is a good thing.
b. Next meeting will be agenda-free and will involve lots of brainstorming, so show up with ideas!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Food Pantry
Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2011
PRESENT: Cyndi Alden, Frances Jane Addor, June Wiggins, AnnElissa Leveque, Barbara Merrill, Jan Files, Gail Dransfield.
BALANCE: Income Paid Out BALANCE ENDING
12/31/2009 2010 2010 12/31/2010
$5,113 $2,841 $ 3,164 $4,790
OLD BUSINESS:
1) Re-shelving and keeping the pantry floor less cluttered. Volunteers are asked to re-shelve any bags left for over 7 days. **New - Place the bag tags on the yellow pad under a paper clip. AnnElissa will take care of notifying Jen, noting the non-pickup on the index card and yellow tab.
2) Please staple a note on each bag stating recipient’s name and the total number of bags included in that order. This will help Cyndi and Jen know who gets what.
NEW BUSINESS:
1) Expired foods. The USDA web site states that expired foods are safe for consumption. The church council has restricted us from distributing any expired foods and from selling these items, even labeled as expired, at any of our coffee hour sales.
Barbara Merrill will contact Preble St., St. Johns pantry, the Root Cellar, Woodfords and other pantries to understand how they handle expired goods.
Any expired foods should be placed in the large box in the pantry. Our volunteers are encouraged to take whatever they can use. AnnElissa will throw away any foods left in that box at the beginning of each month.
2) Reminder: Include a listing of area pantries with new requests. These blue forms are in the folder on the desk.
3) Gail will pull all index cards of requests earlier than 2008. All requests from 1/2009 until the present will remain in the index boxes.
4) There will be a sale of the “Odd and Exotic” items during the coffee hour on Feb. 13. Any and all volunteers please come before the 10 o’clock service to set up the sale and then help with the sale and clean up.
Cyndi will put an announcement of this sale in the 1/24 Beacon and in the bulletin.
5) Preble Street is holding a meeting of representatives from the greater Portland food pantries on Jan. 21 from 12 - 2 at Woodfords Congregational church. Jan Files has volunteered to go. Barbara Merrill, Gail or Purdy will also attend.
6) Next meeting May 12, 2011 4 o’clock Laity Room.
PRESENT: Cyndi Alden, Frances Jane Addor, June Wiggins, AnnElissa Leveque, Barbara Merrill, Jan Files, Gail Dransfield.
BALANCE: Income Paid Out BALANCE ENDING
12/31/2009 2010 2010 12/31/2010
$5,113 $2,841 $ 3,164 $4,790
OLD BUSINESS:
1) Re-shelving and keeping the pantry floor less cluttered. Volunteers are asked to re-shelve any bags left for over 7 days. **New - Place the bag tags on the yellow pad under a paper clip. AnnElissa will take care of notifying Jen, noting the non-pickup on the index card and yellow tab.
2) Please staple a note on each bag stating recipient’s name and the total number of bags included in that order. This will help Cyndi and Jen know who gets what.
NEW BUSINESS:
1) Expired foods. The USDA web site states that expired foods are safe for consumption. The church council has restricted us from distributing any expired foods and from selling these items, even labeled as expired, at any of our coffee hour sales.
Barbara Merrill will contact Preble St., St. Johns pantry, the Root Cellar, Woodfords and other pantries to understand how they handle expired goods.
Any expired foods should be placed in the large box in the pantry. Our volunteers are encouraged to take whatever they can use. AnnElissa will throw away any foods left in that box at the beginning of each month.
2) Reminder: Include a listing of area pantries with new requests. These blue forms are in the folder on the desk.
3) Gail will pull all index cards of requests earlier than 2008. All requests from 1/2009 until the present will remain in the index boxes.
4) There will be a sale of the “Odd and Exotic” items during the coffee hour on Feb. 13. Any and all volunteers please come before the 10 o’clock service to set up the sale and then help with the sale and clean up.
Cyndi will put an announcement of this sale in the 1/24 Beacon and in the bulletin.
5) Preble Street is holding a meeting of representatives from the greater Portland food pantries on Jan. 21 from 12 - 2 at Woodfords Congregational church. Jan Files has volunteered to go. Barbara Merrill, Gail or Purdy will also attend.
6) Next meeting May 12, 2011 4 o’clock Laity Room.
Spiritual Life and Worship
Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2011
ATTENDING: Rick Angell, Tex Hauser, Frank Arsenault, Elaine Brownell, Dana Wiggins, John McCall.
OPENING PRAYER: Elaine welcomed everyone with hope for a happy and successful new year.
REVIEW OF DECEMBER MINUTES: approved as is.
MINISTER’S TIME: John informed us that this is "ordinary time" in the church calendar. It is just the rhythm of life combined with the winter season ‘till Lent is with us. Time for all to just breathe out and prepare for what is coming.
UPDATES:
• Conformation classes - are underway and moving forward.
• Lent - Dana has the list of last year's breakfast needs and will get it out to everyone. The breakfast will be March 9th at 7 AM in Wright Pavilion. Last year was attended by approximately 20 people. Last year’s worked well and will be followed again.
Maundy Thursday Communion will be April 21st.
Good Friday Soup Supper will be on April 22nd. Elaine has the names of people who volunteered last year and expressed interest to make soups this year. This is done in conjunction with the Ladies Guild.
Easter Vigil: Poster will be put out by the first Sunday in Lent. If possible it will be out at the Ash Wednesday Breakfast for those attending to possibly sign up. Brian Wiggins will again do a large format poster for people to sign up on as that worked well last year. Sign up reminders also to be in Beacon and e-mail reminders also will be sent out.
Easter Sunrise Service: Committee will be available to assist John and/or Elsa in whatever way possible. Elaine, Frank, Tex, and Dana volunteered to help.
• Outside Banner: Semi resolved. Will be monitored to see if more needs to be done.
• Pew racks/Welcome Packets: Who decides what should be put in pews and packets? Now it is staff driven. Discussed vigorously amongst the group. Possible alternatives brought up were getting a rack to hold the pamphlets and allow people to pick and choose any of interest. John expressed his view that he likes to get as much information to people and let them decide what interests them. He would like any changes, etc. run through him for guidance.
Rick put out an open invitation for anyone interested in joining the Growth Group.
Next meeting is set for February 3rd at 7 PM. John and Frank will be unable to attend.
Possible new business:
• Finalize Lent/Easter activities.
• Start planning for Elder luncheon (possible date June 12th).
ATTENDING: Rick Angell, Tex Hauser, Frank Arsenault, Elaine Brownell, Dana Wiggins, John McCall.
OPENING PRAYER: Elaine welcomed everyone with hope for a happy and successful new year.
REVIEW OF DECEMBER MINUTES: approved as is.
MINISTER’S TIME: John informed us that this is "ordinary time" in the church calendar. It is just the rhythm of life combined with the winter season ‘till Lent is with us. Time for all to just breathe out and prepare for what is coming.
UPDATES:
• Conformation classes - are underway and moving forward.
• Lent - Dana has the list of last year's breakfast needs and will get it out to everyone. The breakfast will be March 9th at 7 AM in Wright Pavilion. Last year was attended by approximately 20 people. Last year’s worked well and will be followed again.
Maundy Thursday Communion will be April 21st.
Good Friday Soup Supper will be on April 22nd. Elaine has the names of people who volunteered last year and expressed interest to make soups this year. This is done in conjunction with the Ladies Guild.
Easter Vigil: Poster will be put out by the first Sunday in Lent. If possible it will be out at the Ash Wednesday Breakfast for those attending to possibly sign up. Brian Wiggins will again do a large format poster for people to sign up on as that worked well last year. Sign up reminders also to be in Beacon and e-mail reminders also will be sent out.
Easter Sunrise Service: Committee will be available to assist John and/or Elsa in whatever way possible. Elaine, Frank, Tex, and Dana volunteered to help.
• Outside Banner: Semi resolved. Will be monitored to see if more needs to be done.
• Pew racks/Welcome Packets: Who decides what should be put in pews and packets? Now it is staff driven. Discussed vigorously amongst the group. Possible alternatives brought up were getting a rack to hold the pamphlets and allow people to pick and choose any of interest. John expressed his view that he likes to get as much information to people and let them decide what interests them. He would like any changes, etc. run through him for guidance.
Rick put out an open invitation for anyone interested in joining the Growth Group.
Next meeting is set for February 3rd at 7 PM. John and Frank will be unable to attend.
Possible new business:
• Finalize Lent/Easter activities.
• Start planning for Elder luncheon (possible date June 12th).
Growth Group
Meeting Minutes of January 10, 2011
Recorder: Elinor Redmond
Members Present: Rick Angell, Elinor Redmond, Dave Allen, Sue Ross and John McCall.
Sue opened with an inspiring reading from ‘Hope for Each Day’.
John passed along a request conveyed by Elsa from EG&F. They want to be up to date on the Growth Group’s activities. Elinor will connect with them – via Elsa – and send minutes.
Update on Activities:
1. Welcome Notes: After our last meeting, Sue stopped in to the Prayer Shawl Group. Darla was not present and the group did not know anything about the notes. They were not meeting again until January. Elinor (5 notes) and Sue (0 notes) have been doing them in the meantime. Darla and her group are now ready to start. Sue will do a written procedure list and talk with Jen about saving records as they return from the Prayer Shawl knitters. We can keep a running total of notes sent.
2. Bookmarks: Dave is working with Bryan on bookmarks to place in the hymnals (and Bibles?). Bryan will draft a design. Production will be by an internet based company. The cost will be approximately $60 for 500 bookmarks. Dave has suggested using a pineapple motif as that is the symbol for welcome and hospitality. The mission and vision will be included as well as standard information about the church. Printing ‘Take me home’ on them would encourage just that.
3. Signage: Our group walked around the building to look at signage after the last meeting. No more progress to date – to be continued.
4. Hospitality Moments:
Possible ideas include:
• Dictionary (literal definition of hospitality/what does it mean to individuals)
• Hospitality stories from the Bible (John will find some stories)
• Bookmarks – use the Sunday when the new Bookmarks appear to discuss hospitality and the pineapple. This would include the tale of our carved pineapple at the front of the church. Norman Clark (son of Minister Win Clark) carved the pineapple. He later went to Bangor Seminary but was diagnosed with cancer before finishing his studies.
• Someone could tell his/her story of being welcomed into the church community. Sarah Bloom may be a possible candidate to tell what it was that made her feel welcomed.
Sue had talked with Sarah about joining our committee. While too busy to join, she would be glad to come to a meeting to share her experience of coming to our church for the first time. Sue will invite her to the February 14th meeting.
5. Revisit ideas on which committee might work: Looking over our ‘idea sheets’ sparked conversation on the following topics:
• When questioned on the Ushers’ meeting, Rick said some were open to our suggestions and others were not. Awareness/progress in the area of keeping the aisle open as people arrive. References to ‘new rules’.
• Outreach to groups which use the building: John awaits a call from the AA contact. Elinor will attend a meeting, offer an invitation to worship and pass out the Welcome brochure.
• Friendship pads: We discussed making better use at the space above the pad itself when the cover is opened. Having a plastic sleeve there to hold nametags and messages is one idea. Many covers are now split and need to be replaced. We need 65-70 pads. Elinor will investigate options and report back at the next meeting.
• Welcome packet: Dave will talk with Jen about placing the new Welcome brochure in the packet in place of the old brochure. Rick will discuss responsibility for the Welcome Packet with SLW. We talked about different points of view of what should be in the packet and why. John advocates for getting as much information in front of people as simply as possible. Several in the group felt the present collection of brochures to be wordy and in need of editing. Perhaps groups would agree to update their own brochures themselves.
6. New Group Members: No luck so far.
7. Homework: Each member will review our ‘idea’ materials and bring (1) idea for the group to work on.
Next meeting: Monday, February 14th.
Recorder: Elinor Redmond
Members Present: Rick Angell, Elinor Redmond, Dave Allen, Sue Ross and John McCall.
Sue opened with an inspiring reading from ‘Hope for Each Day’.
John passed along a request conveyed by Elsa from EG&F. They want to be up to date on the Growth Group’s activities. Elinor will connect with them – via Elsa – and send minutes.
Update on Activities:
1. Welcome Notes: After our last meeting, Sue stopped in to the Prayer Shawl Group. Darla was not present and the group did not know anything about the notes. They were not meeting again until January. Elinor (5 notes) and Sue (0 notes) have been doing them in the meantime. Darla and her group are now ready to start. Sue will do a written procedure list and talk with Jen about saving records as they return from the Prayer Shawl knitters. We can keep a running total of notes sent.
2. Bookmarks: Dave is working with Bryan on bookmarks to place in the hymnals (and Bibles?). Bryan will draft a design. Production will be by an internet based company. The cost will be approximately $60 for 500 bookmarks. Dave has suggested using a pineapple motif as that is the symbol for welcome and hospitality. The mission and vision will be included as well as standard information about the church. Printing ‘Take me home’ on them would encourage just that.
3. Signage: Our group walked around the building to look at signage after the last meeting. No more progress to date – to be continued.
4. Hospitality Moments:
Possible ideas include:
• Dictionary (literal definition of hospitality/what does it mean to individuals)
• Hospitality stories from the Bible (John will find some stories)
• Bookmarks – use the Sunday when the new Bookmarks appear to discuss hospitality and the pineapple. This would include the tale of our carved pineapple at the front of the church. Norman Clark (son of Minister Win Clark) carved the pineapple. He later went to Bangor Seminary but was diagnosed with cancer before finishing his studies.
• Someone could tell his/her story of being welcomed into the church community. Sarah Bloom may be a possible candidate to tell what it was that made her feel welcomed.
Sue had talked with Sarah about joining our committee. While too busy to join, she would be glad to come to a meeting to share her experience of coming to our church for the first time. Sue will invite her to the February 14th meeting.
5. Revisit ideas on which committee might work: Looking over our ‘idea sheets’ sparked conversation on the following topics:
• When questioned on the Ushers’ meeting, Rick said some were open to our suggestions and others were not. Awareness/progress in the area of keeping the aisle open as people arrive. References to ‘new rules’.
• Outreach to groups which use the building: John awaits a call from the AA contact. Elinor will attend a meeting, offer an invitation to worship and pass out the Welcome brochure.
• Friendship pads: We discussed making better use at the space above the pad itself when the cover is opened. Having a plastic sleeve there to hold nametags and messages is one idea. Many covers are now split and need to be replaced. We need 65-70 pads. Elinor will investigate options and report back at the next meeting.
• Welcome packet: Dave will talk with Jen about placing the new Welcome brochure in the packet in place of the old brochure. Rick will discuss responsibility for the Welcome Packet with SLW. We talked about different points of view of what should be in the packet and why. John advocates for getting as much information in front of people as simply as possible. Several in the group felt the present collection of brochures to be wordy and in need of editing. Perhaps groups would agree to update their own brochures themselves.
6. New Group Members: No luck so far.
7. Homework: Each member will review our ‘idea’ materials and bring (1) idea for the group to work on.
Next meeting: Monday, February 14th.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Church Council
Meeting Minutes of December 17, 2010
Recorder: Roger Addor
Present: Roger Addor, Andy Ellis, Nancy MacLean, John McCall, Bob Morse, Peggy Murray, Elsa Peters, Robin Reinhold, John Shoos, Carrie Skeffington, and Phil Whitney.
Absent: Matt Early, Sally Hinckley, and Carl Murphy
The meeting was opened at 6:30 p.m. by Nancy MacLean followed by a poem and prayer by Roger Addor.
The November minutes were approved. Clarification was requested for the statement to support the July Seacoast Mission “using the offering on Mission Sunday, February 13, 2011”. The part of the offering going to this cause will be revisited at the January meeting, probably to include a special appeal and dedication of the loose plate offering.
John McCall was welcomed back after his successful back surgery and recovery and expressed a thankful sense of rejuvenation. He reported a few delays in getting the much improved website up and running, but expects it to be serviceable about mid-January.
The nomination of Scott Ayre for a one-year term and Tom Hamerski for a two-year term to Education, Growth, and Fellowship was unanimously approved.
In the absence of Budget Chairperson Matt Early, Andy Ellis reported for the Budget Committee. Business Manager Cyndi Alden was invited to the meeting to interpret the printed proposed budget, the current financial status, and the projected income and budget for 2011. The situation as it was presented shows a $17,000 deficit likely in closing out the 2010 fiscal year. The budget as proposed for 2011 of over $500,000 would appear to exceed projected income by about $27,000, at the lowest. There is about $38,000 existing in a “rainy day” fund accumulated in past years, but this amount is insufficient to cover both of these contingencies, assuming it was used for this purpose.
• We talked about the need to contact all people who have not renewed their pledges for next year. John Shoos reported that the Stewardship Committee has plans for phoning. Some Council members volunteered to help with the calls. John McCall suggested, and it was agreed upon, that following the next meeting of the Stewardship Committee on January 6, a letter should go out to the congregation describing the financial situation and asking for people to reconsider their financial commitment. The Council needs more information on estimated income to make final decisions about the budget and may be faced with making budget cuts.
• John also asked the Council to put on next year’s agenda an effort to divine longer term projections of membership, income, costs, programs and whatever might impact on moving ahead more predictably.
• The legal status of the Discovery Center: Council members agreed to set up a sub-committee to research this (hopefully, Matt Early, Andy Ellis, with consultation by past Moderator Dan Cummings, who worked on the by-laws during the change in governance).
Bob Morse and Peggy Murray will recruit church members to attend the Cumberland Association Installation meeting on January 20.
Elsa Peters was asked to take a few minutes at several Council meetings starting in February to inform Council members on the organizational set-up for the United Church of Christ. How are we interconnected with the other churches locally and beyond?
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Next meeting is January 20, 2011.
Recorder: Roger Addor
Present: Roger Addor, Andy Ellis, Nancy MacLean, John McCall, Bob Morse, Peggy Murray, Elsa Peters, Robin Reinhold, John Shoos, Carrie Skeffington, and Phil Whitney.
Absent: Matt Early, Sally Hinckley, and Carl Murphy
The meeting was opened at 6:30 p.m. by Nancy MacLean followed by a poem and prayer by Roger Addor.
The November minutes were approved. Clarification was requested for the statement to support the July Seacoast Mission “using the offering on Mission Sunday, February 13, 2011”. The part of the offering going to this cause will be revisited at the January meeting, probably to include a special appeal and dedication of the loose plate offering.
John McCall was welcomed back after his successful back surgery and recovery and expressed a thankful sense of rejuvenation. He reported a few delays in getting the much improved website up and running, but expects it to be serviceable about mid-January.
The nomination of Scott Ayre for a one-year term and Tom Hamerski for a two-year term to Education, Growth, and Fellowship was unanimously approved.
In the absence of Budget Chairperson Matt Early, Andy Ellis reported for the Budget Committee. Business Manager Cyndi Alden was invited to the meeting to interpret the printed proposed budget, the current financial status, and the projected income and budget for 2011. The situation as it was presented shows a $17,000 deficit likely in closing out the 2010 fiscal year. The budget as proposed for 2011 of over $500,000 would appear to exceed projected income by about $27,000, at the lowest. There is about $38,000 existing in a “rainy day” fund accumulated in past years, but this amount is insufficient to cover both of these contingencies, assuming it was used for this purpose.
• We talked about the need to contact all people who have not renewed their pledges for next year. John Shoos reported that the Stewardship Committee has plans for phoning. Some Council members volunteered to help with the calls. John McCall suggested, and it was agreed upon, that following the next meeting of the Stewardship Committee on January 6, a letter should go out to the congregation describing the financial situation and asking for people to reconsider their financial commitment. The Council needs more information on estimated income to make final decisions about the budget and may be faced with making budget cuts.
• John also asked the Council to put on next year’s agenda an effort to divine longer term projections of membership, income, costs, programs and whatever might impact on moving ahead more predictably.
• The legal status of the Discovery Center: Council members agreed to set up a sub-committee to research this (hopefully, Matt Early, Andy Ellis, with consultation by past Moderator Dan Cummings, who worked on the by-laws during the change in governance).
Bob Morse and Peggy Murray will recruit church members to attend the Cumberland Association Installation meeting on January 20.
Elsa Peters was asked to take a few minutes at several Council meetings starting in February to inform Council members on the organizational set-up for the United Church of Christ. How are we interconnected with the other churches locally and beyond?
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Next meeting is January 20, 2011.
Mission and Outreach
Meeting Minutes of December 2, 2010 (Revised*)
Recorder: Jan Bosse
Attendance: Sandy Dyer and Sarah Randall, Co-chairs; Laurie Carey, Suzanne Linder; Richard Parker, Mike Kasputes, Elsa Peters, Jan Bosse.
Opening Devotions – Laurie Carey
Minister’s Moment – Elsa Peters
- Bangor Theological Seminary is seeking funds to assist in its works.
- Mission Trip – the first organizational meeting was held before this meeting. It was well attended. An initial fundraiser has been scheduled for March – Auction and Spaghetti Dinner.
- Special Offerings were clarified:
o Christmas Fund – Supports the Veterans of the Cross and Emergency Fund – a ministry of compassion and care for those who serve the UCC.
o Christmas Offering – will provide for the church’s mission trip next summer to Maine Seacoast Mission and support of Common Hope, a charity that supports the education of children in Guatemala as a means to achieve social and economic development for themselves and their families.
o A special offering will occur throughout February including Mission Sunday on the 13th . in support of Maine Seacoast Mission.
- A question was raised about OCWM – “Our Christian World Mission”* – $25,200
(see treasurer’s report). What is this money for and who receives it? Elsa will provide the Team with some education on this fund.
The MO Team received an e-mail from John McCall that posed the question “Among the huge number of wonderful religious and charitable groups that need support, how do we decide where our limited dollars go? What are the principle and priorities?” The Team decided to meet with John in March to discuss this and we would undertake an evaluation of the groups we support.
Mission Sunday Planning – Elsa helped the Team discuss the organization we are supporting and the view of our mission in supporting it. We continued our discussion after Elsa left the meeting and came up with a preliminary framework for the service and who on the team will be responsible for which part of the order of worship.
Life of the Church and Call to Worship – Sandy Dyer
Hymn
Unison Prayer/Lord’s Prayer – Laurie Carey
Children’s Time and Passing the Peace – Mike Kasputes
Hymn
Prayer for Illumination and the Word (Alternate choice from list - Luke 10:25-37) – Kristen Silvia
Message – Maine Seacoast Mission Director
Prayers of the People - TBA whom and when
Sharing Our Tithes and Offerings – Invitation and Dedication – Jan Bosse
Hymn
Benediction – Sarah Randall and Suzanne Linder
Hymns – “What Gift Can We Bring” (HTL 377); “Be Thou My Vision” (HTL 445); “I the Lord of Sea and Sky” (HTL S-17); Alternate “Called as Partners in Christ Service” HTL 353).
The Chapel Service on Mission Sunday will be covered by Sarah Randall (?) and Jan Bosse.
Minutes for November 4 were reviewed and approved.
Treasurer’s Report was approved.
E-mail from the Church Moderator and the Budget Committee – discussion of the 2010 shortfall and what can be done to prevent another shortfall in 2011 will be discussed at the January MO Team meeting.
A new Micah Project Coordinator needs to be appointed – This item is scheduled for discussion at the January MO Team meeting.
Beacon announcements are usually done by Maureen Clancy. Laurie Cary will follow-up on this item.
Thank you notes were received from:
• Maine Conference of Churches (UCC)
• Pilgrim Lodge
• FCC Bazaar Committee
• Riverview Foundation
The following donations were approved for the 4th quarter:
$500 each to:
• Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen
• Good Shepard Food Bank
• Preble Street Resource Center
• Sp/CE UCC Food Pantry
• Family Crisis Shelter (Family Crisis Services)
• Grace Street Ministry
• Maine Council of Churches
• UCC Coalition
• Community Crisis Fund
$1000 to:
• Bangor Theological Seminary
Closing Devotional – Laurie Cary
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Next Meeting – Thursday, January 6th at 7:00 p.m.
Co-Chair – Sarah Randall
Prayer – Maureen Clancy
Recorder – Suzanne Lindner
* = Correction - "Our Christian World Mission" and should read as follows: "Our Church's Wider Mission"
Recorder: Jan Bosse
Attendance: Sandy Dyer and Sarah Randall, Co-chairs; Laurie Carey, Suzanne Linder; Richard Parker, Mike Kasputes, Elsa Peters, Jan Bosse.
Opening Devotions – Laurie Carey
Minister’s Moment – Elsa Peters
- Bangor Theological Seminary is seeking funds to assist in its works.
- Mission Trip – the first organizational meeting was held before this meeting. It was well attended. An initial fundraiser has been scheduled for March – Auction and Spaghetti Dinner.
- Special Offerings were clarified:
o Christmas Fund – Supports the Veterans of the Cross and Emergency Fund – a ministry of compassion and care for those who serve the UCC.
o Christmas Offering – will provide for the church’s mission trip next summer to Maine Seacoast Mission and support of Common Hope, a charity that supports the education of children in Guatemala as a means to achieve social and economic development for themselves and their families.
o A special offering will occur throughout February including Mission Sunday on the 13th . in support of Maine Seacoast Mission.
- A question was raised about OCWM – “Our Christian World Mission”* – $25,200
(see treasurer’s report). What is this money for and who receives it? Elsa will provide the Team with some education on this fund.
The MO Team received an e-mail from John McCall that posed the question “Among the huge number of wonderful religious and charitable groups that need support, how do we decide where our limited dollars go? What are the principle and priorities?” The Team decided to meet with John in March to discuss this and we would undertake an evaluation of the groups we support.
Mission Sunday Planning – Elsa helped the Team discuss the organization we are supporting and the view of our mission in supporting it. We continued our discussion after Elsa left the meeting and came up with a preliminary framework for the service and who on the team will be responsible for which part of the order of worship.
Life of the Church and Call to Worship – Sandy Dyer
Hymn
Unison Prayer/Lord’s Prayer – Laurie Carey
Children’s Time and Passing the Peace – Mike Kasputes
Hymn
Prayer for Illumination and the Word (Alternate choice from list - Luke 10:25-37) – Kristen Silvia
Message – Maine Seacoast Mission Director
Prayers of the People - TBA whom and when
Sharing Our Tithes and Offerings – Invitation and Dedication – Jan Bosse
Hymn
Benediction – Sarah Randall and Suzanne Linder
Hymns – “What Gift Can We Bring” (HTL 377); “Be Thou My Vision” (HTL 445); “I the Lord of Sea and Sky” (HTL S-17); Alternate “Called as Partners in Christ Service” HTL 353).
The Chapel Service on Mission Sunday will be covered by Sarah Randall (?) and Jan Bosse.
Minutes for November 4 were reviewed and approved.
Treasurer’s Report was approved.
E-mail from the Church Moderator and the Budget Committee – discussion of the 2010 shortfall and what can be done to prevent another shortfall in 2011 will be discussed at the January MO Team meeting.
A new Micah Project Coordinator needs to be appointed – This item is scheduled for discussion at the January MO Team meeting.
Beacon announcements are usually done by Maureen Clancy. Laurie Cary will follow-up on this item.
Thank you notes were received from:
• Maine Conference of Churches (UCC)
• Pilgrim Lodge
• FCC Bazaar Committee
• Riverview Foundation
The following donations were approved for the 4th quarter:
$500 each to:
• Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen
• Good Shepard Food Bank
• Preble Street Resource Center
• Sp/CE UCC Food Pantry
• Family Crisis Shelter (Family Crisis Services)
• Grace Street Ministry
• Maine Council of Churches
• UCC Coalition
• Community Crisis Fund
$1000 to:
• Bangor Theological Seminary
Closing Devotional – Laurie Cary
Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Next Meeting – Thursday, January 6th at 7:00 p.m.
Co-Chair – Sarah Randall
Prayer – Maureen Clancy
Recorder – Suzanne Lindner
* = Correction - "Our Christian World Mission" and should read as follows: "Our Church's Wider Mission"
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