Meeting Minutes of January 7, 2010
Recorded by: Margaret Thibodeau
Team members attending: Ginny Gledhill, Karen Pierce, Jana Frank, Margaret Thibodeau, Elsa Peters
The meeting began with the approval of the December Minutes.
Richard Angell joined us as a representative of the Growth Group. He updated the Team on activities of his group, which is a subcommittee of EG&F working to create a welcoming atmosphere in the church, and endeavoring to enhance the growth of our congregation.
Our Team was asked to trim our budget for 2010. The Team agreed to make modest changes to line items which include Adult Education, Library, and Supplies and Equipment, in order to meet the revised church budget.
Team members shared updates regarding their respective subcommittees:
• Jana shared that Coffee Hour continues to get volunteers on the sign up sheets available at coffee hour. The Mission Team has offered to host the next two Sundays.
• Karen reported that the Library and Scholarship Committees are going along fine.
• Ginny shared that coverage in the Nursery has been adequate.
• The next Inquirer’s meeting is January 26th, and Margaret will be there to provide refreshments. New Members occurs on February 7th.
Elsa asked for questions regarding the Faith Formation Update. Concerns for Sunday School center around inspiring parents to assist with the Kindergarten class, and behavior concerns in Grade 3-4. Suggestions for these issues include having the Kindergarten teacher enlist a support parent for each Sunday, using a signup sheet. Ways to handle the behavior concerns include making sure teachers discuss classroom rules and behavior at the beginning of the semester (set expectations). If there is a problem, teachers should contact the parent. Students will be given a warning, and their parents notified. If issues continue, the parent will be asked to have the child join the parents in the regular church service. The Team reviewed the remaining Faith Formation activities. In reference to our prior discussions regarding the children’s offering and Communion Sunday, it was decided that a special offering would be collected during the Children’s Sermon starting in Lent. The Team will focus on planning for the Communion Sunday Kids Worship for the fall of 2010.
Margaret shared the YM update sent by Aaron French.
The team should be thinking about ways to enlist new members.
Our next meeting is Thursday, Feb. 4 @ 7:00 p.m.
Showing posts with label January 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label January 2010. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Administration Team
Meeting Minutes of January 7, 2010
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Guy Gledhill, Jim Otis, Chris Mills, Rod Redstone and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order - Guy called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Ron agreed to record this meeting and run the next meeting.
Minutes of the Admin. Team December 3, 2009 meeting - reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: 2009 ended with pledges received of $14,000 over budget. That more than offset the decline in rental income. In addition, all other budgeted expenses were down about $12,000. The result was that 2009 ended up at approximately a break even compared to an original budget deficit of $19,572. The team was grateful for all who helped make this a successful year.
Tenant Update: Sawyer Road house tenant has a new job at a lower income level than previously. She has requested to continue paying a reduced rent of $700. She currently is a tenant at will. Team agreed to continue rent at $700 for now. No action reported on improvements to second floor of corner building.
Planned Giving: Ron’s first article appeared in the first January Beacon. He will prepare a second article for February.
2010 Budget: Cyndi reported that as of now pledges are down from 2009. Team expense budgets have generally been held at 2009 level. The church budget meeting is scheduled for January 31.
Other Old Business: Jim reported that there appears to be confusion between the A Team and Council concerning the chancel railing proposal. Eben agreed to obtain a rough estimate to complete the project. It will be submitted to the Council, which could, if considered appropriate, include it as an item for the January 31 church meeting.
COMMITEE REPORTS:
Counting: No report. Counting appears to be fine.
House: Chair Guy Gledhill. No report.
Planned Giving: No report in addition to matters discussed in Old Business.
Website Subcommittee: Rod reported that RFP for Website design looks good. Guy is also a member of the subcommittee and concurred with Rod.
NEW BUSINESS: None.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday February 4, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 7:49 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Bennett
Present: Ron Bennett, Eben Marsh, Guy Gledhill, Jim Otis, Chris Mills, Rod Redstone and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager).
Call to Order - Guy called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Ron agreed to record this meeting and run the next meeting.
Minutes of the Admin. Team December 3, 2009 meeting - reviewed and accepted as written.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: 2009 ended with pledges received of $14,000 over budget. That more than offset the decline in rental income. In addition, all other budgeted expenses were down about $12,000. The result was that 2009 ended up at approximately a break even compared to an original budget deficit of $19,572. The team was grateful for all who helped make this a successful year.
Tenant Update: Sawyer Road house tenant has a new job at a lower income level than previously. She has requested to continue paying a reduced rent of $700. She currently is a tenant at will. Team agreed to continue rent at $700 for now. No action reported on improvements to second floor of corner building.
Planned Giving: Ron’s first article appeared in the first January Beacon. He will prepare a second article for February.
2010 Budget: Cyndi reported that as of now pledges are down from 2009. Team expense budgets have generally been held at 2009 level. The church budget meeting is scheduled for January 31.
Other Old Business: Jim reported that there appears to be confusion between the A Team and Council concerning the chancel railing proposal. Eben agreed to obtain a rough estimate to complete the project. It will be submitted to the Council, which could, if considered appropriate, include it as an item for the January 31 church meeting.
COMMITEE REPORTS:
Counting: No report. Counting appears to be fine.
House: Chair Guy Gledhill. No report.
Planned Giving: No report in addition to matters discussed in Old Business.
Website Subcommittee: Rod reported that RFP for Website design looks good. Guy is also a member of the subcommittee and concurred with Rod.
NEW BUSINESS: None.
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday February 4, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting adjourned 7:49 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Bennett
Visioning Committee
Meeting Minutes of January 25, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
In attendance: Dave Allen, Deb Andrews, Chris Dow, Elsa Peters.
Opening Meditation: Joel 2
What is a Vision?
• We understand vision as both a noun and an action word.
• A vision explains who we are, but may be bigger than our church.
• Ideally, a vision is in everything we do.
• It’s something we check in with to see if we’re living up to.
• It is limited to a few words so that it can be easily repeated.
• As a group, we understand a vision is: a goal that we seek to do in our daily life as well as in community.
Why do we need a Vision?
• We need a vision because:
- Helps the congregation appreciate core values
- Suggests direction the congregation might go (projects, activities, etc.)
• It was challenging for us to understand how we would use in the life of the church. We articulated it’s most obvious gift is to be used as an evangelism tool (inviting new visitors, etc).
Where does the Vision come from?
• We understand that a vision comes from:
- God
- Bible (though we’re not totally sure how)
- From the congregation
• We agreed that this is not something this committee can decide but will look toward the congregation in finding information.
What do we need to discover our Vision at FCC UCC?
• We decided that a process of 3-6 months would work best.
• We agree that there are a number of venues we can use to explore this conversation of what our vision is, including:
- Team Meetings
- Small Groups (Eskimos, Guild, Women’s Circle, Choir, YM, etc.)
- Email/Survey Monkey
- Paper handouts on literature tables
- 3-4 facilitated after-church discussions
- Moments in worship: Announcements? Sermon? Prayers?
• These group conversations (including the written formats of paper and email) would follow a questionnaire that is adapted for each setting. (There would be fewer questions for large group conversations.) There would be a few ground rules, including:
- There is no right or wrong answer.
- You can participate in as many of these conversations as you wish.
- You don’t have to answer all of the questions but may answer those that are most interesting to you.
• This committee will work on the questionnaires to be submitted to the congregation in the venues mentioned above. To do so, we will each brainstorm 5 questions that should be asked under the theme “Where do we want our journey to go?” Elsa will collect these questions and organize them on Tuesday February 9.
Additional Thoughts:
• We could resist brainstorming a little on our own. We shared these things that are most important about our church.
- Open & Affirming (accepting of all people, including anyone that is different)
- Peace for everyone, including other faiths
- Community = church family
- Music
- Social justice
The committee will meet again on February 16 @ 6:00 p.m. in the Laity Room. We will meet as many times as we feel necessary to nudge along this process.
In attendance: Dave Allen, Deb Andrews, Chris Dow, Elsa Peters.
Opening Meditation: Joel 2
What is a Vision?
• We understand vision as both a noun and an action word.
• A vision explains who we are, but may be bigger than our church.
• Ideally, a vision is in everything we do.
• It’s something we check in with to see if we’re living up to.
• It is limited to a few words so that it can be easily repeated.
• As a group, we understand a vision is: a goal that we seek to do in our daily life as well as in community.
Why do we need a Vision?
• We need a vision because:
- Helps the congregation appreciate core values
- Suggests direction the congregation might go (projects, activities, etc.)
• It was challenging for us to understand how we would use in the life of the church. We articulated it’s most obvious gift is to be used as an evangelism tool (inviting new visitors, etc).
Where does the Vision come from?
• We understand that a vision comes from:
- God
- Bible (though we’re not totally sure how)
- From the congregation
• We agreed that this is not something this committee can decide but will look toward the congregation in finding information.
What do we need to discover our Vision at FCC UCC?
• We decided that a process of 3-6 months would work best.
• We agree that there are a number of venues we can use to explore this conversation of what our vision is, including:
- Team Meetings
- Small Groups (Eskimos, Guild, Women’s Circle, Choir, YM, etc.)
- Email/Survey Monkey
- Paper handouts on literature tables
- 3-4 facilitated after-church discussions
- Moments in worship: Announcements? Sermon? Prayers?
• These group conversations (including the written formats of paper and email) would follow a questionnaire that is adapted for each setting. (There would be fewer questions for large group conversations.) There would be a few ground rules, including:
- There is no right or wrong answer.
- You can participate in as many of these conversations as you wish.
- You don’t have to answer all of the questions but may answer those that are most interesting to you.
• This committee will work on the questionnaires to be submitted to the congregation in the venues mentioned above. To do so, we will each brainstorm 5 questions that should be asked under the theme “Where do we want our journey to go?” Elsa will collect these questions and organize them on Tuesday February 9.
Additional Thoughts:
• We could resist brainstorming a little on our own. We shared these things that are most important about our church.
- Open & Affirming (accepting of all people, including anyone that is different)
- Peace for everyone, including other faiths
- Community = church family
- Music
- Social justice
The committee will meet again on February 16 @ 6:00 p.m. in the Laity Room. We will meet as many times as we feel necessary to nudge along this process.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Church Council
Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2010
Present: Bob Morse, Chris Dow, Elsa Peters, John McCall, Debra Andrews, Sally Hinckley, Andy Ellis, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, Carrie Skeffington, Chris Keiter, Dave Allen.
Convened at 6:00 p.m. Dave opened with facts about Haiti and a prayer.
2010 Budget:
• Chris distributed and walked us through the proposed budget. He explained how amounts were arrived at. Cyndi Alden was present and assisted with answering questions.
• The situation and rent agreement made with the Discovery Center was discussed.
• The addition of a new income category for “Per Capita Contribution” was discussed and agreed to.
• No increase in Personnel Expenses as a result of no staff salary increases was noted and appreciated.
• Pledge revenue budget down but projection may be conservative. Difficult to know since more people pledging but for a lower total dollar amount. Growing trend of people being reluctant to make a commitment with pledge dollars even though they still contribute.
• Proposed new budget deficit is 28K. Council agreed to allow Retained Earnings to cover it. Fund raising ideas will be pursued to assist with covering the deficit.
• Proposed budget as presented was approved and will be presented to the congregation on January 31st.
Referral Directory:
• Don Russell came to answer questions related to the Referral Directory proposal document which he created.
• Questions and potential issues associated with creating and maintaining the directory were discussed.
• The Council approved the concept and the recommended approach.
• Don will chair a committee to design and implement the idea.
Pastor Parish Relations Report:
• Ken Ross and Mandy Schumaker presented.
• Ken recounted the history of Pastor Parish Relations and how they came to do the recent ministerial performance reviews.
• Mandy explained the methodology (“When Better Isn’t Enough”) and process they adapted.
• Ken provided some highlights from the comprehensive review documents.
• The committee, John and Elsa all felt the review process was valuable.
• Committee recommends repeating the review process every 4-5 years.
• Pastor Parish will check-in with John and Elsa in 6 months regarding their stated developmental activities.
• Ken distributed a summary document of results entitled “Reflecting On Our Ministry”. Chris was given a copy of the comprehensive review documents.
December Minutes:
• They were reviewed and approved.
Minister’s Time:
• Elsa communicated Nancy Foran’s plans to bring John Bell to Maine in May. Plans include having him do a singing workshop in our church on May 23rd.
• Elsa talked about the importance of lay ministry and distributed an article called “From Stressed to Blessed”. She asked the Council to review it in preparation for an extended discussion on the topic at our February meeting.
• Elsa asked us to pray for the current confirmation class.
Miscellaneous Agenda Items:
• Chris provided an update on the church website redesign efforts. Requirements have been defined and an RFP will be sent out for bid in February.
• There was no update needed on the sanctuary railing.
Adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Recorder: Dave Allen
Present: Bob Morse, Chris Dow, Elsa Peters, John McCall, Debra Andrews, Sally Hinckley, Andy Ellis, Phil Whitney, Roger Addor, Carrie Skeffington, Chris Keiter, Dave Allen.
Convened at 6:00 p.m. Dave opened with facts about Haiti and a prayer.
2010 Budget:
• Chris distributed and walked us through the proposed budget. He explained how amounts were arrived at. Cyndi Alden was present and assisted with answering questions.
• The situation and rent agreement made with the Discovery Center was discussed.
• The addition of a new income category for “Per Capita Contribution” was discussed and agreed to.
• No increase in Personnel Expenses as a result of no staff salary increases was noted and appreciated.
• Pledge revenue budget down but projection may be conservative. Difficult to know since more people pledging but for a lower total dollar amount. Growing trend of people being reluctant to make a commitment with pledge dollars even though they still contribute.
• Proposed new budget deficit is 28K. Council agreed to allow Retained Earnings to cover it. Fund raising ideas will be pursued to assist with covering the deficit.
• Proposed budget as presented was approved and will be presented to the congregation on January 31st.
Referral Directory:
• Don Russell came to answer questions related to the Referral Directory proposal document which he created.
• Questions and potential issues associated with creating and maintaining the directory were discussed.
• The Council approved the concept and the recommended approach.
• Don will chair a committee to design and implement the idea.
Pastor Parish Relations Report:
• Ken Ross and Mandy Schumaker presented.
• Ken recounted the history of Pastor Parish Relations and how they came to do the recent ministerial performance reviews.
• Mandy explained the methodology (“When Better Isn’t Enough”) and process they adapted.
• Ken provided some highlights from the comprehensive review documents.
• The committee, John and Elsa all felt the review process was valuable.
• Committee recommends repeating the review process every 4-5 years.
• Pastor Parish will check-in with John and Elsa in 6 months regarding their stated developmental activities.
• Ken distributed a summary document of results entitled “Reflecting On Our Ministry”. Chris was given a copy of the comprehensive review documents.
December Minutes:
• They were reviewed and approved.
Minister’s Time:
• Elsa communicated Nancy Foran’s plans to bring John Bell to Maine in May. Plans include having him do a singing workshop in our church on May 23rd.
• Elsa talked about the importance of lay ministry and distributed an article called “From Stressed to Blessed”. She asked the Council to review it in preparation for an extended discussion on the topic at our February meeting.
• Elsa asked us to pray for the current confirmation class.
Miscellaneous Agenda Items:
• Chris provided an update on the church website redesign efforts. Requirements have been defined and an RFP will be sent out for bid in February.
• There was no update needed on the sanctuary railing.
Adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Recorder: Dave Allen
Spiritual Life and Worship
Meeting Minutes of January 14, 2010
Attending: Elaine Brownell, Dana Wiggins, Debbie Riley, Frank Arsenault, Tex Haeuser, John McCall.
Opening Prayer - by Elaine.
Review of December Minutes - approved as written.
SL&W Welcomes Frank Arsenault.
Expressions of concern for Haiti – we talked of the disaster and of ways to offer help.
John McCall:
• Good attendance and energy at worship services this year.
Jan.3 - Elsa gave worship in the chancel round with an interactive activity for the children.
Jan.10 - John integrated the congregation with the baptism and it was well received.
Jan.17 - will be an engaging service around Diversity. Jan.31 - will be the annual budget meeting after service.
Feb.7 - will be a reception for new members.
• The church budget is in good shape due to generous pledges; also a flat budget with no increases to any items, except utilities, helped as well. Council will review the budget on Thursday Jan.21 at 6:00 p.m. - open forum.
• Work of SLW should include talking about future budget priorities – what's most important if attendance decreases and budgets become harder to balance?
• April 4 is Easter –the usual first Sunday-of-the-month communion will be deferred to following week or month, due to time logistics of serving the two crowded services. Communion will be available at the Maundy Thursday service and the Sunrise service.
• Administration Team is reviewing a proposal that may give help and stability in climbing the chancel stairs.
Elsa Peters:
• Children's offering was discussed in Education Fellowship and Growth and will be collected during 10:00 a.m. service starting Feb. 21. It will be saved in a see-through container for a collective gift to Wayside Kitchen which was decided on by the kids. Debbie suggested including coins from the adult offering plates.
• Confirmation classes have an interesting new 6 month schedule - June 13 confirmation planned.
• Lenten services – no deacon needed for Ash Wednesday service; possible art project – need people to help and to brainstorm concepts.
Hymnal Memorial Bookplates -
• Debbie finished the custom printing of the memorial bookplates and all were placed in books. She'll write a Beacon note. New memorial bookplates can be made ordered at any time.
• Pilgrim Hymnals are scheduled to be recycled; so many are flooding the secondary market resulting in no takers, even after many inquiries.
SL&W Terms of Members – Bylaw guidelines state the following:
"Each Team shall consist of at least six members and shall inform the Council of the number of Team positions. Approximately one third of the Team membership, at least two Team members, shall be elected at each Annual Meeting for three-year staggered terms. No member shall serve on any one Team for more than six consecutive years."
Agenda Items for next meeting –
• Ash Wednesday Breakfast for 20-25 people will need to be assembled.
• We would like review Elder luncheon calendar (early, but good to know ahead of time).
Next Meeting: February 4, 7:00 p.m.; Prepare agenda and Chair meeting: Rick; Minutes: Betsy
Adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dana Wiggins
Attending: Elaine Brownell, Dana Wiggins, Debbie Riley, Frank Arsenault, Tex Haeuser, John McCall.
Opening Prayer - by Elaine.
Review of December Minutes - approved as written.
SL&W Welcomes Frank Arsenault.
Expressions of concern for Haiti – we talked of the disaster and of ways to offer help.
John McCall:
• Good attendance and energy at worship services this year.
Jan.3 - Elsa gave worship in the chancel round with an interactive activity for the children.
Jan.10 - John integrated the congregation with the baptism and it was well received.
Jan.17 - will be an engaging service around Diversity. Jan.31 - will be the annual budget meeting after service.
Feb.7 - will be a reception for new members.
• The church budget is in good shape due to generous pledges; also a flat budget with no increases to any items, except utilities, helped as well. Council will review the budget on Thursday Jan.21 at 6:00 p.m. - open forum.
• Work of SLW should include talking about future budget priorities – what's most important if attendance decreases and budgets become harder to balance?
• April 4 is Easter –the usual first Sunday-of-the-month communion will be deferred to following week or month, due to time logistics of serving the two crowded services. Communion will be available at the Maundy Thursday service and the Sunrise service.
• Administration Team is reviewing a proposal that may give help and stability in climbing the chancel stairs.
Elsa Peters:
• Children's offering was discussed in Education Fellowship and Growth and will be collected during 10:00 a.m. service starting Feb. 21. It will be saved in a see-through container for a collective gift to Wayside Kitchen which was decided on by the kids. Debbie suggested including coins from the adult offering plates.
• Confirmation classes have an interesting new 6 month schedule - June 13 confirmation planned.
• Lenten services – no deacon needed for Ash Wednesday service; possible art project – need people to help and to brainstorm concepts.
Hymnal Memorial Bookplates -
• Debbie finished the custom printing of the memorial bookplates and all were placed in books. She'll write a Beacon note. New memorial bookplates can be made ordered at any time.
• Pilgrim Hymnals are scheduled to be recycled; so many are flooding the secondary market resulting in no takers, even after many inquiries.
SL&W Terms of Members – Bylaw guidelines state the following:
"Each Team shall consist of at least six members and shall inform the Council of the number of Team positions. Approximately one third of the Team membership, at least two Team members, shall be elected at each Annual Meeting for three-year staggered terms. No member shall serve on any one Team for more than six consecutive years."
Agenda Items for next meeting –
• Ash Wednesday Breakfast for 20-25 people will need to be assembled.
• We would like review Elder luncheon calendar (early, but good to know ahead of time).
Next Meeting: February 4, 7:00 p.m.; Prepare agenda and Chair meeting: Rick; Minutes: Betsy
Adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dana Wiggins
Food Pantry
Meeting Minutes of January 21, 2010
PRESENT: Gail Dransfield, Barbara Merrill, Betty Crane, Barbara Merrill.
BALANCE: $5518.84
REQUESTS OCT. - JAN.: Families/ 157; Adults/ 268; Children / 249
OLD BUSINESS:
1. There were a large number of donations from church members and civic groups. Cape Elizabeth H.S. Volunteer Club/ $200.00, Cape Elizabeth United Methodist / $130.00 + food drive, Mission Team / $200.00 Church members. Gail will write “Thank you” notes to all above.
2. The new system of leaving the bags for clients in the pantry until someone comes to the office to ask for them the following day seems to be working well for everyone.
*Record the date of the request on the yellow pad and in the file box, not the pick up date
*Please re-shelve any bags left in the pantry for longer than 7 days. Cross out the client’s name from the yellow pad and also the date on the index card in the file box. Otherwise, they will not be eligible for food for another 2 months.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Gail had an interview with a social worker from Preble St. Preble Street is surveying all the Portland area food banks and programs. They are trying to assess the needs and to explore other ways to serve those needing food.
2. St. John’s Food Bank gave us 50 boxes from Hannaford from the Feed the Hungry collection.
3. Girl Scout Leaders meeting, Feb. 1, food donations will be collected.
4. Ann Elissa will prepare the Annual Report this April.
5. Barbara reported that Hannaford now offers restricted gift cards: (cannot be used to purchase alcohol or tobacco). We will only purchase these cards from now on.
6. Betty Crane has asked to be relieved from working every Tues. for at least 6 weeks. This leaves only Mon. and Fri. covered by a regular volunteer. Three substitutes winter in Florida. Two members are out for a time. Barbara Merrill will write a piece for the next Beacon asking for new volunteers.
7. Gail will write to the Bazaar committee thanking them for the past support and telling them that we will not be requesting money this year as we have such a comfortable balance. It is hoped that their money will then help another group.
8. The Spirit Team asked us to consider including an invitation along with each bag to attend worship. After an honest discussion it was decided to not do this. The group felt that the pantry is “housed” at our church but not solely supported by our church. It was suggested that an invitation to visit our church with a listing of the holiday services be including in the Thanksgiving Baskets as that program is done by our Mission Team and seems more appropriate.
9. Next meeting May 20 @ 4:00 p.m.- Laity Room.
PRESENT: Gail Dransfield, Barbara Merrill, Betty Crane, Barbara Merrill.
BALANCE: $5518.84
REQUESTS OCT. - JAN.: Families/ 157; Adults/ 268; Children / 249
OLD BUSINESS:
1. There were a large number of donations from church members and civic groups. Cape Elizabeth H.S. Volunteer Club/ $200.00, Cape Elizabeth United Methodist / $130.00 + food drive, Mission Team / $200.00 Church members. Gail will write “Thank you” notes to all above.
2. The new system of leaving the bags for clients in the pantry until someone comes to the office to ask for them the following day seems to be working well for everyone.
*Record the date of the request on the yellow pad and in the file box, not the pick up date
*Please re-shelve any bags left in the pantry for longer than 7 days. Cross out the client’s name from the yellow pad and also the date on the index card in the file box. Otherwise, they will not be eligible for food for another 2 months.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Gail had an interview with a social worker from Preble St. Preble Street is surveying all the Portland area food banks and programs. They are trying to assess the needs and to explore other ways to serve those needing food.
2. St. John’s Food Bank gave us 50 boxes from Hannaford from the Feed the Hungry collection.
3. Girl Scout Leaders meeting, Feb. 1, food donations will be collected.
4. Ann Elissa will prepare the Annual Report this April.
5. Barbara reported that Hannaford now offers restricted gift cards: (cannot be used to purchase alcohol or tobacco). We will only purchase these cards from now on.
6. Betty Crane has asked to be relieved from working every Tues. for at least 6 weeks. This leaves only Mon. and Fri. covered by a regular volunteer. Three substitutes winter in Florida. Two members are out for a time. Barbara Merrill will write a piece for the next Beacon asking for new volunteers.
7. Gail will write to the Bazaar committee thanking them for the past support and telling them that we will not be requesting money this year as we have such a comfortable balance. It is hoped that their money will then help another group.
8. The Spirit Team asked us to consider including an invitation along with each bag to attend worship. After an honest discussion it was decided to not do this. The group felt that the pantry is “housed” at our church but not solely supported by our church. It was suggested that an invitation to visit our church with a listing of the holiday services be including in the Thanksgiving Baskets as that program is done by our Mission Team and seems more appropriate.
9. Next meeting May 20 @ 4:00 p.m.- Laity Room.
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