October 16, 2008
Present: Jean Siulinski, Chris Keiter, Nancy MacLean, Andy Ellis, Sally Hinckley, Chris Dow, Elsa Peters, John McCall. Absent: Sally Sutton, Carol Zechman, David Allen, Deb Andrews, Phil Whitney, Matt Brucker.
Opening: Chris Keiter opened the meeting at 6:35. He noted that there is no quorum, and it was agreed to discuss the agenda items, noting that no official decisions could be made. Nancy MacLean provided devotional comments and a prayer. Minutes: They were not officially approved, but no one present found any errors.
Ministers' Time: Elsa Peters - nothing to present at this time.
John McCall: He reported on his conversations with the Spiritual Life & Worship Team and the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee about plans for his 3rd sabattical leave May 1 to Sept 1 in 2009. In July, he hopes there can be a pulpit exchange again with Gillian Wakefield from Scotland. The Committees and he are working with Elsa in planning pulpit coverage during his absence. John exlained that, as he is nearing retirement age, it is healthy for the church to begin to plan ahead for that. It is generally known that churches have difficulty in making a transition after a long pastorate, and it is important to use interim times for self study. In May he will be attending a 3-day workshop sponsored by the Alban Institute on this topic. He will keep the Council informed periodically about sabattical plans.
John also reported that Barbara Stevens has resigned as Secretary, effective Oct 31. He and the Personnel Committee will work out details about covering the office and hiring someone new.
Someone to represent the Council at the next meeting of EG&F: Jean Siulinski will do that November 6.
Budget Committee: consists of Moderator (Chris Keiter), Sr. Pastor (John McCall), Admin Team rep (Jim Otis?), Office Manager (Cyndi Alden), At Large: need 2 people - Sally Sutton has volunteered. Chris will ask others from the Council (Chris Dow will do it if no one else can). Chris will ask Teams to submit budget requests ASAP.
Chancel Project: At the beginning of the planning, the choir expressed a preference for "modesty" railings. He will consult with them again, but there have been no comments about lack of railings. Council members present agreed that we should wait a few months to see how the Chancel is used and the chairs moved around.
Bylaws: There being no quorum, the current draft of new Bylaws will be discussed at the November Council meeting. John called attention to the rewritten paragraph, Article 2, Section 2.2, about membership qualifications. Council members present saw no problem with the changed wording. It was agreed that a good time for congregational voting on the new bylaws would be at the budget meeting in January.
EG&F request to assign coffee hour times to teams and committees: The immediate need has been alleviated because teams have volunteered. However, the question of how to find volunteers for various jobs has not been solved.
Rental Fees for non-profit groups? Question has arisen because of the cost of heating oil and the lack of functioning timers on thermostats. Considerations:
1) Reduce the number of nights available for renting, thereby enabling a shut-down of the heating system; 2): Allow non-profit groups to schedule only on nights when a church acitivity is already happening; 3) For-profit groups do pay a fee; 4) Admin Team is doing research on new controls that will allow zone-specific heating; 5) Our goal is to be faithful stewards and also carry out a mission in the community -- Council members present would recommend no charges for the time being. Get more information.
Further agenda items were referred to the November meeting: 1) financial contribution to the Maine Conference UCC for a feasibility study on the 3 facilities owned by the Conference. 2) policy drafting committee about use of mailing lists.
Meeting adjourned at 7:40. Next meeting November 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy MacLean
Showing posts with label October 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label October 2008. Show all posts
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Administration Team
October 2, 2008
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager). Absent: Eben Marsh
Call to Order at 7 P.M. by Jim
Secretary and Chair of the next meeting, Deb was appointed.
Minutes for the September 4, 2008 were reviewed and accepted.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: Cyndi explained that even though the pledges appear to be down we are anticipating the receipt of a large pledge soon which will put us at 76% for pledges, just right for the end of the 3rd Q. Oil prices have been steadily dropping, so we have stalled locking in. Guy will explore other options and will advise Cindy as to whether and when to make a move.
Tenant Update: Both tenants are paid up thro September, but as of this meeting neither had paid October. Old Crow Gallery owes 3 1/2 months worth of late fees. @$120/m they owe $420. Cyndi will send a letter documenting what they owe and will walk it over.
Planned Giving: The 1st meeting of the Planned Giving Committee is scheduled for Sunday, October 19th right after church. Gretchen Reynolds and Ellie Baker have graciously agreed to join Ron and Chris to make it a committee of 4.
Bulletin Board Policy: Jim agreed to type up the policy that Chris found from the Montgomery UMC and send it as an attachment to the Team so that we can read, edit and make comments before the next A Team meeting.
Swarthmore Road Update: Since the next step in the process of signage is getting a neighborhood petition, Jaime Schwartz, the neighbor who first contacted us about this concern, has agreed to contact the city and carry the ball from here.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Counting: Brian Wallace, chair, has been doing a great job planning ahead and will soon have a schedule for Oct 19-Dec 21. A simple, but helpful thing that all of us can do is write on the outside of our pledge envelopes the amount that we’re enclosing.
House: Guy Gledhill, chair, gave a detailed report…
-Railings in front of church are due soon,
-Chancel carpet runner still has some spots that need work, Guy
-Painting, three sides are done, will be working on the front next.
-Stain glass window is in, Tom and Deb will work on a new outside glass for protection.
-Simplex gave us a new quote for services and wants a five year contract. Will explore combining extinguishers, fire alarms, and smoke detectors- elevators all under the same contract to see if we can get a better rate, Tom
-On the new steps in chancel area, the choir found they were tough to see and nearly tripped…will explore some tape to alert the eyes. Will wait for the new chairs to arrive and revisit the idea then.
-Discussed new programmable thermostats for the church, possibly tied into computers. Mechanical Services will come take a look and give us a bid, if in line will get more bids. Guy and Tom
-Lights…will be looking into putting some on motion sensors. To discuss with Mechanical Services. Guy and Tom
-Quilts for the Sanctuary Windows, Guy to check.
-Stage ceiling contract has been signed and will be done soon.
-Roofing is in CNA, for year 2, this year. We will look into it, but will also look into other sources of, wind, solar, etc, that maybe be used on the roof before we go ahead and roof the church. Will be a year long study as roof is OK for now.
-Other items for this year: cement walk and painting outside 509 Sawyer, electrical in rentals needs to be looked at, will do windows on the entire 3rd floor and oversee some outdoor gardening.
-We are very fortunate to have Tom Conlon as our Building Manager. He is a dedicated, concerned, conscientious employee who works with passion to keep our buildings in the best shape possible. Our church is being cared for with both the present and future in mind. We owe Tom our gratitude for his vision and inspiration.
NEW BUSINESS:
Coffee Hour Proposal: We discussed the idea presented by EG&F that each Team be in charge of a month’s worth of Coffee Hours. Since the food and beverages are all to be provided and our job would be relatively simple, basically to set everything out and clean up after, we decided that we would agree to have each committee take responsibility for one Sunday:
January 4th Planned Giving
January 11th Counting Committee
January 18th House Committee
January 25th Gardening Committee
Jim agreed to coordinate and report back to EG&F
A Team presentation on Sunday, October 12: Chris Mills agreed to give a short talk, both in Chapel at 8 and in Church at 10. Thank you Chris!
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 7 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Deb Sandler
Present: Ron Bennett, Guy Gledhill, Chris Mills, Jim Otis, Deb Sandler and Cyndi Alden (Business Manager). Absent: Eben Marsh
Call to Order at 7 P.M. by Jim
Secretary and Chair of the next meeting, Deb was appointed.
Minutes for the September 4, 2008 were reviewed and accepted.
OLD BUSINESS:
Finance: Cyndi explained that even though the pledges appear to be down we are anticipating the receipt of a large pledge soon which will put us at 76% for pledges, just right for the end of the 3rd Q. Oil prices have been steadily dropping, so we have stalled locking in. Guy will explore other options and will advise Cindy as to whether and when to make a move.
Tenant Update: Both tenants are paid up thro September, but as of this meeting neither had paid October. Old Crow Gallery owes 3 1/2 months worth of late fees. @$120/m they owe $420. Cyndi will send a letter documenting what they owe and will walk it over.
Planned Giving: The 1st meeting of the Planned Giving Committee is scheduled for Sunday, October 19th right after church. Gretchen Reynolds and Ellie Baker have graciously agreed to join Ron and Chris to make it a committee of 4.
Bulletin Board Policy: Jim agreed to type up the policy that Chris found from the Montgomery UMC and send it as an attachment to the Team so that we can read, edit and make comments before the next A Team meeting.
Swarthmore Road Update: Since the next step in the process of signage is getting a neighborhood petition, Jaime Schwartz, the neighbor who first contacted us about this concern, has agreed to contact the city and carry the ball from here.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Counting: Brian Wallace, chair, has been doing a great job planning ahead and will soon have a schedule for Oct 19-Dec 21. A simple, but helpful thing that all of us can do is write on the outside of our pledge envelopes the amount that we’re enclosing.
House: Guy Gledhill, chair, gave a detailed report…
-Railings in front of church are due soon,
-Chancel carpet runner still has some spots that need work, Guy
-Painting, three sides are done, will be working on the front next.
-Stain glass window is in, Tom and Deb will work on a new outside glass for protection.
-Simplex gave us a new quote for services and wants a five year contract. Will explore combining extinguishers, fire alarms, and smoke detectors- elevators all under the same contract to see if we can get a better rate, Tom
-On the new steps in chancel area, the choir found they were tough to see and nearly tripped…will explore some tape to alert the eyes. Will wait for the new chairs to arrive and revisit the idea then.
-Discussed new programmable thermostats for the church, possibly tied into computers. Mechanical Services will come take a look and give us a bid, if in line will get more bids. Guy and Tom
-Lights…will be looking into putting some on motion sensors. To discuss with Mechanical Services. Guy and Tom
-Quilts for the Sanctuary Windows, Guy to check.
-Stage ceiling contract has been signed and will be done soon.
-Roofing is in CNA, for year 2, this year. We will look into it, but will also look into other sources of, wind, solar, etc, that maybe be used on the roof before we go ahead and roof the church. Will be a year long study as roof is OK for now.
-Other items for this year: cement walk and painting outside 509 Sawyer, electrical in rentals needs to be looked at, will do windows on the entire 3rd floor and oversee some outdoor gardening.
-We are very fortunate to have Tom Conlon as our Building Manager. He is a dedicated, concerned, conscientious employee who works with passion to keep our buildings in the best shape possible. Our church is being cared for with both the present and future in mind. We owe Tom our gratitude for his vision and inspiration.
NEW BUSINESS:
Coffee Hour Proposal: We discussed the idea presented by EG&F that each Team be in charge of a month’s worth of Coffee Hours. Since the food and beverages are all to be provided and our job would be relatively simple, basically to set everything out and clean up after, we decided that we would agree to have each committee take responsibility for one Sunday:
January 4th Planned Giving
January 11th Counting Committee
January 18th House Committee
January 25th Gardening Committee
Jim agreed to coordinate and report back to EG&F
A Team presentation on Sunday, October 12: Chris Mills agreed to give a short talk, both in Chapel at 8 and in Church at 10. Thank you Chris!
Date of Next Meeting: Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 7 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Deb Sandler
Monday, October 6, 2008
Spiritual Life and Worship
October 2, 2008
Present: Richard Angell, Betsy Keiter, Elinor Redmond, Debbie Riley, Dana Wiggins, Bryan Wiggins, Mary Anne Wallace, and John McCall
Opening Prayer was given by Bryan Wiggins
Minutes from September were reviewed and approved as written.
Updates from John
• Mailbox – Somebody needs to check the contents of the SL&W church mailbox and respond if needed. (Group: did someone volunteer to do this?)
• Pew Papers – Bob and Joy Gale have kept the paper in the pew racks up to date for a number of years. They are retiring from that job and we need to find someone to take their place. The task takes from 1 to 1 ½ hours monthly. Elinor will check the ‘volunteer lists’ to see if there is a possible match. She may need help completing the signup process.
• Chancel and piano dedication – Sunday, October 26th. There will be a litany and memorial prayer. Les Andrews’ family will be present. Preparations include: updating the Memorial book. Deb Riley will take the book to Maggi, our calligrapher. There will be a brass plaque on the piano in memory of Shirley Findlay and the Narthex plaque will include Les Andrews’ name. The chairs are due to be delivered the week before the service. Because of Les Andrews’ generous bequest, nothing will be spent from the Investment fund on this project.
• 275th Anniversary Kick-off – Sunday, November 9th. The team approved John’s proposal to hold one service only that day. The sermon will be a dialogue between John and Elsa. No extra help is needed from SL&W.
• Inactive List –SL&W approved transferring the following names to the inactive list:
By their request:
Dakers, Scott and Jane
Farr, Mitchell and Debbie
Kersteen, Laurel
Platt, Jon & Carrie
Smith, Ted & Mary
Wallace, Rebecca – transfer to Woodfords
Moved from the area:
Benson, Scott and kristen (to Connecticut)
Hobbs, Craig & Jenn (to Indiana)
• Communion – John, Elsa and Shirley met and suggested a series of steps for serving communion in the new Chancel. Mary Anne has a copy of the document. All will debrief after Sunday.
World Communion Sunday will be on October 5th. 3 bread machines will be baking so that the smell of fresh baked bread will fill the church building. Mary Anne is arranging for several types of bread to be used: challa, naan, rye and corn tortillas.
Review of By-Laws
A small group is reconciling the language of our Open and Affirming statement with the details of the By-Laws. Focus is on the age (14) and preparation necessary for membership (those under 16 need to complete the confirmation process). The Council will confirm the By-Laws.
Hymnal Committee has been working on the supplement to the chosen hymnal, Truth and Light. Shirley brought in the suggested hymns and the group worked to paste them into a notebook with 32 sides available. The mock-up will go to Maggi at the Truth and Light company and to Bob Currier who formats the music. Dana is working with Shirley on usage rights for several of the hymns. There is a strict timeline so that the hymnal can be printed in February and arrive by Easter. The contract has been filled out but is not in yet. The group chose a bright red cover with gold lettering.
Multimedia Usage in Sunday Service
Rick and Bryan are going to visit First Parish Church in Saco to observe their use of multimedia during a service. They also will visit Westbrook-Warren and a service with Steve Carnahan. The use of multimedia should appeal to younger people. We plan to start slowly, take our time and look for volunteers.
November Coffee Hour
We received a proposal from EF&G suggesting the various teams be responsible for one month of coffee hour service after the Sunday Services. Set up, clean up and baking/shopping would be necessary. It is a chance to ‘get the word out’ on what our team does. The kind-hearted, generous SL&W team members agreed to accept the proposal and quickly came up with a schedule. They resisted the temptation to put Sandy Hansen in charge of everything. Deb Riley will e-mail the schedule and a summary of the responsibilities.
Other: Shirley has requested approval to use the sanctuary on November 6th for a musical performance. We are unclear on what group needs to approve this request. (i.e. it is fine with us, but approval may be the Council’s job)
Next Meeting: Thursday, November 6th @ 7:30pm. Betsy will do the opening and Deb will take the minutes.
Adjourned at 8:33pm
Respectfully Submitted by,
Elinor Redmond
Present: Richard Angell, Betsy Keiter, Elinor Redmond, Debbie Riley, Dana Wiggins, Bryan Wiggins, Mary Anne Wallace, and John McCall
Opening Prayer was given by Bryan Wiggins
Minutes from September were reviewed and approved as written.
Updates from John
• Mailbox – Somebody needs to check the contents of the SL&W church mailbox and respond if needed. (Group: did someone volunteer to do this?)
• Pew Papers – Bob and Joy Gale have kept the paper in the pew racks up to date for a number of years. They are retiring from that job and we need to find someone to take their place. The task takes from 1 to 1 ½ hours monthly. Elinor will check the ‘volunteer lists’ to see if there is a possible match. She may need help completing the signup process.
• Chancel and piano dedication – Sunday, October 26th. There will be a litany and memorial prayer. Les Andrews’ family will be present. Preparations include: updating the Memorial book. Deb Riley will take the book to Maggi, our calligrapher. There will be a brass plaque on the piano in memory of Shirley Findlay and the Narthex plaque will include Les Andrews’ name. The chairs are due to be delivered the week before the service. Because of Les Andrews’ generous bequest, nothing will be spent from the Investment fund on this project.
• 275th Anniversary Kick-off – Sunday, November 9th. The team approved John’s proposal to hold one service only that day. The sermon will be a dialogue between John and Elsa. No extra help is needed from SL&W.
• Inactive List –SL&W approved transferring the following names to the inactive list:
By their request:
Dakers, Scott and Jane
Farr, Mitchell and Debbie
Kersteen, Laurel
Platt, Jon & Carrie
Smith, Ted & Mary
Wallace, Rebecca – transfer to Woodfords
Moved from the area:
Benson, Scott and kristen (to Connecticut)
Hobbs, Craig & Jenn (to Indiana)
• Communion – John, Elsa and Shirley met and suggested a series of steps for serving communion in the new Chancel. Mary Anne has a copy of the document. All will debrief after Sunday.
World Communion Sunday will be on October 5th. 3 bread machines will be baking so that the smell of fresh baked bread will fill the church building. Mary Anne is arranging for several types of bread to be used: challa, naan, rye and corn tortillas.
Review of By-Laws
A small group is reconciling the language of our Open and Affirming statement with the details of the By-Laws. Focus is on the age (14) and preparation necessary for membership (those under 16 need to complete the confirmation process). The Council will confirm the By-Laws.
Hymnal Committee has been working on the supplement to the chosen hymnal, Truth and Light. Shirley brought in the suggested hymns and the group worked to paste them into a notebook with 32 sides available. The mock-up will go to Maggi at the Truth and Light company and to Bob Currier who formats the music. Dana is working with Shirley on usage rights for several of the hymns. There is a strict timeline so that the hymnal can be printed in February and arrive by Easter. The contract has been filled out but is not in yet. The group chose a bright red cover with gold lettering.
Multimedia Usage in Sunday Service
Rick and Bryan are going to visit First Parish Church in Saco to observe their use of multimedia during a service. They also will visit Westbrook-Warren and a service with Steve Carnahan. The use of multimedia should appeal to younger people. We plan to start slowly, take our time and look for volunteers.
November Coffee Hour
We received a proposal from EF&G suggesting the various teams be responsible for one month of coffee hour service after the Sunday Services. Set up, clean up and baking/shopping would be necessary. It is a chance to ‘get the word out’ on what our team does. The kind-hearted, generous SL&W team members agreed to accept the proposal and quickly came up with a schedule. They resisted the temptation to put Sandy Hansen in charge of everything. Deb Riley will e-mail the schedule and a summary of the responsibilities.
Other: Shirley has requested approval to use the sanctuary on November 6th for a musical performance. We are unclear on what group needs to approve this request. (i.e. it is fine with us, but approval may be the Council’s job)
Next Meeting: Thursday, November 6th @ 7:30pm. Betsy will do the opening and Deb will take the minutes.
Adjourned at 8:33pm
Respectfully Submitted by,
Elinor Redmond
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