Subscribe to RSS Feed
APPROVED
St. Paul's Church in Brookline
Minutes of the Vestry Meeting
February 17th, 2009
Present: Rev. Terry McCall, Andrea Brue, Steve Kelley, Beverly Estes-Smargiassi, Elizabeth Laurencot, Liz DeSelm, Jim Margolis, Nancy Sampson, Georgia Smith, Arlene Swan-Mahony, Madeleine Taylor, Ginny Willcox, and Ben Norton, clerk
Not present: Steve Morrissey
The meeting was opened with a prayer.
Minutes
The January minutes were approved as amended.
Warden's Report
Leadership Expectations and By-laws
In our time of transition and renovation it is hoped that everyone will pitch in to share the many responsibilities. This willingness to volunteer will be modeled by the Vestry members. A list of specific responsibilities was circulated among the vestry and everyone signed on to help or coordinate various duties (see below). The St. Paul's by-laws were distributed to the new vestry members.
Vestry Shepherds
The current flock lists will be updated and redistributed among new vestry members.
Safe Church
St. Paul's has applied to host a one-day seminar in the program (in fall '09) addressing the issue of youth safety and ways to prevent abuse. The topic was originally introduced to us by our insurance provider.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has been working very hard to complete the '06 audit and highly recommends that the '07 audit be outsourced. The '07 audit must be completed as part of the new rector hiring process. It was suggested that Ed Pease, a retired priest, who has done many audits might be eligible and willing to do the '07 audit.
Space Committee
The Space Committee will edit and update the current rental policy.
Parking Spot Rental Update
When the topic was first discussed in '07, concerns regarding resulting tax exposure pushed the project to the back burner. Recently revisited as a potential income source, letters from neighbors and other documents are being gathered. A site plan has been drawn, and the permitting process has begun. The building committee will be consulted to determine if parking spaces will be available during construction.
Clinton Path
We continue to negotiate a new lease agreement with Clinton Path. As with the old agreement, we want the new agreement to reflect St. Paul's desire to have the preschool as a service to the community.
Pledges
Letters were sent to most parishioners noting the pledge short fall which currently stands at $8.4k.
Building Committee
The first phase of the lead abatement has been completed on schedule. The second phase of the project will begin in late February.
Clergy Report
Music Budget
Due to budget cuts, the music in the services has been scaled back. The desire to have music filled services has pushed the number-of-services-question to the forefront. Concerns about the child-friendliness and specific service content had previously driven the discussion. The decision not to have the choir sing at the 9:00, in order to allocate resources, has turned the balance of opinion in favor of a single 10:00 (with choir).
10:00 Service
The vestry voted to merge the 9:00 and the 11:00 services to one 10:00 as a one year experiment to begin on April 19, the Sunday after Easter, and to continue through the academic year of 2009-10.
On March 15 and 22, there will be opportunities to discuss ways to implement the change positively. Combining the services will hopefully enrich what's desirable (content, music, community) and reduce what's not (expenses).
PA/Sound Equipment
This investment would help in two important ways. Soft-spoken readers could be heard by all, over the vitality (pitter-patter of little feet) in the combined service. The purchase and installation of mics and a PA system would increase demand for concert and recording space rental.
Children's Programs
Terry, Maria, Julie Starr, Andrea and Georgia met to discuss the impact of combining the services on the Children's Programs. The idea of implementing the Rotation System, which is being used in many other parishes, was discussed. The group decided that we would give the system a trial run in the '09-'10 school year. The System will be presented to the parish later in the spring.
Mission to Honduras
The feasibility of continuing the Mission to Honduras (MTH) is being reviewed. The group wants to continue service without a break. Concern was voiced that should the mission stop this year, it might
be very hard to get the ball rolling again. This year the trip will be scaled down to one week. The MTH representative asked the Vestry for support of its fundraising efforts.
Search Committee
Bishop's Visit
Bishop Cederholm has requested to meet with the Search Committee and Vestry on Tuesday, March 3rd at 7pm. He has called this meeting to pray and talk together about discernment, the role of the Vestry and the Bishop's office in the final stages of the process, and to answer any questions or concerns that we may have.
Choir Appreciation Sunday
The reinstitution of this tradition was discussed favorably, and will be revisited.
Respectfully submitted by
Benjamin Norton clerk
*Vestry committee leaders/liasons:
Vestry Shepherds: Arlene Swan-Mahony
Building Committee: Andrea Brue, Steve Kelley
Finance Committee: Bev Estes-Smargiassi
Childcare: Liz DeSelm
Safe Church Policies: Ginny Willcox
Parking: Madeleine Taylor
Space Users Policies: Steve Kelley, Andrea Brue
Clinton Path: Elizabeth Laurencot
Stewardship: Nancy Sampson
Church School: Georgia Smith
Adult Education: Andrea Brue, TBD
Rector Search Committee: Georgia Smith
Worship Committee: TBD
Fundraising (Auction): Andrea Brue, Liz DeSelm
Fundraising (Yard Sale): Ginny Willcox
Memorials: Steve Morrissey, Madeleine Taylor (both to be confirmed)
Admin. Support: Terry McCall
Audit Oversight: Jim Margolis
Website: Steve Kelley, Ben Norton
Mission: Arlene Swan-Mahony
M.O.P.: Liz DeSelm
