Category: Administration

Annual Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 11:14 AM on January 27, 2019.
I. Presentation, discussion, and action on the minutes of the January 28, 2018 annual meeting and the June 3, 2018 Special Meeting.
The minutes of the January 28, 2018 annual meeting as well as the June 3, 2018 Special Meeting were accepted as written.


II. Presentation, discussion, and action on the reports of the officers, boards, and organizations for 2018 (excepting the 2019 budget).
 It was moved, seconded, and noted to accept the reports.

III. Presentation, discussion, and action on the the FY 2019 budget proposal.
 It was moved, seconded and approved to accept the 2019 budget as proposed.
C. Grenier rose to say that the board of finance supported this budget, even
carrying the $8,000 + deficit as said deficit was caused by counting on gifts that didn’t materialize. The board saw no reason for that deficit to interfere with proposed expenditures, including a 2% raise for salaries. He did note that fund raising efforts will have to remain strong. But he gave big kudos to all the members for how they support the church, in funding and in active service.

IV. To decide whether the church will approve an expenditure from the Firm Foundation Fund of up to $9,000 for building upgrades.
It was moved and seconded to approve expenditure from the Firm Foundation of up to $9,000 for building upgrades and church improvements. Discussion focused on specifics involved such as work on the remaining spires and equipping the church with a defibrillator. J. Loewer wondered if there might be grants available to purchase such equipment. C. Lawrence noted that the price will include a
“church” discount. J. Loewer volunteered to go looking for such a grant.

The deacons are planning a CPR class in February which could include training for a defibrillator. There was concern that our insurance might not currently cover incidents if the equipment were used incorrectly by a church member, but it was felt that we would be protected by the
“Good Samaritan” law.

J. Loewer made a motion to amend the original motion to read that it is approved to spend up to $9,000 from the Firm Foundation for building upgrades and church improvements, but to first investigate possible grants for the defibrillator portion. The amendment passed. The motion was then passed as amended.

V. Presentation, discussion, and action on the Nominating Committee’s report and slate of officers and board members for the year 2019
It was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved to accept the Nominating Committee’s report and slate of officers for 2019.
It should be noted, however, that Ned Davis stepped down as Nominator, leaving the Nominating Committee with no members.

V. Presentation, discussion, and action on the Trustees recommendation to distribute any investment gain in 2018.
D. King moved that the gains (losses), realized and unrealized, earned on the Trustees Funds be allocated in proportion to the respective fund balances. The motion was seconded and passed.

V. Other Business
1) The deacons have been discussing safety issues in the church, such as the presence of an active shooter. There is particular concern about the young women and children in the downstairs nursery while church is in session. The side door will be locked during this time and all access to the church should be through the front door. If someone is in need of elevator service, this would be taken care of by a deacon at the front door.


They would also like to provide ALICE training to the church, which includes procedures that should be taken during an active shooter confrontation. The council is strongly encouraging such a training.

2) P. Plagge thanked P. Sabin for all she does to really run the office and N. Davis for all he does for the church. He also wanted to add his thanks to C. Grenier’s for the congregation’s unfailing support.


The meeting was adjourned at 11:36 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill Chase, Clerk

Trustees Report

World markets began January 2018 where they left off in 2017. The US bull market then approaching a 10-year run was also beginning to influence world markets too. However, national and world events such as the Chinese economy, Brexit uncertainty, world oil prices, and US political turmoil led to uncertainty in investor’s minds that resulted in February stock market downturns. As volatility remained ever present during 2018, including up and down swings of 10% or more that included a record Dow Jones high in September, the markets could not, as analysts are fond of saying, ‘gain traction’. Despite that hopeful September high water mark, a brutal 4th quarter left the year with an annual loss of about 6%.

Although the church’s investments are tied to the world and domestic markets we have been fortunate in that our 2018 ‘losses’ (5.5%) were slightly less than the major index averages. However, we experienced losses just the same. Due to this fact, allocations to the 4 major categories all reflect a negative growth for the year (totaling -$54,547.18). Downturns are a normal occurrence in the stock market, occurring on average every 3-4 years. Given a long-term historical perspective of steady positive growth and our continued guidance from Edward Jones, the trustees have an optimistic outlook for 2019 and beyond.

Board of Christian Education

On behalf of the Christian Education board, please accept this year’s annual recap for the Education Program. It was another good year for participation by the youth and their families, and much of that was due to the programming developed by the CE Board.

The first half of the calendar year — or the second half of our school year — pretty much picked up where we left off in the previous fall, with the story of Moses and the Exodus. We tailored our schedule in such a way that the rhythms of the year took into account participation — winter attendance slacks off a bit due to winter sports! We used the Progressive Christianity curriculum some weeks, and we continued to develop themes that we used in the spring.

Spring found us returning to developing a puppet show to coincide with Children’s Sunday. The development of this was quite interesting, in that we chose to work with one continuous theme all year long, and when Barbara Paulson from No Strings Marionette Co. joined us, we were able to jump right in and develop the show. She came a couple of times before the spring to teach us how to make some of the special puppets (Flies!) with the kids. We were so happy to work with Barbara again, and the use of puppets to teach the stories of the Exodus was so successful.

This fall, our home cooked curriculum was based on the stewardship of the earth. We took mental pictures of the nature we could see from the classroom window, and we talked about what we couldn’t see, including the “wood wide web”, or how the trees were able to communicate with each other using the underground mushroom network. Truly powerful information and an appreciation of the extent of how complex the earth is. We composted leaves and we started a worm farm, and we hope to use the compost in the spring to create new life.

Our advent art centered around advent wreathes, and our Christmas celebration was an adaptation of a play Peter wrote 20 years ago!

I would also like to thank our board — Harriet Grenier, Kristin Wolf DeJong and Ben DeJong, and Dave MacGowan, who provided me with excellent support throughout the year. Special thanks to Dave, who FINALLY  retired from the CE board — he’s served a couple of terms. And thanks to Peter for his insight and ideas for our programming — his guidance was invaluable — and to the Council for fully supporting our goals and programs.

Finally, thank you to the parents, grandparents and caregivers for the children who attend our Sunday School. I enjoy seeing them week in and week out, and thoroughly enjoy planning programs that will interest your children and keep them involved. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Tom Stevens

Nominating Committee

Ned Davis is the chair (ie., the sole member!) of the nominating committee.  He would appreciate your help!
The wider ministry of the church is about you.  We have several boards that help to oversee that ministry.  The boards and committees are listed below with numbers in parentheses to indicate the number of members the board needs for a full compliment.

Board of Deacons (0) — They help make our Sunday morning worship service flow by helping with the greeting and ushering and other jobs that arise during the course of worship.

Board of Finance (2) — Like the name suggests, this board oversees the flow of money in and out of the church.

Trustees (0) — The trustees oversee our endowment and assist with the work of the board of finance.

Board of Christian Education (2) — This group works closely with our CE Director, Tom Stevens and with the church school, helping to provide leadership on Sunday morning and setting the course for the academic year.

Board of Business Administration (2)– If you like to have a hands-on type job, this committee might be for you as it keeps on eye on the property and on the physical needs of the church.

Board of Outreach (0) — This is the committee that organizes our outreach to the community and the world.  They sponsor the Christmas gift campaign (coming soon!) and many others like the recently completed Crop Hunger Walk.

Nominating Committee (3) — They try to find people to serve on these committees and boards and write reports like this!

Music Committee (2) — The music committee, as its name clearly suggests, oversees the music program.

If you’d like to learn more about any of these boards or committees, you can call Ned (244-1684)  or the church office (244-6606).  We can talk you through it, and even invite you to sit in on a meeting.
 
Thanks.