Vestry Minutes
October 11th, 2006
The scheduled meeting of the Vestry of the Parish of the Epiphany was held in the Old Parish Hall on October 11th, 2006 at 7:36 PM.
Present were: Rev. Bob Trache, Rector; David Damassa, Warden; Pam Chester, Warden; Ken Weber, Treasurer; Peggy Roll, Associate Treasurer; Kevin Cronan, Clerk. Vestry Members: Gabrielle Stott, Deb Christel, Fred Spencer, Pat Hitchcock, Bob Delaney, Priscilla Burns, Connie McGrane, Nancy Solomon, Cindy Seferian, John Cuozzo and Mike Coltman. Youth Vestry: Katie Torrey, Caroline Giese and Emma Spencer.
Pam Chester presided.
Rev. Bob Trache led the Vestry in prayers from the New Zealand Prayer Book.
Report of the Clerk
There was one correction noted from July 27th minutes on the first page under the Report of the Treasurer. In regards to the revenues from Vacation Bible School, “revenues of $5,200, which is $500” was changed to “revenues of $5,500 and expenses of $3,200 leaving a net of $2,300.” There was also one correction noted from the September 13th minutes on the second page under Report of the Wardens. In regards to the last paragraph, it was written “As previously described in the Stewardship Report” was changed to “As previously described in Gifts & Memorials.” The July 27th minutes were incomplete as the “Stewardship Program Update” was not included; they will be completed and re-submitted for approval during the November Vestry meeting. Nancy Solomon suggested that these July minutes be removed from the Parish website until they are formally approved.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, and by the affirmative vote of all members present, it was
Voted: that the minutes from the September 13th meeting are accepted and the minutes from the July 27th meeting be completed and presented again in November.
Report of the Treasurer
Ken Weber presented the report. We had $43,000 in pledges for August, however in September we had $32,363 actual pledge income versus a budgeted $47,339 which left us short ($14,976) for the month. Fortunately, we came into September with a surplus of $16,000. Expenses were moderate but we are still $7,000 over budget. Year to date we are over by $4,012. A draft letter will be sent out to all pledging members to show them their current pledge total versus their 2006 pledge.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, and by the affirmative vote of all members present, it was
Voted: that the Treasurer’s Report is accepted.
2007 Budget Preview
David Damassa presented the budget preview. The budget is just getting underway and it is a lengthy process. It has started with rough ideas as to what 2007 will look like. All of the committees and chairs have been asked for their new budgets and David will meet with the chairs on Sunday afternoon. A draft of the budget will be brought to the Vestry at the November meeting and then again in December after Dedication Sunday when the 2007 pledges are due to be returned. So far an extra $75,000 in pledges is being budgeted for 2007 and offerings for the year are also expected to increase. The total increase in revenue for 2007 has been set at $81,000 which is a ballpark figure. Expenses will increase due to personnel costs: the contract for a Community Development Minister, salary raises of 3% and health insurance costs, expected to be approximately 13%. Outreach has shown some increases. Since Walter will be graduating this spring, another boy is to be sponsored by Epiphany. Also, El Hogar will be going co-ed so plans are being made to sponsor both a girl and a boy. We are also looking for computer and networking support ($7,300). Our needs in these areas have grown significantly and we cannot continue to rely only of Walter Hubbard’s very generous volunteer efforts. Additionally, $20,000 has been added to property expenses, including increases in our preventative maintenance fund. The one known reduction in expenses is that our diocesan assessment dropped from $96,000 down to $91,800, since the new formula bases our assessment on our 2004 income for operations. This is the first stage of a three month budget process and Vestry were encouraged to contact David and Ken if they had any questions.
Worship Survey Process Update
Fred Spencer reported to the Vestry. Currently the data is still in raw form and Fred felt it best to keep it private so as to not skew the results of an ongoing process. The survey collection period will be closed just before our November Vestry Meeting.
A total of 190 surveys have been submitted to date. The service attended of those collected are as follows:
21 attend the 7:30 AM service
70 attend the 9:00 AM service
42 attend the 11:15 AM service
137 of the surveys collected state that they attend services every Sunday.
70% of those who checked years of attendance were in the 11-20 year group and the 20+ year group.
74% of those who checked age group were in the 51-65 and 65+ groups.
10 of the surveys have been submitted online.
We are hoping to get more surveys returned as people start to fully catch up from summer holidays. Both public forums were not very large, nor were they very passionate. It should be stressed that all youth and adults should also fill out the surveys, not one per household but all individuals 16 years and older. The capacity of the nave (main floor of the church) is 358 if every seat is filled. The church starts to feel crowded when attendance is at 310. The attendance totals per service will be presented at November’s Vestry meeting.
Parish Growth Committee Report
Jennifer Shire was not present to report so Nancy Solomon addressed the Vestry. The position has been posted and three candidates have expressed interest. Nancy had limited information but did state that the contract had been listed with the Diocese and posted on job boards. The committee is proceeding with the selection process and will hope to have finalized the awarding of the contract by next month.
Stewardship Update
Deb Christel went over the planning for the 2007 Stewardship Campaign. A packet was distributed to the Vestry of the material to be distributed about our stewardship program and the stewardship event. The narrative budget was skipped as Deb needed to meet further with David to finalize. The packet addressed the fall event “Spirits to Spirituals,” there have been low RSVP figures and the Vestry was asked to help remind fellow parishioners about the event either via e-mail or telephone. The communication section of the presentation to be presented at the event is going well and everything is in place. After Dedication Sunday, all Vestry members are expected to make calls to people to remind them to send in their pledge cards. This is simply a “reminder call.” The packet also included the draft budget for the 2006 Stewardship Campaign where an increase to their budget called for $4,176; Deb admitted that this was a soft number as she is trying to get more clarification on some prior numbers. David suggested changing the number to $5,000 for Deb to present to the Vestry to pass. A motion to increase the Stewardship Committee’s budget by $5,000 will be distributed via e-mail once Deb has produced clearer numbers.
Report of the Wardens
David stated that the report would be fairly brief as much had already been addressed. The monthly potluck dinners will need some volunteers and extra support, Cindy Seferian has stepped up to lead but more help would be welcomed. The committee chairs will have their meeting with the wardens on Sunday the 15th after the 11:15 AM service. Former Vice President Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown on October 29th in Hadley Hall and followed by a discussion. This event is being sponsored by the Faith & Environment Committee.
Report of the Rector
The Rummage Sale is this coming weekend and this will be the 40th one for Fred Benson. A walk-a-thon is also scheduled this Saturday for our African AIDS ministry. Bob read a letter that was sent by the Brownings with a generous gift to the endowment. The Cantata by the choir will be on October 22nd and we are putting on an adult Christmas play entitled “Joe Carpenter & Son.” Try-outs for the play will be this Sunday after the 11:15 AM service. The shrimp boil was a huge success; Bishop Bud said that he had never seen members from so many parishes in one place outside of Convention. The official accounting has not come in as of yet, but it appears that the event raised around $20,000, with more checks still arriving. Our first three adult education classes have been very successful and greatly enjoyed by those in attendance. Both Aimee and Sarah are really very helpful and people are enjoying working with the Parish Office. The Diocesan Convention is coming up at the end of the month and Bob went through the seven motions that are to be addressed at Convention so that all Vestry members could fully understand them in case we were to be asked by fellow parishioners.
Rev. Bob Trache led the Vestry in closing prayers from the New Zealand Prayer Book.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.
Attest:
Kevin M. Cronan