Vestry Minutes

The scheduled meeting of the Vestry of the Parish of the Epiphany was held in Hadley Hall on September 12th, 2007 at 7:38 PM.

Present were: The Very Rev. Bob Trache, Rector; Ted Kellogg, Warden: Pam Chester, Warden; Kevin Cronan, Clerk.  Vestry Members: Nancy Solomon, Pat Hitchcock, John Cuozzo, Dutch Treat, Fred Spencer, Cindy Seferian, Harold Maccaughey and Gabrielle Stott.  Youth Delegates: Henry Kellogg.  Guests included Rev. Natasha Stewart and Rich Goldhor.

Ted Kellogg presided.

Rev. Bob Trache led the Vestry in a Celtic prayer.

Report of the Clerk

The minutes from the May Vestry meeting were presented for acceptance.  There was one correction addressed on page three under Report of the Rector to amend “the Paige Fund” to “the Page Fund.”

Upon motion duly made and seconded, and by the affirmative vote of all members present, it was

            Voted: that the minutes from May be accepted as amended.

Sound System Update

Rich Goldhor presented his report to the Vestry.  Currently the A/V Taskforce, consisting of Susan Almquist, Martha Lewis, Steve Poulos and Tom Wade, has been evaluating the audio-visual needs of the parish as well as determining the priorities among the many improvements that could be made.  So far ten A/V consultants have been identified and evaluated to potentially win the job.  Each consultant team will come to Epiphany to physically view the property to grasp what will be needed.  The goal is to receive references and initial proposals from two to four vendors by the end of September.

Once they will have received competitive proposals from the chosen firms, all of whom have had experience working with churches, and after the negotiation process, the formal proposal will be presented to the Vestry.  The target date for certain actions would be the end of September with other tasks would take longer for full integration.  A projector has consistently been named as a wish by those who use our facilities.  Cindy mentioned that ENKA meets at Epiphany often and a grant could be submitted to them for funds.  Currently the money from Gifts and Memorials is earmarked for a sound system, so a digital projector may not be covered.

Property Motion/Bells

Fred Spencer presented his report to the Vestry.  The kitchen floor needs to be fixed as it is in considerable disrepair.  The original floor will be encased and there will be a threshold installed between the new kitchen floor and the floor in Hadley Hall.  The Bells report was originally presented to the Vestry by Nick Candee back at the June meeting.  No new wiring will be needed which means that the $2,000 appropriated will not need to be used so this project will come in under budget.  No installment date has been set but progress is moving faster than anticipated.  The new strikers will be installed on Tuesday.

Budgeting and Visioning

Pam presented her report to the Vestry.  While last year’s Stewardship event, Spirits to Spirituals, was great fun it did not inspire people to pledge more.  Insurance premiums continue to increase and Pam will have to talk to the assistant treasurer to discuss raises for the staff.  Sadly due to deaths and departures during 2007, we have lost a significant fraction of our pledging income.  Bob Gallant went through the pledges and discovered that there are 212 active members that do not pledge.  Ideally we should share this information with the congregation, certainly not to scare them but more to give them the straight story and show them what more we could do with additional pledges.  A fall Newcomers event will need to be planned and there should be an educational portion of the event on pledging in the Episcopal Church.  General education on pledging should not be exclusive to Newcomers but also to those current members who do not pledge.  A Stewardship service will be organized by Richard Marks as well as a more focused Wine & Cheese event.  This year’s theme for Stewardship is “The Once & Future Church.”

To motivate increases in pledging, we need to tell the parish “what’s new.”  What is our vision for the parish in 2008 and beyond?  Based on our Vestry retreat goals and work done since, the following possibilities have been determined: accessibility, communications and media, increase/augment our youth outreach and develop a partnership with Winchester Cathedral in the UK.  Pam feels that we need at least three targets and asked the Vestry for their input.  Natasha feels that we already are working with our youth but this target needs to be more specific and we need to develop a connection between their secular school life and the church.  Cindy suggested a “Mother’s Morning Out” program which would allow mothers to leave their children with daycare at church so they could enjoy a day with their peers free of children for a few hours.  The potential partnership with Winchester Cathedral struck a chord with the Vestry with the additional goal of supporting Christians in Palestine and Israel.  The three “What’s New” targets to be presented to the congregation will be: Accessibility, Communications & Media, Winchester Cathedral and Mother’s Morning Out.

Tom Shaw’s Visit

The Very Reverend Bob Trache spoke to the Vestry about the upcoming Bishop’s visit.  Bishop Tom Shaw, SSJE will be visiting Epiphany on Columbus Day weekend.  There will be one worship service and the Bishop has a few goals he would like to achieve: meet with the congregation potentially over lunch, meet with the Vestry as well as other groups and committees.  The congregational visit could be during the 9 AM adult education which could be either formal or informal with coffee and pastries.  After the service, the Vestry would meet with the Bishop over lunch which could be held at the Rectory.  Eleven Vestry members can commit to being present and Gabrielle offered her house as a back-up to the Rectory.  Two of the Bishops passions are Outreach and Youth so we can be prepared to discuss those topics in depth with him.

Report of the Wardens

Pam Chester presented the report to the Vestry.  A great thanks to everyone at Rally Day, we served over 270 meals and there was plenty of food left over.  Four shopping carts were filled up by Carol and Ted at BJ’s, and we need to decide who should own this going forward and remember to accurately budget for food.  So far 20 people have signed up for this year’s DOCC (Disciples of Christ in Community) and there is room for more.  Kathleen said that she is not swamped with new enrollment although she is in need of Sunday School teachers; currently the Mom’s Committee has been recruiting new teachers.  Copies of the VPoD guide should be kept on hand for the ushers so that they also have this useful resource.  Another VPoD tour will be scheduled for the next Vestry meeting.  Adult Education will be at September 14th at 9:00 AM.

Report of the Rector

The Very Rev. Bob Trache presented his report to the Vestry.  The new adult education brochures were passed out and Bob explained each of the different items on the 2007 schedule.  The Oxford trip was great and the paper he presented was well-received.  He and Liza went to Winchester Cathedral, which is about the same size as Epiphany.  The chapel which is used most frequently is the Epiphany Chapel and as the Cathedral dates back to the 13th century there is a Holy Sepulchre Chapel. 

The covered dish dinners will start up again on October 3rd which will be geared towards Outreach and the dinner on November 7th will be organized by the Women of Epiphany with the annual pie bake.  Natasha will be chairing an adult mission trip to New Orleans from November 4th to November 11th, the cost will be $500 without food and the deadline to sign up will be September 23rd.  YPF will start on the 16th and the kids will be redoing the Garrett.  Natasha is looking for ways to make it more welcoming to others and there will be a paint party.  There are many activities on the agenda as well, with an overnight at New Years during Advent along with a variety of service projects.  On September 30th Genesis will be playing Laser Tag.  Three mothers will help to coordinate the event along with many fun-filled Fall events.  The Journey to Adulthood program at Sunday School will continue and it was a success last year.  The Millennium Development Goals will be used for the 6th graders as they have a gap-year during the 2007 year.  One request for the Vestry Person of the Day: The VPoD needs to check in with the celebrant to let them know that they are present as well as to be on the lookout for Newcomers and new parents.

Rev. Bob Trache led the Vestry in a short prayer closing the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 PM.

Attest:

Kevin M. Cronan, Clerk.