Minutes of the Vestry of

St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church

July 17, 2008

Present:

Assisting priest The Rev. Kirsteen Wilkinson; senior warden Chris Large; junior warden Sheryl Otter; Jane Bostwick; John Kurek; Steve Polston; Judy Champa; Liz Manning; Elaine Braverman; Ed Champa, visitor to the meeting.

Call to order:

The meeting was called to order at 7:11 p.m. in the kitchen. An electric fan was placed at the door due to air-conditioning problems in that wing.

Devotion:

John read Hymn 671 as the devotion; Judy will choose next month’s hymn.

Approval of the minutes of the June 19, 2008 meeting:

The following items were noted: 1., Steve Polston’s last name was misspelled; 2., Ed Champa was a visitor to the meeting; 3., a grant is being sought for roof repair for $10,000; 4., Kirsteen’s schedule is for on-call pastoral care in August while the Rev. Robin Myers in on vacation. Sheryl moved acceptance of the minutes as corrected; Judy seconded; approved on voice vote.

Financial report:

There was no financial report. Chris reported that the altar flower fund deficit questioned in the previous meeting was a true deficit reported on the books that has been accumulating over the years. Kirsteen said she may write about donations for altar flowers in an upcoming newsletter article.

Property commission:

1.  Exterior lighting: small can lights under the eaves of the sanctuary are being installed.

2.  Chris suggested that signage be placed on the rear of the building to alert visitors to the food pantry hours; Sheryl said that $400 was included in the original food pantry United Thank Offering grant.

3.  Handyman: Judy motioned that Chris be given authority to hire a handyman as an employee on part-time status to allow for workman’s comp coverage or to make a contract with a handyman, according to the senior warden’s discretion; Steve seconded; this was approved on voice vote.

4.  Judy said that a barrier needs to be erected across the bridge.

5.  Air conditioning: Chris said that an air conditioning unit has a broken fan and no Freon. Cause and repairs are being investigated. Judy motioned that up to $500 be allotted for this repair and that Chris can approve a greater expense if necessary; Liz seconded; this was approved on voice vote.

6.  Alarm codes: Codes for individuals are registered with the parish and the monitoring company; John is the primary contact to respond to calls from the company and Chris is the back-up responder.

7.  Doorbell: Chris will add the need for a doorbell at the back door to the property commission’s to-do list.

Old business:

1.  Internet service is working at the church, with Kirsteen, Ed and parishioner Michael Ewing working to make all the right connections.

2.  Kirsteen will begin interviewing members for a getting to know you column.

3.  Mailing list: Kirsteen passed around the 2006 parish directory to ask vestry members to make corrections to their own information. The rest of the parish will also be asked to update their information so a new directory can be distributed.

4.  Birthday names: Kirsteen asked vestry members to remark on names on the birthday list so that list may be culled.

5.  Outreach: Kirsteen said that St. Alban’s parish, at which she will serve until the end of July, will send her away with a gift of money for discretionary use in her ministry. Chris said that she is researching gas cards for people who need this help.

6.  MDG fundraiser: Sheryl and Steve are working on this but have nothing to report.

7.  Baptismal records: Kirsteen is tracking down information to complete parish records.

8.  Kirsteen’s schedule: Kirsteen will be on vacation from July 21 to July 27.

New business:

1.  Salary for assisting priest: Kirsteen will no longer be receiving salary from the new-clergy deployment fund provided by the Diocese, but exact budget impacts are not known for St. Timothy’s yet; negotiation between St. Timothy’s, the Diocesan office and Rev. Kirsteen are ongoing and will include issues such as the number of hours to be worked in a week and the allotment of funds from the parish budget and the Diocesan budget.

2.  Baptismal covenants: Judy mentioned that a church she visited in Michigan asked all those present to sign baptismal certificates for newly baptized children, to mark the covenant; Judy asked that St. Timothy’s parishioners do the same here, a suggestion received warmly among the vestry.

3.  Kirsteen and Chris mentioned that persons needing home communion should have the Lay Eucharistic Visitor scheduled with Church Nemeth, LEV coordinator. Kirsteen will endeavor to determine who needs pastoral visits. The wardens will help make a list of who needs to be visited or called.

4.  Adult education survey: Kirsteen will survey members to see what topics could be included in education forums.

5.  Canon Malcolm Boyd video event: a short planning session was undertaken, with assignments given for the Aug. 9 event.

6.  Jamboree is Sept. 13, 2008: John and Steve talked about parking patrol and Steve volunteered to lead the effort.

7.  Flood relief: Bishop Catherine Waynick sent the parish a letter thanking us for our support of flood relief in Indiana.

8.  Deacon Ron Goldfarb: Chris read letters to and from Ron thanking us for the stained glass window we commissioned for him when he left.

9.  Steve mentioned the Diocesan Global Missions meeting will be at the church July 26.

Adjournment:

The meeting ended with Compline at 8:44 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Polston