Minutes of the Diocesan Council Meeting St. John's Boonton Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Diocesan Council Meeting St. John's Boonton Wednesday, May 11, 2016 Present: The Rev. E. Michael Allen, The Rev. William Allport, Mrs. Sheila Barcus, The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, Mr. Robert Bogert, The Rev. Tim Carr, The Rev. Sheelagh A. Clarke, The Rev. Kevin Coffey, Mrs. Debra Cook, Mr. Dale Ellis, Ms. Janelle Grant, The Rev. Charles Hatfield, The Rev. Canon Gregory Jacobs, Ms. Roxanne Johnson, Ms. A. Lorraine Jones, Mr. John A. King, Ms. Sue Morgan, The Rev. Margaret Otterburn, The Rev. Juan Rosario De La Cruz, Mr. Paul R. Shackford, The Rev. Susan Saucedo Sica, Ms. Mary Sunden, The Rev. William Charles Thiele, Ms. Lynn B. Tyler, The Rev. Diana Wilcox, Mr. Timothy Wong Absent: The Rev. Rosa Brown, The Rev. Virginia Dinsmore, Ms. Kay R. Lark, Ms. Nina Nicholson, Ms. Laurie Piccirillo, Diane Sammons Esq., Mrs. Suzanne Willian Dwelling in the Word Bill Allport and Sheila Barcus read Joshua 3:1-13;17 Welcome The Rev. Tim Carr welcomed the council to St. John's Children's Choir sang selections from the Pentecost Sunday Service offerings Episcopal Communications - Bishop Beckwith Overnight retreat with LEAMNJ - Michael Allen attended as well. Two Diocese and one synod working together. Asked the Bishops to write a letter asking for the defeat of Gun Legislation (it was defeated) June 2nd, National Day to wear orange - orange is safety color for hunters not to get shot. Bring a public witness against gun violence. St. Thomas Vernon has elected to close their ministry October 30th Mark Trautman has been appointed as the Diocesan Missioner to Music and the Arts. Kai Alston ran a High School retreat creating a safe space for a trans individual, Ed Hasse was advising the superintendent of school board Pascack Valley Joining God in Shaping our Future- Focus group. June 4, 11, 15 meetings sharing our learnings so far in the process. Council members invited to attend, accepted invitations were from: (4)Debra Cook, Sue Morgan, (11)Debra Cook, Lynn Tyler _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

2 Welcome to the New Members of Council Introductions for the four new members of Council: Class of 2017 District 2 Lay Rep(filling unexpired term of Elizabeth Rude) Ms. Lynn Tyler, Good Shepherd, Wantage Class of 2019 District 3 Clergy Rep: The Rev. Susan Sica, St. Gregory's Parsippany Bishop's Appointees Mr. Dale Ellis, St. Andrew's & Holy Communion, South Orange & Mr. Tim Wong, St. Andrew's Harrington Park The Agenda was approved as presented The minutes of the April Meeting were approved as presented _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

3 Financial Report Mr. Paul Shackford, Treasurer Diocesan Council Finance Report for the Year-to-Date Period Ended April 30, 2016 Enclosed is the financial report for the four-month period ended April 30, The budgeted amounts reflect the budget that was adopted at the Annual Convention in January Details of Information Reflected on the Financial Statement There are a number of variances in actual results as compared with the budget. Income Pledge Revenue (line 1) The methodology used to create the monthly budget was to base estimated 2016 monthly pledge income on the actual pattern of pledge receipts in Historically, a significant portion of the full year s pledges occurs in December of the year as well as in the subsequent months of the following year. Through April, pledge receipts approximate the amount budgeted. Alleluia Fund (line 2) We have received donations to the Alleluia Fund in the first four months totaling $21,471 which is $4,698 lower than budget. The initial promotion of this fund began after Easter, and will be promoted through Pentecost. This fund will also be promoted during the month of December. New Ministry Initiatives Fund (line 7) This is the source of funds to pay the expenses related to the Missional Church Initiatives (included in lines 14 and 15) and Fund Development (in line18). Income is higher than budget by $635 to pay the corresponding expenses which are also slightly higher than budgeted through the first four months and as a result of the timing of expenses. Missional Church Grants (line 8) We had budgeted to receive $40,000 from a foundation that had supported our missional church initiatives at that level in prior years; we received $25,000. However, we submitted a grant request from a second foundation and received a grant of $15,000. Therefore, actual receipts equal the amount budgeted for Expenses Staff Compensation (lines 14, 23, 33, and 50) Compensation expense, which includes salaries and benefits for employees at Episcopal House, approximates budget. Missional Church Initiatives (line 15) Spending in this area is $3,930 greater than budget through the first four months of the year. Fund Development (line 18) We are ahead of budget by $3,295 in this area. Diocesan Convention (line 25) The net cost of the 2016 Diocesan Convention exceeded budget by $7,140. This is principally the result of increased costs of meals and the service charge. Domestic and International Outreach Grants (lines 35 and 36) The budget assumes that these grants will be paid in December Prison Ministry (line 47) Donations to the Prison Ministry, which were not budgeted, are included in this line, resulting in a favorable variance of $7,068. This variance is a timing difference and is not expected to continue throughout the year. Building & Grounds (line 55) Spending in this area is $10,987 lower than budget due in part principally to lower utility and maintenance costs. Net Results Through the end of April, the favorable variance between actual and budgeted results is $21,663. It is too early to tell the impact of this favorable variance for the full year _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

4 Paul R. Shackford Treasurer of Convention Diocesan Chief Financial Officer May 6, 2016 Moved, Seconded & Approved _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

5 Steering Committee Agenda 2016 ACTS VIM Grant Aplications were presented with recommended funding of $155,000 The awards are as follows: GRANT ID Req. Granted Organization Project AV $11000 Newark School of Theology NST Scholarship Program AV $15000 Newark Shared Ministry High School Equivalency Tutoring Program AV $7500 Chester, Church of the Messiah Senior Resource Center AV $7750 Teaneck, Christ Church Faith, Hope & Love Food Pantry AV $5000 Newark, Grace Church The Choristers Program of Grace Church AV $5000 Bergenfield, All Saints' Episcopal Korean Church Korean Culture School Program AV $5000 Verona, Church of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit Food Pantry AV $2000 Bayonne, Trinity Church Sponsoring EfM Program AV $3000 Ringwood, Church of the Good Shepherd Bible Sunday School Summer Camp AV $9250 West Orange, Holy Trinity Church Food Pantry Stipend AV $12000 All Saints Community Service & Development Corp Jubilee Center Childrens' Program AV $9000 Englewood, St. Paul's Church St. Paul's Choir School AV $16000 North Porch Women's & Infants Center diapers and food supplements AV $15000 Clifton, St. Peter's Church Healthy Food Initiative AV $7500 Hasbrouck Heights, St. John the Divine Church Care on the Corner Programs AV $5000 Hope, St. Luke's Church Haven of Hope for Kids AV $10000 St. Paul's CDC, Paterson CDC - Emergency Men's Shelter AV $10000 Jersey City, Grace Church Van Vorst Grace Community Services ACTS VIM moved seconded and approved, with 4 abstentions. Oasis Grants Louie Crew Scholarships $2500 Haeman Hong $5000 Liz Edman Moved, Seconded & Approved. The Rev. Diana Wilcox & The Rev. Sheelagh Clarke presented some ideas to scatter seeds for Council to consider over the summer months regarding Council's format and interaction with staff personnel. These items will be discussed more in depth at the retreat in September. Suggestions pertaining to Full Council Meetings 1. Role of Diocesan Staff in Council activities. a. President, Treasurer & Secretary will be present, b. Canon Jacobs & Chancellor likely to be at most, if not all meetings c. Rest of staff feedback from Council i. Options could include staff continues to come as has been practice ii. Staff comes when asked to be present for planning or consultation 2. Activity Evaluation Forms Pertaining to the Steering Committee of Council, specifically. 1. Assumption of policy and governance work from action teams. a. Dealing with district grants (communication and followup) b. Wrestling with the discussions on policy matters c. Flip side executive level not necessarily accountable to anyone. d. Would another group be designated to deal with grant vetting (Marge Christie Fund?) 2. Format of Steering Committee Meetings a. How to best utilize time, other than just reviewing a set agenda? Why did the staff participate like they had in the past (how did it come about that they)- Could we have 15 year history and synopsis of council? Secretary will research and furnish for the discussion _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

6 Action Team Report outs Equipping Team Notes: Vestry University will be moved to next spring March 25th, 2017, due to numerous new events being promoted and planned for the fall. Also, most church Vestries have new membership beginning in the first quarter of the year, so the VU programming would be more timely. Due to tardiness of documentation on part of applicants, we have tabled the votes for the following: JCAM Programming application vote will be held next month, One application, for Grace Van Vorst (GVVJC) needs to be considered this evening as the program is scheduled to start running in June. District 10 Sacred Sounds votes will held next month. However, there was a need for funding immediate repairs from the JCAM funds for Church of the Incarnation. The projects that need to be addressed are fixing damaged front steps, $8,500 re-plaster wall in the kitchen $12,550 repair hole in the floor $6,390 For a grand total of: $18,940 motion to waive the second reading for financial considerations passes 1 abstention motion to approve the $18,940 for the repairs as mentioned 1 abstention 900,000 in JCAM funds corpus, $39,000 to grant in 2016 GVVJC Arts and Music program $13,000 program starts in June motion to waive the second reading for financial considerations passes with 1 nay, 1 abstention motion to approve the $13000 for the program as mentioned 2 abstentions Notes from the Empowering Team meeting 11 May 2016 The team will look at the Advent meditations starting in September Discussion on the summer workshop Debra has created a wonderful flyer Food 3 platters of sandwiches and wraps Salads Bob will bring soda and water Debra will bring chips, the sandwich platters and plates and cups The rest of us will provide desserts It was decided to charge $5 to cover expenses Debra has confirmed that the labyrinth, borrowed from Christ Church, Ridgewood, will fit the space in Grace Church, Nutley Sheelagh has spoken to Deborah to let her know that the workshop will not be at St. Agnes this summer, due to space constraints Engaging Team Notes Stigma Free Zones Update on Advocacy LEAMNJ The Walk - River to River: Joining Jesus on the Journey Mary s Stigma Free report. She took the mental health first aid training, which is a first step in Stigma Free Training. She recommends it. Diocese may take it on a space available basis. Attendees were diverse. Susan also reported favorably on the course. The course comes with a good resource book. Bergen County Council of Churches promoted this. Time is 8 hours, but distributed over two days. Besides attending on a space available basis, perhaps we could host this training, depending upon our schedules and the trainers availability. Target by Nov. 1? _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes

7 Michael on LEAMNJ. A report was distributed about how to make decisions. He commented on how our polity differs from that of the Lutherans, but a way forward could include other churches as well. Board consists of the three bishops, six Lutherans and three from each of the two Episcopal Dioceses in NJ. Priorities were established. Tier 1 would be priority of the poor. For example, Assistance for people who can t pay rent. Abuses of solitary confinement is also an active Tier 1 project. Tier 2 would deal with violence., subordinate to Tier 1.They were instrumental in defeating the passage of a bill making firearms permitting easier. Decisions for Tiers and actions are made by consensus of the Board. It s often not so simple to make decisions because the desired action may be attached to an otherwise undesirable bill. Education is also a priority action. All are urged to check the Facebook page to generate increased interest.. Michael asks whether we as Engaging will permit ourselves to be included on contact lists. Responding would be optional. Chuck reported on The Walk He reported with limited syllables due to time having expired. On schedule. Facebook page exists but it is not yet developed. We have a spot every night. Many details need to be filled in. Adjourned Motion to adjourn at 8:31:55 PM Moved, Seconded & Approved _05_11_DC_Council Meeting Minutes