MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF KANSAS, INC. August 20, 2013 The Council of Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, Inc. met at Bethany Place in Topeka, Kansas, on August 20, 2013. The Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop and Chairman, convened the meeting at 10:00 a.m. with worship commemorating Bernard of Clairvaux. Members of the Council of Trustees present were: Bishop Wolfe Mr. Gary Chubb, President Mr. Felix Adams The Rev. Sharon Billman Dr. Linda Brown Mr. Dick Coulter The Rev. Gar Demo The Rev. A. Patrick K. Funston The Rev. Christine Gilson Mrs. Margaret LaRue Mr. Joseph Mitchell The Venerable Charles Pearce Mr. Bob Skaggs Members of the Council of Trustees absent were: The Very Rev. Bill Wolff Advisor to the Council of Trustees present was: Mr. L. Franklin Taylor, Chancellor and Clerk Also present were: Mrs. Jeanne Atha, Executive Assistant to the Bishop Mr. C. J. Currie, Comptroller Mrs. Melodie Woerman, Diocesan Communications Officer The Rev. Art Rathbun, Missioner for Development The Rev. Andrew Grosso, Dean, Bishop Kemper School for Ministry Ms. Karen Schlabach, Youth Missioner
Minutes, Council of Trustees August 20, 2013 Page 2 Bishop Wolfe presented the minutes of the Council of Trustees meeting of July 16, 2013. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Coulter, to approve the minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Currie presented the treasurer s report. He noted that the Diocese is on target to end the year as projected. Mr. Chubb reported for the Ecclesiastical Relations Committee: The committee recommends that the Council of Trustees acting as Standing Committee of the Diocese consent to the election of a Bishop Coadjutor for the Diocese of Mississippi. The recommendation was seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously. The Diocese of Massachusetts is requesting recommendations for nomination as Bishop Coadjutor. Mr. Chubb reported for the St. Margaret s Task Force consisting of Mr. Skaggs, Mrs. LaRue, Bishop Wolfe, Fr. Wolff, and himself: The committee met on Wednesday of last week. The committee is still working on financing for the St. Margaret s loan with several active options. Canon Loya facilitated a vestry goal-setting activity in June in which five goals were set with the following focus: o Grow the youth program. o Equip the saints for ministry. o Evangelism and incorporation. o Mission and outreach. o Stewardship and fundraising. Mr. Skaggs reported for the Finance Committee: Good Shepherd Parish, Wichita, requests an exemption from apportionment for $75,000.00 to be used for revitalization of parish facilities. The Southwest Convocation Board and the Finance Committee recommend approval of this request. The recommendation was seconded by Dr. Brown and carried unanimously. Grace Cathedral, Topeka, requests an exemption for the proceeds of a capital campaign to renovate the Cloister Building and create a parish hall and fellowship space on the main building level in an amount not to exceed four million dollars. The Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb, Dean of Grace Cathedral, described the project in some detail, noting that the new parish hall would have about twice the space as the parish hall in the cathedral under Croft. Mr. Skaggs noted that the Northwest Convocation Board and the Finance Committee recommend approval of this
Minutes, Council of Trustees August 20, 2013 Page 3 request. The request was seconded by Mthr. Billman and carried by a vote of 11 to 0 with Mrs. LaRue abstaining. Church of the Covenant, Junction City, requests an exemption from apportionment for an amount not to exceed $38,500.00 for revitalization of the parish building. The Northwest Convocation Board and the Finance Committee recommend approval of this request. The recommendation was seconded by Mr. Mitchell and carried unanimously. The Rev. Andrew Grosso, Dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, reported: Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, Inc. was incorporated in the office of the Kansas Secretary of State on July 26, 2013. The school is currently teaching 38 courses and has 37 students. Faculty are drawn from the four participating dioceses. The school projects 25 to 28 students annually. Fr. Demo noted that the School for Ministry is no longer an entity of the Diocese of Kansas, but, pursuant to the term sheet approved at the May Council of Trustees meeting, is a joint venture of the Dioceses of Kansas, Western Kansas, Western Missouri and Nebraska. There followed some discussion about ongoing funding of the administrative support required from the Diocese of Kansas. There was also discussion about endowment funds generated by the ongoing Crossroads Campaign. No specific conclusions were reached. The Council of Trustees recessed at 10:10 a.m. and reconvened at 10:25 a.m. The Chancellor commented on the request of St. John s Parish, Wichita, for placement on historic registries. He noted that he, the Bishop and Mr. Chubb conducted a telephone conference recently with several representatives of St. John s Parish and concluded that parish representatives understand and are giving consideration to concerns occasioned by the Friends of Bethany Place litigation in which the Diocese has been involved. Fr. Rathbun reported on development activities, projecting significant results in the current phase of the Crossroads Campaign prior to the presiding Bishop s visit to the Diocese of Kansas on October 5 and 6. He noted that the current primary focus is on prospects in the Wichita area and on grant funding for technology. Ms. Schlabach reported that she is working on a revised safe church policy, looking at best practices from other dioceses. The Council of Trustees recessed for lunch at noon and reconvened at 12:30 p.m. Canon Loya noted that he has accepted a call to be Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska, and that this would be his final meeting with the Council of Trustees. He reported on transition ministry:
Minutes, Council of Trustees August 20, 2013 Page 4 St. Stephen s Parish, Wichita the Rev. Steve Mues will retire at the end of September. The Vestry has chosen to use the Priest-in-Charge search process and hope to have a Priest-in-Charge appointed by the middle of the fall. St. Luke s Parish, Shawnee, has chosen to use a conventional search process. Bishop Wolfe has appointed the Rev. John Goddard as Interim Rector. St. Paul s Parish, Clay Center the Rev. Lavonne Seifert, who will be ordained Priest on August 24, 2013, will become Priest-in-Charge on October 15, 2013. Grace Parish, Winfield, and Trinity Parish, Arkansas City, have called the Rev. Laurie Lewis as Priest-in-Charge effective September 1. Bishop Wolfe is negotiating with the person selected to fill the vacant position of campus missioner. He noted that the two other finalists were also highly qualified, and he would like to have them involved in ministry in the Diocese. Epiphany Parish, Sedan the Rev. Marcus Cunningham has accepted a call to Trinity Parish, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the parish is reviewing its options. The Rev. Shawn Streepy has been appointed Priest-in-Charge at St. Aidan s Parish, Olathe, effective August 1. Bishop Wolfe noted that some decisions need to be made about nontraditional ministry at St. Paul s Parish, Kansas City, Kansas, and requested volunteers from the Council of Trustees to form a committee to talk about possibilities. Bishop Wolfe noted that St. Paul s Parish, Kansas City, Kansas, St. Paul s Parish, Leavenworth, and St. Margaret s Parish, Lawrence, all of which are delinquent on 2012 apportionment, are requesting seat, voice and vote in the 154th Convention and forgiveness of their 2012 apportionment. Representatives of each of these parishes have been invited to make a presentation at the September Council of Trustees meeting. Mr. Skaggs noted that St. Paul s Parish, Kansas City, Kansas, is delinquent by more than three months in payments to the Church Pension Fund, and pursuant to Diocesan Canon II.3.2, would be denied lay representation in the Convention. Bishop Wolfe announced that the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, will visit the Diocese on October 5 and 6 and will participate in the dedication of renovations that have been completed to the Bishop s house and consecration of ground for a School for Ministry building. Mr. Skaggs announced that members of the Finance Committee and Diocesan staff would meet with Convocation Boards to preview Convention issues as follows: Southeast Convocation Saturday, September 7, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. St. John s Parish, 1801 Corning, Parsons. Southwest Convocation Saturday, September 7, 2013, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Trinity Parish, 400 West Ash, Eldorado. Northeast Convocation Saturday, September 14, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Trinity Parish, 1011 Vermont Street, Lawrence.
Minutes, Council of Trustees August 20, 2013 Page 5 Northwest Convocation Saturday, September 14, 2013, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Street, Topeka. Mr. Skaggs also noted that the Diocese has been authorized by Friends of Bethany Place to remove memorial tree stumps on the Bethany Place property without a final decision of the Kansas Supreme Court. The Council of Trustees recessed to Executive Session at 12:55 p.m. with Canon Loya and Mr. Taylor remaining in the meeting. The Executive Session concluded at 1:20 p.m. There being no further business to come before the meeting, it was adjourned. L. Franklin Taylor, Clerk