Council News May 2021
Council meeting report for April 19:
Church Council was
opened in prayer by Rev. Melanie.
The March Minutes
were approved.
Gerald Alonzo gave
the Treasurer’s report of activity of the current budget. We continue to be
over the projected numbers for income for the year and under budgeted expenses.
Rev. Melanie presented Minister’s Report which included beginning conversations now about hybrid Worship Service for the summer. Such services would be in-person and on-site, probably in the parking lot, as well as on Zoom. There will be future conversations with the Council regarding opening Whitaker Hall for meetings, exercise class, meals, movies etc. with the community.
Melanie and the
Council are considering gathering a Faith Formation team to plan possible congregational
and community activities, as well as a Vision and Assessment Team.
Finance Team:
Brian Wood
presented eGiving to date via website. The Vanco donation buttons on the Church
website are available and beginning to be used.
Anne Evans presented
proposed 21-22 budget with detailed breakout of various team expenses projected
for coming years. Pledges are not all received yet so income projections are
flexible at this time. The major differences between this current budget and proposed
21-22 budget are the proposed move to full-time work for Rev. Melanie; reVision
projected expenses as the church reopens; and $5000 in the Trustees budget for
possible repairs as we begin to use our facility again.
John Heyes gave support for the proposal for Rev. Melanie moving to a full-time minister. Jeremy and others also spoke enthusiastically about this proposal.
Reverend Melanie has enthusiastically agreed to be our full-time minister if the congregation approves it and wrote:
“It would give the church much more of
my time, attention, and energy as I would not be splitting time, attention, and
energy with a second job. It would allow me to be the minister I deeply
desire to be.”
John Heyes, of the Pastoral Relations Ministry Team, stated during the meeting:
“Rev. Melanie’s leadership has given us
heart, purpose and encouragement. Rev. Melanie becoming our full-time pastor
will allow her to provide a full measure of leadership while we transition from
the people oriented endeavors that we are involved in now and project them more
brightly into our future.”
There were discussions about sustainability and what changed between the Fall of 2019 and now that would allow us to come up with a bigger budget. The proposed budget and the pledges are consistent with previous budgets that included a full-time pastor.
The motion to approve moving to full time ministry from ¾ time was passed unanimously.
The motion to
approve the proposed 21-22 budget was passed unanimously.
The motion to
approve changing the church fiscal year to July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022, was
passed unanimously.
May 23, 2021, will be the Congregational Budget meeting when the congregation will vote on these 3 motions. In the meantime, after church services for the next three Sundays, small group meetings will be held to review and ask questions about the proposed budget.
The Deacons Ministry Team is working on follow-up with new visitors to our service. Updating the church brochure and doing outreach for church members who might be interested in more active roles in our church services are also being addressed.
For the Missions Ministry Team, Shannon gave a complete report on Food Pantry and the volunteers. The food pantry needs a new outdoor site with refrigerator possibly at the bottom of the ramp on the northside of the sanctuary. This accessibility change will require less need for onsite volunteers and better food safety. Shannon and Jeremy will work on planning and a proposal.
Jeremy Cole spoke for the Trustees Ministry Team, presenting the elevator status and install which is moving smoothly (see their report for pictures!). The Council discussed developing the lower Whitaker outside area and the current gopher issues.
Brian presented new formatting for the newsletter which makes article access more direct and makes the creation easier. They have gotten a lot of positive feedback from several Council members. The new format will enter a trial period with the May 2021 issue. Feedback is requested.
The meeting ended in prayer at 10:23AM.
