VESTRY MEETING Wednesday, October 10, 2018 Willard Room Approved November 14, 2018 AGENDA 6:00-8:30 p.m. Attendees: Rev. Glenna Huber (Rector), Rev. Catriona Laing, (Associate Rector), Ann Gordon, (Senior Warden) Caroline Klam, (Junior Warden), Duncan Stevens (Treasurer) D Oniece Dillard, Kathy Haines Linda Grigsby, Michele Hutt, James Rogers, Brian Stecker, Uyi Oviasogie, Kelli Sampson Guests: Rev. Robert Phillips; Lesley Krauland, (Deacon); Robert Diday, (Seminarian) The meeting opened at 6:30pm with prayer and Bible Study lead by D'Oniece: She read Matthew 13: 44-53 Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl 44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. The Parable of the Net 47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Have you understood all these things? Jesus asked. Yes, they replied. 52 He said to them, Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. Page 1 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018
D'O suggested the Vestry reflect on this teaching and think about where Epiphany is now, in terms of transitions, budgets, etc. We should not forget the nuggets of good, abundance and love that are here. Let us not work from a position of scarcity, let us work from a position of being the kingdom and finding out where the nuggets are. Kathy agreed that it s a good idea to start with a glass half full mentality, even while acknowledging the challenges. Rev. Glenna said we should take a moment and be glad that we have accomplished as much as we have with the review and it gives us the start to work on challenges. Reflecting on the past year and taking stock, Caroline suggested "Let s go around the table and name our wins." Caroline many wins, people grew together, the energy around Pentecost Brian transparency and communication has improved over the last year, having the minutes available, invitations for people to attend, Epiphanies Happens, more info about what goes on in the vestry Robert seminarian introduced. Attracted to Epiphany due to social justice issues and likes that those in need are embraced and made part of the community. Trin thinks the win is the mood in the vestry sense the vestry has a stronger sense of identity / role which has led to a stronger sense of engagement. Linda felt that change within the Vestry started with the retreat people showed their horns as well as their good side and she recommends that retreat as being a good start, real learning curve. Sometimes it was difficult but it was beneficial. Michelle empowering 8am parishioners to empower them to be part of the service, giving them a voice. Gives them a spotlight on their accomplishments. Builds the congregation, can-do spirit. James please by the way Epiphany has taken a step forward in pastoral care. The geography makes it difficult but people came together and made it happen. Ann we have challenges around administration and finances but we re making a real start on having that in place. Having everything in advance for documents so people come to meetings prepared and the meetings are more productive and organized. Builds trust. Uyi has been away on travel but has been able to keep up with what has been going on, and he feels the vestry is more engaged, specifically the 8am service. Win is more engagement with 8am service, seeing overall development and engagement of vestry members. Honest conversations, see that things get done. Duncan improved processes around money caught up in audits, spending policies, sorting out old issues about which funds are where and how to track them. More remains to be done, but it s better. Kelli check counting example of one process that is much better, had coffee with Anya, & feels that she is a good addition to Epiphany. Caroline Stewardship committee is a win. Kathy Communications is a win. Also newcomer committee both digitally and face to face how we connect with people Page 2 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018
D'O this really is a working vestry, people take it seriously and get our tasks done, Rev. Glenna is supportive of giving Vestry members a chance to grow as leaders. Leslie grateful to be here and getting to know everyone, kind of a storm of activity, ministry is rich, and grateful to participate. Very dynamic. Rev. Robert On 1 November it will be one year that he is here and this was one of the first vestries that he did a retreat with, and he feels like it was a blessing. Epiphany is a blessing to the community around it. Rev Glenna someone from the cathedral came and when she walked through the vestry she hear the music, there is an abundance of community. We ve done a lot of good work. The Rev. Robert Phillips introduced and the Vestry discussed a new- mental health task force project (Attachment provided). It is a pilot program and a new initiative for the diocese. Rev. Phillips noted there is both beauty and brokenness in life. One thing that has been made clear is that we have a lot of hurt and brokenness in our diocese, and he wanted to provide support healing The program has two objectives: 1) Disseminate information about resources and 2) create structured small groups that can allow people to talk about specific issues / concerns. IMAGO dialog and communication, where communities express feelings to each other he will do the rollout Calvary signed up and cathedral parish, available to Epiphany, he will tell us about it and answer questions, and then let him know if we want to do it. He would come back and talk to parishioners as a whole and ask if any people who would like to be facilitators. The structure of this is a closed group, for a period of 6 8 weeks. Expectation is to finish vestry conversations before end of 2018, roll out groups in quarters next year. Info on this would be placed into bulletin and lifted up during services. A question from Kelli: "How are consultants on the back involved?" Answer: They will be part of the program, work with Rev. Phillips then by 2020 group in each of 88 parishes. Rev. Trin asked, would individual parishioners be asked to join? Answer is yes, with 8 10 people in each group. May have more than one group once this gets going. D O: asked about the vision for this? Also need to be careful about nomenclature people don t like the name support group so it s called Journey towards Wholeness but it will be structured. You don t just do a dump of what is going on in your life. Caroline asked if this will the pilot be different give the diverse group here. Rev Phillips said it will be self selecting but it would be very rich. Kathy noted that day of week & time of day will influence who is able to participate. Rev Glenna suggested that there be stated up front a certain mental stability as a requirement Articulate this expectation sobriety of medical compliance. Rev Trin noted we should also make sure people follow up with their commitments. Other initiative Congregational Care Curriculum series of 3 retreats starting 20 Oct which are ½ day events, from 9am 1pm 1. Mirrors of Hope 2. Relationship of Grace (10 November) 3. Images of Love (15 December) Relationship with self, others, God Page 3 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018
$10 each Rev Glenna we will take this under discernment Rev. Lesley Krauland, Deacon; Robert Diday, Seminarian were introduced to the Vestry Leslie is Deacon and is here with us twice per week & Sunday. She said she is glad to be at Epiphany because she wanted a place that is authentic and real. She wants to get to know everyone in the parish. We are asked to pray for her. Robert stated that as a Seminarian this year is formation which comprises both academic study and practical application. He has goals to make all A s and spend a lot of time in the parish. Rev. Glenna stated that Robert also does organizing to raise money for environmental justice. Encourage care of creation and those impacted by climate change. Kathy would be interested in this regarding environmental justice The Agenda for the October 2018 meeting was presented and reviewed by the Vestry. Rev. Glenna requested the addition regarding announcement on information on CDs from Jeremy and requested a motion to approved the amended Agenda. Linda moved, D O seconded and the motion to accept the Agenda as amended passed unanimously. The minutes from the September 2018 Vestry meeting were presented and reviewed by the Vestry. Corrections: Brian requested to be added to the attendee list. Apologies made and Brian s name was added. Updates were made to note the resignation of Vestry members, and some spelling errors were requested to be corrected. Rev. Glenna requested a motion to accept the minutes as amended. Caroline moved to accept the amended minutes and James seconded. The Minutes of the September meeting were accepted as amended. The Treasurers report was presented and reviewed by the Vestry. Discussion followed with some Q & A. Q: Is YSOP only behind through September? A: Duncan thinks end of August Mostly income is lower than expected, expenses are either at or under budget. Overall budget deficit is over 120K. Anya working on grants 2019 Budget requests made. Must be done by end of October Accountant has suggested to buy back retroactively reallocating funds Q Linda is the audit complete, A. Duncan says yes. Rev. Glenna stated that copies are available Q. Kelli asked if adjustment with the green estate is going forward: A: Duncan is going to make sure this is going to be okay and then yes. Rev Glenna stated Duncan is making sure this works, Accountant is pushing for this to go ahead. Wants to manage this conservatively. Rev. Glenna requested a motion to accept budget as presented. The requested was made by Anne and seconded by D O. The motion passed unanimously. Page 4 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018
The Candidate list for the upcoming Vestry was presented and reviewed. There was an acknowledged lack of diversity among the candidates and does not fully reflect the congregation but there was also a note that these candidates listed were the individuals who agreed to serve on the Vestry and were not the only ones approached Rev Glenna moved to vote on the candidates, which Kathy seconded. All were in favor, none opposed, and the slate was accepted as presented. Mutual Ministry Review was led by Caroline. She first explained the process and reviewed the summary sheet. The numbers were how many people commented (8 returned reflections out of possible 12) and not everyone filled in every box. Observations we don t yet understand what mutual ministry is, the boxes were not filled in and we want to reflect on this and come into ownership of this concept. The form is very long, and people didn t fill out the whole thing. Review of challenges. Values voting exercise was done to answer the question What do we think is the most important thing to address in the year ahead? Then do setting goals. Item: Define who we are and how we tell our story. Michele calls this a Mission Statement. Program drives mission, not mission driving the program. Brian noted that with regard to goal setting, finance is measureable, unlike some of the other concerns. Kelli noted we ll have to make difficult decisions about the future and we need to be in relationship with each other. James asked how much is brand and much is soul searching Robert mentioned that the issue of a church community having no intentional conversation about spiritual formation is a systemic problem throughout the diocese. Caroline mentioned that we need to commit to each other and to the vestry. We need to take the thoughts and share the top five with the parish and the next Vestry class. Linda reflected on the diversity in the church, how or whether that was reflected in the vestry list, and suggested we need to grow our own in the church so they re ready and willing to join the vestry. Rev. Glenna reminded the group that none of this happens in isolation. The newcomers group and the welcoming of new members is a vital step in the process. Rev. Glenna requested a Motion to extend meeting by 10 minutes. James so moved and Ann seconded. The vestry agreed to continue the meeting to address an additional item. The topic next addressed was the invoice regarding unexpected expense items related the CDs produced under Jeremy s direction. A check has been cut for the vendor and Rev. Glenna requested a Page 5 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018
motion to release the check. Caroline so moved, and James seconded. The motion passed with two abstentions. Rev. Glenna informed the vestry that we now have the CDs to sell and Caroline said for a nice 2 CD set perhaps $20. Brian and James encourage the group to consider what types of advertising might be beneficial. Final note that the Annual meeting date is 21 October 2018. It will be done within the context of the 11am service. Caroline urged that this be planned carefully and be intentional about how the 8am and Welcome Table community members are invited. We also had a farewell. James is leaving the Epiphany Choir to pursue a professional growth opportunity with the choir of the Westmoreland UCC, and he was thanked for his presence, his service, and the sharing of his gifts with Epiphany. Ann distributed the vestry person of the day list for people to sign. Caroline closed the meeting with the final prayer and Rev. Glenna requested a motion to adjourn. D O so moved and Linda seconded. The meeting was then adjourned. Reports distributed to the Vestry for Review Mental health project Minutes - Attachment A Treasurer s Report - Attachment B Rector s Report- Attachment C Associate Rector Attachment D Wardens Report- Attachment E Stewardship Committee Report- Attachment F Strategic Ministry Review- Attachment G Buildings and Grounds Report- Attachment H 175 th Anniversary Committee Page 6 of 6 Approved November 14, 2018