Minutes of the Vestry Meeting Emmanuel Episcopal Church March 23, 2016 Present: Phil Bettendorf, Ellen Cowne, Bill Fox, Brian Freese, Rob Hoyt, Weyman Johnson, Roger Lange, Naomi Norman, Crysty Odom, Terrie Seward, Brooke Stortz, Diane Wahlers, Jack Byrne, Betty Varnadore (church treasurer), The Rev. Judith Whelchel (guest), Fr. Chris Cole, and Fr. Robert Salamone Devotion As word spread about the recent carnage in Belgium, Brian was reminded of the prayer by St. Francis of Assisi which begins, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. It is difficult to be a person of faith, a follower of Christ, and not want to become angry when such things happen. Brian distributed a card with the St. Francis prayer to each person with an accompanying item of devotion to serve as a reminder to pray without ceasing. The vestry prayed the prayer together. Discussion Items Fr. Robert introduced the Rev. Judith Whelchel from North Carolina. She is involved with an exciting turn that the Episcopal Church is looking at nationally and seriously about how we grow and invest our money. What is going on behind the scenes as we trust companies to take care of our money for us? What is the impact? Gospel values should be an essential part of ministry that will impact our mission as a church and those we serve. Impact investments are those made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of generating social and environmental impact as well as a financial return. Rev. Whelchel spoke to the vestry about several of her experiences with Impact Investing during her past 20 years of working with and serving the poor. Her interest in the power of investments for mission came after witnessing the transformation a $15K loan had on a community of illiterate women and their children. A faith lens is put on many aspects of church ministry but not so much on money. There are three areas to examine about church money: 1) Where are our investments and how are they being used? 2) Where are our deposits? 3) How is grant money being used? A concessionary loan (a loan bearing no interest or a rate of interest that is below the average cost) can be paid back and reinvested and this can happen at the parish level at all 7,000 parishes across the country. Quantify what the mission impact is. Investments can impact negatively on mission if the investments in the portfolio are not aligned with the goals of the ministry. Rev. Whelchel believes the Episcopal Church has invested with deep integrity and cultural sensitivity. Though, with assets of $16-$20 billion, the greatest mission impact may remain untapped. If more investible assets are at work while retaining our fiduciary, the scale and the work of God in the world can be more than we could ever imagine. Church leaders can speak with their financial institutions and let them know that their community of faith wants their investments and deposits to reflect their mission goals and focus on the community. 1
Rev. Whelchel described how the Domini Funds use investment dollars to encourage corporate responsibility. Financial institutions are beginning to offer investment impact options in their choice of portfolios. The first church impact forum will be held April 17 in Asheville, NC, and another later in Atlanta. A curriculum will be developed to educate and assist the faith community. Later in the process churches will become certified as a church impact parish and will pool institutional assets based on their levels of resources and invest in 100% impact investing. The church as a whole will watch that fund and see how it performs. Expansion of scope of the restoration, preservation and renewal project The idea came up during the restoration committee meeting to expand the scope of the project to include combining the two existing small bathrooms off the library hall into one larger fully accessible family bathroom (which may include a shower) costing approximately $25,000. The vestry agreed to explore this further with more information obtained and provided to feasibility and additional cost estimates before expanding the scope of the project. Action Item: Weyman moved that the vestry allow the restoration committee to consider expanding the scope of the project to include the family bathroom as described above. Brian seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously. Goals for this year how Emmanuel can grow: Making Connections (based on ideas formulated during the vestry retreat) Naomi has developed a means by which her idea of putting the poor at the center of all we do can begin to be accomplished. The travelling donation box she devised will be visible at church events and available for free-will contributions. The vestry will later select which ministries will be the recipients of these funds. Diane pursued her idea of having an online church directory to improve connections. Her task force (Neil McIntyre, Josh Thames, and Diane) consulted with others who have developed similar systems learning about software options, time to set up, managing, and encouraging parish enthusiasm. A one-size print directory does not fit the needs of all churches and any online version should be printable. The committee consensus is that Emmanuel should use the ACS data management system already in place. They will meet soon with Melissa Fulcher to find out about the features of ACS and what might be possible. Brooke checked with Amy Wraga about 10 day school families who attended the Great Pancake and enjoyed it. Amy encouraged the vestry to come to their Family Night at 5:30 p.m. on April 20 and have their presence known. Many parents who do not have a religious affiliation would likely participate in a mission-based project such as a Habitat House. Parents commented on posters for the pancake supper which would be a good way to encourage their participation in other events. Terrie followed up on planning time and space to integrate, but not compete, with other groups on specific Sundays (perhaps once a quarter). This may provide opportunities for raising up new leadership. Terrie met with Brian and Crysty about their ministries during the hour between services. Weyman thought that could start before 9:30 a.m. and include many in the choir. 2
Brian had productive conversations learning of EFM graduates that may be resources for us as lay ministers. Several expressed an interest in participating as a social outlet and as an opportunity for continuing ministry. Many are already plugged into other ministries as well. By late spring a plan could be developed to kick things off. Ellen presented some ideas formulated at the recent Parish Life committee meeting: One was to reorganize foyer groups which Ellen has volunteered to do for fall. Connect younger with older parishioners as was done at the pancake supper. We need your help! cards in bulletins or pews would need to focus on specific needs, one at a time. Fr. Robert stressed that when the need is not highlighted, it will receive little response. Weeks later another urgent need could be brought to attention. Rob noted that the frequency with which this is done may affect the outcome. Present a list of ongoing, targeted, opportunities during the year where help is always needed. Bill met with Dr. David Berle to develop some rough drawings of future plantings. Bill solicited a committee to evaluate ideas for: Work group for light construction/repair for elderly, etc. A grounds work group Facilities work group Phil added that a building project, partnering with Habitat for Humanity over the summer while we are having our own building project, may be a good option to encourage participation. Reports Financial Report Phil reviewed the Finance/Administrative Committee Meeting Minutes for March 17, 2016. Cash on Hand for the church at the end of February totaled $1,672,856.66. The month ended with a net operating loss of ($5,946.55). Total church revenue for February was $79,141.35, above budget $9,356.45 for the month. Expenses were $85,087.90 for February, ($1,605.21) over budget for the month but $6,490.85 under budget YTD. The total that has been collected for the Phase 2 building campaign is $566,080.19. The Day School (DS) had Cash on Hand of $78,617.61 and February ended with a surplus of $2,652.42. The church budget decreased rent for the remainder of the DS fiscal year from $1,100 to $500 per month. Thrift House (TH) revenues were $4,564.42 for February and $8,879.88 YTD. Expenses were $4,934.90 for the month and $9,302.17 YTD. TH rent to Emmanuel was eliminated for this year due to their mission of outreach. There has been about $691,000 in confirmed pledges for the 2016 operating budget. The $1,000,000 from the endowment has been transferred to the church for Phase 2. Rector s Report Fr. Robert noted that on March 3 there was a fire (overheating and smoking) in a stove vent fan motor but was contained to the vent hood with no damage to any other structure. It has been repaired and is functioning again. 3
Fr. Robert provided handouts from church documents regarding baptism, fonts, furniture, and church seating which give validity to the choices that those on the building committee are considering. Emmanuel was built in 1898 after the tweaking of the 1870 prayer book which did not speak to liturgy at all. So, the church was built under the rubrics of the 1640 Book of Common Prayer. Liturgy has changed considerably since then. A handout from the diocesan commission on human trafficking was distributed. They are seeking individuals who may wish to be parish representatives to the children s communication network. On April 2 there will be a diocesan meeting on dismantling racism. Eleven are signed up from the diocese and Claire Gaus will be a representative from Emmanuel. Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday. Fr. Robert encourages the vestry to participate in this and all other Holy Week worship services. Fr. Robert indicated that the restoration process in the church is scheduled to begin by the end of May. Sara Sanford who was involved for many years with the Council on Aging died on Monday and her funeral will be next Thursday. Raising up new leadership Diane has a new person on her task force. Brooke has reached out to several people brainstorming about the fall fundraising event. MEMC/Outreach Last year MEMC funded over $6,000 to provide meals to needy persons through various ministries at Emmanuel including Bigger Vision, Our Daily Bread, and Homeless Day Center programs. MEMC recommends that the vestry approve the combined spending of $6,300 in 2016 to cover providing these meals. The committee has discussed with Karen Holland the allocation of these recommendations and will recommend moving monies from its emergency account to cover any budgetary shortfall. Weyman presented revised recommendations for which MEMC respectfully requests the vestry s approval: Long-standing commitments for 2016 1. Our Daily Bread $9,000 disbursed in equal monthly installments 2. Thanksgiving $1,000 3. Annual pledge to ER&D $4,140 disbursed in equal monthly installments 4. Samaritan Counseling Center $2,250 disbursed in equal monthly installments 5. The Ark $7,200 disbursed in equal monthly installments 6. Additional 1% Parish Pledge Contribution to diocese requested by vestry $8,884 once for 2016 Quarterly 1. Food allowance $6,300 for food as noted above 2. St. Etienne School, Haiti $3,602 2 nd quarter 4
Action Item: Weyman moved that the vestry approve the MEMC recommendations outlined above. The motion was seconded by Diane Wahlers and approved unanimously. Good of the Order Roger asks that the vestry attend as many services as they can during the next four days. Fr. Chris announced that the Easter Brunch will be Sunday, April 3, with lots of good food and fun activities for all. Weyman asked that everyone continue to pray for his sister who is extremely fragile and has been in intensive care for a month. Diane read that Phil had been honored with the Humanitarian Award at Synovus, well-deserved for all of his community work. Rob was unable to attend the last meeting and is learning a lot. He thanked all for welcoming him. Naomi s favorite Holy Week service is the Easter Vigil and she would like to see many there. She hopes that all the good ideas presented earlier move from the brainstorming stage to the implementation phase, getting them more flushed out by next month and proposing to implement something. The Easter Brunch on April 3 will be the first opportunity to begin using the new travelling donation box if there is vestry approval. Action Item: Bill moved that we unveil the new travelling donation box. Brian seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Fr. Robert asked that all think about Rev. Whelchel s presentation and consider giving seed money from the church. Naomi suggested that a vestry person attend the Asheville forum on April 17 and bring back what they learn to the next vestry meeting. The church would pay the cost for that trip. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. The next meeting will be April 27, 2016. Approved by: Phil Bettendorf, Ellen Cowne, Bill Fox, Brian Freese, Rob Hoyt, Weyman Johnson, Roger Lange, Naomi Norman, Crysty Odom, Terrie Seward, Brooke Stortz, Diane Wahlers Respectfully submitted, Sue Boatright, Clerk of the Vestry 5