1 VESTRY MINUTES 5:30 p.m., Monday, January 23, 2017 St. John s Episcopal Church Vestry Present: Matt Brown, Mary Fitzgerald, Cindy Melton, Travis Baldwin, Ray Lowther, Bren Pomponio, Christy Morris, Scott Rogers, Robin O Brien, Dale Snyder and Christine Teague Clergy present: The Rev. Marquita L. Hutchens, rector Guests present: Donna Hamra, Doris Redfield, Linda Workman, Margaret Pomponio, and Brenda Hickman Vestry Absent: Deanna Lyons Call to Order: 5:31 p.m. by Marquita Hutchens Meeting opened: Marquita Hutchens offered prayer. Quorum established: Eleven members were present. Rector s Remarks: Marquita introduced Brenda Hickman who would be taking the minutes for this vestry meeting. Review Agenda: The agenda was modified and accepted as modified. Review Minutes: Minutes from the special meeting held on Monday, December 5, 2016, were accepted as written. Matt Brown made the motion and Cindy Melton seconded. Revisions to the minutes from November 28 were amended and accepted as amended. Robin O Brien made the motion and Bren Pomponio seconded. Rector s Remarks: Marquita extended a welcome to all the new vestry members and addressed vestry protocol. Discussion during meetings is polite and courteous. Remembering that we are Christians, we don t yell at each other. She asked all to help clean up after the meeting so the work is not left to a few. Marquita asked Brenda Hickman to excuse herself as the vestry would be discussing and voting to hire her as another part-time office assistant for 10 hours a week. Matt Brown made the motion and Travis Baldwin seconded to approve the addition to staff. The vote was unanimous.
2 Marquita announced that Ray Lowther would be the new Sr. Warden. Mary Fitzgerald presented him with a pin. Travis Baldwin will be Jr. Warden and vestry liaison to the Property Committee. Treasurer s Report: The Treasurer was unable to attend the meeting. Insurance Risk Management: Marquita stated that Jeff Lyngaas, Vice President of Client Services for CPG, would be in West Virginia on January 31, 2017 doing work for the Diocese and would be meeting with Jon Amores and Ray Shackelford to discuss Insurance Risk Management for St. John s. All vestry members were invited to attend. Outreach: Donna Hamra presented information on the sign for the Outreach Committee. It was proposed to have a metal sign made to hang on the iron fence on Leon Sullivan Way welcoming everyone in love. The idea was to have Love Everyone on the sign. Donna had pictures of the proposed sign in 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 sizes. There was some concern the globe on the 4 x 4 sign would not pixelate well and be blurry. After those present reviewed the pictures it was decided the 4 x 4 sign would be better as the height of the rail is approximately 5 feet. There was some concern rust may be a problem, but Linda Workman said the rail has been treated to prevent rust and the same could be done where the sign attached to the rail. Travis Baldwin made a motion to do the 4 x 4 sign, Robin O Brien seconded, and all voted unanimously to pass. Stewardship: Doris Redfield presented the results of the Pledge Campaign. Doris said that pledges were up approximately $50,000 over last year, which is a 21.48% increase. There were 110 pledges last year compared to 111 of 212 members pledging this year. So there were not more people pledging, but there was more money pledged. She would like to see better ways of getting pledges and suggested that phone calls are a good way. Direct contact seemed to work well and some who said no to making a pledge said they would make contributions. Bren Pomponio asked about the data base used to obtain pledges and was told it was from the list of members. Marquita suggested a three person team to continue leadership on the Pledge Campaign for next year. Have a senior, a junior, and a new member to head the team and rotate people into those positions every year. She would like to recruit a few more people and be ready for next year. Margaret Pomponio: Margaret invited church members to participate in the All are Welcome Here Lobby Day on March 2, 2017 at 9 a.m. at the State Capitol. She distributed a flyer showing a list of organizations that have partnered with WV Free. Travis Baldwin suggested that SAGA be put on the list as well. Margaret presented information on Women s Reproductive Health issues and WV Free. She stated that St. John s Episcopal
3 Church has a long history of involvement in women s issues and that the organization was founded at St. John s. She discovered in her research that St. John s took a strong position in 1994 and a strong resolution was approved at the 71 st General Convention. WV Free promotes compassion toward all people, LGBT, all races and women in need. Marquita and Bishop Klusmeyer spoke in a legislative hearing about an adverse bill last year. Margaret encouraged all to become involved in speaking out against legislative bills that infringe on people s rights. Matt Brown mentioned to everyone that there was a nice article in the Beckley Herald about the formation of the Women s Health Center, St. John s and the McCabe s involvement in getting the Women s Health Center started. WVIRM and Episcopal Migration Ministry:-The State Department is proceeding with the acceptance of refugees into the US. St. John s is moving forward with construction on the third floor where the refugee agency will be located. Bishop Klusmeyer has invited the Rev. Canon Mark Stevenson, Director of Episcopal Migration Ministries, to be guest speaker at Clergy Day on March 6th so that all WV churches will be informed of the progress. Computers: Marquita said the computers are currently working well. St. Elizabeth House: Linda Workman stated that the roof and ceiling repairs are complete. An estimate is needed for more energy-efficient windows and new siding. A sample of siding to match the color tone of the church was available. Duct work on the furnace was fixed and new A/C unit was installed. Additional A/C units are needed in the main building two more window units are needed in second floor classrooms and the HVAC unit for Hunter Hall needs to be replaced. These have already been approved and can be purchased in the spring. Pray Construction: Ed O Dell is working on the flooring in the nave which should be completed by the end of the week. He is repairing the area under the baptismal font and an area under the back pew where the ushers sit. Pray Construction will begin work on the third floor to get it up to fire code, possibly in March. It is part of the Capital Campaign and one family has donated the full amount to cover it. There was considerable discussion about the bathroom people on the third floor will use. Bren Pomponio suggested and it was decided that rather than create an ADA bathroom on the second floor, they will go to the first floor, which is already ADA compliant.
4 The stairwell from the third floor to the first floor must be enclosed so that anyone coming from the second or third floors will arrive on the first floor into a two-hour fire safe rescue area. Pray Construction will provide an estimate for the required safety features. Property Team-Question posed as to if the fire alarm needs to be tested. Last time there was a drill J2A, the nursery, and the second floor didn t hear it. Some work has been done, but it needs to be tested again. Mike Klausing: He is a retired engineer that does a lot of volunteer work at the church. He has helped with the transition to a new office secretary, donating much of his time and talent for no pay. Mary Fitzgerald suggested we do something to show how much he is appreciated. Marquita thought maybe some kind of formal recognition like a dinner in his honor with some kind of presentation to him. Linda Workman thought maybe a donation to SAGA in his name or some other charity he supports. Marquita said she really wants it to be something meaningful. Bren Pomponio mentioned possibly having a small ceremony in the midst of liturgy. Marquita asked if anyone knew when his birthday was, which is June 19 th, but she thought that would be too far away and prefers to do something now. Another suggestion was a plaque in honor of him to be given at a luncheon after church. Marquita nominated Mary Fitzgerald to lead a team to plan an event. Cindy Melton, Linda Workman, and Christy Morris volunteered to help. The event may be on Shrove Tuesday. It was decided to give loose offering from the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday to donate to Mike s favorite charity. Capital Campaign: $310,000 has now been raised. $68,000 of that money is for the third floor renovation. The goal is $1 million. Columbarium: Ray Lowther is working on pricing. He was quoted $950 for a single niche by a church in St. Alban s and was told the price would be going up. Annual Meeting: Parochial report should be included in next year s booklet. Book Sale-Mary Fitzgerald and Bruce Wilson heading up the book sale. We can accept used books donated to be sold. Retreat: Normally the retreat is in February. It was delayed this year due to the late date of the Annual Meeting. Most vestry members were too busy in February. It was decided March 10 and 11 h would be a good time. Marquita will check to see if the St. John XXIII retreat center is available. Some things to accomplish this year are property issues, Capital Campaign ideas, Matt Brown suggested reviewing Canon Law and Diocesan policies. Mary Fitzgerald suggested going over St. John s By-Laws.
5 Nursery: Christy Morris and Matt Brown talked about where to put the receiver for the intercom system. By the usher s pew under the stained-glass windows there is a shelf where the receiver could be placed. We need to check for power availability. Matt also suggested mounting it under the shelf since the shelves are used quite a bit. After some discussion, it was decided that the back might be the best place to put the receiver. Dan Ameli will be contacted to get cords for the intercom system. New Business: Margaret Pomponio asked if there could be a vote on St. John s participating in Lobby Day on March 2 nd. Mary Fitzgerald expressed concern about any conflict with the state. Bren Pomponio made the motion and Ray Lowther seconded the motion. All in favor and motion passed. Eucharist Visitors: Scott Rogers is head of the Eucharist Visitor ministry. We need to recruit and train more people. It is a very important ministry and several homebound people want it. Aaron Gum has already said he will remain in this ministry. Vestry Liaisons to Ministry Committees: Bren Pomponio asked if vestry liaisons to various church committees would change. After some discussion the following lineup was established. Bren Pomponio Mary Fitzgerald Matt Brown Robin O Brien Christy Morris Ray Lowther Travis Baldwin Dale Snyder Christine Teague Cindy Melton Scott Rogers Deanna Lyons Pastoral Care and Alms Stewards Property and Archives Acolytes and DEPT J2A Outreach and DEPT Sr. Warden and Ushers Jr. Warden, SAGA, Eucharist Ministers, Worship, Property Manna Meal Vestry clerk Opp Shop Eucharistic Visitors SAGA Robin O Brien discussed sending two kids from J2A to Washington, DC. Matt Brown made the motion and Christy seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned 7:20PM.