Saint Paul s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill December 17, 2018 Regular Vestry Meeting 7 p.m. Dixon House Library In attendance: Tim Albert, Annibal C. Aponte, Charlotte Biddle, Cliff Cutler, Ruth Desiderio, Cheyenne DeMulder, John Kimberly, Chesley Lightsey, Chuck Lower, Tabitha Oman, Steve Pearson, Kristen Poole, Amanda Scates-Preisinger, Madeline Schroth, Joseph Wolyniak Parish Thematic Goal: Unity Agenda I. Call to Order (7 p.m.) Average Sunday Attendance 11/19/17 194 11/18/18 206 11/26/17 187 11/25/18 200 12/3/17 242 12/2/18 279 12/10/17 227 12/9/18 323 AVERAGE 213 252 A. Short Form of Evening Prayer the Rev. Cliff Cutler B. Listening Hearts Guidelines the Rev. Cliff Cutler C. Discussion of minutes from November 19, 2018 meeting. Factual corrections were made and Madeline noted the changes. Voted to approve the amended minutes. Discussion of transferring the responsibility for minute-taking at Vestry meetings. Given the need for transparency and quick dissemination of information during this transition period, we need to have minutes from previous meetings quickly approved so that they can be posted on the church website and made available to parishioners. Discussed scope of the secretary position: taking Vestry minutes, with distribution within one week, as well as serving as secretary of the coordinating committee. Cliff to approach/appoint a new secretary.
Review of new members: Kathryn Reber - Remember to introduce yourselves to visitors, or anyone standing around alone after church and at fellowship time. E. Rector s Report Parish Anxiety over Transition Cliff presented thoughts on the emotional responses associated with change in general and clerical transitions in particular. He noted that the perception of a threat (in this case, a future of change and uncertainty) is associated with anxiety. He observed common responses when people get anxious: there is often a demand for certainty, which can stiffen opposition; anxiety can flood the nervous system, making it hard to hear without distortion; anxiety can lead to a demand for clear thinking, which can lead to pressure for binary, yes-no thinking; anxiety can produce a desire for a quick fix. Part of negotiating a transition period, then, is the need to manage anxiety so it doesn t leak forward. If we can properly manage communal anxiety, there can be some positives. Cliff continued to discuss anxiety and how it might manifest in our St. Paul s community, and in ways that we might fragment our community. We might tend to think that St. Paul s fragmentation could fall along the lines of the communities in our three services (8:00, 9:00, and 10:30), but this is not necessarily the case. A study conducted a few years ago in the context of patterns of church giving revealed that St. Paul s has three segments: 1) long-term members (25+ years), who feel that it is a basic Christian duty to give; 2) people who came to St. Paul s 20-30 years ago, who tend to make gifts they feel are in proportion to how church is run; 3) people who came to St. Paul s subsequent to the last period of turbulent transition, who are more interested in how can we grow community and raise children. In terms of thinking about unity, we can focus on our strengths (music ministry, outreach, church school), thinking more about the ANDs, points where we connect rather than our differences. Cliff then outlined very specific anxieties the community should be sensitive to in light of the dynamics during the last period of transition before his arrival: 1) The last transition period saw clergy conflict, power struggles, and the community breaking into unhealthy patterns of triangulation. Cliff noted that triangles happen when the parish is anxious, and the need to avoid triangulation. Parishioners who went through this turbulence in the past could be anxious about this dynamic reoccurring. Cliff doesn t see that dynamic playing out with Joseph and the interim, but we should be aware that this past in part of the communal memory.
2) One way that people try to avoid the anxiety that comes with a clergy transition is to simply seek a role replacement (that is, replacing Cliff with a New Cliff). This, however, is regressive step and not a way to move the community forward. Again, this is just a tendency that we should be aware of and avoid. 3) Chronically anxious group can start herding. This can also become unhealthy for the larger community dynamic, and is something of which we should be aware. 4) Anxiety happens when positions stiffen, and this is perhaps already something that St. Paul s is already experiencing in light of some shifting statements coming from the diocesan level. Cliff pointed out that the Bishop and the Canon for Transition were both relatively new when our transition period began, and that the Bishop and the Canon needed time to figure out how they wanted to do transitions. Thus early in our process there were statements about the possibility of flexibility and not taking a one size fits all approach, but as the diocese clarified the transition process it became more standardized. This is normal; the St. Paul s transition just happened to begin as the diocesan policy was coming into focus, so there were some initial mixed signals. By now, however, the policies and procedures have been stabilized and clarified. In open discussion, the Vestry then focused on concerns about parish communication regarding the transition process. In particular, there were concerns about the wording of the letter that was sent to the parish describing the process; that letter stated that the vestry had chosen to go along with the diocesan procedure. Several members of the vestry felt that the notion of choice was not an accurate depiction of the process, since in her visit to the vestry the Canon for Transitions had made it clear that St. Paul s did not have any choices to make in terms of the process; we can only follow the mandated diocesan procedure. There were concerns that the letter may have inadvertently mischaracterized the role and decisions of the Vestry, and that these mischaracterizations could lead to some anger in the parish. There followed additional discussion about the need for good communication evenly across the parish, and of particular actions that the leadership and Vestry might take to disseminate information: the swift posting of vestry minutes on the parish website; a parish letter or handout describing more clearly the diocesan procedure, including an explanation of the rationale for diocesan policies; using the Sunday bulletin as a venue for regular updates on the transition process. It was discussed that many parishioners at St. Paul s come from non- Episcopal religious traditions, and so the governing diocesan structures might be unfamiliar and frustrating to people; again, there was a need to clarify that the Vestry does not have a choice in the transition process. Vestry members were receiving parishioners concerns about the potential loss of Joseph. Many people in the parish are feeling frustration or confusion about the fact that Joseph can t simply apply to be the next rector while still at St. Paul s. There is a sense on the part of many people that they wanted actions to be taken (either individually or communally) to argue with the diocese about retaining Joseph. The Vestry felt that there needed to be more parish-wide
explanation of the Church s wisdom and reasoning for having a hiatus between rectors. There also needs to be better clarification about the period of self-evaluation and re-assessment during the interim; parishioners should know that this is the time when we will collectively be discerning who we are as a community and the direction we want to be taking in the future. There will be lots of opportunity for input during this period. Since this discussion of the transition had taken up most of the scheduled meeting time, we discussed the need for more frequent vestry meetings, since the Vestry will be leading Cliff s departure process and yet we still need to be managing the regular ongoing church business. It was decided that we will be alternating our regular monthly Monday night meetings for church business (finances, ministries, etc.) with Sunday morning meetings dedicates specifically to discussing the transition process. F. Right of the Floor/ What s on our Minds? Discussion of how to communicate within the community when someone is ill; need to respect privacy but also need to provide supportive network. II. 2019 Budget. The budget committee met on Saturday, December 15. They proposed a second round of a draft budget. The Finance Committee reviewed that on Sunday, December 16, before it came to the Vestry. The Vestry ran into overtime to discuss the budget. The budget had been planned conservatively in order to allow for outside costs (not fully known) of the transition process. Of particular note were the costs of the incoming music director, who has dependents and thus higher insurance costs. Also of note and concern were the declining number of pledges. The most significant concern in the context of the budget was the elimination of the position of the Children, Family and Youth Coordinator, Anthony Carella. The position is being eliminated because of the expected costs we will incur by hiring an interim Rector after Cliff s retirement. The Vestry was concerned about Anthony s situation, especially as he has been living in the apartment on the St. Paul s campus. There was discussion about the possibility of allowing to continue to remain in the apartment, compensating fair market value for the apartment (about $850/month, per assessments by local realtors), perhaps through overseeing campus security; any lease longer than one year needs to be approved by the diocese. There was also discussion of Anthony s health insurance, which ends when the full-time position is terminated at the end of February. After a line-by-line review of the budget items, the Vestry voted to pass the budget. III. Dismissal (Night Prayer) The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Vestry will be on Monday, January 28, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the Dixon House Library. We will meet a week later than usual because of Martin Luther King Day.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Kristen Poole.