Church Council Meeting
Monday, November 19, 2012
Charlie began meeting with unison reading of the mission
statement.
Welcome and Roll
Call……… Gail Conschafter
Attendees: Pastor Larry, Charlie Yund, Fred Claus, Bob
Kaiser (Representing Trustees), Sue Kaiser, Gail Conschafter, Sheila Rader,
Chris Hip, Elaine Johnson, Jan Garrison, Tom Burkman, Liz VonWald
Charlie opened in prayer.
God sightings:
Jan Garrison reported that she heard from John Harbison and pictures will be
forthcoming. The weather has been
great. They struggled with the
construction, but it all came together and the kids went into the tent and had
their lesson. Sheila shared that her
neighbor has been in ICU for a while, and is well enough to come home on
Wednesday. The Dr’s had given them
almost no hope.
O
ctober Minutes: Chris Hipp moved to approve as submitted,
Sheila Rader seconded the motion.
Minutes were approved as presented by a unanimous vote.
Changes to Agenda: Tom Burkman has a proposal during committee
reports.
Major Calendar
Events:
·
One Starry Night – December 2
·
Kids Program – December 16
o Mark
will have a brief message
o Kids
are excited about the performance
·
Choir Concert – December 16 – after 10:30
service
·
Shrove Pancake Dinner – Tuesday, February 12,
20133
·
ACE Seminar – February 9 – Dr. Tim Chambers and
Dr. Tom Burkman
o The
topic is Forgiveness
·
Good Friday Fish Fry
·
Sub Sale & Souper Bowl – February 3
Finance and
Stewardship:
Chris reported:
Through October
General Fund giving is $281.6k vs. $293.6k in 2011, a decrease of $12k, while
expenses are $299.9k vs. $302.3k in 2011, a decrease of $2.7k.YTD we have paid
80% of our apportionments.
The Trinity Fair
generated $4.7k.Thanks to the Sipsons and all the others who worked to make it
the success it was. The Finance Committee recommends that these funds be
targeted toward apportionments, as has been the practice in recent years.
At the 11/17 Church
Charge Conference the compensation packages for our Senior Pastor and Associate
Pastor were approved, giving a 1% pay increase.
We are using a different approach to
Stewardship for 2013.The congregation is being asked make a private commitment
to the life of the Church, rather than to a budget.In 2013 spending will be
closely monitored and budget adjustments made if necessary.
General fund 283,000
Have
paid 80% of apportionments
Fall
Festival brought in approx. $4700 – recommendation the money go to pay
apportionments.
There
was discussion on what to do with the proceeds from the Fall Festival. Suggestions were Youth Mission Trip and
Kitchen equipment. Larry shared that the finance and Festival committee can
help with the decision of where the money could be allocated to and then to
recommend what the money should be used for, and then comes to Council for the
final approval. Bob said that equipment
should come from capital fund. Elaine
motioned that $1000 be delegated for the Youth and the remainder go to pay
apportionments. Elaine rescinded her
motion and discussion was tabled until next meeting so we can have more details
to make a decision.
Stewardship
Campaign:
Larry
reported that the letters went out today.
It appears to be self explanatory. December 2 is the date set to return
pledges. Throughout the year, there will
be stewardship segments. This will
hopefully push the idea of stewardship throughout the entire year, and not just
once a year for ONE time. There was a question as to what kind of follow up
will happen when envelopes are not received from a usual giver. There is a FAQ sheet included in the
mailing. There will be a dedication time
for those that are bringing in their envelopes.
Church Charge
Council Summary: Meeting was held
Saturday, November 17 in Historic Trinity.
Dist. Supt. Wayne Butler shared his feelings with the group. The message on planting seeds was well
received. He also challenged us to
strengthen the UMC. A program called
Plentiful Harvest. The goal is that
Upper New York State renew or revitalize 300 congregations. Larry would have to attend 5 sessions and
then members from our congregation would have to attend 4 sessions. The second piece is that we create 100 new
faith communities. We are moving in this
direction with our Right Now program. Charlie
read the two questions that were posed at the end of the Church Charge Council
Meeting. There was discussion on
different groups that we already have in place and what other groups might be
successful in starting.
Committee Reports:
CE – Liz
shared that the State is cutting funds for the disabled, and pushing them to
find resources in the community. Perhaps
we could generate a list of the outreach programs the UM Churches offer. There are a lot of programs that are already
in place to offer to these people.
Living on Grand Island restricts us and those that are not on the
Island.
Trustees: Bob Kaiser read the proposal, as posted on
the blog. Motion made by Bob Kaiser and
seconded by Fred Claus. Bob continued to
read. The entire policy is filed with
notes.
The Trustees have
authorized me, Bob Kaiser, to represent them at this meeting. I will offer the
following motion: “This Council hereby adopts as official Trinity policy the
document titled ‘TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (TUMC) Official Policy
for the Use of Property and Facilities’ dated October 2012 and duly approved by
the Board of Trustees on October 17, 2012.”
This document is an update of an October 2007
version of the policy. A committee consisting of Bobbie Cap, Pete Faruga,
Martha Martin and I were the principal authors of both the 2007 policy and this
2012 update. The recent update is largely clerical, consolidating previously
separate Policy, Fees and Application documents into one and clarifying wording
throughout. The procedure for approving Applications by outside users was
changed somewhat. Perhaps the most substantial change is that the fee for
outside use of the gym was raised to $20/hr, from $10/hr. (Current users may
continue paying the lower rate for one year.)
Charlie Yund emailed a review copy of the policy to all Council members
on October 18, 2012. It elicited comments from three people on four subjects,
all of which were addressed to the satisfaction of the questioner.
Discussion followed on the fees that are being charged
and how it compares to other places. Fred asked if the electronics and the use
of them is addressed in the policy. Bob
stated that even though the policy is broad, the details are covered. Vote was taken, and passed unanimously.
SPRC: Tom Burkman first asked that Liz VonWald
leave the room for a short time. He
explained that the committee previously voted a 1% raise for the pastors. An additional motion was presented to
Council. See motion attached. Tom made a motion to accept the proposal and
Sue Kaiser seconded. The raises for the
motion on the table would be an additional $386.01. Discussion followed. Tom explained it was more of an appreciation
raise. He explained that salaries can be
raised at any time. The amount of the
raise was prayerfully and financially thought out. Vote was taken and passed with two
abstention.
Additional
Comments: Charlie reported that
Angie contacted Charlie about the fire that occurred in Town Hall Terrace and
totally destroyed the apartment. The
renters are having difficulty financially, having no insurance. A group is trying to put together a benefit
to help this family. Is it possible for
TUMC to donate the use of the family room for this benefit? The building use policy states the fees may
be waived by the Council. Elaine Johnson
motioned to make the family room available and waive the fee for the fire
victims. Bob Kaiser seconded the
motion. The group in charge will conform
to the church rules. Bob suggested we
make this a “church program” to benefit one of our neighbors. Bob moved to amend the motion to adopt this
as a Trinity outreach program vs. just waiving the usage fee. Elaine seconded
the amended motion. Vote to accept the
amendment passed. Vote to accept the amended motion. Motion passed unanimously. Larry recommended
the church handle the finances if the church is going to sponsor.
Pastor’s
Comments: The key to keep in mind
with Supt. Butler’s suggestion does not mean an extra service… it can be as
simple as a group meeting at Tim Horton’s.
The new exciting element is that Pastor Bowens is doing the training in
this area. It would be a good investment
for us if Nate were to take the training instead of Larry. Right Now resource is going to require a lot
of effort. The young couples have signed
up, but need an accountability group or partner. After the first of the year, new divisions
will be created and use the Right Now resources. We need to organize this a little bit better. We may need to run a few of these groups at
church to accommodate the technology. The technology will work better in the
sanctuary in Historic Trinity. Another
thing that would be a part of this outreach might be to do a VBS in a
neighborhood. This is a great way to
reach out to our community. This is a good way to start a faith community. There should be some sort of spiritual
element, whether it be prayer, Bible study, or worship. Larry is aware that there is anxiety about
the finances of the church. We are
moving in a direction to look at stewardship in a new and different ways. Try to dampen the anxiety and be prayerful
about the situation. This new approach
takes the institutional out of giving, and makes it more personal.
Sue Kaiser reported that the message Pastor Larry shared
at the ecumenical service was well received.
Next meeting is Monday, December 17, 2012
Closing prayer was given by Pastor Larry.
Meeting adjourned at 8:58.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Conschafter
