Vestry Minutes - June 18, 2012

Formation
Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving and Prayer Requests
Evening Prayer began at 7:00 PM. The vestry then met in the undercroft meeting room where the meeting began with each person offering prayers of thanksgiving and intercession.

Attendance
Present at the meeting were the rector, Kristin Orr; senior warden, Frank So; junior warden, Audrey Ongman; vestry members Candice Barrera, Anne Edwards, Steve Hofer, John Huntoon, Bev Keene, Gale Michael, Mark Moxley, and R.J. VanSwol; and the clerk, Susan Marquis. Vestry member Greg Lawrence and the treasurer Clay Denton were absent.

Parish Stewardship
Approval of Minutes from the May Meeting
Bev Keene moved that the minutes from the May meeting be approved, and R.J. VanSwol seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report
In the absence of the treasurer, the rector reported that our finances are in good shape with nothing unusual having happened over the past month. Revenues are good, and we are saving some money on salaries due to staff vacancies. There was no formal treasurer’s report this month.

Information
Rector’s Report
During Pastor Orr’s upcoming vacation, July 10-31, the wardens will be in charge. Chuck Hensel will serve as supply priest for all three Sundays during that period. The search for an organist is ongoing. Pastor Orr is in the process of assembling a committee to evaluate candidates. Publicity on the vacancy will be out soon.
Sandy Lawless will retire from her position as office manager at the end of August. We will keep in mind, when planning a way to celebrate her many years of service to the church, that Sandy would prefer a low-key response from the parish.
In the fall, Pastor Orr is planning to invite the parish to document, in some way, the sprouting of the Kingdom of God in the world.

Wardens’ Reports and/or Reports from Parish Organizations
The wardens had no reports.
Gale Michael reported that the Ice Cream Social is coming together nicely and that she is grateful for parish help.

Upcoming Parish Events
The annual Community Ice Cream Social will follow the Flossmoor Parade on July 4th.

Discussion and Decisions
Reports on webinar presentations
Audrey Ongman, Mark Moxley, and Kristin Orr participated in the recent webinar presentation on endowments. The webinar staff taught that an endowment is not a managed investment; rather, the money is meant to be used as well as saved. If a church closes, the endowment belongs to the diocese.

Formation of columbarium task force
St. John’s columbarium is fully subscribed. It should be expanded and may have to be moved. Pastor Orr asked for volunteers for a committee to do preliminary work on finding out what companies do this kind of work. Frank So, Mark Moxley, and Candice Barrera offered to serve.

Accessibility project
Pastor Orr stated that we need to increase the visibility of this project within the parish and suggested parish meetings in the fall. Audrey suggested a coffee hour meeting with sandwiches at which we would present our work so far and ask people if they want to go forward with the project. Anne suggested that we involve people from past vestries who have participated in the planning. Mark said that this would be an opportunity to ask parishioners what they believe most needs to be done. Frank said that we should ask if people think the cost is worthwhile, and Anne added that if parishioners do not want to spend the money, we should find out their reasons. Steve noted that we need to include a meeting for the 8:00 worshippers. Candice suggested that the meeting be combined with a potluck.
Pastor Orr summarized the goals of the meeting as 1. to get the word out, 2. to test parish interest and invite comments, and 3. to give the vestry an opportunity to highlight the reasons to make the church more accessible.
To prepare for the meeting the vestry needs to brush up on the project plans. The parish meeting will be the main focus of the August vestry meeting.

Closing
Following prayer, the meeting closed at 8:45 PM. There will be no July meeting. The vestry will reconvene on August 20th.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis, Clerk of the Vestry

Approved, August 20, 2012