Minutes of the Vestry Meeting - August 20, 2012

Formation

Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving and Prayer Requests
Evening Prayer began at 7:00 PM and included a lesson on the life and ministry of Bernard of Clairvaux. 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, Greg Lawrence, Mark Moxley, and R.J. VanSwol; the treasurer Clay Denton; and the clerk, Susan Marquis. Vestry members John Huntoon, Bev Keene, and Gale Michael were absent.

Parish Stewardship

Approval of Minutes from June Meeting
Clay Denton discovered that the minutes from June stated that the minutes from April had been approved, when it actually was the minutes from May that had been approved at that meeting. Steve Hofer moved that the minutes be approved as amended. Anne Edwards seconded, and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report
Clay Denton reported that after some economic instability in the markets, the value of the endowment fund is now greater than the amount that was invested. There have been no major expenses of late. The income for August has been low; but, overall, things look pretty good. Audrey Ongman made a motion that the latest treasurer’s report be accepted. Anne Edwards seconded. The motion was passed. Information

Rector’s Report
The rector reported that office manager Sandy Lawless’ last day before her retirement will be August 31st. No parish parties are planned in accordance with Sandy’s wishes, but personal notes from parishioners would be a good way to celebrate Sandy’s tenure in our office. 
Parishioner Tracie Moxley will step in as an interim office manager for perhaps three to nine months and will help us get a clear idea of what the job requires and does not require. Tracie will be paid on an hourly basis. Since she does not need health insurance, there will be some savings to the parish.
Nine people applied for the position of music director. A committee comprised of Frank So, Dee McManamy, and Cynthia Turnquest are in the process of interviewing and auditioning six applicants. A final choice should be made within the next month. Pastor Orr expressed thanks to James Janssen for filling in on the organ during the summer Eucharists.
There has been no further activity in the search for a Christian education director.
Gordon MacAdam just retired from his acolyte and lay Eucharistic minister positions.
The rector is grateful to the Tolish family (who live next-door to the rectory) for taking out a tree by the rectory garage. Steve Hofer will write a thank-you note to them.
The Diocesan Task Force on Healthcare will be looking at lay employee insurance, and St. John’s will host a Task Force meeting for the Joliet Deanery on September 6th. Pastor Orr requested that one or two people from the vestry attend this meeting. Audrey Ongman volunteered to do this.
 Pastor Orr may take the rest of her vacation time this year at Thanksgiving.
Jim Steen, diocesan Director of Ministries, will preach at St. John’s on November 4th.
Stephanie Spellers will present a Radical Welcome Workshop at St. Edmunds, Chicago on October 20th. Online registration is available.

Wardens’ Reports and/or Reports from Parish Organizations
There were no reports.

Upcoming Parish Events
The rector passed out drafts of a parish events calendar for the upcoming year. On August 26th, during the 10:00 service, students are invited to bring their backpacks for a blessing.
The annual Jubilation and Ministry Fair will take place during coffee hour on September 9th. A Loaves and Fishes lunch will be provided.  

Discussion and Decisions

Update from Columbarium Task Force
The committee made up of Frank So, Mark Moxley, and Candice Barrera, reported on their work over the last month. Frank is working on an e-mail report that he will send out. Mark will look into whether this type of work may be done by a landscape architecture firm. Greg Lawrence asked how much additional space we are expecting to add. Pastor  Orr said that we are not yet at the point where we have considered that. The committee will look into how other Episcopal churches have designed their columbaria.

Accessibility Project
The next step in the accessibility project, the vestry agreed, is to hold a parish meeting with the goals, as developed during the June vestry meeting, of:
1. getting the word out
2. testing parish interest and inviting comments and questions
3. giving the vestry an opportunity to highlight the reasons to move forward on the project
Steve Hofer suggested that we use the “e-vangelist” to lay out information over the course of four weeks.
Candice Barrera reiterated that the reason for the project is to be able to welcome everyone.
Another suggestion was to have vestry members give short speeches during church as is done often for pledge drives.
R.J. VanSwol noted that visuals are important for their ability to represent shortcomings as well as potentialities.
Mark Moxley stated his hope that there would be such an enthusiastic response that some portion of the money raised could be donated to Episcopal Relief and Development so other places could benefit.
Pastor Orr assigned homework. Each vestry member is to work on an idea for a presentation to the parish, then submit these ideas in writing to her by September 4th.

Closing
After prayer, the meeting ended at 9:25 PM.
The next meeting will be on September 17th

Respectfully submitted, Susan Marquis Clerk of the Vestry

Approved by the vestry:  September 17, 2012