Minutes of the Vestry Meeting - March 20, 2017

Formation

Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving & Prayer Requests
The vestry met in the church at 7:00 PM for Evening Prayer and then reconvened in the undercroft meeting room where everyone offered prayers of intercession and thanksgiving.

Attendance
Present were the rector Kristin Orr; the senior warden Greg Lawrence; the junior warden Steve Hofer; vestry members Bob Burgwald, Alice Creason, Randy Oyster, Shirley Reilly, and Mary VanSwol; the treasurer Debbi Huggett; and the clerk Susan Marquis. Vestry members Mike Bond, Rob Carrier, Zoltan Sziky, and Cynthia Turnquest were absent.

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
There was a typo in the minutes, with one word having been typed twice. Mary VanSwol moved to accept the minutes with the error corrected, and Shirley Reilly seconded. The motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Debbi Huggett reported that for the first two months of the year the budget is on-track with no extraordinary expenses.

Bequest
Pastor Orr suggested that the bequest from Vickie O’Neill could be used for an as-of-yet-unspecified Altar Guild memorial since Vickie was a very devoted Altar Guild member for many years. The bequest can be found in the treasurer’s report in the “Funds” category. The vestry will carry over further discussion and decisions about this until next month.

Information

Rector's Report
Pastor Orr reminded the vestry that, even though Lent has started, it still is appropriate to begin personal Lenten disciplines; and she suggested, as examples, the Lent Madness online competition, and the Wednesday evening Lenten class here at St. John’s.

Wardens’ Reports and Reports from Parish Organizations
Steve Hofer said that he has donated magnetic lapel pins to identify the ushers at the Sunday services.

Upcoming Events
March 31st - Annual Fish Fry
April 9th - Palm Sunday
April 10th, 11th, 12th - Holy week Eucharists at 7:00 PM
April 13th - Maundy Thursday with Holy Eucharist, Agape Supper, and Stripping of the Altar at 6:30 PM
April 14th - Good Friday Proper Liturgy at noon, Vespers at 7:00 PM
April 15th - The Great Vigil of Easter at 8:00 PM
April 16th - Easter Day
April 29th - Vestry retreat

Discussion and Decisions

Columbarium Project
Parishioner Mark Moxley and the rector have found one person who is interested in managing the entire columbarium project. We have no cost quote yet. A couple of other contractors have been contacted but have not responded so far.

Fund-Raising Projects
The senior warden, Greg Lawrence, asked the vestry to think about ways to raise funds for the church, given our deficit budget this year and possibly in years to come. Greg suggested that the projects should not involve selling things, but rather should be some combination of fellowship with fund-raising. The vestry brainstormed a few ideas including a daytime vacation bible school and some kind of seasonal festival.
Next Sunday, March 26th, the wardens will make announcements during church asking for ideas and for volunteers to serve on a fund-raising committee.
Shay Craig, who works on stewardship development on the diocesan staff, will join the vestry at next month’s meeting to help us further develop ideas.

SWIFT
Parishioner Rob McManamy asked the senior warden to discuss with the vestry the possibility of the parish joining the South West Interfaith Team, which holds educational meetings to promote understanding among the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious communities in the southwest Chicago suburban area. To join there is a one-time $125 fee per congregation. The vestry will consider this and re-visit the issue next month.

Pictures of Parishioners
The vestry considered having parishioner photos taken and then publishing them in a directory or displaying them on a bulletin board. No decisions were made, and the vestry will discuss this again next month.

Closing

Following prayer, the meeting ended at 8:25 PM. The next meeting will be held on April 17th, and Shay Craig, from the diocesan staff, will attend to assist in the discussion on parish fund-raising.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry

Approved by the vestry:  April 17, 2017