Minutes of the Vestry Meeting - September 19, 2016

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: the rector Kristin Orr; the senior warden Anne Edwards; the junior warden Steve Hofer; vestry members Bob Burgwald, Rob Carrier, Alice Creason, Nichole Dailor, Cynthia Turnquest and Hans Zigmund; the treasurer Debbi Huggett; and the clerk Susan Marquis Absent: vestry members Randy Oyster, Ted Stone, and Zoltan Sziky

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Anne Edwards moved to accept the minutes from the August vestry meeting, and Rob Carrier seconded. Following a vote, the motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Debbi Huggett reported that we still are falling behind in collections; however, over the past month five pledging units have caught up with their pledge payments. Expenses are slightly lower than budgeted with lower utility bills and a small amount saved due to the office manager vacancy. Hans Zigmund moved to accept the August Treasurer’s Report. Steve Hofer seconded, and the motion passed.

Information

Rector’s Report
— Pastor Orr thanked everyone who took part in the recent ministry Jubilation, including those who decorated, provided food, and ran information booths.
— We have a new office manager, Betsy Sloan, who has an education degree, but her experience has been mostly in office work. The rector has spent a lot of time recently on the hiring and training aspects associated with this position.
— The regular Christian education classes begin next Sunday, September 25th. Last Sunday the children painted the atrium window using the theme of the seven days of creation. This year our high school students will teach the pre-K to grade 1 Sunday School class. Diane Walsh-Madden and Patti Pohrte will lead the 5th and 6th graders, and Cyndie Knoll is instructing the 7th and 8th graders in a curriculum called “Making It Real and Relevant.” Pastor Orr will hold classes on the lectionary three weeks per month with a multi-generational class held approximately once per month, which will be focused on giving tools to practice, nurture, and grow faith at home.
— St. John’s will host the Joliet Deanery’s Breakfast with the Bishop on November 12, 2017.

Reports from Wardens and Other Parish Organizations
There were no reports.

Upcoming Events
September 25th: First day of regular Sunday School classes
October 2nd: Annual Blessing of the Animals at the outdoor altar. The Blessing will be held in conjunction with Faith Lutheran Church, as has been the case for some years, as well as, for the first time, First Presbyterian Church of Homewood.

Discussion and Decisions

Columbarium Project
Pastor Orr said that there is very little to report. She has had problems getting phone calls returned from masonry construction leads. So far, we have only one bid for the work. The landscape architect, Scott Mehaffey, has submitted construction drawings. Ted Stone recommended a concrete contractor. Cynthia Turnquest and Bob Burgwald volunteered to make phone calls to try to find stone masons.

Parish Godparents
— Nichole Dailor presented a poster that she had made to increase awareness of the acolyte program. She will hang it on the new bulletin board in the undercroft.
— Rob Carrier reported that he attended a Daughters of the King meeting as their godparent.
— There was a discussion about how godparents can help to increase membership in the organizations they are supporting.

Church Sign
Rob Carrier and Ted Stone repaired the metal church sign located on Flossmoor Road and Leavitt Avenue.

Stewardship
— Pastor Orr reviewed the standard components of the annual stewardship appeal, which includes a mailing containing a letter from the senior warden, a financial page, and a pledge card. In addition, we typically have vestry speakers at both services for several Sundays prior to Pledge Sunday, which this year is on November 13th. The vestry voiced approval of this stewardship plan for this year. Volunteers, who will speak about why the parish is important to them and invite parishioners to join them in pledging time and talent, include:

for October 23rd:  at 8:00 AM (to be determined)
      at 10:00 AM possibly Matthew and/or Benjamin Turnquest
for October 30th:  at 8:00 AM (to be determined)
       at 10:00 AM Hans Zigmund
for November 6:  at 8:00 AM Alice Creason
       at 10:00 AM Alice Creason

Convention Delegates
Pastor Orr presented a slate of delegates to attend the annual diocesan convention in November. The proposed delegates are Steve Hofer, Sue O’Brien, and Shirley Reilly; and alternates are Gale Michael, Don Rubins, and Doris Sheffer. After a motion from Rob Carrier and a second from Nichole Dailor, the slate was approved.

The Feast
The vestry held an initial discussion about the annual Feast of St. John the Evangelist, which has been scheduled for January 7th. There was general support for moving the date one week later to January 14th in order to avoid some of the scheduling conflicts from the end of the Christmas and New Year holidays. A Disco Night theme was suggested with more discussion occurring next month.

Closing
The meeting ended at 8:30 PM with prayer. The next vestry meeting is scheduled for October 17th.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry

Approved:  October 17, 2016