Minutes of the Vestry Meeting -- August 21, 2017

Formation

Evening Prayer and Thanksgiving & Prayer Requests
The vestry met in the guild room at 7:00 PM starting with Evening Prayer and followed by prayers of intercession and thanksgiving.

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

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Bob Burgwald made a motion to accept the vestry minutes from the meeting on July 31st. Mary VanSwol seconded, and the motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Debbi Huggett reported that collections have been continuing as expected, even in the absence of a rector. Expenses have been lower since we are paying only for supply priest work on Sundays rather than a full-time rector’s salary with pension and health benefits. Mary VanSwol moved to accept the treasurer’s report, and Bob Burgwald seconded. The motion was approved.

Information

Wardens’ Reports
Steve Hofer reported on several projects that he has completed. In the guild room, the plaques on the picture frames that were missing dates of service for two rectors now have been engraved. The carpets in the guild room and the rector’s office have been cleaned, and the missing letters on the parish office sign, which is on the lamp post by the Leavitt Street sidewalk, have been replaced. Tomorrow, Steve will get another bid for repair work on the treads on the north undercroft stairs.

Greg Lawrence has talked with Andrea Mysen from the diocesan office about hiring Fr. Michael Dwyer as our interim rector, which she approved with all diocesan standards having been met. The wardens have a letter of agreement drawn up. Bob Burgwald moved to approve the agreement, and Mary VanSwol seconded. The motion passed, and Fr. Dwyer will begin his work at St. John’s on November 1st.

Discussion and Decisions

Columbarium
Debbi Huggett presented an update on the columbarium project’s progress. The exposed aggregate color that the vestry subcommittee had chosen for the walkways is not available, so a substitution is necessary, and it could involve a change in color and/or material. There were no vestry objections to this change.

Rector Search Process
Greg Lawrence reported that the search committee is working on gathering data on the parish by means of the Church Assessment Tool (CAT) survey, which requires funding. Cynthia Turnquest made a motion to approve $500 for the CAT survey interpretation. Steve Hofer seconded, and the motion passed. On September 10th, the search committee will set up computers in church that parishioners can use to fill out the survey. The survey also can be completed at home on personal computers. The vestry and search committee will meet together with Andrea Mysen on October 10th or 11th to go over the interpretation of the collected CAT data.

Sunday School
Greg Lawrence noted that there have been volunteers to teach the preschool class, and Cyndi Knoll will be leading confirmation class for the junior high group. Teachers still are needed for the intermediate class.

Brochure
Bryan Burke developed a brochure about St. John’s that will be available at SWIFT (South West Inter-Faith Team) events. Greg Lawrence passed around a mock-up of the brochure for the vestry to see.

T-Shirts
Glynis Keene has contacted the senior warden about ordering and selling t-shirts printed with St. John’s information that could be worn, for example, to the Fun Run sponsored by the Homewood-Flossmoor schools. The shirts could raise some funds for the church as well as advertise the church in the community. With no objections coming from the vestry, Greg will tell Glynis to go ahead with her plans.

Center for Independence Through Conductive Education
A person from the Center for Independence Through Conductive Education approached Cynthia Turnquest about the possibility of our renting space to them. They were in an office building in Homewood until recently and are looking for a new location for their weekday program of classes for people of all ages with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida. There are many unknowns at this point. Mary VanSwol made a motion for the vestry to investigate this further, and Steve Hofer seconded. The motion passed with one abstention. Cynthia Turnquest and Mike Bond will gather more information and report to the vestry next month.

Additional Wardens’ Reports
Looking forward to a new rector, Steve Hofer said that the Art Corner in Homewood has frames for $75 that match the frames around the pictures of the rectors on the guild room wall. Steve salvaged some bricks from the outdoor altar to sell at auction some time in the future. The office has several databases for different mailings. Steve talked with the office manager about updating the lists.

Closing

The meeting ended at 9:05 PM. The next vestry meeting is scheduled for September 19th.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry