Minutes of the Vestry Meeting -- June 19, 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 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 Van Swol; the treasurer, Debbi Huggett, and the clerk, Susan Marquis. Absent were vestry members Rob Carrier, Randy Oyster, Shirley Reilly, and Zoltan Sziky. Parishioner Frank So was present to speak about the columbarium project.

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Mary VanSwol moved that the minutes from the May meeting be accepted. Cynthia Turnquest seconded, and the motion was approved with one abstention from a vestry member who was not present at last month’s meeting.

Treasurer’s Report
Debbi Huggett reported that our revenue collection is fine according to our current budget, although May collections fell off by $7,000. Our expenses look artificially low due to payment timing issues. This should resolve next month. The checking account balance has been reduced by about $25,000 after we made deposits for the columbarium and concrete work that will start soon. Donations were accepted and deposited for Pastor Orr’s parting “purse” gift, and then a check was issued to her for approximately $3,600. Mary VanSwol moved to accept the treasurer’s report. Steve Hofer seconded the motion, and the vestry approved it.

Wardens’ Reports and Reports from Parish Organizations
—Steve Hofer led evening prayer for the vestry tonight, and he will continue doing so in future months.
—Greg Lawrence announced that he has arranged for supply priests through October 25th.

The Rev. Andrea Mysen, Director of Ministries for the diocese, will celebrate the Eucharists on June 25th, and the Rev. Nicholas Romans will celebrate on July 23rd. All other Sundays will be covered by the Rev. Jim Caldwell. The office manager will electronically send the “e-vangelist” and the weekly bulletin to the Rev. Caldwell every Thursday.

Upcoming Parish Events
July 4th — St. John’s holds the annual community ice cream social from 10:00 AM until noon (with help needed before and after).

Discussion and Decisions
 
Interim Rector
The senior warden has spoken with Andrea Mysen at the diocesan office about candidates for our interim rector. Andrea has given us the names of three candidates, and the vestry will chose from among them. Greg asked the vestry to let the wardens know about questions they have, and he will ask Andrea about the question of what to do about providing the rectory vs. providing a housing allowance.

Search Committee
Greg Lawrence opened a discussion about the process of setting up the rector search committee. We need co-chairs and about six others to serve. They should be people the parish trusts and people with good judgment, spirituality, and understanding of the the fabric of the parish. The vestry decided that the wardens would choose the chairs, and the vestry as a whole would choose the members of the committee. Greg asked the vestry to submit three or four names of co-chair possibilities to him by this Sunday (June 25th).

Columbarium
Parishioners Frank So and Debbi Huggett will oversee the columbarium construction as on-site supervisors. The project is to break ground in early to-mid July. St. John’s has issued deposits to the construction and concrete companies. Before she left, Pastor Orr contacted people who earlier agreed to donate to the project, and they are submitting their donation money. Mark Moxley, through his landscape supply company, is providing materials at a low cost; and he will suggest vendors for the purchase of four teak benches. Mary VanSwol moved to delegate the authority to choose the benches to Frank and Debbi. Cynthia Turnquest seconded, and the motion was approved.

Letter to Pastor Orr from the vestry
The agenda item regarding the vestry writing a letter of thanks to Pastor Orr was mentioned but not discussed.

Fire alert system
This agenda item was tabled until next month’s meeting.

Visit to the rectory
At some point the vestry will need to tour the rectory to see what needs to be done before someone else takes residence. A date will be decided later.

July meetings
Because the vestry has some time-sensitive decisions to make, Greg Lawrence suggested that there be two meetings in July. Steve Hofer moved that the vestry meet on the Mondays of July 17th and July 31st, both at 7:00 PM. Alice Creason seconded, and the motion was approved.

Garden
Ted Stone has been watering the vegetable garden. Steve Hofer will talk with Ted about continuing the watering. Debbi Huggett and Shirley Reilly have volunteered to harvest the vegetables that then will be donated to the local food pantry.

Website
Alice Creason is the new webmaster for St. John’s website (www.st.johns-flossmoor.org).

Closing

The meeting ended at 9:00 PM. The next vestry meeting is scheduled for July 17th.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry