Minutes of the Vestry Meeting -- May 15, 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 rector, Kristin Orr; the junior warden, Steve Hofer; vestry members Mike Bond, Bob Burgwald, Randy Oyster, Shirley Reilly, Zoltan Sziky, Cynthia Turnquest, and Mary VanSwol; the treasurer, Debbi Huggett; and the clerk, Susan Marquis. Absent were the senior warden, Greg Lawrence, and vestry members Rob Carrier and Alice Creason.

Parish Stewardship

Minutes
Mary VanSwol moved that the minutes from the April meeting be accepted. Shirley Reilly seconded, and the motion was approved.

Treasurer’s Report
Debbi Huggett reported that over the past month collections were ahead of budget expectations, although Easter collections lagged behind past years. Expenses seem lower because some bills, such as for insurance and pension, have not yet come in. Bills were paid for snow removal services for December through March and for repair of the radiator in the guild room. The Lenten Fish Fry cleared just under $750.

Shirley Reilly moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report for April, and Steve Hofer seconded. The motion was approved.

Rector’s Discretionary Fund
The vestry received copies of the Rector’s Discretionary Fund Report for the first quarter of 2017. There were no deposits and no disbursements. Mary VanSwol made a motion stating that the vestry received the report. Bob Burgwald seconded, and the motion passed.

O’Neill Bequest
The rector and Altar Guild directress explored the options for a new missal stand for the altar and discovered it would cost approximately $1,000. Because Vicki O’Neill was a longtime and devoted Altar Guild member, this is a fitting memorial to her. The remaining bequest of approximately $4,000 would be added, by default, to the endowment fund. Mary VanSwol moved that we spend some of the bequest money for a new missal stand. Randy Oyster seconded, and the motion passed.

Information

Rector’s Report
Prior to the meeting, Pastor Orr distributed a guide from the Diocese of Chicago, on leave-taking for clergy. The vestry discussed various points from this guide and leave-taking plans in general.
—The rector’s last day at St. John’s will be Sunday, June 18th.
—Her last day on the payroll will be the end of June, allowing for pro-rated annual vacation time.
—The last day of St. John’s financial responsibility for Pastor Orr is June 30th. This includes pay, health insurance, and retirement contributions.
—Departing clergy are not at all involved in the new rector search process.
—Once a priest leaves s/he cannot be part of parish business, including pastoral care; although staying in touch personally is fine. The vestry needs to help the parish understand this.

Shirley Reilly moved to accept the rector’s resignation effective June 30, 2017 with Pastor Orr’s last day of active leadership in the parish being June 18, 2017. Zoltan Sziky seconded, and the motion was approved.

Pastor Orr covered several other areas of parish logistics.
—It is the duty of the vestry to hire an interim and to form and commission a search committee.
—Senior warden Greg Lawrence will put together a letter for the parish, outlining the nuts and bolts of the transition process.
—The vestry agreed to the date of Saturday, June 3rd at 1:00 PM for a walk-through of the building for those interested. This will cover the quirks of the church building and how to keep everything running.
—Pastor Orr will leave a list of vendors and repair people whom we commonly use.
—Tracie Moxley can update the website.
—Office manager Betsy Sloan is in charge of the “e-vangelist” and forwarding death notices by email.
—Ted Stone usually waters the garden, and Shirley Reilly and Debbi Huggett do the harvesting.
—Sexton Ken Shells sets up the coffee pot on Saturday for coffee hour on Sunday.
—Greg Lawrence is in charge of coordinating the opening and locking up of the building on Sundays.
—Betsy Sloan prepares checks to pay bills. Greg Lawrence signs the checks, and Debbi Huggett reviews them.
—The wardens will put together the agendas for vestry meetings and will run the meetings.
—The Rev. Jim Caldwell has been booked as our supply priest through the end of October.
—Andrea Mysen will be our supply priest on June 25th.
—Pastor Orr and the wardens will make a list of who is in charge of what.
—The Wednesday morning service has been suspended for the summer. The Daughters of the King could take over praying for those on the prayer list.
—Parishioners can do pastoral care. In the event of a true emergency, a pastor from Holy Family or a local Lutheran church may be willing to help.
—Betsy Sloan will schedule liturgical servers, coffee hour hosts, and so forth for Sundays.
—Pastor Orr will go over everything with music director Michael Soto.
—Bishop Lee is scheduled for an afternoon deanery visit at St. John’s in November. Greg Lawrence will be the primary contact for this visit. The diocese will provide the food, while Greg and the interim priest will schedule the day. Someone should offer to take the bishop to lunch.
—Pastor Orr reminded us that a good interim is someone who will upset the apple cart by helping parishioners to ask questions and to re-assess what we do.

Wardens’ Reports and Reports from Parish Organizations

Steve Hofer reported that the spring landscaping is done. Mark Moxley provided supplies at a large discount.

Upcoming Parish Events
May 21st - End of Sunday School classes for the summer. Parish picnic after the 11:00 AM service. Potluck food donations are needed.
June 18th - Pastor Orr’s last day as our rector. A celebration of our time together will occur in the undercroft after the 11:00 AM service.

Discussion and Decisions

Awning
The awning outside of the doors at the end of the education wing is ripped. Chesterfield seems to be the only company in the area that does awning repair. They will take down, wash, sew, and rehang the awning for $324. The vestry discussed whether to pay for repairs or take the awning down and leave it off. Cynthia Turnquest moved to repair the awning, and Zoltan Sziky seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Payment will come from the maintenance fund.

Columbarium
The vestry received electronic copies of proposed contracts with Premier Landscape for the columbarium garden and with Burrink Commercial Services for the sidewalk concrete work. Mary VanSwol moved that St. John’s enter into contracts with both of these companies not to exceed a cost of $85,000. After a second by Cynthia Turnquest, the motion was unanimously accepted.

Pastor Orr will try to get the pledged funds for the project to be donated as soon as possible. She appointed Frank So and Debbi Huggett to represent the parish as on-site supervisors.

Closing

Following prayer, the meeting ended at 9:07 PM. Greg Lawrence will lead the next vestry meeting, which is scheduled for June 19th.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Marquis
Clerk of the Vestry