St. Mark’s Council Meeting
Council Members Present: President June Johnsen, MaryAnne Jordan, Carole Greeley, Justin Devine, Stu Reid, Barbara Patterson, Tom Turner, Austin Jansen
Council Members Absent: Bob Evans, Pastor Todd Bertani, Bette Noll
Others Present: Blair Aas, Michelle Aas, Lucille Bowers, Phil Maffei
The meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m., and Justin offered a prayer. Stu moved to approve the minutes from the May meeting; the motion was seconded and passed.
Financial Report
MaryAnne submitted a report from the Finance Committee. (Attachment A) She reported that the bank is considering our request for a second loan for the remodeling. The Finance Committee intends to increase the limit on Justin’s credit card so he can pay for necessary expenses for the home-building trip to Mexico this summer.
Blair gave a tutorial on how to use the new ICON accounting system. He provided a “Summary of Activities and Net Assets by Fund for Period beginning 01/01/10 and ending 5/31/10", which identifies 15 funds. (Attachment B) The Building Fund includes the value of the land, buildings, and other non-cash assets. Budgeted amounts are automatically transferred from the General Fund to the other funds at the beginning of each month. Council members were asked to access the new accounting system online and to prepare to ask questions about it at the July meeting.
Michelle and Lucille submitted a report and a proposed budget from St. Mark’s Preschool. (Attachment C) Summer camp has had a record enrollment, and the preschool is full for next fall. They explained that the estimated income from tuition in the proposed budget is conservative. They reported that the Preschool Building is not being cleaned on the weekend and that it is quite dirty when the children arrive on Monday. They also reported that they have been paying their teachers to do some of the janitorial work. There was a discussion about how to obtain affordable maintenance services for the Preschool. Justin moved that we approve the Preschool budget; the motion was seconded and passed.
Reports from Ministry Liaisons
Stu submitted a report from the Stewardship Committee and the Worship and Music Committee. (Attachment D) The Second Mile Giving for July will support the San Francisco Night Ministry. Worship and Music had spent considerable time reviewing the responses to the new congregational survey that was taken to identify what people like and do not like about St. Mark’s. Justin reported that the Worship and Music Committee now includes a better balance of members who attend the traditional service and members who attend the contemporary service.
Justin submitted a report from the Youth Committee and the Christian Education Committee. (Attachment E). They expect at least 26 people to go on the trip to build houses in Mexico this summer. Justin reported that they need tools for the trip, and June suggested that he solicit tools from the congregation. The Christian Education Committee hopes to increase attendance at children’s Sunday School this fall.
Barbara submitted a report from the Congregational Life Committee. (Attachment F). Beth Williamson and Diane Metz are planning a women’s retreat at St. Mark’s on a Saturday in August. The Congregational Life Committee is looking for someone to take charge of the Family Night dinners and for someone to take charge of the Sunday morning coffee hour. (Joe Stopponi has volunteered to clean up after the coffee hour.) Diane has been handling these jobs. She submitted some reimbursement requests that needed Council approval, and the Council approved them. She recommended that we spend less money for coffee. It was suggested that we could buy coffee in bulk from a vendor like Sysco. The Council decided to continue this discussion at the July meeting.
There was a discussion about whether we should continue to have a weekly Family Night event and whether it should include a dinner. Carole suggested that St. Mark’s do something to recognize the members who are graduating from high school or college this year. It was agreed that this should be done.
Tom submitted a report from the Personnel Committee. (Attachment G) Diane Metz had completed covenants for several employees, and she is tallying the results of the congregational survey.
Old Business
Carole gave an update on the revision of the congregation’s constitution and bylaws. (Attachment H) She asked members of the Council to review a draft of the revised documents that she had provided to them and to be prepared to make comments at the July meeting and to vote on the documents at the August meeting.
New Business
Phil informed the Council that he wanted to explore the idea of forming an interfaith council consisting of St. Mark’s and the various congregations that use our facilities. There was a discussion about whether this would primarily promote fellowship or if it would be a joint ministry. Justin reported that the youth from St. Mark’s are going to attend a professional baseball game with the youth from Flames of Fire. Justin moved that we approve Phil’s request; the motion was seconded and passed.
Parish administrator Erin Ruml had informed the Council that Carlette Ford-Olivier, who operates a home daycare facility at 1078 Warren St., Fairfield, had asked if she could list St. Mark’s as a relocation site for her daycare in case of emergency. There was a discussion about how this was the kind of thing that our church should be doing to help the community, and some expressed concerns about whether this would expose the church to liability. June moved that we approve the request; the motion was seconded and passed.
June announced that she would like to publish a resources directory that would list services that members of the congregation can provide, such as handyman services, babysitting, etc. MaryAnne offered to draft a form to be given to members who want to be included in the directory. Justin said that the directory can be posted on the church’s website.
The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer. It adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Submitted by Carole Greeley, Secretary