Nancy Fassett
Registrar
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MINUTES OF THE VESTRY
November 20, 2006

Present:  The Reverend Jeffrey MacKnight, Carl Adams, Bob Boyd, Linda Eggbeer, Nancy Fassett, Mike Grace, Beatrice Hamilton, Josette Skilling, Lois Spear, Rosi Sweeney, Cliff White, Sandra Woodall, John Wyss. 

1.     Call to Order.  The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm and opened with a reading of the parable of the talents.  The Rector asked for a reflection on a quotation from Church Marketing 101, by Richard Reising. 

The Agenda was approved and the minutes of the last meeting were accepted.

2.     Rector’s Report.  The Rector reported on a number of things he has been thinking about since his Sabbatical.  “What’s Next?” is one of them.  A group focused on this question has met and will meet again on December 6 to discuss various topics, among them a new Bible study group and the need for us to keep building spiritually. He mentioned that anxiety about money to support next year’s budget is often felt at this time of year, and he reported that the church staff is solid and functioning well after the summer.

An innovation he found in other churches will be initiated in St. Dunstan’s during Advent.  Beginning on December 3, a Welcome Table will be set up in the lobby and staffed by a Vestry member before and after the 10:15 service.

Beginning in January, the Vestry meeting will take place on the 4th Monday of the month. This change will enable Treasurer Cliff White to have more up-to-date financial information for his treasurer’s report. 

Bishop Chane will be with us on Ash Wednesday for dinner, and will be present at the 10:15 service on February 25. 

The Annual Meeting will be held on February 11, 2007, and the Vestry Retreat will take place in Rehoboth the weekend of March 9 - 11, 2007.

Trial changes of the Sunday morning schedule during Lent are as follows:  Sunday School will be from 10:00 to 11:00;  an Adult Forum with speaker will be held from 10:00 until 10:40 in the Parish Hall;  the late service will begin at 10:45.  There will be no changes to the 8:00 service, the 9:00 Adult Forum discussion group in the parlor, or the 9:15 Family Service. Bishop Chane will be the first speaker at the 10:00 Adult Forum on February 25, the first Sunday in Lent.  These changes and their effectiveness will be evaluated after Easter.

Earlier in the month, the Rector traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi, with Bill and Linda Eggbeer and Cathie Morton to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A Thanksgiving service will be held on Wednesday, November 22, at 11:30 am.  It will be a part of the regular weekly Healing Service.

3.     Wardens’ Report.  Rosi Sweeney announced that she and Nancy Fassett will be hosting a

Christmas party for Vestry members and their spouses at Rosi’s house on Sunday evening,

December 10 at 6:00 pm.  

There will be a meeting of the Nominating Committee for new Vestry members on Tuesday night,

November 21 at 8:30 pm.  Rosi and Lois Spear volunteered to be part of the committee.

4.     Treasurer’s Report.   Cliff White handed out two reports: the first
 comparing annual budgets of 2005 Actual, 2006 Estimated Year End, and 2007;  the second a more detailed report of Income and Expenses for the current month as well as year-to-date.  (Please contact Cliff if you wish to see a copy of these reports.)

He explained that Rental Income was short because the school is deducting our part of renovation expense at $1,000 per month.  

October was better due to Jeff’s return.  We have caught up on the Feasibility Study and have paid down the line of credit to $30,000.  Pledges are down but made up for by some undesignated gifts.

Cliff has reinstituted a Finance Committee in anticipation of the Capital Campaign.  Members are Ray Donnelly, Mike Upton, Mike Lackey and Simon Powell.

5.     Stewardship Campaign.  Carl Adams handed out a list of Stewardship Milestones and Tasks; Round Two – 2006.(Please contact Carl if you wish to see this document.)   He reported on the status of pledges received.  At this point there are 95 pledges for a total of $280,000.  On November 18 he sent letters to those who have not yet pledged.  There are 57 members who pledged last year but have not done so this year.

Carl feels we need to keep communicating, thanking those who pledge and presenting the current pledging status, letting people know the impact that failing to pledge has on church programs, showing a Mission Budget in the form of a pie chart.

The Rector suggested a calling night before the next meeting.  Vestry members who can do so will meet on December 4 at 7:30 pm and call those who have not yet pledged.

6.     Immediate Property Needs, B & G Committee.  Mike Grace reported that more signage is needed on church property.  Improvement in the church’s handicapped access is necessary, and a consultant should be retained to help achieve this. 

The garage door at the rectory must be replaced at a cost of $1,500.  The deck at the rectory is badly in need of repair, a cost of approximately $3,000.

7.     Benediction and Adjournment.  There being no further business for the good of the parish, the meeting was adjourned with a prayer at 9:10 pm.  The next Vestry meeting will be held on December 18 at 7:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Fassett
Registrar   
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Notes from a Special Vestry Meeting Following the Return from Sabbatical of the Reverend Jeffrey MacKnight
October 2, 2006

Present:  The Reverend Jeffrey MacKnight, Carl Adams, Bob Boyd, Nancy Fassett, Mike Grace, Beatrice Hamilton, Troy Hanford, Josette Skilling, Lois Spear, Rosi Sweeney, Paul Tellier, Cliff White, Sandra Woodall, John Wyss.

The meeting was opened with the reading, by Mike Grace, of a meditation on the church's physical plant and its enduring importance.

The Rector spoke briefly of the joys and experiences of his Sabbatical: art galleries, concerts, church services and the many locations which provided for him and his family the sacred sites, sights and sounds of his Sabbatical.  He will give a number of presentations about his Sabbatical, in series, in the coming months. The first will occur on Wednesday, October 25.

Members of the Vestry offered their thoughts about occurrences, changes and challenges which took place during the Sabbatical period, as follows.

• The schoolrooms downstairs have been redone and are greatly improved.  The school transition was accomplished smoothly.
• Julie Evans sent a thank you note for the painting of her office.
•  Joe Clark was a great supply priest!  He provided continuity, his sermons were very good and people liked him.
•  The 9:15 service was greatly missed.  We shouldn't drop it again for the summer.
  Lois and Troy have the Listserv up and running.  Minutes are now printed on the web, 
• Mr. Harris had to have quadruple bypass surgery very suddenly.  He is now quite well recovered and back at work.
• The kitchen was cleaned and exterminated.
• We are now much better at doing all-church programs.  More volunteers stepped forward to provide food and drink, to set up and to clean up.
• The Facilities Improvement Project went on without any hitches.  A discussion arose at this point about how much we, as a congregation, want the church to change and what we want people to experience here.
• The Rector asked what most needs our attention in the next few months.  Answers were Stewardship, Budgeting, Christian Formation teams.
• We will be a polling place again in November and need volunteers from the Vestry to be on site.
• The Welcome Back Lilly Event has been scheduled for October 15.  An organ concert will be given by James Walton, St. Dunstan�fs former organist, at 5:00 p.m.  The concert will be followed by a dinner in the Parish Hall, funded by the Lilly Grant.
• The October Vestry meeting will take place on Monday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Fassett
Registrar

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MINUTES OF THE VESTRY
September 18, 2006

Present:  Carl Adams, Bob Boyd, Linda Eggbeer, Nancy Fassett, Mike Grace, Troy Hanford, Lois Spear, Rosi Sweeney, Paul Tellier, Sandra Woodall, John Wyss.

1.     Opening Prayer and Reflection.   Senior Warden Rosi Sweeney opened the meeting with a prayer.  The Agenda for the meeting was approved and the minutes for the meetings of August 21, August 28 and September 11 were accepted.

2.     Wardens' Report.   An appreciative send-off for Joe Clark was held on Sunday the 17th.  The Vestry agreed that Joe had been a fine Sabbatical Supply Priest and had had many good suggestions to offer.

Rosi had met with the staff at the beginning of the Sabbatical period to discuss their expectations.  She and Jeff will meet with them again to debrief when he returns.

Ben Axelrod will be the Celebrant on September 24.  Chip Graves will preach the sermon and a representative of the youth will talk about their work camp experience.

The Vestry will debrief with Jeff on Monday, October 2. 

John Wyss reported that he has the sign-up sheets from the Ministry Fair and will see that  committee chairs receive them.

The second Lilly learning event will take place on Sunday, September 24, 2006, at 6:00 p.m.  Sally Bucklee will be the speaker.  Josette Skilling has ordered Mexican food for 100 participants.  Mike Grace will take care of providing the beer and Bob Boyd will be in charge of setting up.

John has discovered that St. Dunstan's can buy better insurance coverage for less money by going with Church Insurance.  It was moved and seconded that we make this change.  The motion was passed unanimously.

Rosi announced that September 20 is the deadline for the October issue of Sparks. 

Rosi read aloud Cliff White's notes regarding the Treasurer's Report through July of 2006.  Briefly, although pledges and income are off $31,000, or 11%, from the budget, the property expenses are $16,500 under budget, which helps to offset half of the income shortfall. (For further information on the Treasurer's Report contact Cliff White.)

3.     Facilities Discussion and Decision.  Rosi went through the Revised Facilities Report. page by page. (Contact Bill Eggbeer to receive a copy of the Revised Facilities Report,)  There were discussions of the special elevator with limited service and of the one-time Diocesan Pledge of $50,000.  It will be necessary to have conversations with high donors to determine whether they are still willing to give the amount they designated earlier.

A question arose about how the Diocese might use this money from our one-time pledge of $50,000.  Troy Hanford offered to try to learn how the money might be used. 

Questions came up about how soon we might expect to have a realistic cost estimate of items listed in the Revised Facilities Report.

At this point there was a discussion about safe egress from the basement schoolrooms and the fact that the terrace and long windows had not been included in the revised proposed budget.

It was moved and seconded that we proceed with the Revised Project Scope, as part of Next Steps.  A summary letter will be sent out next week designating Sunday, October 8, after the 10:15 service, as the date and time for the all-parish meeting.  The motion passed unanimously with Sandra Woodall abstaining.

4.     Listserv Discussion and Decision.  Lois Spear and Troy Hanford described the Listserv computer program.  John moved that we go forward with it.  His motion was seconded and passed unanimously.  Troy will write a piece about it for Sparks.

5.     Jeff's Homecoming Sunday October 1.  Rosi has ordered a banner for Jeff's homecoming, which Mike and John will put up on Friday.  Jeff will deliver the sermon on that Sunday.

6.     Stewardship Update.  Jeff, working with Carl Adams, has arranged to have a speaker, Ray Brideson, on October 29.  Carl asked for volunteers to sign letters asking for pledges.  It was suggested that Carl form a Stewardship Committee to work with him.

7.     Benediction and Adjournment.  There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned with a prayer at 9:00 p.m.  The next Vestry meeting will be held on Monday, October 2, 2006, at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Fassett
Registrar
       
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MINUTES OF THE VESTRY (Revised)
July 17, 2006

PARTICIPANTS:  Carl Adams, Linda Eggbeer, Mike Grace, Josette Skilling, Lois Spear, Sandra Woodall, and John Wyss

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MINUTES OF THE VESTRY
June 19, 2006

Present: Bob Boyd, Nancy Fassett, Mike Grace, Troy Hanford, Lois Spear, Rosi Sweeney, Cliff White, Sandra Woodall, John Wyss.

1.     Call to Order.  Senior Warden, Rosi Sweeney, opened the meeting at 7:30 with the reading of a Celtic prayer.

There were two additions to the agenda: Sandra Woodall's reports from the AIM meeting she attended and from the conference dealing with the U.S. and Torture in which she took part on June 17.

The minutes of the May meeting were approved as written.

2.     Wardens' Report.  Rosi Sweeney asked Vestry members whether anyone had anything to report on how things were going during the Rector's sabbatical absence.  Mike Grace had heard some remarks favorable to the Facilities Improvement Project interviews.  Bob Boyd remarked on the lowered attendance at recent services.

Rosi requested that anyone scheduling future events please check the calendar in the office first to see what else is going on, not only on the date in question but also on the days directly before and after.  This could affect the setting up for the event or the clean-up afterward.

There will be a summer Sparks Lite , the deadline for which is July 20.  Deadline for the next regular Sparks is August 20.

The date for the Reverend MacKnight's Welcome Home event is
October 15.  The party will have a musical theme, and the Music Committee will be involved.

The second Lilly event will be held in September.

The Fall Kickoff Sunday, with Ministry Fair, is to be September 10.  Vestry members should check with the committees to which they are liaisons, to make sure their committee has a table lined up, and to find out what is needed for that committee's table at the fair.

Rosi suggested the placing of Vestry minutes on the church's web site.  The idea was moved, seconded and passed.  Rosi will see that the minutes are published on the site.

John Wyss reported that the school transition is moving smoothly.  Ellen Atwell has said that she will be moved out by June 30.  Mike Grace added that work is being scheduled and that, after we pay the initial $7000, the expenses will be split between St. Dunstan's and Manor Montessori.

3.     AIM and WRRCAT Report – Sandra Woodall.  Sandra reported that AIM is launching a major Get-Out-the-Vote effort.  People will be needed to knock on doors in District 4, Burtonsville, on August 13, September 5 and September 10, and in District 3, Gaithersburg, on August 15, August 20 and September 10.  There will be a major action involving candidates and their commitments to AIM on August 31.

Sandra reported that speakers at the conference, U. S. and Torture, included Carl Levin and Seymour Hirsch, among others.  The main thrust of the speeches was that torture is now out in the open, it doesn't work, it destroys our moral credibility and our churches need to take a stand in opposition to it.

There will be an anti-torture demonstration in Lafayette Square on June 26 at 8:00 a.m., moving later to the Vice President's House, and lasting until 8:00 a.m. on the 27th.

4.     Facilities Project Report – Cliff White.  Cliff reported that the personal interviewer, Andi Tilmann, did a good job.  The interviews are now finished.  The questionnaires have been sent out and are due back by June 23.

Rosi Sweeney commented that if, after evaluating the interview and survey responses, Holliman Associates reports that we can raise the required amount of money, we should vote to go ahead.  Otherwise, she is not in favor of incurring any debt for the church.  Cliff believes that we should be hearing from Holliman by the end of July.

5.     June 25th Lilly Event.  Rosi Sweeney reported that Josette Skilling is considering ordering barbecue for 75 but thinks that that number may have to be revised downward.  The event will not be about the Capital Campaign but more about our history as a church.  Jack Cardon will speak about early days, focusing on the installation of the organ.  Kevin Schuyler and John Wyss will present a combined program discussing the progress of St. Dunstan's from Pastoral to Program Church.  They will feature the programs we've added and the raising of Lay Leaders for the church.

6.     Treasurer'fs Report – Cliff White.  Cliff handed out a five page report (attached): the first page a summary of the year to date, the next three a more detailed accounting of income and expenses and the last an activity report of all the church's funds during May.  In general, he reports that the pledges are off and that property expenses are a bit lower than expected.  Outreach is funded, but we still owe the Diocese.  There should not be a great deal of concern, although we may need to dip into the line of credit this summer.

7.     Benediction and adjournment.  Before the adjournment, Rosi Sweeney reported that David Pollack will be the supply priest for all three services this Sunday, June 25th.  He will be staying afterward in order to answer any questions parishioners may have about the Convention and about the new Presiding Bishop.

There being no further business for the good of the parish, the meeting was adjourned with a prayer at 8:55 p.m.  The next Vestry meeting will be held on July 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,