St. James Episcopal Church
St. James’ Episcopal Church
Glastonbury, CT
January 19, 2016
The regular meeting of the Vestry was held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 in the fellowship hall of the church. The meeting was called to order later than scheduled due to the need to wait for a quorum.
Present: Ralph Urban, Susan Wright, Don Gardner, Rev. Denise Cabana, Bob McDowell, Sandy Ouellette, and Sandy Marshall. Cheryl Turner and Bea Farlekas arrived after “Dwelling in the Word” to form a quorum.
Denise+ began the meeting with “Dwelling in the Word” which was from Luke 4:14-24.
A quorum was reached by 6:50 pm and the meeting was called to order by Ralph Urban. The agenda had been e-mailed to the Vestry prior to the meeting.
1)Slate of Candidates for Vestry Openings: IypeChandy has agreed to serve on Fellowship Commission, Janet Donston on Worship Commission, Asst. Treasurer is still open and a clerk is still being sought, though Lindsey Nunes is considering this role. Denise+ is also waiting to hear if there is someone willing to be an Outreach Vestry commission liaison.
2)Rector’s Report: Sandy O. and Denise+ have sent invitations to newcomers since January, the current Vestry members and 20 others to attend an evening of fellowship and fun; it is an opportunity for newcomers to be part of a meet-and-greet. The date is for Friday, January 29, 2016.
On February 28, 2016, a luncheon event for the afternoon, after church, is designed for families with children. The goal will be to find out what St. James’ can do to get them involved more readily in church activities and to discover barriers that prevent attendance.
Erin Perrelli is also planning a young adult gathering for dinner at her home; again the mission is to connect, converse and encourage involvement in church life. Kristin and Allyson Kataja are also willing to help in this ministry. There are somewhere around 20 to 30 couples who might be interested.
IypeChandy is also interested in starting a once/month fellowship group for married couples.
The new Vestry will have the challenge of making St. James’ a welcoming place for all varieties of people. Denise+ noted that it is not “high tech” that really attracts younger folks but rather “connectedness” and follow-up. How does the church get people involved?
3)Budget Presentation for 2016: Steve Ciccalone announced that the budget for 2016 was increased to $258,500 based on $20,000 in additional pledges and a stronger plate offering number than was anticipated. Ralph Urban motioned that the Vestry should adopt the new increase in the 2016 budget; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote.
4)Approval of Minutes from November, 2015 and December 2015: The minutes from the November 2015 (presented by e-mail from Erin Perrelli) and December, 2015 (presented by e-mail from Sandy Marshall) were briefly discussed, a motion made to accept them as written. The motion was seconded and passed by unanimous voice vote.
5)Food for the Poor Sunday: A Christian group based in Florida called “Food for the Poor” is due to attend St. James’ on March 5, 2016. They are giving a presentation and are not looking for donations at this event; it is rather an informational type of program.
6)Next Vestry Meeting: The next Vestry meeting will be on President’s Day, Monday 2/15/16; Lent starts on 2/16/16 therefore it is not possible to move the meeting off of the holiday.
7)Feedback from the Parish: Dan Aramini would like the parish to be aware of his desire for pledges to support him and his daughter in the “Plunge for Hunger” coming up in the next month.
A parishioner expressed concern about the placing of picture rails in the sanctuary for the display of art for Art in the Abby. Sandy O. reassured the Vestry that since this is being carefully done, it should not be very noticeable and will enhance the presentation of artworks for the project.
Carol’s Closet members are looking for simple informational write-ups for distribution to visitors to Carol’s Closet that have asked about the church. Janice Davis is working on marketing material for CC and will be putting together a postcard sized piece on St. James’ mission statement.
Art in the Abbey planning continues; an invitation will be sent (see handout) explaining the three day event scheduled for March 10, 11, and 12. Sandy O. is going to do an informational meeting for the parish between services prior to the event; she will be available at 8:45 am for the early service attendees and at 11:30 for the late service attendees.
8)Lenten Services: Denise+ updated the services planned for Lent including the 3 part inter-faith services with St. Luke’s and St. Mark’s: first one on 2/16 (at St. James’) second on 3/01 at St. Mark’s and third on 3/15 at St. Luke’s. The theme is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Another event will be “Quiet Day Lenten” held at St. James’ with East of the River clergy gathering from 9 am to 1:30 pm.
The service bulletin continues to be “tweaked” to make it easier to maneuver.
9) Walking Tour at St. Cuthbert: Meeting was held to discuss parish interest in the pilgrimage to Scotland. There were interested parties, but perhaps not enough from our parish; Denise is trying to determine if it is “worth it” to the congregation for her to be away for this time. Vestry consensus was that it was her decision. March 1st is the deadline for deposits for the trip.
Before closing, the issue of “safe church” practices was renewed; there continue to be complains from parish members regarding parents sending their children to the bathroom unattended, as required by Safe Church practices. A discussion of age levels of concern, who can escort a child to the bathroom and how we can properly educate parents without being punitive. It was suggested that Matt, who is a trainer in safe church practices, could be consulted.
The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer and adjourned at 7:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Marshall, Clerk