St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church | Vestry Meeting Minutes | March 25, 2020
Vestry Members Present
Joe DeuPree, Rector’s Warden
Michael Legacy, Vestry’s Warden
Andrew Besterman
Kathy Carson
Todd Frary
Steven Lee
Pamala Gilliland
Jack McCroskey
John Van Buskirk
Staff Present
Fr. Christopher Thomas
Officers Present
Paul McCright, Clerk
Rusty Rippamonti, Vice Chancellor
Denise Webb Glass, Chancellor
Summary
These minutes contain the following Vestry actions:
- Motions to approve the minutes of the February Vestry meeting and to approve the financial report.
- Motion to increase the Junior Warden’s spending limits to $2,000 without seeking Vestry approval.
Note: We are unable to meet in person due to the Covid-19 common sense physical distancing restrictions placed by authorities of the government and church.
Narrative
The vestry meeting was called to order on Zoom by Rector’s Warden Joe DeuPree at 7:06 p.m. with prayer by Fr. Christopher Thomas. The following agenda was covered during the meeting.
1. OPENING PRAYER – Rector
2. CALL TO ORDER
3. SHARED THOUGHTS
Each person had the opportunity to offer up details concerning their lives. Fr. Christopher offered a prayer including the concerns mentioned.
4. PREVIOUS MINUTES – Clerk
The minutes of the Vestry Meeting held on February 15, 2020 were approved.
Motion to approve with changes.
Moved by: Joe DeuPree
Seconded by: Michael Legacy
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
5. FINANCIAL REPORTS – Treasurer
Members had a brief discussion on how Vestry members should review the financials.
Maintenance on the fountain in the Church courtyard was discussed.
Michael Legacy noted that donations may be down due to the cancellation of Church worship services during the current Coronavirus situation. The AA group is on hiatus for 30 days, which also reduces income. Counting of checks that have come in is being done periodically when two Vestry members are available. The fire department’s red tag of the Church has been removed, so the Church can be entered at any time.
Motion to approve financial report.
Moved by: Michael Legacy
Seconded by: Jack McCroskey
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
6. INSTALLATION & 70TH – Rector
Due to the need for social isolation, the event was postponed until July or August. Co-chairs for event planning will be Jerry Knight and James Brown. A member suggested to have the food catered so no one will need to be in the kitchen during the event. One of the first items will be to determine a budget for the event. We might ask if others may want to donate in some way. The Co-chairs will be asked to submit a budget possibly covering 100-150 people and to develop their committee.
Members discussed how to find people from the past who might want to attend.
7. VOLUNTEER NEEDS – DeuPree
Joe pointed out we need to reconstitute the following teams:
a. Endowment Fund – Has no one on the team at present. The team should meet quarterly and report to the Vestry quarterly.
b. Stewardship Team – Team is appointed annually. Stewardship drive occurs in October.
c. Audit Team – Report is due at the Diocese by Sept. 1.
Joe suggested we seek volunteers through the Doubter. By consensus, members agreed the Vestry will determine the Chairs and let them build the committees. Joe will write a description and put it into the Doubter.
8. WARDEN REPORTS – DeuPree & Legacy
Rector’s Warden, Joe DeuPree:
We are now out of Pegasus Bank with approximately $177K deposited at BoA. Once checks and deposit slips are received, we will begin using BoA as our operating account. Once that happens, we will take the remaining funds from Amergy Bank. We are keeping our account at Inwood, with about $176K in a money market account. Joe will be working on setting up a ministry account for the Rector.
Pam Liles has put together a list of all who have contributed to the Church over the past. This list can be used as a phone tree to help the Church keep in touch with all the congregation during this time of isolation.
Vestry’s Warden, Michael Legacy:
The fire panel malfunctioned on March 16. Michael met with DSS and the Fire Dept. on March 17. The Church was given a redtag to close the building until the fire panel could be repaired or replaced. A new panel was installed on Thursday for $6800 with a 5-year warranty with $50 per month fee for monitoring. We can eliminate 2 phone lines and some of the cost of the security monitoring contract. The building can now be accessed.
Outside windows will be washed before Easter. The gutters are full, so they will be cleaned out soon. There has been some water coming into the building due to ineffective gutters. Michael recommend adding screens on the gutters. Also, the outside of the Church needs to be painted soon. There was a leak in a pipe in the garden, but it was repaired by a member of the Garden Guild. The courtyard fountain needs to have the timing adjusted since the time change. There will be some trimming of trees on the property. One red bud is diseased and needs to be taken down. Michael will get an estimate.
9. GENERAL DISCUSSION
Michael suggested the Vestry review the cash management policy to consider changing the limits for expenditures without Vestry approval. He suggested the new limit be $1500. After a brief discussion, the following motion was presented.
Motion to raise the Junior Warden’s spending limit without Vestry approval to $2000.
Moved by: John Van Buskirk
Seconded by: Andrew Besterman.
Motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
10. RECTOR WRAP UP
Fr. Christopher notes that we were unable to have the Vestry retreat due to the social distancing policy, so we will have some of the planned exercises done later when the opportunity presents itself. Learning how to reach out to the congregation when we cannot meet has been interesting and challenging. When we can reconvene, we will build a better worship experience. Fr. Christopher thinks it’s impossible to create what Episcopalians do using a virtual worship time. He has learned that presenting worship by oneself for everyone else is exhausting. After 2 Sundays of a solo performance he is considering the possibility of doing a worship service in a Zoom cast. He asked the Vestry for their thoughts. The general agreement was that it is worth a try so that worship can become a corporate experience again. If we do Zoom this Sunday, Mtr. Virginia Holleman has volunteered to preach. Having other people do parts of the service and allowing us to see each other are all positive aspects of a Zoom service.
The Doubter will contain the information regarding offering the service via Zoom.
Fr. Christopher wants the Vestry to consider bringing on a seminarian from Bright Seminary at TCU to work with a 20’s-30’s ministry and to take over our electronic media presence. We need to decide how we can fund this new staff member. We can bring him up through St. Thomas for his ordination at the appropriate time. A possible grant for a new ministry might be available. Fr. Christopher estimates a total budget might be between $12K and $15K per year.
Services will not be held until well after Easter. The clergy team will be working to determine how we can provide ministry during Holy Week.
Diocesan assessments have been forgiven for this month.
11. CLOSING PRAYER
Fr. Christopher led the group in Evening Compline.
12. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul McCright, Clerk
