Vestry Meeting Minutes

September 2020 Vestry Minutes

By September 15, 2020 October 8th, 2020 No Comments

St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church | Vestry Meeting Minutes | September 15, 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, Rector
Allen Junek, Seminarian-in-Residence

Officers Present
Paul McCright, Clerk
Rusty Rippamonti, Vice Chancellor

Guests Present
Bishop Wayne Smith

Summary
These minutes contain the following Vestry actions:

  1. Thoughts from Bishop Smith.
  2. Motion to post a banner on Inwood Road reading “Black Lives Matter.”
  3. Motion to approve resolution setting the rules for an official Annual Meeting and Parish Elections via the Zoom platform.
  4. Motions to approve installation of Bee Houses and a Monarch Waystation in the Community Garden.

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

1. OPENING PRAYER-Rector

2. CALL TO ORDER
The vestry meeting was called to order on Zoom at 7:06 p.m. with prayer by Bishop Wayne Smith. The following agenda was covered during the meeting.

  • RESOURCE PERSON FOR MEETING NAMED – Andrew Besterman
  • WORDS FROM BISHOP SMITH
    Bishop Smith is thinking of the many crises in our country. The haze of the wildfires in the West have reached the Midwest. We have the pandemic, an economic crisis, racial crisis, and a political crisis, all at one time. This is an interesting time to be a Christian and he wonders what God is asking the Church to do at this time. What does God require from us right here and right now? He’s working on a piece in response to the political crisis. It’s always good to ask what God is asking us to do at all times in the life of the Church.

    It’s crucial to know your neighborhood and its demographics to determine the needs of the area. What is God asking St. Thomas during this time in history?

    Fr. Thomas thanked the Bishop for all he means to this Church. He said, “I hope you feel you are loved and prayed for by this congregation.” Fr. Christopher thanked the Bishop for his words presented to the Church in his sermon on Sunday.

    In response to a question, the Bishop noted the Missouri Diocese has very few in-person gatherings in the churches at this time.

3. SHARED THOUGHTS
Each person had the opportunity to offer up details concerning their lives. Steven relayed that friends of his have been murdered and asked for prayers. He also shared that he had been to Colorado on vacation and experienced the smoke from the fires. Michael related a meeting with a former student who thanked him for his impact on the young man’s life.

4. FINANCIAL REPORTS–Treasurer
Mike Gsell was not able to attend the meeting nor to finalize the August financial report due to extreme commitments with his work. The report will be sent out when he can finalize it.

5. RECTOR’S REPORT–Fr. Christopher

  • We continue having great success with our Zoom-based Church services, averaging between 65 and 80 people per week. This is high compared to previous summers. “I’m very pleased with that. I don’t expect significant financial changes for this month – we are in good financial position, which says a lot about the generosity of this parish and the conservative financial planning on the part of the Vestry. We should celebrate these things.”
  • We have started to explore through the study of the book Caste the issues of racial healing and social justice. This is an important point in ministry for the Rector. “This is the beginning of the process as we discern the work God is calling us into. I believe it has to do with racial healing and social justice. We had 45 people from around the country at the book study last night.”
  • Fr. Christopher would love to do a civil rights pilgrimage to points such as Montgomery and Selma in the South when we can do so after the coronavirus pandemic is over.
  • Fr. Christopher would like to do some of this work right here in Dallas post-COVID. “I feel called to do this type of ministry.”
  • A programming note: Oct. 4 we plan a late afternoon time for a St. Francis blessing-of-animals service outdoors for our first in-person event since the pandemic began.
  • The Stewardship Campaign will be the first 3 Sundays in October. Randy will be heading that process with a weekly mailing to congregants – a letter from Randy, a letter from Fr. Christopher, and a letter from Sr. Warden Joe DeuPree.

6. OUTREACH UPDATE–DeuPree

  • Last week, the Rector, Wardens, and last year’s Outreach Committee Chair Keith Carney met to discuss what has been done in the past. We have $10K in our budget to give to ministries outside St. Thomas. If we can get a few Vestry members to give a few hours to join us in finding proposals for which organizations should be supported, we can award the funds without reconstituting the entire committee. Kathy and Pamala will join with them. Allen also volunteered to be on that committee.
  • Joe DeuPree suggested we put a substantial Black Lives Matter banner along Inwood Road. He asked for Vestry members’ opinions. Fr. Christopher feels it’s a fabulous idea. He has spoken with a woman of color in DC who is a lawyer who does diversity training. She feels it is a great idea because it makes a great statement to the community. She asked what we would do to support that statement. This Church has historically been LGBT friendly and has not used a flag but has had supportive actions. Vestry members were generally impressed by these comments. The question was raised about the need to be supportive of people of other races, too. The Black community seems to be getting the brunt of discrimination, so perhaps should be emphasized at this time. One member posed the question of whether this would be seen by some in a very negative light and might put a bulls-eye on our unoccupied Church building. A member noted that Black lives have mattered in this parish since about 1955 when we were the first Episcopal Church in Dallas to welcome Blacks to our parish. The question is, how do we walk the talk when we have very few non-whites in the Church? Could some outreach funds support this concept? Should we line up the actions and get started on them at the time the banner is posted? A member questioned how this might be interpreted separate from supporting the organization called Black Lives Matter. Discussion was inconclusive.

Motion to approve the purchase of such a banner for installation along Inwood Road with a 30-day delay to do research to determine the tenets of the Black Lives Matter organization.
Motion by: Steven Lee
Seconded by: Michael Legacy
Passes unanimously by show of hands.

7. PARISH ELECTIONS UPDATE–DeuPree
Joe DeuPree, Chancellor Denise Webb Glass and Vice Chancellor Rusty Rippamonte have developed a plan for conducting our annual elections through a virtual meeting. This resolution is put forward to put the plan into effect:

Be it resolved, because the Parish Bylaws and the Diocese of Dallas Canons require an election for Vestry persons and Convention Delegates must be at a “Parish meeting” and that due to the current restrictions on in-person meetings due to the current Covid pandemic, the Vestry hereby calls for and sets a date for a special virtual Parish Meeting on Sunday October ___[insert date] at 11:00 AM for an election for three Vestry Persons for the 2021 Vestry; 3 Committee Members for the St. Thomas Endowment Fund; and an Alternate Delegate to the Diocesan Convention. The Vestry authorizes written notice of the date and time and purpose of such special virtual Parish meeting be sent by email (or surface mail to those members not having email) at least 2 weeks prior to said election. The written notice to include notice of the date, time and place (via Zoom) of the meeting and include the information that pursuant to Canons and Bylaws that only confirmed members of at least 18 years of age who have contributed to financial support of the Parish in the last year and who are present at this special Parish Meeting are eligible to vote. The meeting will conducted as follows:

  • A virtual (Zoom) meeting will be called to order at 11:00 AM following the morning service on the designated day;
  • A list of candidates for each election will be provided to attendees;
  • An explanation will be provided to attendees that pursuant to Cannons and Bylaws that only confirmed members of at least 18 years of age who have contributed to financial support of the Parish in the last year and who are present at this special Parish Meeting are eligible to vote;
  • If there are only 3 persons running for the 3 Vestry Person positions, a vote by show of hands may be taken for this election;
  • If there are only 3 persons running for the 3 Committee Member positions of the Endowment Fund, a vote by show of hands may be taken for this election;
  • If there is only 1 person running for the position of Alternate Convention Delegate, a vote by show of hands may be taken for this election;
  • If more persons are running for the open positions in any election (“Contested Election”), it will be explained that for privacy considerations, written ballots will be mailed to the list of eligible voters with an addressed stamped return envelope.
  • A list of eligible voters present at the special meeting will be taken at the meeting in order to know to whom ballots will be mailed for a Contested Election.
  • The ballot will include instructions regarding ranking the candidates for each Contested Election in order of preference for each Contested Election to avoid the need for mailing additional subsequent runoff ballots;
  • If the election for Endowment Fund Committee is a Contested Election, the candidate receiving the highest preference of votes shall take the 3 year position, the candidate receiving the second highest preference of votes shall take the 2 year position and the candidate receiving the third most preference of votes shall receive the 1 year position. If the Election for Endowment Fund Committee is not a Contested Election, the three candidates elected by show of hands shall decide among themselves who will take which positions and if no agreement is reached among the elected candidates by casting lots
  • The ballots need to be returned by ____ [insert date] by mail or by physically dropping the ballot through the mail slot in the Parish office door;
  • Because of the Canons and Bylaws requiring that the election be at a “Parish meeting”, this special virtual meeting will be continued (not adjourned) in accordance with the Bylaws until Sunday ____ [insert date] at 11:00 AM, at such time the results of the election will be announced to those present at the continued meeting.

Note: These resolutions are only suggestions you may edit as you deem appropriate.
Note: Joe and I considered several alternatives regarding voting, but we ruled out email voting because if we have only 3 persons for 3 seats we can use show of hands to essentially elect by acclamation; however if more than 3 persons are running we would like to avoid multiple runoff ballots which leads us to want to use the ranking/point system. Trying to use the ranking system may be confusing using email so we are suggesting mail in ballots if we have more than 3 persons running.

Motion to approve the resolution, as presented.
Moved by: Joe DeuPree
Seconded by: Pamala Gilliland
Motion passed unanimously by show of hands.

Joe suggested the election committee will determine the dates to recommend to the Vestry.

8. STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN UPDATE–DeuPree
Pledge cards have been mailed. Next week Fr. Christopher’s letter will go out. The following week Joe’s letter will be sent out. On the first three services in October a stewardship moment will follow the sermon. On the third Sunday. We will have our ingathering.

9. WARDEN REPORTS–DeuPree & Legacy
Vestry’s Warden, Michael Legacy:

  • He is working on installation of the cables for the cameras and wifi. This may be done by Friday.
  • The water bill this month has been reduced by $600 through installation of some new sprinkler heads and valves and reduced watering due to increased rains.
  • Two doors were rehung in the Parish Hall for safety and operational effectiveness.
  • The AC unit for the North Room has failed. A new blower will fix the system. HALO units will be installed on the units in the Parish Hall.
  • Additional trees will be trimmed to improve views.
  • Gutters are clogged with leaves, which is causing the gutters to fail to direct outflow properly. These will need to be cleaned out.
  • A new laptop computer will be procured for Pam.
  • Michael is currently checking to be sure the Church software is all legitimate.

Rector’s Warden, Joe DeuPree:
Community Garden

  • Based on the representation by members of the St. Thomas Garden Committee that solitary leaf bees and cutter bees are not aggressive, the Vestry hereby authorizes the installation of a limited number of “Bee Houses” (comprising bamboo tubes and/or small wood blocks for sheltering solitary leaf bees and cutter bees) along the rear fence of the St. Thomas Community Garden, contingent on the understanding that such Bee Houses will not be located at other locations in the garden or other locations on the St. Thomas campus. Specifically excluded from this authorization is the placement on any honey bee hives anywhere on the St. Thomas campus.

Motion to approve the installation of Bee Houses.
Moved by: Michael Legacy
Seconded by: Kathy Carson
Motion passed unanimously by show of hands.

  • Based on the representation by members of the St. Thomas Garden Committee that a “Monarch Waystation” designation by Monarch Watch is fully revocable, and therefore does not encumber future uses of the St. Thomas campus, the Vestry hereby authorizes the Garden Committee to apply for and receive a designation of the St. Thomas Community Garden as a Monarch Waystation and install a small sign (approximately 9 “ by 12 “) in or adjacent to the Community Garden. All costs associated with such designation are to be borne by the members of the St. Thomas Garden Committee. Additionally, any such the designation shall use the name St. Thomas Community Garden.

Motion to approve the installation of a Monarch Waystation.
Moved by: Pamala Gilliland
Seconded by: Steven Lee
Motion passed unanimously by show of hands.

Vestry Norms
Jack McCroskey, Kathy Carson, and Joe DeuPree discussed the need for Vestry Norms and determined we should wait until next year begins before adopting a set of norms. They did add the estimated times to the agenda and included the norm of appointing a resource person for each meeting.

  • St. Thomas has been supporting Austin Street with sandwiches on the first Saturday of the month for many years. We’ve not been able to do this during the COVID crisis. We can no longer meet the changing needs of Austin Street. Sandy Lowe will look for another opportunity to perform a similar ministry.
  • Chris Reed has taken over from Charles Mullins as leader of St. Thomas’ participation in LifeWalk. This year it will be a virtual walk.
  • Allen Junek has moved into an office in the Church building.

10. CLOSING PRAYER
Fr. Christopher closed the meeting with a prayer.

11. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, October 20, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Respectfully submitted,
Paul McCright, Clerk