April 18, 2022 Stated Session Meeting

Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church

Stated Session Meeting April 18, 2022 7 PM

 

Present: Paul Bolig, Sara Botelho, Tom Crosby, Keith Glidewell, Marcia Ladd (Clerk), John McDowell, Mary Roodkowsky, Andrew Taylor-Troutman (Moderator), Tim White, (Treasurer), Sarah Whitney, Serena Zum Brunnen

 

Excused Absence: Bruce Raymond

 

Andrew opened the meeting at 7 PM. Sarah offered a devotion, Andrew asked for prayer requests, they were offered and Sarah closed with a prayer. Andrew asked for a motion to accept the Agenda. It was offered by Sara and seconded. It passed unanimously. Andrew asked for a motion to accept the Consent Agenda, below. It was offered by Sarah and it was seconded. It passed unanimously.

Consent Agenda-Please read these items in advance. They will be voted on as a group without discussion unless someone pulls a particular entry  from the Consent Agenda

 

1. 1. Approval of Session minutes – Stated Meeting Minutes 3/21/22
   2. Approval of Committee Minutes – Implementation Task Force 4/4/22, Membership 4/5/22, Christian Education 4/11/22, Building and Grounds 3/8/22 and 4/12/22, Deacons 4/4/22, Personnel 4/12/22, Finance and Administration 4/14/22
   3. Staff Evaluations
   4.  Correspondence –

Pastor’s Report

Andrew led with his gratitude for the great success of the POMS fund raising campaign. There will be a report later in this meeting on the campaign, as there is a report from Bruce on the implementation of the construction plans. Our annual session retreat is May 7 from 9 am to noon. Last year’s retreat was focused on hiring a consultant for visioning work. This year’s retreat will concentrate on current ministries and the operation of our church. Our work will include creating a calendar with dates and events for June, 2022 – June, 2023. He asked the elders to bring specific events and dates from their committee to the retreat. This includes committee meetings as well as church-wide events, such as special offerings of PC(USA) and work days. Each month during session, we will refer to the calendar for the month ahead and make any necessary updates.

At the session retreat, Andrew will also divide elders and officers into work groups. Individual groups will focus on volunteer recruitment, the Sunday morning schedule (including volunteers), and communication with church members. Andrew will provide much more information in the days leading up to the retreat. The retreat will also include worship and fellowship.

Finally, he indicated he has been working on organizing staff and ministry models. His “Head of Staff Report” is included in the packet. He plans to submit this to Personnel on a monthly basis to include in session packet. He welcomes specific questions.

As the church reopens and looks to expand, now is the time to look closely at the status quo and our policies and procedures. We will develop plans about how we can most efficiently and meaningfully work together. I have no doubt that we will be as effective and faithful in this important work as we have in the last year with the visioning project.

Clerk’s Report

Marcia asked each Committee to take a look at their duties in the Manual of Operations and give any changes to her ahead of the next meeting which will be May 23, 2022

Treasurer’s Report

March represents the 3^rd month or 25% of our year. Total revenues YTD of $127,723 were 26% of budget. Total expenses of $95,132 YTD were 19% of the expense budget. March revenues were lower than expenses by $8,897. When we combine Restricted Accounts revenue of $119,874 YTD (see “Statement of Activities by Restriction” note below), total revenue is $247,597 YTD. People gave to POMs and the stock market was down which may be didn’t get as big a bump as usual in the early months. The church expenses are rising because the church is opening up and thus spending more money The Balance Sheet was up because monies are coming in from POMs. Tim reported that we’re about $1400 short in paying for the sign. Tom was very complimentary of Bruce’s efforts in getting the sign installed. If nobody steps forward, Tim would like to propose that we use the memorial funds. He will run that through Finance next month.

Finance and Administration

Tim said the POMS fundraising phase concluded on Palm Sunday after an eight-week public campaign and over five months of planning and implementation.  Integral to this successful effort were leadership donors who provided a $100,000 challenge, POMS ambassadors who promoted the significance of this outdoor ministry space, our consultant who provided the vision, our pastor and staff who led us brilliantly in moving forward with the campaign (with a special thank-you to Nana Morelli for significant campaign support), leadership from session members and each of its committees, deacon leadership for their POMS positivity, and our treasurer and bookkeeper for tracking pledges/gifts and thanking donors each week. There have been 82 pledging units so far.

We expect a few more pledges to trickle in during the remainder of April.  A decision will be made regarding a final reminder about supporting POMS that may be sent to those who have not provided a pledge or gift.  General information about unpaid pledges and when those dollars are anticipated will be provided next month. Andrew will announce the POMs money that has been raised.

The POMS effort now shifts to the Implementation Phase which is being led by Bruce Raymond.  Construction/timeline questions should be addressed with Bruce.

Here’s the Gift Table as of April 14:

POMS Gift Table–To Match $100,000 Challenge
UPDATED APRIL 14, 2022
Gift Levels	Pledges Needed		Pledges Received	Amount Received
$25,000+	1		0	$0
$15,000+	1		0	$0
$10,000+	1		3	$33,500
$7,500+	2		0	$0
$5,000+	3		3	$15,000
$2,500+	4		11	$35,000
$1,000+	5		27	$32,125
$500+	5		14	$7,000
$250+	5		5	$1,300
$100+	5		5	$1,480
$50+	10		1	$50
$25+	10		3	$35
Totals	52		72	$125,490
Challenge Donors			6	$100,000
Construction Grand Total			78	$225,490
Mission & Service Donors			6	$2,845
OVERALL GRAND TOTAL				$228,335
Amount Paid				$150,935	66.1%
Balance Due				$77,400	33.9%
78 donor households equals 54% of the
approximately 145 households mailed to.

Membership

Keith indicated that the Membership Committee reviewed the content describing their duties in the Manual of Operations, and proposed the following motion:

Ask session to approve the following changes to the Committee’s description and duties in the Manual of Operations:

• Changing the name of the committee to Membership and Welcome
• Adding a responsibility to host an annual event for new members

 

After minimal discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

Ongoing Business

Bruce had provided background information and possible construction sequence. The April 10^th will be dedication Sunday (end of Fund Raising). Donations beyond that date will still be accepted.  April 24^th will be the Sunday for celebration of achieving our goal (hopefully exceeding goal). Volunteer opportunities will be announced to allow members to donate time and talent to helping POMS. There will be opportunities for anyone and everyone. The hope is to build a pool of volunteers that can be called upon as needs arise. Mulching of the playground as part of the POMS was discussed and decided that we would use mulch procured by Bears (playground structure manufacturer) and church volunteers to spread. The task force also decided to have Bears install the playground structure (small additional cost). Bruce was granted authority to sign contracts on behalf of CitP. Tim will make sure all appropriate signatures as needed are obtained. Bruce has determined that we need building permits for each structure which will delay the time some. The first payment for the playground structure has gone out, and they anticipate the playground arriving in July. The playground structure that is already there will be refurbished by a member and donated.

He said his Task Force had tentatively decided on the following sequence

• Playground structure – anytime (ITF decided to get this on order – see Action Item)
  • The chain link fencing cover will be decided later by the ITF
• Grading
  • New parking lot
  • Pavilion
  • Soil movement to berm as noted above
  • Amphitheater
• Design (construction drawings)
• Building permits
• Construction
  • Pavilion, Gazebo, Playground shelter
  • Order to be determined by contractor for best pricing

He asked if there were any questions.

17. Andrew asked if there were any volunteers to attend the Presbytery meeting on May 17. It will be from 6 – 9 PM via zoom. Mary moved

To elect Paul Bolig to attend the May 17 Salem Presbytery meeting to be conducted via zoom from 6 – 9PM.

It was seconded it and it passed unanimously.

Andrew moved into an Executive Session.

Paul said a number of the staff evaluations were referred to as evaluations and performance reviews. Paul doesn’t feel that what was shared were performance reviews and wants to make sure that next year performance reviews are truly conducted. Paul thinks session should be more involved in the performance review. He would like the reviews done when it says they are in the Manual of Operations.  He also said that a number of the evaluations aren’t dated and don’t have the person’s name on them. He also thought that some individuals expressed challenges and wants to know if those challenges will be followed up on. Andrew said the challenges were followed up on and that the responses involved the appropriate session member. He also mentioned the category of Probationary Employment, thinking it is not regularly used. He was concerned that session should be more involved in assessing the pastor. Mary thinks since there are no problems in the assessment process she doesn’t feel we need to make changes to our assessments. She indicated Personnel should be doing the assessments the way they are doing them. Sarah said she sees more importance in making sure we follow policies that are written down, especially as we grow. Sara asked if there is follow up, there should be a report on follow up if that actually occurs. John feels that evaluations should be the purview of the Personnel Committee. He feels adding another layer to the process will make the employees less willing to be as open as they currently are. Paul feels we’re not doing things the way the Manual of Operations is written. He does also feel that if the relevant member of session is involved in the assessment, the assessments don’t need to come to session in total. John felt that if the relevant session member is involved in the assessment that would be very workable.

Marcia indicated that each elder goes through the Manual of Operations and make relevant changes so the way the Manual is written is how we operate. Mary made the point about documenting more of the steps we each take.

New Business

1. Date of May Meeting Andrew indicated that the May meeting will be May 23 and not the 16^th to allow Janet time to get the numbers prepared. Mary has agreed to moderate the meeting because he will be away attending an event for his Father’s retirement.

There being no further business, Andrew adjourned the meeting with a prayer at 8:20 PM.

Church Insurance

Chapel in the Pines is insured by Church Mutual currently through August of 2022. The Workers Compensation Policy is 0240133 07-243400; the Business Package is 0240133 25-237830; the Umbrella Policy is 0240133 85 230135.

 

New Members, Baptisms, Memorial Services and Weddings

Since the last session meeting on March 21, 2022, Claire Daniels was baptized on April 10. Beth Vazquez joined March 27. There were no memorial services or weddings. Communion was served on March 28 and April 14 and 17, 2022.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Marcia Ladd,

Clerk of Session

Approved by session 5/23/22