June 2007 Stated Meeting
Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church
Leadership Team Meeting
June 14, 2007 – 6:30 p.m. – Dockside Seafood Restaurant
Attending: Mindy Douglas Adams, Moderator; Keith Glidewell, Wes McGraw, Mary Donna Pond, Tina Stark, John Walkup, Joan Zollinger, Jack Zollinger
At 6:55 p.m., Mindy Douglas Adams called the meeting to order. Jack Zollinger led the devotional in which he reminded us of the Golden Rule and read Psalm 26.
Mindy reiterated that it is good to be a part of this new church with so much commitment and so many hopes and dreams.
The minutes of the May 10 Stated and the May 24 Called meetings were approved by common consent. There was no correspondence to share.
Pastor’s Report
Mindy shared the following prayer concerns: Nana Morelli who may have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever; Woody Sherman, Hepatitis C; Monica Goudy, still on bed rest with her pregnancy but who has gotten good reports from her doctor; Betty Plaisted, at Britthaven, not expected to live long; the death of Ron Hyatt, UPC member, and Bob Bodden’s return to UNC hospitals following a heart attack; John Dopler who will have surgery on his pancreas in late June. Mindy thanked John Walkup for preaching on Sunday and the rest of the team joined in her gratitude.
Finance Report
Jack found some discrepancies on the Revenue and Expense report. He will check with Kim to reconcile them.
Committee Reports
Administration. A budget adjustment, moving funds from the Audit line to Advertising, has been made.
Adult Education. Wes distributed schedules for the class on the Gospel of John to begin June 17 and a series on Doctrines of the Christian Church, to begin in the fall. A congregational questionnaire is being developed to determine interest in adult education at times other than Sunday mornings.
Children/Youth Ministry. The visioning session on June 10 was well attended with six adults and two youth. Some good ideas were discussed including local mission projects, mission trips, and events. Keith and Julia will keep this ball rolling. A visioning meeting for children’s ministry has yet to be scheduled.
Evangelism. Mindy reported that the incorrect ad in Southern Neighbor has been resolved and we will not be charged for it.
Fellowship. The June event is a potluck supper at the Adams’ home on June 15. Carpooling is advised. A picnic and talent show is planned for September 9. In October, we hope to have an event October 16 with a focus on world hunger and the world food program.
Membership. Mindy reported that 7 people joined Chapel in the Pines on Pentecost, May 13: Maggie Walkup, Monica and Kevin Goudy, Ford Heath, Woody Shearin, Richard Palmer, Bart Holtz. We now have 50 members and 3 children. A list of regular visitors and potential members will be available at the June potluck.
Outreach. Jack brought a motion from the committee to establish a new standing committee on Social Action. There were questions about the danger of having too many committees and the possible overlap of the local outreach committee with this new group. Mindy explained that the Outreach Committee deals with money whereas this new committee will be action-oriented. It will also make decision about how to use the Peacemaking offering, prison ministry, child advocacy, death penalty action, etc. Libby Reed has agreed to chair this new committee. The motion was approved without objection. Jack reported that a Guatemala day is being planned for October 7, World Communion and Peacemaking Day. Unfortunately, our missionaries, the Wisemans, are not able to visit us this year due to other obligations. Local Outreach approved the following budget expenditures: $1,000 for Family Violence and Rape Crisis, $600 for UNC Hospice, $500 for local mission (to be used when the Department of Social Services alerts us to specific needs). $600 has already gone to Chatham Together for camp scholarships. We will hold a $1,000 allocation for Habitat for Humanity until late in the year in hopes that we will use it for another Apostle’s Build project. A meeting to talk about the future of the food bank currently being run by Evergreen United Methodist church was well attended. There is much excitement about expanding this to be a shared responsibility with a wider involvement. Currently volunteers may work at the food bank on the third and fourth Tuesdays of the month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. or may go to the NC Food Bank to purchase food on the second and fourth Tuesdays from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. (meet at Boston Market).
Personnel. Annual reviews for Nana (August), and Jeremy and Aviva (September) are being planned. John asked that Jeremy be involved in Aviva’s evaluation.
Worship. The choir will move rehearsals to Christ Church in Southern Village on Tuesday nights beginning August 28. A total of eight people are going to the Montreat Music and Worship Conference June 24-30. The choir will sing on June 24 and leave for Montreat following the service. They will return to sing again July 1. After discussion, a motion was approved to use funds from Congregational Life to cover a shortfall in funds to pay for housing resulting from late cancellations. Phyllis Koehnline will preach June 24 while Mindy is on vacation in Montreat.
Old Business
Salem Presbytery. The next meeting is July 21 in Mebane. John Walkup and Mary Donna Pond plan to attend. Others are welcome.
Grants. We will apply for a $3,000 grant to use to fight hunger using a grant previous written by Dianne Birch. We will also pursue conversations with Chatham County Schools for projects that would be appropriate for the environmental grant.
New Business
Property. Joan reported that so far her dirt jar has raised $536 – in 2 weeks! She and Mindy met with the Lindleys and agreed that the church will sign a Document of Understanding and pay $16,000 earnest money. Mr. Lindley said he will put the money in a CD and if the church for any reason decides not to purchase the land, he will return to us the principal and keep the interest. An attorney is drawing up the document. We will apply for a loan from Presbyterian Loan Services, currently offering 4% interest. We are working with the Presbytery and hope that they will make the down payment and agree to make the payments on this loan. If they do, we will be able to get our initial $16,000 back to use toward a building. There are four levels of approval for our application: the New Church Development Task Force, the Church Growth Cluster, the Presbytery Council, and the full Presbytery. We hope to have all of this done in order to close on the property November 1. We will again pursue a Walton Grant, probably in January 2008.
Retreat. Mary Donna agreed to investigate a location for a leadership team retreat Sept. 7-8.
Banner. One of our banners in front of Dockside has ripped beyond repair. Mary Donna and Wes will work on a replacement.
Nobody has signed up for a devotional for the July 12 meeting. The meeting was adjourned with prayer at 8:50 p.m.
Submitted by Mary Donna Pond
Approved by Leadership Team July 12, 2007