March 15, 2021 Stated Session Meeting
Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church
Virtual Stated Meeting March 15, 2021 – 7 PM
Present – : Barbara Amago, Greg Behr, Paul Bolig, Keith Glidewell, Marcia Ladd (Clerk), Bruce Raymond, Mary Roodkowsky, Andrew Taylor-Troutman (Moderator), Jerry Wehmueller (Treasurer), Serena Zum Brunnen
Excused Absence – Paul Harrell
Guest – Tom Crosby
Andrew called the meeting to order at 7 PM. Keith opened with a devotion. Andrew offered prayer concerns, and asked others for prayer concerns on their minds. Keith opened the meeting with prayer.
Andrew then asked for motions on the agenda. Paul Bolig moved to approve the agenda, it was seconded and approved unanimously. Andrew then called for a motion to approve the consent agenda. Greg moved to approve, it was seconded and 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
- Approval of Session minutes – Stated Meeting 2/15/2021
- Approval of Committee Minutes and Matrixes – Christian Education 2/15/2021 and 3/8/21, Finance and Administration 2/15/2021, Fellowship 2/17/2021
- Approval of Staff Minutes – February 21, March 7/2021
- Approval of Virtual Congregational Meeting March 14, 2021
- Correspondence – Thank you and Pledge Request from Salem Presbytery; Thank you from Mission Engagement and Support, World Central Kitchen, CORA, and the Presbyterian Giving Catalogue
Pastor’s Report Andrew drew session’s attention to his report. The church is ready to go with being a vaccination site once Chatham County is ready to designate sites. Andrew has also reached out to the Hispanic Liaison in northern Chatham who also needs a vaccination site, and expressed our great interest in being considered. On February 28, the Mission & Service Committee formed a “mission action committee” (MAC) specifically designated to work on our partnership with the Farm at Penny Lane. Short-term, this committee will work on the logistics of expanding the meal delivery partnership with Breakaway Café to more people in need in the larger community. Long-term, the MAC will explore ways to partner in food assistance as well as with the Tiny Home Village.
MAC: Monty Brekke, Karen Fisher, Jeff Olson, Barbara Strange, Haley Terry
Finally, Andrew indicated the long range planning task force was up and running. It is their goal to identify specific models of planning that will result in a plan of action to be decided upon by session. Includes naming the trade-offs between the needed resources (primarily, energy and skill of volunteers) and outcomes that could be expected. The Task Force will lead a half day retreat with session on May 22 from 9 – 12, the outgoing and incoming elders will meet for this retreat. The Task Force hopes to interview consulting firms in April and write a report in advance of the retreat for session to mull over.
Process:
– Discuss 3Ws of mission statement, interview consulting firms
– Prepare report to rest of session and present during a retreat in May, 2021
Task force: Paul Bolig, Tom Crosby, Keith Glidewell, Marcia Ladd, Bruce Raymond
Treasurer’s Report
Jerry indicated that through the first two months, we have again experienced a surplus of income over expenses of $70,695. This was not unexpected since we always have a positive cash flow during the first several months of the year mainly because of the pattern of giving of the congregation. This year the early year results are even more pronounced since the operating expense budget is based on operating the church indoors for the full year which is not going to happen. It is still expected that we will have a surplus by yearend. We are doing good work in our community with the monies we have received.
With a total of $367,204 in cash, we will need to decide this month to transfer more of the funds from our bank account to our PILP investment account. Although the interest rates on the PILP account has gone down somewhat, we can still earn several hundred dollars more there than the 0.01% we can earn at the bank.
Committee/Task Force Reports/Actions
A. Building and Grounds
Bruce indicated that Building and Grounds has put in long hours making sure the church has cleaning and safety protocols in place as we gradually re-open the church to in person activity. Bruce has been keeping a list of things we will need to do prior to the opening. HVAC Company is coming out to look at the cleanliness of the air. He will be speaking to the janitorial staff about cleaning prior to opening and between meetings. They are also speaking to Worship about protocols for meeting.
B. Communication and Technology
Tom indicated that the cameras are being installed in the sanctuary and we should be able to live stream by Easter. We’ve had successful live streaming to the Fellowship Hall. He will meet with Nana to try to increase the size of his committee.
C. Worship
Mary’s committee has talked a lot about the desire to meet in person, hence the move to circles of safety this past Sunday. They have been trying to think of parameters for making worship happen inside. They are thinking that the fairest thing to do is to meet outside until vaccinations are available for everyone and people have had a chance to get a shot. This means we may be looking at late June to be in the sanctuary. Paul Bolig asked if there had been discussion about the fact that kids and toddlers will not be vaccinated. She said they’ve talked about various ways of creating distance once inside. They are not clear what they will be offering for children. Bruce indicated that things will always be subject to change because things are changing so quickly, and we will need to try to see how things work. She also talked about how we can improve the outside environment to attract people, especially those with mobility issues. She offered the following motion
Session should consider resuming in-person services in the sanctuary after Coivd-19 immunization has become available to all adults, and with a suitable grace period to allow people to schedule their vaccine(s) and complete the two weeks to build immunity.
The motion passed unanimously.
D. Finance and Administration
Paul indicated his committee has been busy and he brings 4 motions to the meeting. The first involves the Audio Visual equipment. Monies had been donated to pay for the equipment and Paul offered his first motion
The Finance and Administration Committee recommends that Session approve the recent gifts to cover the cost of upgrading the current AV system and making several enhancements.
There were several questions about the amount of money and if it was specifically designated for the AV equipment. It was specifically designated. The motion passed unanimously.
Paul indicated with the roll outs of the vaccines, there is interest in safely meeting in the building, he offered the following motion from his committee
The Finance and Administration Committee recommends to Session that committees and small groups be permitted to meet in the Hall for All. The groups would be required to pre-schedule its meeting with the office manager, to follow all CDC guidelines, and to follow all CITP policies. In addition, the committee members must unanimously agree to meet in the Hall for All and such unanimous agreement would be required before each meeting.
Andrew asked for questions about his motion. Keith asked if certain individuals were requesting this type of “permission?” Serena asked if we could have hybrid meetings, with some meeting in person and some zooming in? Paul thought his committee would be amenable to that, and open to flexibility. Bruce said his Boy Scout group has been doing hybrid meetings and they are working well. The consensus was that hybrids would work, making everyone feel included. Bruce also asked if two groups could meet at once, Andrew said no. Bruce wondered what the spacing should be between meetings. Andrew said from a staff perspective when they are recording in the sanctuary, they wait 24 hours before the next staff member is in the sanctuary. Nana should monitor that there only be one meeting a day in the Fellowship Hall. Barbara suggested that there be cleaning protocols for the committees to clean up and sanitize the room after their use. Bruce indicated that the 24 hour space makes the next group safe. Mary asked about audio visual capabilities in the Hall of All, Andrew indicated we have some capability for that. The motion passed unanimously.
Paul indicated that since Tim White is coming on as Treasurer, the following motion is warranted
Add Tim White as a signatory for Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church checks and remove Bob Hoerter as a signatory
Paul indicated Bob has been approached and thanked for his service. There was very little discussion and the motion passed unanimously.
Paul’s committee looked at the following CitP policy
Committee members will serve three-year terms. A member may serve two consecutive terms. Committee chairs will be appointed by the Pastor and the Session Liaison. Terms of service will be June 1 to May 31. Committee members will take at least one year off after serving two consecutive three-year terms before returning to a committee. (Approved 3/12/2009; revised 02/21/17)
To recommend that due to COVID the 6 year limit for service on a committee be delayed until June 2022.
The language would be inserted at the end of the paragraph on the current policy.
Since we have not always followed this policy in the past, there was general consensus that this is wise. Andrew indicated that the motion gives us time to look at this policy. Paul indicated that chairs take the time to review the tenure of their members. Andrew indicated this is something we need to continue to discuss. The motion passed unanimously.
Paul indicated that his committee is going to update the Wish List based on audio visual needs that Bob Warren and Zach Terry are working on so we can re-open.
E. Christian Education
Serena explained that with the graduation of our current intern, Vance Stiles, there is a void in Youth ministry. That is an important part of Vance’s ministry, and we cannot assume our next intern will be so inclined. Hence we need to hire staff 4 – 5 hours/week, mostly on Sunday afternoons and evenings @ $500 per month. The new staff member’s purpose is to co-lead weekly youth activities designed to foster the faith development of middle and high schoolers involved in the life of the church. The job description for this position is contained in the pre-session packet.
New Business
Ongoing Business
Marcia drew the elders’ attention to the Committee Matrix and Committee Roles contained in the pre-session packet. She asked if there were any changes that need to be made. She will send them to Nana and Mary Donna for internal use and on the website.
There being no further business, Andrew ended the meeting with a prayer at 8:06 PM.
Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals
Since the last stated meeting on February 15, 2021, the Lord’s Supper was performed virtually on February 17 and 24 and March 3 and 10. There were no new members, baptisms, weddings or funerals.
Respectfully submitted
Marcia Ladd,
Clerk of Session
Approved Session 4/19/21