The meeting was called to order by Mindy Douglas Adams at 6:50 p.m.  She read a passage from Luke 9 and spoke about Christ’s feeding the multitude with the help of his disciples.  Her devotional message was concluded with prayer.

The minutes of the previous two leadership team meetings, August 9 and September 8, were approved following a motion by Stan Campbell, seconded by John Walkup.

Correspondence.  Mindy reported that she received a letter from Ann Hart, Superintendent of Chatham County Schools, expressing gratitude for our donation of $1,000 for the replacement of lights at North Chatham School with energy-efficient bulbs.  The donation was a result of an eco-justice grant award from Salem Presbytery and a matching donation from a CITP member.  The Leadership Team celebrated this wonderful announcement.

Pastor’s Report.  Mindy shared that her family would be joining with family members from the Tyler side of her family in Montreat this weekend.  Nathan Willowby will preach and Mary Donna Pond would serve as liturgist this Sunday.  Mindy will return to the office on Monday.

Finance Report.  In Jack Zollinger’s absence, Mindy distributed the Balance Sheet and Revenues and Expense Report for September 2007.  She noted that revenues are ahead of budgeted projections while expenses are just about on projection.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
Administration – Stan deferred his report to “New Business.”
Adult Education – Wes McGraw reported that the Wednesday night Bible study has met three times with seven regular attendees.   They have been rotating the location to various homes and hope to grow the group to 10-12.  A Sunday morning Advent series will begin December 2 and will continue for the four week of Advent.  The recent New Member class was well attended by 12-15 people each week, many of whom will be joining the church this month.
Children’s and Youth Ministry – Keith Glidewell reported that a combined Youth Program (6-12 graders) from Chapel in the Pines, Evergreen United Methodist, Lystra Baptist, and Chatham Community Church met for the first time Sunday, October 7.  About 20 youth attended as well as a large number of adults.    The group will meet regularly at Lystra Baptist Church with the host for each meeting rotating among the participating churches.   The Blessing of the Children and Animals on September 30 was very well attended with nearly half of those attending being non-members.
Evangelism – Julia reported that a new post card is at the printer and will be mailed soon.  The card has a Christmas theme but no date so leftovers can be used again.  John asked that copies of the card be sent to everyone who has contributed.
Fellowship –  A November event has not been planned.
Membership – Harriet reported that new visitors continue to come to worship.  They hear about us from various sources:  website, friends and family, through UPC.  Many of them return and become involved and active.  Each visitor who gives us a name and address gets a letter from Harriet and another from Mindy and a nametag is made for each.  The committee will meet again on Wednesday.
Outreach – Mindy reported that Guatemala Sunday went well despite the fact that our friends from Siler City were unable to join us.  There was much to celebrate and much was learned about the country.  And although we had far too much food, the men’s shelter appreciated our donation and it was not wasted.  John shared a conversation with Bart and Sharon Holtz during which they talked a lot about the event and said they enjoyed it thoroughly.  There was a lot of positive feedback.  On October 21, we will celebrate Bread for the World Sunday with Salem Presbytery’s Hunger Action Enabler, Brian McFarland, preaching and staying to join us at Evergreen United Methodist Church for a soup-and-bread lunch followed by a groundbreaking for the new Take and Eat Food Pantry.  The Community Forum met October 1 and continues to form partnership and find worthy and important projects we can address with our neighbor churches and agencies.
Personnel – Mary Donna reported that Aviva Enoch had her annual performance review at the end of September and that the Committee approved her budgeted annual salary increase, effective October 1.  The leadership team accepted this recommendation.
Property – Harriet reported that the committee has met and reviewed new drawings from a design firm.  Some adjustments were suggested, and revised drawing were sent to the committee by email.  The designs represent a proposed footprint for building on the site.  Keith asked if the drawings might be put on the website; Mindy responded that they are too preliminary to publicize at this time but that the drawings could be emailed to anyone expressing an interest.
Stewardship – Stan reported that he had met with Richard Palmer and Mindy and that a 2008 pledge campaign was planned, much like the campaign for 2007.  The committee is ready to proceed, pending the approval of the proposed budget.  He said the committee feels confident that the drive will be successful since we have had an 83% increase in households, to date, since last year’s campaign.  Richard Palmer is planning a seminar describing the benefits to people over the age of 70 ½ who give donations from their pension plans.
Worship – John reported that the committee will meet October 28 and asked that any items for the agenda be sent to him.  Mindy announced that five area churches will combine for a Thanksgiving service on the Sunday evening before Thanksgiving for a service of music and thanksgiving.  Jeremy Nabors is aware of this event and details will soon be available.

OLD BUSINESS
Presbytery Grants – As reported earlier, Chapel in the Pines was awarded an Eco-Justice Grant of $500, matched by a church member, so we are able to give $1,000 to North Chatham School to replace light bulbs with more energy-efficient ones.  We have yet to hear about our proposal for the Hunger Action grant to be used for the Take and Eat Food Pantry.

Presbytery Meeting – Mindy asked if anyone would like to attend the October 23 Presbytery meeting with her.  John Walkup said he may be able to go.

NEW BUSINESS
2008 Budget – Stan Campbell as chair of Administration presented the proposed 2008 budget and moved from the Committee that the leadership team adopt the budget.  He explained that the committees had submitted requests and the administration committee had included all requests in this proposed budget.  Worksheets outlining the proposed increases and decreases, annotated with explanations, were distributed.  The addition of funds for Evangelism to post a highway billboard for three months in early 2008 was discussed at some length.  Following discussion, there was consensus that Evangelism should proceed to explore this option.  After a few other brief questions, a budget of $202,094 was approved.  The 2008 pledge drive will aim for $153,677, or an approximate 33% increase over 2007 pledges.

Dick Plaisted asked about our growth and the capacity of the space at the school.  Mindy assured him that the space is adequate for the foreseeable future, but that we might need to purchase more chairs.  Stan offered as information the fact that North Chatham School has received approval to build an addition and the construction may well impact our use of the multi-purpose room.  He will monitor these plans and keep us informed.

Six-Year Visioning Plan – John Walkup distributed a marvelous rendering of the results of the leadership team’s September retreat.  For the next half-hour, the group studied the document, discussed it, and asked questions.  Special care was given to explaining its origins and evolution to those who did not attend the retreat.  John moved that the team adopt this as a plan for future growth and work; Wes seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous.  Someone asked about the current committee structure and how it would work with this new model.  Mindy and John agreed that we can easily migrate the current committees into the new six-year model.  Everyone was asked to think about an area of the plan about which he/she is passionate, to send additions and suggestions to John to incorporate into this very flexible structure.  The group agreed that this excellent plan should be shared with the congregation and Mindy said a time will be scheduled to do so.

John requested that he be allowed to purchase Microsoft Project software, priced at around $600, to use in this and future planning.  After some discussion about alternate programs and freeware, the committee approved overspending the computer software line, if needed.

Ed Park asked if some literature could be produced to share the history of the church with new members and visitors.  Such a history exists on the website and can easily be developed into print material that can be shared.

Mindy reminded the team of our daily prayer time, 12:00 noon, to pray for one another and for our church.

John Walkup agreed to prepare a devotional message for the November meeting; Nathan Willowby will prepare December’s message.

Mindy closed the meeting with a time of silence, followed by a closing prayer.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Donna Pond