Parish Council Minutes

February 25, 2003

The Moderator convened the meeting at 7:15 P.M. Phil Johnson offered the meditation. Present were George Hayden, Hugh Penney, Bill Newell, Bruce Gist, Phil Johnson, Linda Ladd, Raymond Patch, Chuck Cotting and Susan Lambe.

Council approved the minutes of the January 21, 2003 meeting, and those of the January 26, 2003 Annual Meeting.

The Moderator welcomed new members to Council and reviewed purposes and procedures.

A possible expansion of the Kindergarten space at Tower Day School was discussed. The Director of TDS is hoping to move forward with an additional Kindergarten class in the Fall of 2003. Council members felt that, in spite of renovation costs, this could be a positive and lucrative move. Linda Ladd will meet with TDS to explore options and inform us.

Phil Johnson spoke of our urgent need for a Chairperson for the Board of Parish Life. Council requires a full slate of officers and members to run smoothly. Please send any suggestions to Phil.

Senior Pastor Report: Raymond informed Council of small groups that would be forming for Lent. Sign-up for these groups will be after services on 3/2 and 3/9. Raymond discussed the Membership Commission’s intent to reach out to those members who have been less active. Letters and phone calls to these people will help us to update our membership rolls. Raymond has been asked by prospective members what they should expect to pledge to the church. Discussion ensued. Hugh Penney said that the guideline for a "modern-day" tithe was 5%. Raymond has asked people wishing to have weddings and baptisms at CCC to come to church and "try us out" first. This is a comfortable way for all involved to begin. This also means we must continue all of our efforts to greet people in the narthex. A suggestion was made to remove Employee Parking signs as they are unfriendly. Discussion followed. Raymond reported on the Worship Team: a lay-lead group is being created to perform Communion in the Chapel . They are also considering whether we should have music during prayers. My Brother's Table group has reported that several of their large pans are missing. It was suggested we do an inventory to find out what needs to be replaced. Phil would like to continue to have all kitchen cabinets unlocked, with the exception of china and silver. Susan Spear needs info about Head Ushers in order to print the Bulletin. A suggestion was made to thank ushers, greeters and lay readers in Tower Notes instead. Raymond's evaluation, as well as the procedure for evaluating other church personnel was discussed. Personnel Commission should review their process and perhaps discuss with Parish Council.

Board of Faith Development: Linda Ladd has received a request from the Lynnfield Preschool for summer housing. She will ask them for more info and a proposal. Insurance coverage for any users of the building needs to be reviewed. It is felt that our facility should be made available to the community as an outreach .

Discussion of Centre Church Goals: The March Council meeting is to be spent discussing our goals, especially increasing membership. We also need to assess our long-term staffing needs. Parish Council should propose a model and a timetable to congregation this spring. Council and Senior Pastor to come up with ideas.

New commission member: Rosalyn Listernick was voted in as a member of the Membership Commission. Mary Ann Parker and Jill Couillard will become Safe Church trainers.

Other business: Safe Church Sunday will be on 3/16. Frank Scott and Marcia Imbrescia will lead the service. Doug Hodgkins needs to replace the organ in the Chapel. Funding was discussed. Music Commission and Memorials will oversee this. It was discussed whether CCC employees can be reimbursed for mileage charges, and decided that the IRS rate of $0.36 per mile would apply. The High School Famine Fest will be postponed for one month due to schedule conflicts.

Board of Christian Service: Bill Newell informed of the Missions and Social Concerns Commission’s plan to expand the food-of-the-month program to the community. CCC would be publicized as a drop-off for local food pantries. Jeff Langill and Phil Triffletti have begun preparing dinner for My Brother's Table on two Friday nights per month. Many volunteers and sponsors have come forward. A METCO meeting will be held at CCC on 2/26/03. The Pastoral Relations committee will meet again on 3/ 03/03.

Board of Worship: George Hayden reported that different ideas for communion and worship were being explored. He will attend a conference on worship with Raymond on 3/08/03.

Financial Secretary: Bruce Gist informed of an additional $614.00 in misc. local pledges resulting from Phil's appeal at the Annual Meeting for all members to help make up the deficit. Also, 17% of the year has passed, and we have received 25% of the year's pledges. The MBA has requested dues of $14.00 per member, including confirmed children. Bruce also requested a T.V. to be installed in the nursery so parents could watch the service. He will look into the cost of running the proper cable.
Additionally, the ceiling in Raymond's office needs to be repaired, but the steeple repairs will have to be completed first. Raymond also needs a printer in his office. One will either be purchased or donated.

The meeting adjourned at 9:50 P.M.

Respectfully submitted, Susan Lambe, Recording Clerk