Parish Council Minutes

December 16^th, 2003

The first part of the meeting convened at 6:30 PM. Council members present were Phil Johnson, Bill Hoey, Linda Ladd, Barbara Langill, George Hayden, Raymond Patch, Bill Newell and Susan Lambe. The Personnel Commission attended to report on 2003 performance reviews. Members present were Susan Tomich, Tony Lucia and Frank Scott. They reported that full, in-depth performance reviews were completed this past year for Susan Spear(May 20), Doug Hodgkins(Sept. 19), Oscar Musker(Dec. 4) and Raymond Patch(Fall) as per the by-laws.

The next portion of the meeting was a discussion on the role of the Pastoral Relations Committee(PRC). In addition to those already listed, present were members of the PRC including Phil Triffletti, Sue Penney, and Lola Leggett. Perry Hayden from Nominating was also present. Our guest speaker was Tom Clough, Metropolitan Boston Area Minister of the U.C.C. Tom offered the outline of a model of a PRC that worked successfully for him when he was a minister. In his model, the PRC should be the only commission that asks the question, "Raymond, how are you?" This group should be concerned about how the pastor is relating to his congregation; and, therefore, how he is doing personally. The Personnel Commission should be concerned with evaluations. The PRC is not concerned with judging or passing along feedback, they are only there to support the pastor personally. The PRC can and should discuss with Raymond their own observances of Pastoral communication. Reflecting on communication can be very helpful to the pastor. The PRC should help "enculturate" a pastor- adapt him to the culture of a congregation. The PRC should be a sounding board, a reflector and a suggestor of wisdom. The PRC should also be an advocate for the pastor’s salary and compensation if the Personnel Commission does not do this. The PRC can help with evaluations and it is a good idea to have a Parish Council member or Deacon on the PRC. The suggested committee size is 4 people. This portion of the meeting concluded at 8:55 PM.

Regular Parish Council business ensued. Raymond reported that he would like to sign up volunteers for a workshop in March entitled "Stewardship and Spirituality." More details will follow. Raymond also reported that the UCC has a staff supporter for public education and that he will work with him over the Martin Luther King weekend. Barbara Langill reported that Heifer raised an additional $975.00 on 12/14, bringing the total raised to $7400.00. The Potluck supper on 12/19 will include the reading of the Christmas story. Barbara and Jill plan to attend a Rotation Sensation workshop on 1/10. Minutes of the 11/25 meeting were approved. The meeting ended with talk of our wonderful new manger, which we thank Barkey Gulezian and Brad Holt for. Next scheduled meetings are on 12/30- budget only, and 1/6- full council. The meeting adjourned at 9:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Lambe

Recording Clerk