Parish Council Minutes
January 25, 2005
The moderator convened the meeting at 7:35 P.M. Present were Tony Lucia, George Hayden, Bill Hoey, Susan Lambe, Barbara Langill, Mike Dunfee, Phil Johnson, Kevin Hershey, Bruce Gist, Hugh Penney and Linda Ladd. Susan Lambe offered the meditation and the minutes from the January 4th council meeting were approved.
Pastor’s Report: Mike introduced council to Kevin Hershey, a seminary student from the Boston University School of Theology, who will serve CCC through August in a field placement that will expose him to as many aspects of church life as possible. Mike knows Kevin from his former congregation in PA. Kevin wishes to develop expertise in "congregational care." A question and answer time with Kevin followed. Linda Ladd and Hugh Penney will work with Mike and Kevin regarding Kevin’s role within the congregation and his compensation. Mike also informed us that he has officially been extended "privilege of call" within the UCC.
Christian Education Report: Barbara attended her first meeting through the Mass. Conference of the UCC towards becoming certified as a church educator. Barbara will also look into a "Learning to Teach" certification. The High School Youth Group is planning a mission trip to North Carolina on July 16th- 23rd. The anticipated cost of $425.00 could be split between Missions, fundraising activities and participants. The trip will be run by Habitat for Humanity and our group would travel with other Mass. UCCs to N.C. via a rented van, with a stop at a local church enroute. Participants will be housed at a UCC retreat center in N.C. This summer’s Vacation Bible School curriculum will focus on construction, a tie-in with the Habitat trip.
Treasurer’s Report: Hugh informed us that the Investment Committee is trying to move all our funds to Fidelity to simplify operations. Parish Council needs to authorize Phil to sign a Resolution and Authority for Unincorporated Organizations for Financial Data Services Funds document. This will allow the funds to be moved. Hugh and Dwight are to be authorized as signatories. This was moved, seconded and approved. Hugh distributed an article for all council members to review for our next meeting. He also reported the good news that the year 2004 ended in the ‘black’ for the first time in many years.
The proposed budget for 2005 was then reviewed so that it could be presented to the congregation at Annual Meeting. Specific areas discussed included Tower Day School donations and the Missions budget. It was announced that Chris Gehret will be taking a lead role in Missions this year. Future discussions will include ways to maximize the potential of the TDS facility and a look at our wedding policy. Church-wide financial issues and goals are an area of focus for 2005. Council approved recommending this budget at Annual Meeting.
Annual Meeting Review: Phil will announce that the focus for Parish Council for 2005 will be membership development, stewardship development, preparing for pastoral search and our overall church vision including missions. We will need to find approximately 30 leaders within the church to help with this. Discussion on these topics ensued. It was decided that council members will meet following church on Sunday, Feb. 6th to review potential volunteers and leaders for our upcoming endeavors. Annual Meeting will be held after church on Sunday, Jan. 31st. Childcare will be available.
The moderator adjourned the meeting at 10:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted, Susan Lambe, Recording Clerk