Special Congregational Meeting

December 11, 2005

Church Moderator, Phil Johnson, declared the meeting open at 11:04 AM. In attendance were 130 church members; the required quorum of 42 was therefore easily reached.

The purpose of the meeting, to act upon a motion put forth by Parish Council was restated: "Parish Council moves that Centre Congregational Church become an ‘Open and Affirming" church which is defined as follows: An "Open and Affirming" church makes a public declaration that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are welcome in the full life and ministry of the congregation – including membership, leadership, ordination and employment- and lives out that commitment in our society." The motion was moved and seconded. Phil briefly indicated that the ONA proposal was adopted by the UCC in 1985 and that our church had discussed ONA from time to time over the past 15 years. He indicated that it was time to make a decision on becoming ONA and that the motion was fully endorsed by Parish Council.

Discussion ensued with members presenting their thoughts both for and against the motion. The question was then moved for a vote. This was by written ballot. Three auditors were chosen: Mary Beth Weilandt, Chris Gehret and Chuck Cotting.

After the auditors counted and verified the tally, Ms. Weilandt read the results for the 130 cast ballots: 109 in favor of accepting the motion, 19 against and 2 remained blank. The motion was passed. After a closing prayer, offered by Mike Dunfee, the Moderator adjourned the meeting at 11:42 AM.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Lambe, Recording Clerk