Community Life Council - 2011-August 30
Minutes
Community Life Council
August 30, 2011 7:15 pm – Social Hall
I. Opening words: The meeting was called to order at 7:15pm with the group’s decision to retain its tradition of reading the Council Covenant, in lieu of TJMC’s Healthy Relations Covenant. In attendance were
a. Sally Taylor, Covenant Group Coordinating, Membership and History; Jean Newland, Asst Chair, Membership;
b. Shirley Paul and Nancy Lewis, Pastoral Visitors;
c. Marlene Jones, Co-Chair, Uuppities;
d. Wendy Repass, Gayle Floyd and May Guenin, Social Activities Committee,
e. Dan Grogan, Board Liaison; and Betty Warner, Chair.
II. Introduction and Check-in
A. Sally reported that membership stands at 436, and Circle Dinners for October are being scheduled. The membership theme this year is “We are all greeters.” The History Committee posted pictures from previous church activities, to help Erik and new members get a sense of the church history. Erik is assuming much of the leadership of Covenant Groups, and these are forming now.
B. Shirley and Nancy reported that there are currently four church members being visited by Pastoral Visitors and that they will soon be training 4 – 5 new visitors. Nancy commented on the Pastoral Visitors Sunday service and on training plans, including a session entitled “Beginning and Ending the Pastoral Visitor Relationship” and an End of Life workshop scheduled for March.
C. Marlene noted that Uuppities are scheduled through September, and that their first presentation by Carol Friedman on bringing in the harvest had been successful
D. Gayle and May, who also spoke later in the agenda, said that Social Activities would involve members working largely via email, and probably each event would have its own cadre of volunteers. Wendy turned over her leadership role to Gayle and May.
E. Dan Grogan reported that the Board was looking forward to the September 10 event and encouraged everyone to attend.
III. Old Business:
Activities Fair – October 2. Not everyone on the Council will participate in the Activities Fair. Membership will have its normal table for Newcomers and for Circle Dinner signup. Pastoral Visitors will not participate.
IV. New Business:
A. Nomination and Election of Council Chair: Betty Warner was nominated and elected to be Council Chair again, but it will be her last year. Co-chairs are being sought with increasing desperation.
B. Response to Facilities Report: At the request of Ian Sole, President, the Council members commented on the Facilities report as follows:
Members of the Council, noting that they were speaking as individuals and not representatives of their Committees, reviewed the June 12th Updated “Our Facilities – Our Future” Report to the Board at the request of Ian Sole, President, and made the following observations:
1) Funding will be difficult. In this hard time, and with the history of insufficient funding for our current facility’s improvement and maintenance, there was general concern about the ability/willingness of our congregation to engage in a capital campaign and to fund the necessary upkeep and maintenance of any building project.
2) Disruptions which would accompany any building project, but particularly those projects focused on the present structure, could create inconveniences affecting member satisfaction with the church (or to put it more bluntly, could result in a loss of members). For this, and concern about the unexpected additional costs related to construction projects in the current building, the individuals present would recommend the annex option over the phased build.
3) Congregational input is critical to selecting the best plan for TJMC, and should include cottage conversations and surveys as soon as possible.
4) Members of the Council unanimously support the concept of movable seating in the sanctuary, allowing the sanctuary to be used for community life functions which have been lost due to the lack of capacity in the Social Hall.
C. Community Issues/Brainstorming: Gayle Floyd reported on the plans for the Social Activity/HarvestFest on Nov 5. There was support for her Committee’s plans, and, in response to Betty’s questions, the belief that auction dinners could use a break until March or so. Gayle will check to make sure that the Fall Fellowship Campout proposed by Christine Gresser is no longer on the schedule.
D. Council Members/Update Contact List: An updated list is attached.
E. Brainstorming: Erik’s “lectionary” themes and our Community Life: It was agreed that, while it’s a nice idea to link the themes and the activities, and time may achieve that, and we don’t need to worry about it at this point.
IV. Evaluation/Closing
The meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Betty A Warner,
Chair
Next meetings: October 25, 7:15 pm
January 24, 7:15 pm
April 24, 7:15 pm
Reminder: Sept 10 – Cultivating Connectivity, 8:30 – 1:30