2007 August Stewards Minutes

STEWARDS MEETING MINUTES 

Seekers Church 

August 5, 2007 

Present:, Peter Bankson, Ken Burton (moderator), Lewise Busch, Alan Dragoo, Jane Engle (shepherd), Sue Johnson,  Muriel Lipp, David Lloyd (recorder), Sandra Miller (worship), Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Deborah Sokolove.  

Absent:, Marjory Bankson, Pat Conover, Kate Cudlipp, Cynthia Dahlin, Trish Nemore, Margreta Silverstone 

Worship:  Sandra read the Psalm 107, focusing on its balance of body, mind, and spirit, similar to the metaphor for the Trinity that Deborah preached on. 

Housekeeping.  The next meeting will be moved from September 2 (Labor Day weekend) to September 9 at 5:30 (at Carroll St). 

Worship: Lewise 

Shepherd: someone from the shepherd’s group  

Moderator: Deborah 

Recorder: Sandra 

Angel (for cleanup): Dave & Brenda 

UPDATES 

Playground equipment.  On behalf of the Time and Space mission group, Keith proposed that we allocate $1,800 from the capital budget for the purchase and installation of playground equipment selected by Kate and Margreta from a firm in Gaithersburg.  The equipment includes swings, a slide, a sandbox, and a house.  No decision has been made regarding the ground cover, but the choices are between more expensive but longer lasting rubber chips and wood chips.  He requested another $1,200 to cover the cost of the ground cover.  Sandra volunteered to research additional sources for rubber chips. 

Approved:  A total of $3,000. 

Dayspring.  We requested that at the September meeting Marjory and Pat present an update on Seekers financial support plan for Dayspring Farm and the missions there since the report from Dayspring.  

SHARING.  Sue shared her current spiritual journey through Interplay movement.  Keith also shared his recent spiritual journey. 

SOUL TALK.  Various Seekers shared their recent areas of spiritual growth, current challenges, and prayer requests. 

CARE OF THE WHOLE.  After dinner, Brenda led us in a review of how we can support people with a relationship to Seekers who are not in a mission group nor being shepherded by Koinonia.  The discussion encouraged us to reflect on the distinction between those who have declared themselves to be members, and for whom we need to find structures for accountability, and those who merely attend or claim some relationship of belonging, for whom we need to continue to extend hospitality. 

FUTURE TOPICS FOR STEWARDS MEETINGS.  Brenda facilitated a brainstorming of possible topics for extended discussions at Stewards meetings.  Topics included aging/death and dying, efforts to lower the mean age of the congregation, supporting women and children in the neighborhood, membership and commitment, reconciling our value of ecumenicity with our views and behaviors regarding other parts of the Body of Christ, revisiting the follow-up steps after the facilitated overnight on Seekers life, encouraging creativity, the Stewards commitment statement, financial stewardship, and bringing other practices to Stewards meetings. 

Submitted by 

David Lloyd 

August 8, 2007