Seekers Church – Stewards Meeting Minutes
December 7, 2014
Present: Peter Bankson (angel), Marjory Bankson (angel), Trish Nemore, Pat Conover, Margreta Silverstone, Vincent Shepherd (angel), Cynthia Dahlin (party planner), Keith Seat (moderator), Kevin Barwick (worship), Ken Burton, David Lloyd, Sandra Miller (recorder), Judy Lantz.
Absent: Deborah Sokolove, Jacqie Wallen, Brenda Seat
Visitors: Liz Gould-Leger, Will Ramsey, Mary Carol Dragoo
Worship – Kevin invited the circle to stand in mountain pose, deepening our awareness of the divine in ourselves, in the person to our right and to our left, and in the whole circle
Judy Lantz read her spiritual autobiography and was welcomed as the newest Steward of Seekers Church Judy received individual affirmations and was blessed with a laying on of hands.
Housekeeping – next meeting will be first Sunday, January 4th
moderator – Ken Burton
recorder – Marjory Bankson
worship – Cynthia Dahlin
angels – Trish Nemore & Judy Lantz
Christmas Offering distribution (Trish) – proposal was to divide the offering equally among the 4 recipients passed unanimously, though the question was raised about another family’s circumstances. The SLT is trying to find out more information and will consider needs as they arise from other sources.
Budget (Marjory) – was presented and approved unanimously. Copy attached.
Brokerage Account (Keith) – was reported as having been set up in order to receive gifts and bequests of stock
Dayspring Update (Keith) – The minutes from the last Ecumenical Council meeting where the possibility of Dayspring selling conservation easements as both a solvency and environmental measure to preserve the property should be available soon. This issue was discussed at the Stewards’ October meeting and a number of concerns were expressed. The issue will come up for vote at the January Ecumenical Council meeting where all the CofS communities will have a chance to express their views, as Council approval is required to sell easements. No decision needs to be made currently as our January Stewards’ meeting precedes the Ecumenical Council meeting.
Dayspring has been running a deficit of about $100K/year for a number of years, but they expect to reduce that to $30K/year within a few years, with a hope of entirely eliminating the deficit. They are being proactive in identifying ongoing revenue sources, but selling conservation easements is the only plan on the table for covering Dayspring’s gap for the next few years. The easements could net around $200K or $300K.
If Dayspring were ever sold, a developer would have to have conservation easements, which means that putting them in place now might not necessarily reduce the market value greatly. Conservation easements might also help protect the property against the encroachment of roads, although M83 is more than likely off the table.
Pat remains concerned about conservation easements potentially getting in the way of future uses Church of the Saviour might want to make of the land, so is considering proposing that Seekers offer Dayspring loans at low interest to get them through the crunch and/or encourage Dayspring to reach out for personal loans from members as Seekers did when we bought Carroll Street.
Jim Hall and Kent Klopfenstein (the new Wellspring manager) have expressed their willingness to come to Seekers for Q&A on Sunday, December 14th, right after worship. Stewards agreed that would be helpful and Keith will reach out to them.
Personal Update – Peter read a letter to Seekers about his process for transitioning from being a member of SLT by the end of the year. Stewards affirmed him individually and blessed him with laying on of hands.
Soul Talk
Dinner
Christmas Party – Stewards wore something from a place that meant something special to them and shared a story about why. We ended by sharing hopes for Seekers in the coming year, and hanging those prayers on the Christmas tree in the foyer.
