MINUTES OF THE STEWARDS MEETING
February 10, 2008
Present: Marjory Bankson (angel), Peter Bankson (angel), Ken Burton (moderator), Pat Conover, Kate Cudlipp, Cynthia Dahlin, Jane Engle, Sue Johnson, Muriel Lipp, Dave Lloyd (recorder), Sandra Miller (worship leader), Trish Nemore, Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Margreta Silverstone (angel), Deborah Sokolove.
Absent: Lewise Busch
Worship: Sandra passed out origami paper for us to write out individual prayers for Lent.
Housekeeping: Next meeting will be March 2, starting at 5:00. Cynthia will moderate, Trish will record, Brenda will lead worship and Sandra and Dave will serve as dinner angels.
Case Study of Seekers. Pat reported that the case study he wrote has been published, but people can still submit errata to him. He proposed that that we put it on the Seekers Web site with other documents that are relevant but not considered core documents. He will also post it on his own Web site. We will discuss this further at the March meeting.
Reports.
1. Financial Oversight Group report on the 2007 budget. Marjory reported on behalf of the FOG. We had $4,217 in giving and $8,709 in building income above the budgeted amounts, and we had $34,415 less than the budgeted expenses. This leaves approximately $51,485 net, although a few more expenses may come in. The excess net will be applied to capital repayment.
2. Ministry of Place (building use) in 2007. Keith reported on behalf of the Time and Space mission group. Use ranged from 8 to 33 different non-Seekers activities per month, with an average of $2,000 in donations, although Katie Fisher’s tally may be higher since it includes activities that didn’t pay rent. Stewards commend Katie for her faithfulness, her attention to details, and her friendliness with prospective users. Stewards discussed having a tri-fold bulletin available for inquiries, which Time & Space mission group will take up, although it is recommended we steer interested people to the Seekers Web site.
3. Children’s Sunday School. Trish reported that Anna was hired in the summer and has a mentoring/support group of Brenda, Pat, Trish, and Kate. Anna is seeking signups for blocks of time, but is finding it challenging to get signups for the younger children. The School of Christian Living held three training sessions in January on storytelling, art, and play, and information from those will be available to the community. Anna is addressing the children’s participation during circle time, since the teachers need that time for preparation and can’t hear announcements made then and during the service. Jackie McMakin is working with Anna to change the format for the “word for the children” in worship: children will be given an option to come forward, and the offering will be deferred for the time being.
4. Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition. John Morris would like to step down from the SSIHC board so we need to appoint a new board member. We agreed to invite John to the March meeting to talk to us about his view of SSIHC from the board perspective and what they are looking for in new board members.
Sharing. Kate and Deborah each shared highlights of their current lives.
Soul Talk. Various Stewards shared briefly.
Dinner
Community building. On behalf of the Servant Leadership Team, Peter reviewed how we work together, especially in our use of ad hoc small groups, spontaneous groups, and Stewards committees, such as the SWIM, Bokomoso, and Sunday School groups. There is a concern that their authority and accountability to Stewards has sometimes been unclear, that their decision-making processes have not necessarily been clearly stated, and that decisions of mission groups and small groups may not have been recorded in minutes.
Occasionally they may not have worked through relational issues or their inward journey. Peter divided us into small groups so that we could share experiences where we have heard a “NO” from such a group, a mission group, or Stewards. We reflected on how we responded, what someone said or did that helped us with our response, and what we learned from it. When we reconvened the groups reported back that helpful techniques included deep listening that let us know others cared about our viewpoint or effort, letting one or two people speak directly to the affected person, using the organic processes of mission groups and their disciplines, letting go of ownership of the issue, and simply having faith in God that “showing up and hanging in there” would eventually lead to healing. Stewards noted that community life can unintentionally cause deep hurts, and seeking forgiveness and granting forgiveness is an organic process of faith.
