October Stewards Minutes 2011
October 2, 2011
Present – Marjory Bankson (angel), Peter Bankson (angel), Ken Burton, Lewise Busch, Pat Conover (worship), Dave Lloyd (recorder), Sandra Miller, Trish Nemore, Will Ramsey, Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Margreta Silverstone, Deborah Sokolove (moderator), Jacqie Wallen.
Absent — Cynthia Dahlin
Visitor – Jake Folger
Worship – Pat led a reflection on living in our calling, identifying hope, giving gratitude for hope and for the community, and living together out of hope.
Agenda:
1. Housekeeping – The next meeting will be November 6 at 5:00 p.m. at Seekers (Daylight Savings ends that morning). Trish will moderate, Jacqie will record, Sandra will lead worship, and Lewise and Margreta will serve as dinner angels.
2. Care Pack Ministry: Peter and Jake requested that Stewards affirm the Care Pack Team’s outreach to homeless people as a ministry of Seekers Church. (see attachment) Since they began last year the Care Pack Team has given out more than 100 care packs. It is creating information for distribution to churches and other organizations on how to create this ministry, and plans to offer support and assistance to nurture new care pack teams in other organizations. In kind donations will continue to be encouraged but the ministry account will be a repository for cash donations. The request was affirmed unanimously.
3. Letter of Standing from Seekers Church for Jesse Palidofsky to submit to the Association of Professional Chaplains: This is necessary for him to continue to serve as a hospice chaplain. (Jesse had submitted this previously through a church he was attending at the time.) Peter presented a request, which was affirmed unanimously.
4. New Secretary for Seekers Church: Kate Cudlipp had served as the elected Secretary of Seekers Church. Upon her death, the vacancy needs to be filled. David Lloyd feels called to this role and has offered to serve in this position. He stated that if elected he would review, sort and file the documents that we have accumulated over the years and those in Kate’s files and create a filing system in the Office, with appropriate backup. Peter nominated David, it was seconded by Marjory, and David was elected unanimously.
5. Covenant Thanksgiving Basket Project: This year the cost of baskets has increased significantly and some previous donors will be unable to donate. On behalf of the Seekers representatives (Larry Rawlings, Margreta, Linda Nunes-Schrag, and Sandra) on the joint planning committee, Sandra requested that Seekers provide additional funding up to $2,000 to help address the expected shortfall in meeting the goal of 300 baskets. The request was affirmed unanimously.
6. 2012 Budget Preparation: On behalf of the Financial Oversight Group (FOG) Marjory requested that mission groups review their spending this year, identify needs for 2011, and submit requests for 2012 budget items to the FOG (Marjory, Keith, and Cynthia) by October 15. A draft budget will be presented for discussion at the November meeting. Marjory reported that the FOG is adding Deborah as a member.
7. Carroll Café: On behalf of Jesse and Glen Yakushiji, Peter requested that Seekers affirm the Carroll Café as a ministry of Seekers Church. (see attachment) There was a short discussion acknowledging the importance of Carroll Café for local performers and the role Seekers Church plays as a welcoming host for them. The request was affirmed unanimously.
8. Call for Leadership from the Whole: On behalf of the Servant Leadership Team, Brenda announced that following Kate’s death we need to consider our needs for leadership, especially the SLT, which needs at least one more person. We will use a process for discernment similar to that used in 2002 for the SLT which examined Seekers life together, identified needs and invited those with a range of gifts to exercise. She extended an invitation for a group to form from both Stewards and the wider community. Pat and Marjory volunteered, and Ken and Deborah may join them. They will invite members who are not Stewards also. The process will begin this month and continue through January.
9. Check in for Annual Recommitment: Each Steward was invited to state whether he or she planned to recommit on October 16. All those present stated such an intention.
10. Sharing: Marjory and Jacqie
11. Soul Talk
Respectfully submitted,
David Lloyd