STEWARDS MINUTES
September 12, 2010
(Meeting held at the Conover-Nemore home)
Present: Marjory Bankson (angel), Peter Bankson (angel), Ken Burton, Lewise Busch, Pat Conover, Kate Cudlipp (note taker), Cynthia Dahlin, Jane Engle (present after dinner), David Lloyd, Sandra Miller (worship), Trish Nemore (moderator), Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Margreta Silverstone, Deborah Sokolove, Jacqie Wallen.
Worship: Sandra asked us to reflect on a question of our own choosing about recommitment, and we then sang “Ubi Caritas.”
Housekeeping: The next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. on October 3 at Carroll St. Dave will moderate; Cynthia will lead worship; Sandra will take notes; and Lewise and Margreta will be the dinner angels.
Update on 2025: Keith reported that there is a signed Purchase and Sale contract with the Embassy of Gabon. The next step is for Gabon to deposit $250,000 into an escrow account by September 15. There is a 30-day study period, which will expire on October 9, during which Gabon can decide not to go through with the purchase. If they do not withdraw by the end of that period, the likelihood of a completed sale is substantially greater. It is likely that final settlement will not take place before some time in January due to the timing for a decision from the Board of Zoning Appeals on whether Gabon may use the building as an embassy.
Keith passed out proxies for each Steward to complete showing his or her approval of the sale. A vote by the majority of core members of the nine faith communities of the C of S is required for the process to proceed.
Sunday school: Trish reported on the work of the Sunday school group and the parent/grandparent of our children. First, she reviewed the experience of having mission groups provide Sunday school during the summer and noted that the Sunday school group will be using this summer’s experience when planning for next summer. One point around which there was a good deal of agreement was that having a Children’s Word helps set the tone for the rest of the time with the children. (There had been no Children’s Word this summer.)
There are still gaps in covering the children’s activities during Circle Time, but work continues to make this a better time for everyone.
Trish outlined the structure and expectations for the children’s time in worship, their transition to their classrooms, and the end of class time. It was agreed that the outline should be communicated to the entire community.
The Stewards expressed their appreciation to Trish and the other members of the Sunday school group: Pat, Brenda, and Kate.
Sharing by Stewards. Marjory reported that no Stewards had responded to her invitation to share and suggested that we think about doing away with this part of Stewards meetings. After extended discussion, it was agreed that for the next year Stewards will share at the meeting in the month of their birthday, and if there are clusters of birthdays, Marjory will work to smooth out the schedule. (We will have no more than two Stewards sharing in one month.) She will also remind people when it is their time to share.
Margreta raised the possibility of having time in some of our meetings for mission group issues to be addressed. The SLT will follow up with Margreta to see how this might be done.
Dinner
What’s percolating in Seekers? Brenda led this reflection and “noticing” of what’s emerging in the life of Seekers Church. She read an excerpt from Esther de Waal’s To Pause at the Threshold and called on four Stewards to make brief presentations:
• Kate talked about the people who have come through our doors looking for spiritual and material support and where those encounters have taken us in the past three years;
• Sandra spoke about the work of, and growing connections within, the Sacred Conversations planning group, made up of members of Seekers and Covenant Christian Community;
• Peter and Marjory brought us up to date on dreams for the possible future of pilgrimages to Guatemala; and
• Jacqie spoke about the plans for Metro Village co-housing and a vision for a broader aging-in-place network in the neighborhoods around Seekers Church.
Deborah called our attention to Carroll Café, the unfolding realization of a dream that Glen and Jesse had even before we renovated our building, to have a venue for professional and aspiring folks musicians.
There were no decisions to be made on the presentations, but we were each asked to reflect on what comes to us as we contemplate these various stirrings and activities in our midst. One “noticing”: While what is already going on is daunting when we think of how small our numbers are, we might also be seeing the path to inviting partnerships with others and a widening circle of Seekers.
Soul Talk.
Closing circle.
