St. Martin’s Episcopal Church

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
Vestry Meeting
March 31, 2008

Present: The Rev. Susan Crawford, The Rev. Susie Skinner, Ed Hamm, Jeanne King, Greg Marx, Jack Hauser, Linda Bennett, Bob Buehler, Phyllis Duff, Deb Aylsworth, The Rev. Dan Smith from the diocese, Emily Ware, Mike Luebbers, Bob Elsperman

Susan Crawford began the meeting with a prayer.

New Business: The Rev. Dan Smith from the diocese spoke on the Search Process for a new priest. We will select a search committee and then begin training them in May or June. The Vestry will give a charge to the Search Committee to call a leader.

The Search Committee will be chaired by a respected leader of the congregation - not from the Vestry. The committee will be composed of respected leaders representing the diversity of the congregation. The committee should have two or three members from the Vestry which will be liaisons from the committee to the Vestry. The committee should have 7 - 14 members including someone to take the minutes, a correspondence secretary and some to visit the candidates. The interim rector can answer questions but their role is limited. The diocese will be involved with the committee directly. The Vestry will determine the budget and clerical needs such as: how many people will visit candidates, how much do we spend on the parish profile, etc. The average cost for this process throughout the diocese is $15,000 including moving expenses and 7 - 8 candidate visits. Many church profiles are on websites. We want to make sure that our website is current and up-to-date. The Vestry will ask the committee for a certain number of candidate’s names. Dan recommends three names.

Communications need to be given each week to the congregation regardless of progress. The committee will begin to meet once per month, then once per week, then two to three times per week near the end of the process. All church communications should discuss progress; show timeline on the website.

Question of identity includes parish history, present life and the future. We must describe the congregation accurately. This will build profile of congregation and narrative profile including the community, the diocese, type of life in St. Louis, etc. The clergies have a profile also. The narrative profile is also good for newcomers to St. Martin’s after the clergy is on. The new clergy should be seminary trained. The annual minimum cost will be $75,000 with a total package of $110,000 - $120,000 for pay, housing, etc. Dan’s suggested target salary for a new St. Martin’s priest would be $90,000.

All names will be screened by Dan and will be confidential. When a clergy profile seems right we will set up phone interviews at their home, with the same questioning for each candidate. Then, we will visit the priests. The Vestry is the calling body after approval of the bishop.

Dan Smith is available for questions at 1-800-717-1259 or 314-231-1220. His email is edsmith@diocesemo.org.

We will begin by (1) determining a budget for the process; (2) recruit a chairperson for the committee; and (3) recruiting members from the congregation to represent a cross-section of the parish. Do not solicit volunteers.

Parish Life: Anna Hunter presented the Ballwin Days fundraiser for ECW with the purpose of getting St. Martin’s name out to the public with brochures on the church and Vacation Bible School. Greg Marx made a motion to approve the fundraiser and Bob Buehler seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

Old Minutes: Emily made a motion to approve the minutes and Bob Buehler seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: We received an unbudgeted grant and a stock transfer in February. The pledges year-to-date are favorable to budget by $10,144 including an annual pledge payment of $12,341. The plate offering for year-to-date is favorable to budget by $1207. Linda made a motion to approve and Emily seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Standing Committee Reports

Outreach Committee: Ellisville has given their approval for the Walk-A-Thon to be held on May 10th. There has been good response from the congregation. Provisions are being made now for safety, with three nurses, the police are being made aware, and we will make the Metro West.

Facilities: The outside lighting is in disrepair. Possibly the state would be responsible for repairs due to their road construction. Bob Elsperman has a quote from Lighting Services, Inc. for $5500 to bore and new conduit for lighting which is less invasive for landscaping. John Lange would like to paint the front doors red. The door frame is not acceptable for paint; we would need to replace the front doors to paint them red. We would not be able to afford to do this now. The diocese has a matching grant of $7500 for building repairs. We must apply by April 30th. One option for the use of the matching money would be to replace windows. Bob Elsperman and Bob Buehler will work on a list of possible options. In order to have the $7500, we can use the Packwood Fund, run a capital campaign or take it out of the budget. The parking lot needs to be sealed. Bob Buehler made a motion to come up with proposals for a capital project of up to $7500 with matching funds from the diocese. Linda Bennett seconded the motion. The motion was approved.

Parish Life: Trivia Night raised $5277. They are currently pricing room-darkening shades and an urn for tea. The Retirees Group is now called the Lunch Bunch. The Vestry will host the Coffee Hour on April 27th.

Staff Development: Janis Greenbaum is the Interim Christian Formation Director beginning April 1st. Her office is being moved upstairs from the basement. Susan is looking for a Music Director. We have two things working against us - 1) this is an interim position until the new priest is hired, and 2) our organ is not up-to-par. Matt is here until July.

Cottage Meetings: Susan ran a practice session of the Cottage Meetings that will be held throughout the congregation. During the Wednesday Forum on May 14th, each group will send a representative to report on the image of their cottage meeting.

The next Vestry meeting will be April 28th at 6:00.

Respectfully submitted,
Deb Aylsworth
Vestry Clerk