Round Hill Board of Trustees. September 19, 2022
Prepare for Meeting and Prayer: At 5:30 Nancy welcomed everyone to the meeting and reflected on the improving Sunday attendance. Nancy then asked Ed to lead a prayer. Ed offered a prayer of gratitude for the care and nurturing of the church’s members.
Minutes: At 5:40 the minutes from May 16, 2022 were approved.
Pastor’s Report: Ed began his report at 5:45 discussing on-going meetings that he and Shannon were having on initiatives to strengthen church attendance. Ed felt the discussions were going well and asked Shannon to comment on them. Shannon noted that it was good to be back with the RHCC members and working with Ed to encourage membership growth. She reported that the response to “Couples Night” was very positive. It was good to have fourteen attendees present and thanks to a participation evaluation sheet, she and the pastor were able to get feedback regarding the program. Shannon was planning to host another couples retreat on the topic of “How to Express Love.” When asked by Pat if child care was offered, Shannon said yes. Shannon also noted that the church was planning a ‘Breakfast Run’ into New York City to help the homeless with food and clothing. Members and interested people from the community were being encouraged to sign-up. Shannon hoped the breakfast run would take place on or around October 22. Roland is leading the food preparation efforts and coats were being collected at the church. Shannon was asked if the initiative dealt only with homeless men. She replied that women and children would be cared for as well. However, she noted that it was more difficult to reach women and children. Finally, Shannon noted that Instagram Live had restarted as of September.
Group members responded positively to the Pastor’s Report.
On the subject of growing membership: Pat noted that she was happy that member visitations by Shannon were ongoing.
Leslie felt the nursery school could also create decorations that encouraged outreach. She was confident that we could and should do more to market the activities of the church. The Blessing of the Animals was, as she noted, an example of how directly reaching out to the community regarding a particular aspect of our ministry, piques people’s interest. Both Ed and Shannon noted that churches traditionally don’t have effective outreach programs. They agreed more must be done in this post-covid time to get out the word that the church has much to offer.
Jake wanted the board to consider how we could collect and use attendee information for church outreach more effectively. Joe wanted to know if we were making connections with the young families moving into the area, and Ed noted that we were starting to see more young families come to service.
Mary Ann asked if we should also consider organizing drivers to collect older people who want to come to the services and retreats.
Leslie closed the discussion on membership growth by inquiring about plans for the Harvest Supper and Advent Workshop. Ed was open to a community initiative for running these events. Leslie said she would speak to other members to gauge the level of interest.
Lastly, Ed made two announcements (1) His sabbatical was scheduled from May 1, 2023 to August 30, 2023 and (2) Tania Priatka was leaving RHCC for an important job helping Ukrainian settlement. As to his sabbatical, Shannon would be the point person for running the day to day activities of the ministry. Ed also noted that he was organizing guest ministers for some of the Sundays. Jake asked if funds had been set aside for the sabbatical? Nancy noted that funding was budgeted already for the sabbatical. Ed and the Trustees were saddened at the loss of Tania but wished her well at her new job helping Jewish Family Services settle Ukrainian refugees. Ed noted that he would work with Jennifer Palumbo (OperationsInc) to find an administrator to replace Tania.
Budget: At 6:30, Nancy reported that summer camp, dog training and the cell tower continued to add important income for the church. Jake was concerned about the cell tower payments and he will contact Bruce about those concerns. Nancy also noted that she and Bruce worked with a lawyer to finalize the 403(b) plan. The plan is scheduled to start, with trustee approval, in January 2023. The Trustees will read through the documents before the next meeting so that a vote can be taken.
The Giving Committee: At 6:53 Leslie and Ed noted that the Giving Committee will, beginning October 31, initiate an outreach push entitled (for now) Honor God’s Creation and Let the Sunshine In! The challenge is to support the whole church budget while adding to the church’s solar and green initiatives.
EcoAction Team: At 7:22, Leslie and Nancy noted that this team would continue during November and December setting church goals for ecological awareness, energy use, education, waste treatment etc. for the campus.
Nominating Committee: Jake and Joe noted that trustees needed to address and consider how the bylaws affect board member tenure and appointments. To address the situation, Jake, Joe and others will meet on November 13. Jake and Joe will, in the meantime, review the bylaws and see what can be done to answer board requirements with what is required in our organization’s rules of order.