Wednesday, September 18, 2002
St. Agnes' Episcopal Church, Little Falls, New Jersey
Approved Minutes of Regular Monthly Meeting

Present: The Rt. Rev. John P. Croneberger; President; Mr. John Zinn, Treasurer; The Rev. Dean Weber, Chancellor; Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary

Elected by Districts: Ms. Kathleen Ballard, The Rev. Kim Capwell, The Rev. Randall Day, Ms. Ann Hirsch, Ms. Naomi Horsky, The Rev. Briggett J. Keith, Mr. Nat Nelson, Ms. Nancy Read, Mr. Jack Reade, The Rev. William Riker, Mr. Don Roberts, The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Schiesler, The Rev. E. Bevan Stanley, The Rev. John F. Stanton, The Rev. Steven Steele, Mr. Larry Taber, Ms. Pat Yankus.

Bishop's Appointments: Mr. Steven Boston, Mr. Sidney King, The Rev. Paul Williams

Absent: Mr. Daniel deRonde, The Rev. Margaret Swetman, The Rev. Paul Walker

Others Present: Mrs. Doris Mardirosian, ECW.

Staff: The Rev. Canon Paul Hunt, Canon R. Carter Echols, Ms. Susan Robinson.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Bishop Croneberger and opened with prayer.

AGENDA

Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the agenda. The motion was adopted.

MINUTES

Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes for the meeting of June 12, 2002. The motion to accept the minutes as corrected was adopted.

EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS - THE RT. REV. JOHN P. CRONEBERGER

Welcomed the Rev. Paul Williams, Christ Church, Bloomfield/Glen Ridge, as a new council rep, clergy class of 2004.

Welcomed Ms. Susan Robinson, newly appointed Director of Communications and Events. Announced that the fourth floor administrative staff included Mrs. Gail Deckenbach as Bishop's Executive Secretary; Mr. Milton Merts, Assistant to the Canon to the Ordinary; and, Ms. Michele Wilson, Assistant to the Canon for Congregational Development.

Congratulated Mr. Dan DeRonde on his upcoming marriage.

Announced the clergy deployment changes that occurred over the recent several months and that there were slightly over twenty vacancies; however, the diocese had attracted very experienced interims from either outside the diocese or from within that have been trained in interim ministry. Changes were: Kamila Blessing, interim at St. Mary's, Sparta; Susan Butler, interim, Christ, Newton; William Rich, interim, St. David's, Kinnelon; Anne Bolles-Beaven, St. Peter's, Essex Fells; Janet Kraft, priest-in-charge, Grace Church Van Vorst, Jersey City; Dean Weber, deacon-in-charge, All Saints', Leonia; Robert Mikol, rector, Christ Church, Budd Lake; Dana Rose, vicar, Trinity, Irvington; Robert Keaton, rector, St. Andrew's, Lincoln Park; Charles Arlin, rector, Good Shepherd, Midland Park; Stanley Morgan retired from Holy Communion, Paterson; Donald Shearer, All Saint's, Orange will retire Advent I and will provide interim and supply services within the diocese; Steven Giovangelo left for the diocese of Indianapolis from St. John's, Union City; William Coats, interim, St. John's, Union City; Archie Palmer, interim, St. Luke's, Haworth; Walter Lewis, interim, St. Clement's, Hawthorne; Bernie Poppe, rector, St. George's, Maplewood; Bambi Koeniger, interim, Youth Ministry.

Read from his letter that would be mailed shortly to all congregations regarding the confirmation scheduling for the next year.

Reported on the conference, "Women at the Well", sponsored this past week by the Women's Commission held at the Xavier Center.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr. John Zinn reported on the financial statement. He shared correspondence from the Mengo Center for Arts and Technology (Uganda), one of the ministries that had received an outreach grant. Currently, the goal of 25% giving to the national church was slightly behind. The mission, administrative, and outreach lines were on budget. The insurance medical rates for 2003 were received and a nine percent increase was expected in Aetna premium, but Cigna was expected to be as high as 25% to 30%.

Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted.

JERSEY CITY FUNDS RELEASE

Mr. John Zinn reported that the following resolution that was either emailed or posted to council members in late July received a majority vote for approval (19 yes):

Resolved, That the Diocesan Council approves the release of $11,397 to the Jersey City CDC from the Jersey City Strategy Funds held for the Area Ministry.

Supporting Information: The 1998 Diocesan Convention gave the Diocesan Council the authority to approve expenditures from the Jersey City Strategy funds which are allocated for St. Augustine's Church (2/3's) and the Jersey City Area Ministry (JCAM) (1/3). Over a two-year period, the Council released $150,000 in JCAM funds for an area missioner and for area ministry programs, the funds to be administered by the Jersey City CDC. As indicated by the attached accounting the actual expenses for the second year were just over $11,000 more than the funds released to the CDC. The CDC is requesting reimbursement for this deficit, this information has also been sent to the JCAM Board for its review.

WARD J. HERBERT FUND RECOMMENDATIONS

Motion: It was moved and seconded to suspend the rules to allow for the ratification of the Ward J. Herbert Fund Board grant recommendations. The motion was adopted.

Motion: It was moved and seconded that the recommendations for the second cycle of grants recommended by the WJH Fund board's June meeting be ratified. The motion was adopted.

WJH-02-19 Montclair, St. Luke's - Steam Leaks, $5,500
WJH-02-20 East Orange, Christ Church - Furnace, $13,500
WJH-02-21 Wayne, St. Michael's - Six Furnaces, $15,000
WJH-02-22 Hackensack, St. Cyprian's - Electricity Upgrade, $1,500
WJH-02-23 Dover, St. John's - Fire Alarm & Fire Suppression System, $10,400 (fund 1) $5,600 (fund2)
WJH-02-24 Harrington Park, St. Andrew's, Exhaust & Fire Suppression System, $4,000
WJH-02-25 Bergenfield, All Saints' - Parish hall front doors & security system, $500
WJH-02-26 Mountain Lakes, St. Peter's - Various Maintenance Projects, $5,000 (fund 2) towards church furnace/boiler replacement and the oil tank decommissioning
WJH-02-27 Nutley, Grace - Electrical System, $2,600, Electrical System
WJH-02-28 Teaneck, Christ Church - Roof Leaks, $5,000

DISTRICT 5 SPENDING REQUEST

The Rev. Robert Scheisler presented the spending request from District 5 for $2,000 for Youth and anti-racism program and books for an event on February 23, 2003. The program tailored for ages 10-15 would be a presentation during Black History Month that would engage the youth, parents and teachers about racism in creative and entertaining methods through dynamic discussions of the issue and a program led by Mr. Fred Morell, "Presenting Mr. Frederick Douglass: His Life and Times" (a 1&1/2 hour, one act play).

Motion: It was moved, seconded and adopted that $2,000 be allocated to District 5 for the program on anti-racism education planned for February 2003. (To date, $1,600 had been allocated for district spending this year.)

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN

Ms. Doris Mardirosian reported that Sunday, November 3 the ECW scheduled an art show to benefit St. Philip's Academy. The auction will be held at Calvary Church, Summit.

AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT TO CONSIDER THE ROLE OF COUNCIL

The Rev. Jack Stanton, the Rev. Bill Riker, Ms. Pat Yankus and the Rev. Briggett Keith, committee members, reported that the committee continued its work over the summer months. They shared some of their discussions and concerns. They had concluded that there just wasn't the momentum to take on the issue for the present time. One suggested that the council meet only four times a year. Perhaps further discussion to determine the focus of the council would be helpful; if that conflicted with the canons, then the canons needed to be adjusted. Until recently, council had been elected by both convention and convocations. The new people come onto council during the middle of the church program year; perhaps the start should be a different time of year for new people. The energy for action as a council wasn't needed since ministry was happening, but there didn't seem to be a coordinating factor other than the bishop. Whatever was done with the process for council, care was needed that it didn't get in the way of ministry. Either act under the canons or change the canons.

During an extended discussion, the council members responded to the committee's report.

• If we don't pursue our duties described in the canons, then membership on council is a misuse of time.
• The chancellor reviewed the existing canonical responsibilities of council, and expressed disappointment that the momentum was flagging for the process.
• Perhaps there might be coordination among the Diocesan Council, the Standing Committee and the Trustees.
• Can there be a reconciliation of who does what? Is more of the planning taking place within the management team, which may or may not be beneficial?
• It was suggested that we determine what work the council was doing.
• The bishop needs to decide if he wants the council to act as the canons describe. This would take surrender of some authority. A council acting fully under the canons could be exciting and such work would demonstrate a great spirit of collegiality.
• There was irony that an overly controlling bishop had a Steering Committee of council, and a bishop wanting collegiality has set up a different structure. Doing nothing four times a year seemed better than doing nothing nine times a year. The passiveness of council was a problem.
• Council reps were now elected by districts that in many instances had meetings on a regular basis. There needs to be communication between council and the management team or else the grass roots connection gets lost.
• What kinds of things should be council doing? How would we like to see the budget shift around over the next five years? How do we imagine church starts and what provisions needed? What about consistent urban ministry? More macro planning.
• Decide on a given topic for focused discussion on a regular or rotational basis.
• A piece missing seemed to be partnering with the bishop and the bishop's office. As an example was the upcoming youth retreat in preparation for an eventual hire of a youth minister. The council hadn't the opportunity to work on a vision of youth ministry, and as such has lost the possibility for ownership.
• Revision to council will take time; it's a slow process that's deliberative.
• Let's get to work and begin doing the work described under the canons.
• Perhaps council was obsolete. What is the vision for council?
• A process called open space was described; discussions within groups based on individual's passions, such as outreach, youth work. This kind of work could happen at a council meeting.
• A suggestion was made for a retreat of the three governing bodies with the bishop.

At the conclusion, the bishop asked that the committee members to meet with him and several staff members to reflect on the comments that were raised during the evening's discussion.

DISTRICT REPORTS

District 3: The Rev. William Riker reported on a program planned with Dr. Deidre Good at St. Peter's, Morristown on October 5.

District 4: The Rev. Bevan Stanley reported that Canon Carter Echols will be speaker at the next meeting.

District 10: The Rev. Briggett Keith reported on a district program on youth; there will be a program on youth with Van Arlington

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The bishop highlighted the upcoming Church Deployment Institute training within the diocese and the brochure on the training opportunities within the diocese.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. with prayer by the Rev. Kim Capwell.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Francaviglia,
Secretary

The next meeting date is Wednesday, October 9, 2002, St. Agnes', Little Falls.


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