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THE DIOCESE OF NEWARK
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 Episcopal House, Newark
Present: The Rt. Rev. John P. Croneberger; President; Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary; Diane Sammons, Esq., Chancellor. Elected by Districts: Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, Mr. Donald Cairns, The Rev. Lu-Ann Conner, The Rev. Hank Dwyer, Ms. Lois Gray, The Rev. Janet Kraft, Ms. Susan Kynor, The Rev. Paul Olsson, Mr. Andrew Piccirillo, The Rev. Dr. E. Bevan Stanley, Ms. Pat Yankus. Bishop's Appointments: Mr. Sidney King, The Rev. Prince Singh, Ms. Carol Taylor, The Rev. Paul Williams. Absent: The Rev. Canon Gervais Clarke, The Rev. Randall Day, Ms. Glenda DeKruif, Mr. Don Roberts, The Rev. William Potter, The Rev. Nancy Read, The Rev. Elton Smith, Ms. Lynn Tyler, The Rev. Fain Webb, Mr. John Zinn. ECW: Others Present:: The Rev. Gray Lesesne, Ms. Sky Henley, Grace Church, Van Vorst. Staff: Canon R. Carter Echols; The Rev. Canon Paul Hunt, Ms. Lyn Headley-Deavours, Ms. Kitty Kawecki. AGENDA Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the agenda as prepared. The motion was adopted. MINUTES Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes for the meeting of December 15, 2004. The motion to accept the minutes was adopted. INCLUSION WORKING GROUP SURVEY The Rev. Janet Kraft, convener, introduced the survey questionnaire which was planned for distribution at the diocesan convention. With the premise that leaders precede members, the intent was to understand who was in leadership, how it was reflected in congregations, committees, commissions and such. The use of the council as a test group was intentional to make sure that the correct questions were asked, that questions were not misleading or offensive, or what other questions should be included. Council members shared reactions to the survey questionnaire, providing commentary and suggestions for changes and edits. COUNCIL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS The working groups met separately for Bible study (Genesis 21:7-11) and discussions. REFLECTIONS ON COUNCIL 2004 Members shared comments about this past year of the Council work. Council is "where things were happening in the diocese." "This is my first time on Council, enlightening, exciting." "What's been interesting is that we've become more focused through the efforts of the Working Groups. Now doing the work that needs to be done; very exciting." "Way cool." "The council has come together, really gelled." "An idea that started from Jack Stanton's question of "what's the work of the council?" and a small group of people has transformed the council with the establishment of the working groups." "Fun to be included; good for personal growth." "Unfinished business on the budget process which remains staff driven; not a lot of opportunity for direction change or ownership of the budget by members." "Enjoyed working with my working group, and moving toward making changes." "Want to be here." "Great work, but also a joy; felt enriched and spiritually fed." "Love coming to the meetings; encouraging as a priest to meet others and to participate." EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATION The bishop comments included the following: • Four persons were ordained to the priesthood recently: Deborah Venezia, Ronnie Stout Kopp, Willie Smith, and William Feus. • Hudson County correctional facility visit taken by Canon Echols • At the request of the congregants and after months of negotiations with the bishop's office, Trinity, Irvington closed this past month as a worshiping community. The last Sunday service was on December 26 at which the bishop celebrated and preached. The property will not be sold, and decisions for its use were still in discussion with possible rental. • Recently attended the House of Bishops' meeting in Utah. • Cross Roads Outdoor Ministries annual meeting was held last week. The fiscal year of 2004 ended well. • The Rev. Michael Gerhardt was recovering from a "non-traditional" heart attack. • The Rev. Emory Byrum continued his recovery. • The Rev. Rosemary Lillis was called as rector to St. Andrew's, Harrington Park. • The New Jersey School Construction Corporation claimed the Cator Avenue, Jersey City property for school expansion. The documentation was under review. • Evensong service to celebrate the retirement of Ms. Gail Deckenbach on February 6 at 3 p.m. in Grace Church, Madison. • The Episcopal Urban Caucus annual meeting was scheduled for February 23-26 and was being held in the diocese. Public events were planned to be in the city of Newark, including the Cathedral and the Newark Museum. Additional information was available at www.episcopalurbancaucus.org. TREASURER'S REPORT There was no treasurer's report presented because of staff illness in the finance office, but would be available later into the month and would be presented to Convention. DISTRICT SPENDING REQUEST District 1 requested $495 for its joint Lenten program and to cover the cost of the Via Media Evangelism program. The district churches were working to identify ways to do Evangelism that were both effective and at the same time non-threatening, and Via Media seemed ideally suited. Motion: It was moved, seconded and adopted to approve the spending request of $495 to cover the cost of Via Media registration for District One's Lenten program. DISTRICT SHARING There were no reports presented. RESOLUTION OF THANKS FOR RETIRING MEMBERS A resolution of thanksgiving and appreciation was adopted for retiring members: Mr. T. Don Cairns, The Rev. Randall Day, The Rev. Nancy Read and The E. Bevan Stanley. With the exception of Mr. Cairns, each had served two consecutive two year terms. In the instance of Mr. Cairns, the congregation from which he was elected to District 9, St. Clement's, Hawthorne, had switched to District 10. Hence, he was ineligible for a second term representing District 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS The UBE Abasalom Jones Service was scheduled for Sunday, February 13 at 3 p.m. in Trinity + St. Philip's Cathedral, Newark with The Rev. Sandye Wilson as the preacher. The ECW'‘s World of Women was scheduled for April 9. The meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m. with prayer by The Rev. E. Bevan Stanely. Respectfully submitted, Michael Francaviglia Secretary  --Return to Diocese of Newark Home PageReturn to Top of Page |