|
THE DIOCESE OF NEWARK
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 St. Agnes', Little Falls
Present: The Rt. Rev. John P. Croneberger; President; The Rt. Rev. Carol J. Gallagher, Assistant Bishop; Mr. John Zinn, Treasurer, Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary; Diane Sammons, Esq., Chancellor. Elected by Districts: The Rev. Christopher Brdlik, Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, The Rev. Canon Gervais Clarke, The Rev. Lu-Anne Conner, The Rev. David Gable, The Rev. Mariano Gargiulo, Ms. Lois Gray, Mr. Robert Harwood, The Rev. Kathryn King, The Rev. Janet Kraft, Ms. Susan Kynor, The Rev. Paul Olsson, Mr. Andrew Piccirillo, The Rev. William Potter, Mr. Don Roberts, Ms. Mary Sunden, Ms. Pat Yankus, The Rev. Fain Webb Bishop's Appointments: The Rev. Prince Singh, Ms. Carol Taylor, The Rev. Paul Williams. Absent: Ms. Glenda DeKruif, Mr. Sidney King, Ms. Lynn Tyler ECW: Ms. Doris Mardirosian Others: The Rev. Gray Lesesne and The Rev. Randall Day (for the Working Group time) Staff: Canon R. Carter Echols and Ms. Kitty Kawecki (for the Working Group time) COUNCIL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS The working groups met separately for Bible study (Matthew 18:21-35) and discussions. COUNCIL WORKING GROUP REPORTS The members of the Congregational Vitality Working Group presented an update on their work on congregational development and methods for congregations to increase capacity for ministry. A questionnaire, "Ministry Capacity Questions for All Congregations", was developed for use in conversations and discussions by congregations that might begin to exam the ministry capacity areas suggested by the Working Group. Canon Echols suggested that the tool might also be helpful to other organizations, such as ACTS/VIM and the Ward J. Herbert Fund Board, when attempting to assess the health and vitality of individual congregations with which they are in relationship. It was the thought that having a common language and common questions will enhance ministry. The questionnaire was not making value judgments based on responses. She reported that the questionnaire was shared with members of the Standing Committee who felt that having congregations thinking strategically after engaging in the ministry capacity questions would be helpful as they attempt to exercise their responsibilities. It was hoped that other commissions and committees would use them to help facilitate greater use within the diocese by congregations. District 3 was planning to discuss them at an upcoming meeting. The questions were designed to invite many voices into a conversation about strategy. The working group was asking for feedback from groups and congregations. It was suggested that the assessment tool be used in conjunction with requests for grant assistance, not unlike the need to file a parochial report. The congregations should be working on strategy. The Ministry Capacity Areas and the Ministry Capacity Questions were outlined and presented by the working group members. Ministry Capacity Areas included: . External Ministry Contexts: Where and to whom is the congregation called to minister? . Christian Identity, Gifts, Strengths and Challenges: What do we bring to this call to ministry? . Vision/Future Goals/Dreams: In what direction(s) are we called at this time? . Systems Functionality (How things work): How well do we minister together in God's name? . Church Growth/Evangelism Capacity: How able are we to make disciples? . Capacity for Mutual Ministry: How well do we partner as clergy and laity? The Ministry Capacity Questionnaire provided specific questions under each of the capacity areas to help congregations and others using the tools to strategize: External Ministry Contexts: - In what ways do you seek information about your neighborhood? - What have you learned from that information that is organizing your approach to mission? Christian Identity, Gifts, Strengths, Challenges - What are your top 4 ministry and mission priorities? - What are your greatest congregational strengths and challenges to achieve those priorities? - For what is your congregation best known in your neighborhood? Vision/Future Goals/Dreams - What possibilities does your congregation see for itself in 5 years? In 10 years? Systems Functionality (How things work) - What was your record with your Canonical Responsibilities last year? - When did you turn in your Audit? - When did you turn in your Parochial Report? - When did you turn in your Pledge Card? - Please share your Pledge History for the last 5 years - # of Pledges: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ - Pledge Amount: - How do you connect members' individual gifts to your mission priorities? - In what primary ways do you recruit and empower people for leadership? - What are the top 3 priorities / needs for your physical plant? - What's the most exciting conversation your vestry has had about ministry and mission in the last 6 months? - Of the last 5 years - how many ended with a deficit? - If you have had deficit(s) - in what ways was the deficit an investment in ministry? Church Growth/Evangelism Capacity - What has been the trend in your ASA (Average Sunday Attendance) in the last 5 years? - Why did the people who most recently joined the congregation come to church the first time? - Of those most recent members, why did they join? - What % of people who joined in the last year are not Episcopalians? Capacity for Mutual Ministry - What are the greatest strengths and challenges of your clergy/lay partnership? AGENDA Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the agenda with the addition of a report from the Search/Nominating Committee and comments about efforts to provide disaster relief assistance following Hurricane Katrina. The motion was adopted. MINUTES Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes for the meeting of June 8, 2005. The motion to accept the amended minutes was adopted. EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS Bishop Cronberger's comments included: . Welcomed Bishop Carol Gallagher as Assistant Bishop . Welcomed new Council members: The Rev. David Gable representing District 7; and The Rev. Kathryn King representing District 9. . Shared his enthusiasm about the work ahead of him and delighted with having Bishop Gallagher. . The Clergy Conference, "Ministry at the Meeting Place of Divine and Human Desire", was scheduled for October 17 to 19 and would feature Martin Smith. . The Church Growth & Evangelism Commission was sponsoring "The Magnetic Church: Church Growth Conference" with Andrew Weeks on November 4 to 5 at Trinity + St. Philip's Cathedral, Newark. . The Rev. Dr. James Forbes will be the Saturday preacher at the January convention. . During the next several months, there will be nearly a dozen ordination services for deacons and transitional deacons, as well as receiving orders for two former Roman Catholic priests. These people will bring multiple gifts to the diocese. . Made the decision not to attend the fall House of Bishops' (HOB) meeting scheduled for Puerto Rico, citing the needs of the diocese. At the HOB meeting, the approval vote for Bishop Gallagher's position as assistant bishop was scheduled, and Bishop Gallagher will attend. . The Standing Commission on Ministry Development was nearly finished with the work on revising the national church canons (Title III). TREASURER'S REPORT Mr. John Zinn reported the expenses were on target. However, the pledge income was behind more than usual. A reality could be that financial difficulties at the congregational level were being reflected in the situation. The pledge income was about $440,000 behind budget on a year to date basis. All outreach, mission and program lines had been funded to the extent requested. Operating expenses were below budget for the month and a rough projection for the remainder of the year indicated improvement in this area. A significant portion of the negative variance in the general and administrative The budget for 2006 will be presented to the January meeting of Council which will be scheduled during the first week of the month, rather than the second Wednesday. A budget committee will be established over the next several weeks. Budget request forms have been circulated. Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted. DEPLOYMENT & CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT Canon R. Carter Echols, Canon to the Ordinary and Congregational Development Director, presented a report to the council members. A mutual discernment process for the calling of a new rector was being implemented. The process involved the Search Team, Vestry, and candidates in partnership with the Bishop, and was a time of seeking the best clergy match for a congregation. As a result of strategizing work, the focus was for congregations was to identify the best candidates. The deployment web page had been changed. The listing of congregations in the search process now included links to the prepared profile and the search chair. The deployment office will continue the background checks for the few final candidates. SUMMER ACTIONS The Rev. Lu-Anne Connor, representing the Steering Committee and the Council Officers, reported on two actions taken since the June 8 meeting on behalf of Council. . District 9 Spending Request: The group authorized the release of district allocation funds to District 9 for a small church growth conference scheduled for October 8. An early release of the funds were necessary to cover planning expenses. . Cator Avenue, Jersey City: In an attempt to expedite the negotiations with the New Jersey School Construction Corporation (SCC), the group authorized the fast-tracking of the negotiations to lead to a more timely conclusion of the sale. The decision was made because of the increased publicity surrounding the defaults on property sales by the SCC which was running out of funds for promised purchases. Council had authorized the sale amount of $755,000 at the June meeting with the intent that the final decision would not be necessary until later in the year. Circumstances changed too radically for any delay in attempts to conclude the sale. Diane Sammons, Chancellor, added that our attorney was working to make the sale an exception to the other defaults. It was now a matter of waiting for the results of his attempts. The attorney will be asked if he could discern if the property was of any interest to the Jersey City school board for lease. Canterbury Village: Chancellor Sammons reported on the status of the Canterbury Village by-laws change that was requested at the June meeting. When first presented, it raised several concerns for her about the tax exempt status and the continued control or not and any liability issues; and the fact that the bishop was being asked to remain as chair of the board. She began research over the summer months to address her concerns, and would report her recommendations in October. SEARCH/NOMINATING COMMITTEE Ms. Patricia Yankus, member of Council and co-chair of the Profile subcommittee of the Search/Nominating Committee, presented a status report on the work of the committee and specifically the work of the Profile subcommittee. She noted that Council members Mr. Don Roberts and The Rev. Paul Williams were also members of the Search/Nominating Committee and that The Rev. Chris Brdlik was co-chair of the Transition Committee. The co-chair of the Profile subcommittee was The Rev. Randall Day, former member of Council and current member of the Congregational Vitality Working Group. The Profile Committee was hopeful that congregations would schedule conversations to discuss their experiences with different bishops, what characteristics of the bishops were appreciated and those that were not; and what leadership qualities and ministry gifts would they deem important in a new bishop. The conversations would be in preparation for the meetings scheduled by the Profile Committee to get input from clergy and laity for profile composition. It was hoped that participation in the process by members of the diocese would be extensive. A meeting for clergy was scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, in Grace, Madison at 9 a.m. There were four regional meetings scheduled for lay input to the Profile Committee. Each meeting would begin with refreshments at 6:30 p.m., followed by the session from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. They were scheduled for Monday, October 3 in St. Dunstan's, Succasunna; Tuesday, October 4 in Christ Church, East Orange; Wednesday, October 5 in Christ Church, Hackensack; and Thursday, October 6 in Calvary, Summit. DISTRICT SHARING District 3: The Rev. Paul Olsson reported that he was elected the new convener of the district at a recent meeting. A new schedule of meetings was being implemented. There would be bi-monthly meetings of all the district churches with regional meetings on the other months. It was hoped that the change to regional meetings of the eastern and western sections of the district would improve attendance and participation. District 5: The Rev. Paul Williams reported that a district-wide stewardship program was planned at St. James, Upper Montclair. District 9: The Rev. Kathryn King reported that the district was sponsoring a conference on church growth for small congregations on October 8. The keynoter will be The Rev. Ben Helmer, Missioner for Rural and Small Communities at the Office for Congregational Development. RESPONSES TO HURRICANE KATRINA Members shared information on responses to Hurricane Katrina and efforts toward disaster relief that were happening throughout northern New Jersey and within the diocese. The activities included: . the town of Hope was considering establishing a town-to-town partnership with an affected community in either Louisiana or Mississippi. . conversations were being held at a church on whether a system could be established through which churches could sponsor dislocated families for a lengthy period of time. . Grace, Madison, Trinity + St. Philip's Cathedral and St. Peter's, Morristown were sponsoring dislocated families. . the response to the disaster has created an increased awareness of racism and prejudice. . perhaps the diocesan website could have a running scroll with an anti-prejudice statement and links to other helping organizations. . a Lutheran church in Long Island was sending resources to a Mobile, Alabama church that served as a distribution point for the region. . All Saint's, Bergenfield was preparing shipments of food and clothing that were packaged and tagged for individuals by age and gender. . St. Philip's Academy enrolled five children from the affected area that came through local Baptist congregations. . Congregations within Glen Rock joined efforts in sponsoring disaster relief. . the United Way was formulating plans for long range assistance once the Red Cross work ended. . perhaps the Outreach Working Group could consider possible strategies for diocesan response to Hurricane Katrina. DISTRICT 4 SPENDING REQUEST Ms. Faith Gideon Brown presented the spending request from District 4 for the allocation of district funds to help underwrite the costs associated with the Newark Regional Ministry's bus trip to the Acolyte Festival in Washington, D.C. in October . Last year five churches of the NRM were represented and that level of participation was expected this year. Motion: It was moved, seconded and adopted to authorize the release of $600 for the District 4 acolyte festival expenses. WARD J. HERBERT FUND BOARD 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 by Ms. Mary Sunden 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-05-12: West Orange, Holy Trinity - rectory furnace, $500 WJH-05-13: Harrison, Christ Church - Church exterior vinyl siding, application was rejected. WJH-05-14: Montclair, St. John's - Church tower roof/water drainage in basement, $7,450 WJH-05-15: Cross Roads Outdoor Ministries - Main lodge roof, application was rejected. WJH-05-16: Millburn, St. Stephen's - Rectory porch, church roof, church wiring, $9,935 WJH-05-17: Belvidere, St. Mary's - Drainage problems, $2,650 WJH-05-18: Maplewood, St. George's - Heating systems in hall & resource center, $14,226 WJH-05-19: Harrington Park, St. Andrew's - Rectory roof replacement, $3,759 The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. with prayer by Bishop Gallagher. Respectfully submitted, Michael Francaviglia, Secretary  --Return to Diocese of Newark Home PageReturn to Top of Page |