THE DIOCESE OF NEWARK OUR DIOCESAN COUNCIL Wednesday, December 7, 2005 St. Agnes', Little Falls Approved Minutes of the Meeting The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2006 St. Agnes', Little Falls This will be the first Wednesday of the month & when the 2006 Diocesan Budget will be proposed to Diocesan Convention Present: The Rt. Rev. John P. Croneberger; President; Mr. John Zinn, Treasurer, Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary; Diane Sammons, Esq., Chancellor. Elected by Districts: Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, The Rev. Canon Gervais Clarke, The Rev. Lu-Anne Conner, Ms. Glenda DeKruif, The Rev. David Gable, The Rev. Mariano Gargiulo, 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. Lynn Tyler, Ms. Pat Yankus. Bishop's Appointments: Mr. Sidney King, The Rev. Prince Singh, Ms. Carol Taylor, The Rev. Paul Williams Absent: The Rev. Christopher Brdlik, Ms. Lois Gray, The Rev. Fain Webb ECW: Ms. Doris Mardirosian Others: The Rev. Victoria Geer McGrath and Mr. Louie Crew, co-chairs of the Search/Nominating Committee, and The Rev. Randall Day and Ms. Barbara Djimopolous, members of the Profile Committee. Staff: Canon R. Carter Echols and Ms. Kai Alston and Ms. Kitty Kawecki (for the Working Group time). COUNCIL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS The working groups met separately for Bible study (John 1:6-8, 19-28) and discussions. AGENDA Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the agenda with the addition of a spending request from District 1. The motion was adopted. MINUTES Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the minutes for the meeting of November 9, 2005. The motion was adopted with a correction that the District 7 outreach fund was to total $1,000 not $1,000 per congregation. EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS Bishop Cronberger's comments included: . Bishop Gallagher was attending a Fresh Start training program. . The Rev. Paul Williams, member of Diocesan Council, will resign his rectorship at Christ Church, Bloomfield/Glen Ridge to join his partner, Larry Hayes, who was transferred to Zurich, Switzerland. . A meeting was held with representatives from Incarnation, Jersey City to address the next steps into continuing its ministry. . St. James', Upper Montclair receiving names until 12/15; Christ, Ridgewood receiving names until 12/16. . St. Peter's, North Bergen called The Rev. Hillary Wong as rector, currently in Toronto. . December ordinations will include: 12/15, the orders of Greg Perez will be received; 12/17, Sue Lederhouse to priesthood; 12/17, Diane Rhodes to priesthood; 12/21, Nick Szobota to priesthood in Virginia; 1/07, Janet Brocklesby to priesthood; 1/21, Marge Lindstrom to priesthood, Grace, Newark. . The service for Ms. Jan Hardy, Bethsaida Team founder and co-chair, was well attended. . December had several birthdays among the staff: Canon Carter Echols, Mr. John Zinn, Ms. Diane Sammons, Mr. Gerard Haizel and Bishop Gallagher. . Harassment training was taken earlier in the week by management and staff. . The Bergen Record published the joint statement with Bishop Councell opposing the federal budget reconciliation act. . The Rev. Ledlie Laughlin, former dean of the cathedral, was celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination. TREASURER'S REPORT The written treasurer's report was distributed at the meeting. Mr. John Zinn reported pledge income wasn't processed until mid-December. Pledges for 2006 did not indicate any declines or cuts. The treasurer's report will not be ready for the January 4 meeting, but will be mailed as soon as after the meeting as possible. The budget committee will be working on the 2006 proposed budget to present at the January meeting. Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted. Mr. John Zinn presented a list of the churches that failed to meet the December 1st canonical deadline for pledge submission. The list was shorter than in the past. Some of those who were chronically late were on time this year. The delay in preparing the budget until early January will enable a budget based on more accurate pledge income information. Christ Church, Hackensack; St. Cyprian's, Hackensack*; St. George's, Maplewood; St. Martin's, Maywood*; St. Gabriel's, Milton/Oak Ridge*; St. Peter's Korean, North Bergen; St. Andrew's, Newark; Church of the Annunciation, Oradell*; Church of the Holy Communion, Paterson*; Church of the Good Shepherd, Ringwood*; St. Andrew's and Holy Communion, South Orange*; St. Mark's, Teaneck; St. John's, Union City; Church of the Holy Spirit, Verona; Church of the Good Shepherd, Wantage; Holy Trinity, West Orange. *Second consecutive year that the church has failed to meet the deadline. CLERGY HOUSING EQUITY RESOLUTION Mr. John Zinn presented the following resolution regarding the diocesan Clergy Housing Equity program. Motion: Resolved, That effective February 1, 2006, the Diocese of Newark's Clergy Housing Equity program is closed to new participants and to the extent possible all existing participant accounts will be transferred to a similar program at the Church Pension Fund. All new potential participants will be referred to the Church Pension Fund. The Diocese of Newark began a Clergy Housing Equity program in 1988 before such a program existed at the Church Pension Fund. The Church Pension Fund has begun its own program that offers more investment options, more easily accessible information, and additional enhanced features unavailable through the Diocese of Newark's plan. The CPF provided wider selection of investment vehicles. Diocesan plan limited to the Diocesan Investment Trust, either Fund A or Fund B. Other options including borrowing against the individual's investment. The recommendation was to close the diocesan program beginning February 1, 2006. The existing accounts will be transferred to the Church Pension Fund's program so long as this does not present any problems for the participants. Otherwise, the existing accounts will be maintained at the Diocese of Newark. The motion was seconded and adopted. The resolution will be presented to the Diocesan Convention with the Council recommendation. PROFILE COMMITTEE REPORT Ms. Pat Yankus and The Rev. Randall Day, co-chairs of the Profile subcommittee, presented the Profile of the Diocese for the search process of the tenth bishop of Newark. They were joined by other members of the Search/Nominating Committee, Dr. Louie Crew and The Rev. Victoria Geer McGrath, committee co-chairs, and Ms. Barbara Djimopolous. The co-chairs of the Nominations Committee reported that the committee was pleased and excited about the Profile. The profile, Signs of Grace in the Diocese of Newark, would be posted on the diocesan web site with illustrations, pictures and photographs. From the web site, a PDF copy could be downloaded. The pages were accessible to the visually impaired. A print version would be available as well. Seventeen hundred copies will be printed for distribution to congregations and bishops throughout the country. Translations in Spanish, Korean and three South Asian languages would be on the web site. These were languages that were spoken in our congregations. The pattern of the profile was in the form of a Eucharistic liturgy. It was not meant to be a legitimate liturgical text; rather a symbolic way of illustrating our diversity and unity based in the Eucharist. The responses from the input sessions and the educational Sunday were quite successful and indicated a high level of participation from the diocese. The conversations were clear, honest, constructive and hopeful. The profile and nomination form would be available in E-form beginning on December 8. The form can be used for self-nomination or to nominate someone else until February 15. Motion: It was moved and seconded to affirm the Profile of the Diocese and to commend the work of the committee. The motion was adopted. BELLEVILLE EPISCOPAL SENIOR HOUSING Ms. Pat Yankus reported on behalf of the Outreach Working Group. Last week, a meeting was held and in attendance were The Rev. Gervais Clarke, Ms. Susan Kynor, The Rev. Paul Olsson, Ms. Mary Sunden, Mr. Sidney King and Chancellor Diane Sammons to discuss the proposal. The experience indicated that a process by which new ministries could be brought before Council was needed. She noted that the Steering Committee would be drafting a protocol on such a process, including what expectations should be met (accountability, financial implications). A draft would be brought to the January meeting. After a thorough discussion of the information presented at the last Council meeting, the Outreach subcommittee recommended that council proceed with the Belleville Housing initiative. The committee recommended that council work under transparent accountability. The committee's discussion included: . What risk could be incurred by this venture? Procedures can be established to insure minimal risk. This is a HUD funded project and is required to meet very stringent control standards legally, financially etc. Although this does not mean that we are totally risk free, it diminishes our risk factor within a reasonable comfort level. . What, if any, would our financial obligation be toward this project? Council, as sponsor, would have to make a commitment to provide the estimated start up fee not to exceed $10,000. The money is held in an escrow account for three years. HUD views the escrowed funds as a demonstration of our commitment to the project. These funds could be taken from the Diocesan Council endowment funds as a loan to ourselves. . Who should sign the Articles of Incorporation? In previous housing initiatives, the staff has signed the Articles. This could happen again , but not necessarily. . Who is the membership of this corporation? Council is the membership and holds the responsibility of electing the Board of Trustees, among other things. . Who serves as Trustees? The Board of Trustees consists of fourteen (14) individuals. Five (5) people would be elected by the Diocesan Council as Diocesan Trustees, representing the Diocese, and an additional nine (9) persons elected by the Diocesan Council as Local Trustees. The local trustees must be residents of Belleville . It was felt that one of the diocesan trustees should be a seated member of council who would serve as liaison and report back to council annually about the work of the project. . What about requiring Director and Offices liability insurance? It was suggested that this be required to minimize financial liability. Further, they expressed concerns over the way this project was brought to Council. We recognize that in the past, a request like this was dealt with differently than the way this council proceeds. It was realized that this experience demonstrated that a protocol be developed on how new ministries and/or projects are brought for consideration by council. It was suggested that the Steering Committee develop a draft protocol proposal that would take into consideration the following issues to insure a reasonable protection against risk in this and any other project in which council is named or expected to have responsibility. . Always observing proper corporate structure. . Continuing to educate on what is meant by observing corporate structure. . Making sure that officers and trustees report back to the membership on a regular basis. . Ensuring that the trustees chosen by the Council understand their responsibility for diligence and have backgrounds to ensure their contribution to the good health of the entity. . Ensuring the entity has proper insurance to avoid the risk of the Diocese being pulled into litigation as a deep pocket. . Ensuring that the non-profit is audited independently and that the Council reviews the audit to protect against self-dealing. . Ensuring that the creation of the entity and its ongoing operation is reviewed by a tax professional to make sure there are no perils that could jeopardize the tax status of the Diocese. Motion: Ms. Pat Yankus moved that the Diocesan Council approve the sponsorship of the proposed Belleville Episcopal Senior Housing project in Belleville, New Jersey and that the following four resolutions be executed: (1) a resolution authorizing the creation of Belleville Episcopal Senior Housing, Inc.; (2) a resolution authorizing the execution of an option to purchase the property from the Township of Belleville; (3) a HUD form resolution, "Sponsor's Resolution for Commitment to the Project"; and (4) HUD form resolution, "Sponsor's Conflict of Interest Resolution"; and that the funding required of $10,000 be provided through the Council endowment fund. The motion was adopted. PARSONAGE ALLOWANCE RESOLUTIONS The Steering Committee moved the following resolutions: Motion: Resolved, That of the compensation paid to The Right Reverend John Palmer Croneberger in the calendar year of 2006, the sum of $40,000 be designated as parsonage allowance. Motion: Resolved, That of the compensation paid to The Right Reverend Carol Joy Gallagher in the calendar year 2006, the sum of $35,000 be designated as parsonage allowance. The motions were seconded and adopted. CONVENTION WORSHIP OFFERINGS The Steering Committee moved the following resolution designating the convention worship offerings to disaster relief following Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Pakistan and India: Motion: Resolved, That the offering from the 132nd Annual Convention Worship Services be donated to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund (ERD) and divided equally between the relief efforts and support being given to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Pakistan and India. The motion was seconded and adopted. The Episcopal Relief and Development Fund is providing well planned and highly organized support for these two projects. Our gift to the ERD will help many millions of people. Hurricane Katrina: The ERD has set a four phase, long-term hurricane relief response to address the recovery efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi. With partnerships with the Diocese of Mississippi, the Lutheran Episcopal Disaster Response in Mississippi and the Diocese of Louisiana's Office of Disaster Response efforts will be increased to collect and distribute relief assistance in directly affected areas by the disaster. The work will focus on psychological care; livelihood, health, and housing recovery; case management, and other interventions. Pakistan: The earthquake left many thousands of people dead and up to four million displaced. Here ERD's partnerships within the Church of Pakistan are working with the Dioceses of Peshawar, Lahore and Sialkot to distribute relief supplies and provide health care services to the affected communities. All three dioceses are distributing relief supplies both day and night to the affected areas. There is much work that needs to continue happening to rebuild the devastated communities of Parkistan and India. ACTS/VIM BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS Motion: It was moved and seconded that the recommendations presented last month be ratified. The motion was adopted. AV-05-17: Hasbrouck Heights, St. John the Divine - Care on the Corner, $6,000 AV-05-18: Hackensack, Christ Church CDC - Next Steps Initiative, $6,000 AV-05-19: Clifton, St. Peter's - St. Peter's Haven, $4,000 AV-05-20: Kearny, Trinity - Project Serve: Plant the Seeds, Reap the Vision, $8,000 AV-05-21: Newark, AIDS Resource Center CDC - Food Connections Program, $4,000 AV-05-22: Newark, Grace Church - Youth@Home, $5,000 AV-05-23: Jersey City, Grace Church Van Vorst - Arts at Grace presents "Godspell", $3,000 AV-05-24: Hoboken, All Saints' - Jubilee Children's Program, $6,000 AV-05-25: Paterson, St. Paul's - CityServe After School Program, $6,000 AV-05-26: Belleville, Christ Church - The Care Closet @Christ Church, $5,000 AV-05-27: Hackettstown, St. James' - St. James' Church Deaf Ministry, $4,000 AV-05-28: Fort Lee, Good Shepherd - Friends for Life, $5,000 AV-05-29: Dover, St. John's - Dover Family Program, $6,000 AV-05-30: Hope, St. Luke's - Haven of Hope for Kids, $10,000 Total Recommendation to Diocesan Council: $78,000 WARD J. HERBERT FUND BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS Motion: It was moved and seconded that the recommendations presented last month be ratified. The motion was adopted. WJH-05-20: Little Falls, St. Agnes' - Education building window replacements, $10,000 WJH-05-21: Union City, Grace - Church boiler replacement, $8,000 WJH-05-22: Hackettstown, St. James' - Roof repair inspection & assessment, $728 WJH-05-23: Midland Park, Good Shepherd - Rectory roof/siding; steeple repairs, $8,450 WJH-05-24: Dover, St. John's - Classroom roof repairs, $20,000 WJH-05-25: Orange, All Saints' - Parish hall roof replacement, gutter repairs, $3,550 WJH-05-26: Washington, St. Peter's - Church roof repair, $1,378 WJH-05-27: Nutley, Grace - Rectory roof repairs, provisionally funded $10,625 Funding was recommended pending receipt of replacement bids and final approval by the Executive Committee. WJH-05-28: Montclair, Trinity - Rectory repairs: roof, porch, gutters; tree removal, $3,857 ($2,857 from Fund 1; $1,000 from Fund 2) Total Recommendation to Diocesan Council : $66,588 The President called to order a Meeting of the Apostles' House Board. APOSTLES' HOUSE BOARD ELECTION It was moved and seconded that the following persons be elected to the Board of Apostles' House: Motion: Resolved, that the following persons be elected to the board of the Apostles House until the December 2006 meeting of the Diocesan Council: Mr. Ross Mangina, Mr. Kenneth Schultz, Mr. Cesar Torres, Mr. Gil Towell, Ms. Patricia Yankus, Mr. John Zinn. The motion was adopted. Motion: It was moved and seconded to adjourn the Meeting of the Apostles' House. The motion was adopted. The President reconvened the meeting of the Diocesan Council. DISTRICT ONE SPENDING REQUEST The Rev. William Potter presented a request from District 1 for support to underwrite a Lenten 2006 program based on the book, "Studying the Driven Purpose Life", authored by Rick Warren. The funds will be used to cover the stipend and costs for The Rev. Robert Bremer, facilitator. Mr. Bremer was a Baptist minister. (The amount available was $600. The diocesan budget line of $6,000 was divided among the ten districts. This was decided at the April 13, 2005 meeting of Diocesan Council.) Motion: The Rev. William Potter moved to fund the request from District 1 to support its 2006 Lenten program in the amount of $600. The motion was seconded and defeated, 8 to 7 with abstentions. The members were uncomfortable to fund the use of this particular book. Motion: The Rev. William Potter moved to fund the request from District 1 to support its 2006 Lenten program in the amount of $600 for the study of a book to be determined by the clergy of the district. The motion was seconded and adopted by a count of 11 to 7. Mr. Potter was asked to share the concerns expressed to the district. DISTRICT SHARING District 2: Ms. Lynn Tyler reported the results of the district elections: Ms. Naomi Horsky was elected convener; Ms. Katie Hoyer as youth deputy to convention; Ms. Patty Watts elected to Diocesan Council. District 4: Ms. Faith Gideon Brown reported the results of the district elections: The Rev. Lauren Ackland and The Rev. Carr Holland continue as co-conveners; The Rev. Thomas Mathews, Jr., to the Nominations Committee; Ms. Tiffany Baine as youth deputy to convention; and she was re-elected to Diocesan Council. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. with prayer by Ms. Lynn Tyler. Respectfully submitted, Michael Francaviglia, Secretary --Return to Diocese of Newark Home Page Return to Top of Page