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THE DIOCESE OF NEWARK
Present: The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith; President; Mr. John Zinn, Treasurer, Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary; Ms. Diane Sammons, Chancellor. Elected by Districts: Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, Mr. Henry Faulkner, The Rev. David Gable, Mr. Robert Harwood, Mr. Bert Jones, The Rev. Kathryn King, The Rev. Gray Lesesne, The Rev. Paul Olsson, The Rev. William Potter, The Rev. Stuart Smith, Ms. Mary Sunden, Ms. Patty Watts, The Rev. Fain Webb, The Rev. Sandye Wilson. Bishop's Appointments: The Rev. Joseph Harmon, Ms. Carol Taylor. ECW: Ms. Doris Mardirosian. Absent: Ms. Gail Barkely, Mr. Steven Boston, The Rev. Janet Broderick, Ms. Glenda deKruif, The Rev. Mariano Gargiulo, Ms. Lois Gray. Staff: Canon R. Carter Echols, Canon Denise Haines and Mr. Rich Graham; and Ms. Kitty Kawecki and Ms. Lyn Headley-Deavours (for the work group time). Others: Ms. Lindsay McHugh, Personnel Committee, and The Rev. William Parnell, ACTS/VIM Board. COUNCIL WORK GROUP MEETINGS The work groups met separately for Bible study (Luke 23:35-43) and discussion on the preliminary 2008 diocesan budget. Input provided was sought from members on the budget information provided. Each work group was asked to focus on a range of specific line items in the budget. Congregational Vitality, lines 1-6; Inclusion, lines 7-25; Discipleship, lines 26-48; and Outreach, lines 49-56. The meeting was opened by Bishop Beckwith at 8:00 p.m. with silence, reflection and prayer. AGENDA The agenda was adopted with the additions of an ECLF Loan ratification for St. Luke's, Hope and an update on the Belleville Senior Housing project. WORK GROUPS' SUMMARIES The work groups presented highlights from the discussions on the preliminary 2008 diocesan budget and their current projects. Budget Comments: Congregational Vitality: The Rev. Fain Webb reported for the group. Asked what the percentage of asking from the national church might have been and if it was it feasible to raise the amount. Questioned if the New Jersey Council of Churches' amount based on an asking and wondered about the work of the organization. Suggested that advertisements be sought for the Voice. Questioned decrease in the utility costs. Inclusion: The Rev. Joseph Harmon reported. Pleased with the planned re-formatting of the budget report. Had concerns about several ministry areas. Outreach: The Rev. Paul Olsson reported. There were three main areas of interest for clarification: Line 18, Ministry Development and the Deacons (would like more explanation), Line 21, Cross Roads (curious about the number of campers served), and Lines 26 to 32, Diocesan Staff (wanted greater specificity in personnel expenses). Discipleship: Mr. Henry Faulkner reported. The staff lines (26-32) should be detailed with names and benefits for each position. Recommended listing costs by categories of fixed, variable and requested. Suggested that specifics in operating expenses be noted and that the utility and telephone services should be part of a bid process on behalf of the whole diocese. Unclear what the difference was between heat and utility lines. A narrative budget rather than line names would be helpful for understanding. Bishop Beckwith noted that the comments will be reviewed by the Budget Committee that was scheduled to meet on December 12. The proposed 2008 budget will be presented by the committee to the December 19 meeting of Diocesan Council. Current projects: Congregational Vitality: Ms. Faith Gideon Brown reported the group was fine tuning its work and the next steps on the congregational status concerns that were presented at last month's meeting. A report on the closing of Trinity, Montclair was being finalized for convention. Discussing how to be a resource to the Jersey City Area Ministry. The Rev. Fain Webb shared her experiences at a small church conference held recently at Kanuga. She reported many sections of the country were addressing the same issues and finding different solutions, such as priest sharing and expanded use lay leadership, rather than one church/one priest Inclusion: The Rev. Joseph Harmon reported there was discussion on a resolution on reparations and another one regarding interpreters. The work group will submit a resolution on immigration issues. Discipleship: Mr. Henry Faulkner reported on his efforts to present a workshop on Safeguarding God's Children at his congregation last week. Attendance included people from the community. The group was thinking about presenting a similar workshop at convention. Outreach: Ms. Mary Sunden reported work continued on planning the update of the Outreach section of the website, and will consult with Mr. Rich Graham, new CFO interim, on the application and reporting of the outreach grants. MINUTES Motion: It was moved to accept the minutes for the meeting of October 10, 2007. The motion was seconded and adopted. EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS Bishop Beckwith's comments included: . Title IV policy and procedures relating to clergy disciplinary canons was written by the Title IV Task Force and now available. Co-chaired by The Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats and John Webb, Esq., the task force would continue its work to implement the policy. The Council was asked to receive the policy and commend the task force. [A copy of the document was emailed to Council members prior to the meeting.] Motion: It was moved and seconded that the Diocesan Council receive the Title IV Policy and commend the members of the task force for their work and efforts. The motion was adopted. . The Role Clarification Committee will present a resolution to formalize the relationship between the Diocese and the Trustees as outlined in the New Jersey Religious Statutes. [A set of slides shown at the November 6 hearing was distributed to the council.] The committee will continue working for another year and to articulate strategies around congregational vitality in conjunction with the Diocesan Council and Standing Committee and the DIT. . The Rev. Joseph Harmon and The Rev. Stuart Smith reported on the work of the Civil Union Task Force, which they described as "exciting and informative." The bishop had affirmed the work of the task force. A report with recommendations on draft liturgies will be presented to the convention. Some the work entailed: review of the legal implications of the civil union statute; review of the pastoral implications by a pastoral response subgroup; formation of an educational committee to present information as the work continued. A survey of clergy will be conducted to determine how many civil unions had been performed to date. . A farewell reception was scheduled for Mr. John Zinn on December 13 at the New Jersey Historical Society from 4 to 6 p.m. . The council members and their spouses and partners were invited to an open house on December 14 between 5 and 7 p.m. . The diocesan stewardship day was scheduled for December 4 Church of the Saviour in Denville. The day was an in-gathering of parish pledge cards and conversation about our past and future ways of faithful stewardship. [Registration available at http://dioceseofnewark.org/Registrations/2007StewardshipWorkshop.htm.] EMPLOYEE PROCEDURES AND POLICY MANUAL Ms. Lindsay McHugh and Ms. Carol Taylor, members of the Personnel Ad-hoc Committee, presented for a first reading the proposed Employee Procedures and Policy manual for the diocesan staff. They reported some existing policies were combined and new policies included. While not required by law because of the size of the diocese the committee recommended compliance with New Jersey Family Leave Act and the Federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Policies from the profit world were tweaked for the non-profit world and brought into the manual. Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report of the Personnel Committee and refer the Employee Procedures and Policy Manual to the December meeting for adoption. The motion was adopted. TREASURER'S REPORT Mr. John Zinn reported the pledge income for October was ahead of budget but was significantly behind budget to date. There were no indications of any significant shortfalls. Several pledges were still behind, but pledge income should be on target. Investment income was over budget and would be for the year. This was a one-time situation with one of the new investment managers for the DIT. A different approach was used to pay out the capital gain portion of investment income so that the 2006 amount was not paid until well into the first quarter of 2007. This resulted in a one time lump sum dividend payment for the first quarter to all investors including the Council. Appropriate adjustments had been made for the future. At the end of October, the Council had a year-to-date operating deficit of $207,000. The 2006 close out indicated that there will be a surplus for the 2008 year. The surplus will be in the $30,000 range. Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted. STEERING COMMITTEE REPORT ACTS/VIM BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS The Rev. William Parnell, Board Member, presented the recommendations from the ACTS/VIM Board fall grant cycle. Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the recommendations and the evaluation change procedure and refer them to the December meeting for ratification. The motion was adopted. AV-07-18: Ringwood, Good Shepherd - Mobile Outreach, $4,000 AV-07-19: Clifton, St. Peter's Haven - Citizenship & English, $4,400 AV-07-20: Jersey City, Grace Church Van Vorst, Breakfast Plus Program, $3,400 AV-07-21: Madison, Grace Church - Recycling Ministry, $5,000 AV-07-22: Hoboken, All Saints Episcopal - Jubilee Children's Program, $4,400 AV-07-23: Hackettstown, St. James' Church - Deaf Ministry, $1,500 AV-07-24: Kearny, Trinity Church - Hispanic Ministry, $5,000 AV-07-25: Dover, St. John's Church - Bilingual Tutoring Project, $5,000 AV-07-26: Union City, St. John's Church - Summer Arts Day Camp, $5,300 AV-07-27: Newark, The Apostles' House - Feed The Solution Program, $5,000 AV-07-28: Fort Lee, Good Shepherd - Friends for Life, $5,000 AV-07-29: Newark, Trinity & St. Philip's Cathedral, $4,400 AV-07-30: Boonton, St. John's CDC - Transportation for programs, $4,400 AV-07-31: Hasbrouck Heights, St. John the Divine - Care on The Corner, $4,000 AV-07-32: Belleville, Christ Episcopal Church - The Care Closet, $4,400 AV-07-33: Newark, ECD - Homebuyer Services Program, $5,000 AV-07-34: Paterson, St, Paul's Church - Daily After School Program, $5,000 AV-07-35: Hope, St. Luke's Church - Vacation retreat cottage, $2,800 AV-07-36: Bayonne, Trinity Parish - Where 2 or 3 Are Gathered, rejected AV-07-37: Hackensack, Christ Church CDC - Next Step Program, $5,000 AV-07-38: Montclair, St. Luke's Church - Computer literacy/Internet skills, $4,000 Total Recommendation to Diocesan Council: $87,000 Evaluation Procedure Change The Rev. William Parnell reported on the board discussions and decision regarding the change in the evaluation procedure that was included in the minutes of the ACTS/VIM Board meeting of October 25, 2007. Under the present evaluation procedures, ACTS/VIM considers funding an institution for no more than three grant periods at the maximum request of $20,000. After the three periods, ACTS/VIM considers funding the institution for all additional grant periods at a maximum request of $10,000. In the current funding cycle it was noted that one of the applicants, The Apostles' House (TAH), had not submitted an application in six years and hadn't received funding for seven years, an even longer period of time. However, under the present procedures it was capped at a maximum award of $10,000 because in the 1990s (TAH) had been funded more than three times. After discussion it was decided to amend the procedure to remove the cap if a period of three full years passed between applications being submitted and grants awarded. Hence, if three years or more passed between the time that an institution that was under the cap rule applied for support and received funding the applicant would not be capped at $10,000 and would, in essence, be considered as a new applicant able to be considered for funding at the maximum request of $20,000 until after three periods of funding when the maximum returns to $10,000. WARD J. HERBERT FUND BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS The Rev. Gray Lesesne, Board Member, presented the recommendations from the third grant cycle. Motion: It was moved and seconded to adopt the recommendations and refer them to the December meeting for ratification. The motion was adopted. WJH-07-24: Kinnelon, St. David's Church - Furnaces - church and parish hall, $4,000 WJH-07-25: Hawthorne, St. Clement's Church, $7,000 WJH-07-26: Mountain Lakes, St. Peter's - Rectory and Parish House repairs, $8,500 WJH-07-27: East Orange, St. Agnes & St. Paul Church, $5,000 (for independent estimate) WJH-07-28: Clifton, St. Peter's Church - Windows replacement for the Haven, $3,000 WJH-07-29: Jersey City, Grace Church Van Vorst, $8,000 WJH-07-30: Fort Lee, Church of the Good Shepherd, $7,000 WJH-07-31: Verona, Church of the Holy Spirit, $2,250 WJH-07-32: Westwood, Grace Church, $1,750 WJH-07-33: Hope, St. Luke's Church, $4,180 WJH-07-34: Hackensack, Christ Church - Renovation of bathrooms, rejected. WJH-07-35: Chatham, St. Paul's - New roof & windows, gutters and drains, $8,500 WJH-07-36: Newark, Trinity + St. Philip's - Electrical upgrade, no funding Recommendation to Diocesan Council: $59,500 EPISCOPAL CAPITAL LOAN FUND - ST. LUKE'S, HOPE The Rev. Gray Lesesne, Ward J. Herbert Fund (WJH) Board member, presented and moved for ratification ECLF minutes that approved a loan of $25,000 to St. Luke's, Hope. St. Luke's was engaged in a comprehensive restoration of both the interior and exterior of the church and the exterior of the adjacent parish house. This loan from the Episcopal Capital Loan Fund would explicitly assist the parish in providing timely payment of contractors performing the exterior restoration work on the church. This work was approved under the 2006 Capital Grant for $25,108 from the New Jersey Historic Trust to St. Luke's Church for exterior restoration. The work consisted of the following: Architectural Services, Carpentry and Painting, Storm Window Fabrication & Installation and Repair of Handicap Access Ramp. Motion: It was seconded and adopted to ratify the minutes from the Ward J. Herbert Fund Executive Committee which approved an ECLF loan of $25,000 loan to St. Luke's, Hope on November 13, 2007. The loan will fund renovations to the church's exterior. The work was supported by the New Jersey Historic Trust which guaranteed the reimbursement of the costs in an approved grant. It was projected that the loan would be repaid by June 2008 (six months). The interest rate was 5%. The motion was adopted with one abstention. BELLEVILLE SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT Ms. Mary Sunden reported the application for capital advance funding for the Belleville senior housing project was not approved by HUD. The application was technically acceptable, however. A debriefing session had been requested and the group who worked to file the application will meet with HUD representatives. DISTRICT SHARING District 2: Ms. Patty Watts reported The Rev. Fain Webb and Lynn Tyler discussed the small church conference in Kanuga at a recent meeting. District 4: The Rev. Sandye Wilson reported a theme of Seek the Welfare of the City theme adopted for the year's work. Members will work with attorneys to expunge the records of youths in Newark. Confirmation train ride among the Route 24 congregations was planned for the confirmation service at the cathedral and the retreat will be requested for Newark as the location. District 6: The Rev. Joseph Harmon reported there was conversation about the future diocesan convention. District 9: Ms. Mary Sunden reported a third annual pot luck dinner was held for conversation about outreach efforts at the congregational level and the evening concluded with Evensong and Benediction. The meeting was closed with prayer by Bishop Beckwith. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Michael Francaviglia, Secretary  --Return to Diocese of Newark Home PageReturn to Top of Page |