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THE DIOCESE OF NEWARK
Present: The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith; President; Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary; Ms. Diane Sammons, Chancellor. Elected by Districts: Mr. Steven Boston, The Rev. Janet Broderick, Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, The Rev. David Gable, The Rev. Mariano Gargiulo, Ms. Lois Gray, Mr. Robert Harwood, The Rev. Paul Olsson, Ms. Barbara Piccirillo, The Rev. William Potter, The Rev. Stuart Smith, Ms. Mary Sunden, Ms. Patty Watts, The Rev. Sandye Wilson. Bishop's Appointments: The Rev. Joseph Harmon, The Rev. Gray Lesesne. ECW: Ms. Doris Mardirosian. Absent: Ms. Gail Barkely, Ms. Glenda deKruif, Mr. Henry Faulkner, Mr. Bert Jones, The Rev. Kathryn King, Ms. Carol Taylor, The Rev. Fain Webb. Staff: Canon R. Carter Echols and Mr. Richard Graham. COUNCIL WORK GROUP MEETINGS The work groups met separately for Bible study (Matthew 2:13-18). The meeting was opened by Bishop Beckwith at 7:45 p.m. with a hymn. AGENDA The agenda was adopted as prepared. MINUTES Motion: It was moved to accept the minutes for the meeting of November 14, 2007. The motion was seconded and adopted. EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS Bishop Beckwith's comments included: . Welcomed Ms. Barbara Piccirillo as the new District 1 representative. . The farewell reception for Mr. John Zinn was re-scheduled for Wednesday, December 20 at the New Jersey Historical Society because of last week's inclement weather. . Two diocesan staff members, Mr. Milton Merts and Ms. Lyn Headley-Deavours, were laid off because of budget constraints. Ms. Headley-Deavours will conduct four anti-racism training events during 2008. . Reported on the Chicago Consultation that was held last week; a strategy group of bishops, planning for the Lambeth Conference and the General Convention. . A design group, including other religious leaders and civic and local government officials, had begun meeting to plan a conference for April 3, 2008, the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream" speech. The conference will be held in Newark and will include a religious response to gang violence. . In mid-January will attend a provincial bishops' meeting in Haiti. . The finance advisory team continued to meet and will address the audit needs of the diocese. The members were Ms. Linda Curtiss, Mr. Stephen Duggan, Mr. Dall Forsythe, and Mr. Paul Shackford. . The Rev. Mpho Tutu will participate in the January diocesan convention as chaplain for the proceedings and preacher at the Friday Eucharist. The convention will include congregational stories, "mission minutes," that highlight the values of worship, radical hospitality, nonviolence/justice and spiritual formation. . The Rev. Ed Rodman, Episcopal Divinity School, will meet on March 1 with the leadership of St. Barnabas, Newark and Holy Communion, Paterson along with the UBE to formulate strategies on being the best church in their respective cities. . The district conveners met last week and reaffirmed the cathedral as the location for the district confirmations with the exception of district 10 that will continue the use St. Paul's in Paterson. TREASURER'S REPORT Mr. Richard Graham, interim Chief Financial Officer, reported on the first eleven months of the diocesan finances. (Distributed were summary and detail pages that listed the expenses and income.) Currently $205,000 over budget for the year. The national church was still owed $220,000 for 2007. Several programs were likely to be over budget (ECD, The Voice). Operating expenses were close to budget; exceptions were office equipment rental and utilities. Building maintenance was under budget by 25%. Group medical fees were over budget by $13,000 based on revised rate. A pledge summary report was distributed that indicated the total projected pledges and the number of current pledges and outstanding pledges as of the date of the council meeting. (105 pledges received, 8 outstanding. Of those received, 51 increased, 34 were equal to last year, and 20 decreased.) Motion: It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted. BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT Bishop Beckwith thanked the members of the budget committee for their work. The members were Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, Mr. Henry Faulkner, Ms. Mary Sunden, The Rev. Janet Broderick (the work group conveners) and Mr. Steven Boston, The Rev. Lu-Anne Connor, Mr. Peter Van Brunt, Mr. Robert Simmons and The Rev. Fain Webb. He introduced the proposed budget and highlighted several of the line items. On page 1, line 6, Episcopal Community Development (ECD) payment for services was new this year. On page 2, there were notes outlining the income items. Page 3, 22% was allocated to the national church and the intent was to increase the amount annually over the next three years and return to a giving level of 25%. Page 4, assisting bishop was a new line for services of a bishop in 2008. New program initiative line would allow for startups of new ministries. Mr. Richard Graham and Ms. Mary Sunden presented a detailed review of the line items in the income and expenses sections. Motion: It was moved by the Budget Committee and seconded that the proposed budget be adopted and recommended to the Diocesan Convention. The motion was adopted. BUDGET COMMITTEE AUTHORIZATION RESOLUTION Mr. Steven Boston moved the following resolution: Motion: RESOLVED, that the budget committee of the Diocesan Council is authorized to make changes in the proposed 2008 Diocesan Budget between the January Council meeting and the Diocesan Convention. The proposed 2008 budget had been prepared so that Convention Deputies might have the budget as early as possible that necessitates using somewhat incomplete data. As a result the budget committee will make a final review of the budget the week before convention when all of the data was available. Since the Convention approves the budget, this resolution simply gave the committee authorization to modify the proposals made to Convention. The motion was seconded and adopted. CIVIL UNION TASK FORCE REPORT The Rev. Joseph Harmon and The Rev. Stuart Smith, members of the task force, introduced the interim report of the task force that will be presented at the Diocesan Convention. The report included legal and canonical backgrounds, possibilities for liturgies in English and Spanish, pastoral concerns and the request to be continued for another year of work. The education subcommittee, chaired by The Rev. Joseph Harmon, planned forums during 2008 as a follow up to a gathering held in 2007 for clergy and opened to a wider audience. An event for clergy will be scheduled on the pastoral issues. The report was not being presented as policy but rather for thought and continued development. While the New Jersey statute on civil unions has at its intent the full parity with marriage, civil unions included some gaps in equality that needed to be addressed by the state legislature. The inequality of civil union and marriage was an issue of justice. (A summary of the report can be found in PDF or HTML version at http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/convention/reports.html.) REPORT ON THE CLOSING OF TRINITY, MONTCLAIR Ms. Faith Gideon Brown, convener of the Congregational Vitality Work Group, presented a report on behalf of the work group about the closing of Trinity, Montclair. Members of the Congregational Vitality Work Group of Diocesan Council spent six months in 2007 interviewing former lay and clergy leaders from Trinity, Montclair, with particular attention to gaining as many different perspectives and viewpoints possible. Using the Diocese of Newark's Six Ministry Capacity Areas as our framework, we inquired about a variety of facets of Trinity's ministry and mission, asking about everything from their neighborhood context to the functionality of Trinity's basic ministry systems. We have chosen to report our findings through the lens of the Expectations adopted by Diocesan Council related to those Congregational Ministry Capacity Areas. The group requested that Council accept the document and submit it to the deputies at Diocesan Convention. Motion: It was moved and seconded that the report be accepted by Diocesan Council and be distributed to the convention deputies. The motion was adopted. The work group was commended for the quality of the report, noting that it will be useful beyond its original purpose. STEERING COMMITTEE REPORT PARSON ALLOWANCE RESOLUTION The Rev. Janet Broderick moved the following resolution: Motion: Resolved, That of the compensation paid to The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith in the calendar year 2008, the sum of $35,000 be designated as parsonage allowance. The motion was seconded and adopted. EMPLOYEE PROCEDURES AND POLICY MANUAL Ms. Mary Sunden moved the adoption of the diocesan employee procedures and policy manual that was presented at last month's meeting and to take effect on January 1, 2008. Motion: It was moved by Ms. Sunden and seconded that the Diocesan Council adopt the Employee Procedures and Policy Manual presented by the Personnel Ad hoc Committee. The motion was adopted. DIOCESAN CONVENTION OFFERING DESIGNATION The Rev. Janet Broderick explained that the electronic and mail vote taken by Council to designate the convention worship offering needed to be memorialized in the minutes. A vote was taken after the November meeting because a decision was needed in time to prepare the convention deputy packages. Diocesan Convention 2008 Worship Service Offering The resolution was e-mailed and snail mailed on November 28, 2007. Eighteen responses were received within two weeks. The resolution was adopted with 20 votes favorable. Resolved, That the offering from the 134th Annual Diocesan Convention be designated to the ministry of North Porch Women and Infant Centers that serve the communities of Newark, Paterson and Dover; and to the Diocese of Panama, our companion diocese, for its youth ministry and camping programs. Supporting Information: North Porch Women & Infants' Centers: The mission of North Porch Women & Infants' Centers, located in Dover, Newark and Paterson, is to provide emergency aid to mothers and other caregivers and their infants. This ministry, that started nearly a quarter of a century ago, serves hundreds of women and their babies annually. While the program continues to emphasize meeting basic needs, the assistance has been coupled with new initiatives to help women break the cycle of poverty that exists for so many. Youth Ministry and Camping Program, Diocese of Panama: The mission of the youth ministry work is "to win children and young people for Christ through the strengthening their relationships with one another and accompanying the transformation of their lives, by the proclamation of the word, the discovery and the integral development of their ministries." The mission is accompanied by a strong vision and purpose. Namely, "the Youth Ministry of the Episcopal Church of Panama is based on the Love and Commitment with God and our neighbor which is shared at a local, regional and national level promoting faith and life." The camping program is multi-generational, spirit-filled and an integral part of people's Christian formation. ACTS/VIM BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS Motion: It was moved and seconded that the recommendations presented last month be ratified. The motion was adopted with three abstentions. 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 Motion: It was moved and seconded that the changes recommended in the evaluation procedures be ratified. The motion was adopted. [The changes were as follows. 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 Motion: The Rev. Gray Lesesne, Board Member, moved that the recommendations presented last month be ratified. The motion was adopted with three abstentions. 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 - GOOD SHEPHERD, MIDLAND PARK The Rev. Gray Lesesne, Ward J. Herbert Fund (WJH) Board member, presented and moved for ratification ECLF minutes that approved a loan of $15,000 the Church of the Good Shepherd, Midland Park. Motion: It was seconded and adopted to ratify the minutes from the Ward J. Herbert Fund Executive Committee which approved an ECLF loan of $15,000. The loan will repay the Ward J. Herbert Fund that provided a bridge loan to fund repairs of the rectory basement that was damaged by the severe weather and flooding in April 2007. It was projected that the loan would be repaid by January 2018 (ten year term). The interest rate was 5%. The motion was adopted. The President called to order a Meeting of the Episcopal Community Development (ECD) Incorporation. EPISCOPAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (ECD) BOARD ELECTION It was moved and seconded that the following persons be elected to the Board of the Episcopal Development Corporation: Motion: Resolved, that the following persons be elected to the board of the Episcopal Community Development Corporation until December 2010: Mr. George W. Kibildis, Ms. Tanya K. Rouse, Ms. Mary Sunden, and Mr. John Webb. The motion was adopted with one abstention. Motion: It was moved and seconded to adjourn the Meeting of the ECD. The motion was adopted. The President reconvened the meeting of the Diocesan Council. NEWARK SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY Ms. Mary Sunden presented an agreement between the Diocesan Council and the Newark School of Theology that would create a relationship between the two entities. The Diocesan Canons gives the Diocesan Council the authority to "give recognition to accredited organizations, institutions and other activities of the Diocese and provide regulations whereby such recognition can be given." (Canon 5, section 4(i) and are set forth in the Protocols of Council adopted in 2006). Such a relationship has been sought by the School and the leadership has been in consultation with the Steering Committee during the past two years. With this relationship the School would be eligible to apply for ACTS/VIM grants. Motion: It was moved by Ms. Sunden and seconded that the Newark School of Theology be recognized as an organization of the Diocese of Newark. The motion was adopted. BELLEVILLE SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT Ms. Mary Sunden reported the Belleville Senior Housing work group met with HUD representatives to discuss the rejected application. The group will convene in early January to determine the next steps. RESOLUTION OF COMMENDATION FOR THE JUSTICE MISSIONER The Rev. Janet Broderick presented on behalf of the Inclusion Work Group a resolution of commendation for the ministry and work of Ms. Lyn Headley-Deavours, Justice Missioner of the diocese. The work group members noted that with Ms. Headley-Deavours' departure from the diocesan staff there was one less person of color employed and that future hires needed to reflect the diversity proclaimed by the diocese. They also expressed concern over the continuity of the work of justice office with the Bethsaida Team and Inclusion work group. Bishop Beckwith responded that he spoke with the leadership of Oasis and Bethsaida and will have discussions about the ongoing support for the ministries. Motion: It was by The Rev. Janet Broderick and seconded that the Inclusion Work Group thanks our sister Lyn Headley-Deavours and commends her passion, intelligence and dedication for justice. She will be sorely missed especially among those who have been excluded with whom she was always a beacon of hope. The meeting was closed with prayer by Bishop Beckwith. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Michael Francaviglia, Secretary  --Return to Diocese of Newark Home PageReturn to Top of Page |