Present: Bishop Spong, President; Bishop McKelvey, Vice President; Mr. John Zinn, Treasurer; Mr. Michael Francaviglia, Secretary

Bishop's Appointments: Mr. Steven Boston; Mr. Michael James; Mr. Russell Murphy

Elected by Convention: Ms. Peg Dengel; Ms. Kathy Ganim; Mr. William Heick; The Rev. Canon Angela Ifill; The Rev. Harry Smith

Elected by Districts: Mr. E. Kim Byham; The Rev. Lawrence Falkowski; The Rev. Scott Hoogerhyde; Ms. Diane Kaczmarek; Ms. Pamela Lindquist; Ms. Dagi Murphy; Ms. Cheryl Notari; The Rev. William Parnell; The Rev. William Potter; Mr. Junius Powell; Mr. Robert Simmons; Ms. Mary Sunden; Mrs. Virginia Whitehouse

Absent: Mr. Michael F. Rehill; The Rev. Caroline Bruschi; The Rev. Emory Byrum; Mrs. Patricia Cumberbatch; The Rev. Margaret Gunness; The Rev. John Hartnett; The Rev. Rose Hassan; Mr. Scott Helsel; The Rev. Scott Kallstrom; The Rev. Mark Lewis; The Rev. Ashley Neal; The Rev. Isaac Persaud; The Rev. Steven Steele; The Rev. Gordon Tremaine; The Rev. Dr. Franklin Vilas; Ms. Jean Wadnik; Ms. Nancy Weidbrauk

Others present: Mrs. Clara Horsley; The Rev. Stephanie Wethered; The Very Rev. Petero Sabune.

Prior to the start of the meeting, the Council expressed its congratulations to The Rev. Donald Shearer on the 35th anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate.

The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Bishop Spong. The Rev. Donald Shearer, rector, welcomed members of Council, and introduced the parishioners responsible for the meal. He provided a history of the church that began ministries in 1895, as an Anglo-Catholic church and founded at the time of the Oxford Movement. He described All Saints as a diverse parish -- racially, economically, culturally. Despite its size, the congregation was remarkable. The Council expressed its thanks for the hospitality.

AGENDA

It was moved and seconded to adopt the agenda adding a report for the Jersey City Ministry, an Oasis announcement and a review of the Diocesan Ingathering. The motion was adopted.

MINUTES

It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes for the November 12, 1997, meeting with the following corrections: on page 4, the educational efforts were at Hasbrouck Heights and Ridgefield Park; on page 9, The Rev. Harry Smith moved a friendly amendment to the resolution to reclassify St. Paul's, North Arlington, not a substitute resolution. And during the debate a motion was called for and adopted to call the question. The motion to reclassify was not voted upon. For clarification, Mr. William Heick moved the reclassification motion and the motion was adopted. The motion to accept the minutes as corrected was adopted.

EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATIONS: BISHOP SPONG

• Reported on the Diocesan Ingathering service at the Cathedral held on Sunday, December 7. He expressed concern that approximately one third of the cards were delivered by clergy persons, rather than from lay leader representation. Mr. Michael James called the day a great one with no problems and was thankful for people's participation. The service was scheduled for next year on Sunday, December 6, 1998.
• Announced the ordinations of the deacons to the priesthood Jill McNish, John Quartey Thompson, Michel Belt, Michael Gerhardt, Denise Yarborough, Susan Butler.
• Recommended the Messiah performance scheduled for Sunday, December 21 at Christ Church, East Orange.
• Commented that the fall lectures were concluded last evening at Christ Church, Ridgewood. The lectures were part of the manuscript currently at the publisher.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Mr. Zinn presented the Treasurer's Report. At the end of December based on how much money received and how much owed, an accrual will be made of the income and expenses; usually the largest expense was the balance of the pledge to the National Church. At the January meeting, there will be no treasurer's report sent in advance. It was moved and seconded to accept the report, subject to audit. The motion was adopted.

Mr. Zinn reported that the budget hearings were held this past weekend. He was thankful to the Council members who serve on the committee.

He commented that 90 percent of pledge cards were received by the date of the Evensong. This compliance was high compared to previous years.

AUDIT OF THE DIOCESE

Mr. Zinn commented that the audit was distributed as requested. Audited funds included: the Trustees, Diocesan Council funds such as Acts/Vim and Ward J. Herbert Fund, the Department of Missions, and the Episcopal Community Development Corporation.

DISCRETIONARY FUND GUIDELINES

Mr. Zinn presented the guidelines for discretionary funds for a second reading. The motion to adopt the guidelines with changes underlined was adopted.

RESOLVED that effective January 1, 1998 the following guidelines are approved for the handling of discretionary funds in the Diocese of Newark

Discretionary Funds have been in use within the Episcopal Church for decades if not centuries. Yet the Canons of the Church do not mention Discretionary Funds by name. The basis for discretionary funds apparently comes from Title III, Canon 14(f) first approved in 1814 which provides for a special offering for the poor to be administered by a member of the clergy as Almoner, the person charged with giving alms to the poor. The Canon further provides for the appointment of "a responsible person" if the parish is without a Rector.

In recent years there has been a great deal of review of the appropriate use of discretionary funds. The following which are based upon National Church guidelines are the guidelines for discretionary funds in the Diocese of Newark.

1. The discretionary fund is a fund of the parish or mission. It is the Discretionary Fund of the Rector of St. Swithin's church. The funds belong to the church and remain with the church once the priest ceases to be the rector/vicar.

2. All donations for the discretionary fund should be made to the church, deposited in a church account and then transferred to the discretionary fund. The only deposits made to the discretionary fund should be checks drawn on a church account. There may be rare occasions where direct deposits to the discretionary fund are necessary. Such transactions should be extremely rare and the nature of the transaction should be shared with a warden or the treasurer.

3. The discretionary fund should be audited annually along with the rest of the church's finances. Such an audit should be conducted in accordance with the audit requirements of the Diocese of Newark.

4. National Church guidelines permit the use of the discretionary fund for expenses "related to the exercise of ministry not otherwise provided in the church's budget" so long as the vestry/executive committee gives prior general approval for such a use of the fund. This could include the purchase of books, journals and related expenses, but should not be used for the general operating expenses of the church. While such a use of the discretionary fund is permitted, it is recommended that such items be provided through a budget line entitled "rector or vicar's expenses" rather than being paid out of the discretionary fund

5.If the discretionary fund is maintained as a separate account, the priest should keep detailed records of the funds transactions. When checks are written to cash, the priest should keep a private record of what is done with the proceeds. Monthly the bank statement for the account is to be submitted to the treasurer for verification that all deposits made into the account came from disbursements from a church account. The treasurer should make a notation on the bank statement and file it with the church's financial records.

6. The primary use of discretionary funds is to assist the poor of the congregation and the larger community. Wherever possible it is preferable that payments for rent, utilities, medical care and the like be made directly to the provider rather than to the individual or family.

7. The Canons provide for funding for discretionary funds to come from the un-designated "alms and contributions" at one service per month throughout the calendar year. In practice this has traditionally meant the loose offering at one service. Some congregations also provide funding through the church budget. Churches also may have a policy that all fees for weddings, funerals and baptisms be deposited in the discretionary fund.

Supporting information: Recently there have been problems throughout the Episcopal Church with the use of discretionary funds primarily due to a lack of control and accountability. Such problems have occurred in the Diocese of Newark. Many clergy and vestries/executive committees have taken steps to prevent such problems in the future. It would be helpful and supportive of these efforts to establish diocesan guidelines for the use of discretionary funds.

These guidelines have been developed based upon the National Church's Manual for Business Affairs plus material developed by the Diocese of Rochester. The guidelines have been discussed with the executive committee of the Newark Clergy Association and the Clergy Ethics Committee. They have been sent to every rector/vicar, warden and treasurer for comment and will be discussed at the November 15th Treasurer's Workshop.

EDUCATION TASK FORCE

The Very Rev. Petero Sabune, chair of the Task Force, made the presentation. Task force members included The Rev. Lawrence Falkowski, Ms. Cheryl Notari, Mr. E. Joseph Piel, Ms. Cheryl Thompson and Ms. Rosalie Clegg. He outlined the issues that the task force had studied facilities, curriculum, public policy, public schools vs. private education, state assessment, school boards, parental involvement, transportation, school choice, vouchers, charter school. The members hoped that debate would be substantial at the preconvention district meetings and the convention.

ETHICS TASK FORCE

The Rev. Stephanie Wethered, chair of the Task Force, made the presentation. The report, entitled Christian Decision Making: Commodity or Community? A Resource for Ethical and Moral Decision Making for Congregations, was distributed. The resolution before the Convention would call for affirmation of the report and a request that the report be used by congregations in a study program.

LUTHERAN/EPISCOPAL CAMP COMMITTEE

The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey presented the report of the committee. At the Diocesan Convention, the committee will request funds from the Camp Endowment Fund, totaling $1.1 million for the purchase of 50% ownership of Camp Biesler and renovations to the facilities. It was moved and seconded that the Council recommends the adoption of the report by the Convention.

COMPANION DIOCESE RELATIONSHIP

The Very Rev. Petero Sabune presented the report outlining the companion relationship with the Diocese of Lebombo, Mozambique. Besides diocese to diocese relations, steps will be taken to establish congregation to congregation relations. Additionally, issues of mutual ministries such as youth programs will be developed.

ACTS/VIM RECOMMENDATIONS

It was moved by Mr. William Heick and seconded that the recommendations presented last month be ratified. The motion was adopted.

Total Recommendation to the Diocesan Council: $84,000

WARD J. HERBERT FUND RECOMMENDATIONS

It was moved by Mr. Michael James and seconded to ratify the recommendations presented at last month's meeting. The motion was adopted.

Total Recommendations to Diocesan Council: $92,015

COMBATING RACISM

Ms. Dagi Murphy reported on the day long conference, Combating Racism, held on Saturday, November 8. More than seventy people attended the conference. Some of the assumptions presented included: racism was a learned behavior; racism existed to maintain power; and, racism was a construct that must be de-constructed. Primary commitments by participants were to learn from each other and to acknowledge other "isms" exist. The consequence of racism was a misinformation about people. Victims should not be blamed for their victimization.

Ms. Murphy reported that future Council actions included dialogues at the district level, and to incorporate the issue of combating racism into next year's visits by Council members to the churches. In January, the Council will begin a dialogue among Council members about the issues of racism. Hopefully, the discussion will be extended into the districts at district wide programs. She planned on asking district reps to meet just prior to the start of the January Council meeting.

JERSEY CITY MINISTRY

The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey reported that the Jersey City Area Ministry Council met last night. A time line of activities to build a new church and to develop a city wide ministry was drawn up and a copy distributed to the Council members.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN

Mrs. Clara Horsley reported on the donations received to date for the United Thank Offering.

STEERING COMMITTEE- VESTRY/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE VISITS

Mr. William Heick reported for The Rev. John Hartnett who asked that feedback sheets be sent to him by January 9th.

STEERING COMMITTEE - FEBRUARY MEETINGS

Mr. William Heick reported that rather than having a meeting in February the Steering Committee will meet in that month to handle any pressing business that comes out of Convention. The reason was that there were only seven working days between the end of the 1998 Convention and the second Wednesday in February.

It was moved by Ms. Peg Dengel and seconded that the meeting be canceled and the Steering Committee was authorized to act on behalf of the Council and report any actions taken to the March meeting. The motion was adopted.

STEERING COMMITTEE - LOAN GUARANTEES

Mr. William Heick reported that he agreed to undertake a study of the loans that have been guaranteed over the past years and report back to the Council next year.

STEERING COMMITTEE - PARSONAGE ALLOWANCES

Mr. William Heick moved the following resolutions:

RESOLVED, that of the compensation paid to The Right Reverend John Shelby Spong in the calendar year 1998, the sum of $40,000 be designated as parsonage allowance. (This amount was amended at the January 1998 meeting from $35,000.)

RESOLVED, that of the compensation paid to The Right Reverend Jack Marston McKelvey in the calendar year of 1998, the sum of $40,000 be designated as parsonage allowance.

The motions were adopted.

STEERING COMMITTEE - DIOCESAN CONVENTION WORSHIP OFFERINGS

Mr. William Heick moved the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the offerings from the two Convention Worship Services be given to the Water Project of the Companion Diocese Relationship Committee for the purchase of wells in the towns and villages within the Diocese of Lebombo in Mozambique.

The motion was adopted.

STEERING COMMITTEE - ARE YOU A CONVENTION DEPUTY?

Mr. Heick reminded members that they have seat and voice at the annual Diocesan Convention. Members who were not representing their churches to the Diocesan Convention could get convention materials from the Secretary of Convention.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ms. Kathy Ganim announced that a special service cosponsored by The Oasis and the Women's Commission celebrating women's ordinations was scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 1998, at St. Paul's, Paterson.

The benediction was pronounced by The Rev. Canon Angela Ifill.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Francaviglia
Secretary

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