Jr. Warden’s Report – Jan. 2011

Building & Grounds Report

Even with Christmas coming after the last Vestry meeting this month has been relatively active.  January has been my month as Vestry Person of the Day, and I’ve enjoyed doing the announcements at each of the services.  Lock-up isn’t great but if needs to be done.  With needing to be at both services, I’ve also attended Marlene’s Adult Forum presentations and enjoyed those also.  I’ve also just started a stint as a Lay Eucharist Minister.  I now part of and have attended a couple of Parish Lent Group planning meetings and am pleased to note that that group is active and proceeding toward our Lent parish small group event.  I’ve also taken part in a number of interesting theology discussions in Nan Smith’s Theology Study Group.  There was also a January Jr. Warden/Building and Grounds meeting.  To that end, Mediator’s “Open Project” and “Completed Project” lists should have been attached to my email along with this report.  The project concerned with refurbishing the light fixture bars in the choir loft is currently partially complete.  Two light bars have been modified to use the new LED bulbs.  This is about one third of the total number of light bars and frees up enough of the older style of light bulbs to fill the remaining light bars with a few spares.  The current plan is to continue using the older bulbs until more of them burn out.  The light bars will then be modified to the new bulbs as the older bulbs are used up and as needed.  Thus this project is on going but currently on hold until another light bar needs to be modified.

This will be my last report as your Jr. Warden in that this is my last month in my Vestry term.  Over the past three years on the Vestry, Mediator has had its ups and downs.  However I believe they have been enjoyable.  In this term I’ve served as just one the many, Sr. Warden, and Jr. Warden.   This past year has also been a successful year and I truly believe that with the new Vestry members coming on board the affairs of Mediator are in good hands.  We have and are continuing on the path set by the Decrement Group of a number of years ago.  This coming Lent with the Parish wide small group meeting should help in bringing more spiritually to our congregation along with fostering better fellowship. 

I was also pleasantly surprised and very happy that we have tentatively arrived at a balanced or as shown in the Annual Report, a budget with a slight surplus.  However as the departing Jr. Warden, think I should express my thoughts of how to handle the surplus.  As far as spending the surplus, I feel we should not spent it on ourselves, or more to the point I don’t think we should consider any employee raises at this time.  The time to consider that would be after the group looking at how Mediator should be staffed has completed it deliberations.  I do feel however that we could spend some of it outside of Mediator and in particular by increasing our Diocesan Acceptance back to the 1½ % level ($2,954 to $4,431). That would add an extra $1,477 to our expense line and reduce the surplus to $3,010.  I would then put this $3,010 into a new Rainy Day Fund and if it is not used over the year either keep it in this fund or start paying back the Ministry Reserve Fund.  Those are my thoughts.

That’s about it for this month and I look forward to seeing everyone at the January Vestry meeting next week and the Annual Meeting on January 30^th.

 

Bill Geiger, Jr. Warden