Vestry voices
Vestry Goals - April 2010
The Episcopal Church of the Mediator is a welcoming community of faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit, celebrating god's love as we minister in the parish, the community and the world.
Strengthen the Parish's
Spirituality through Worship, Prayer and Study
* Develop a leadership team for the Unbinding
the Gospel project.
* Have at least two more groups of the Parish
leadership participate in an Unbinding the Gospel study group.
* Provide opportunities for more Bible Studies.
* Provide opportunities for members to begin to
share their faith.
* Encourage daily prayer and worship.
* Continue to encourage the use of opening devotions
at all meetings/events.
Be a welcoming community by
reaching out to newcomers and those in need
* Encourage members at Sunday Worship to
greet someone they do not know after the service or at the coffee hour.
* Bring a friend to a church service or fellowship
event at the church.
* Continue to strengthen our ties with West Park
Civic Association and other neighborhood groups.
* Continue to grow our Outreach Ministry involving
more participation.
* Strengthen our process for incorporating newcomers
into the life of the Parish.
Involve more of our members in
the ministry and fellowship of the Parish
* Have each commission/committee increase
its membership by including new people.
* Reestablish a Fellowship Commission.
* Involve more members in existing fellowship and
study groups and create new ones as necessary to meet particular needs.
Enhance communication within
the Parish and beyond
* Publish on a regular basis information
on the leadership's goals for the Parish.
* Find and create ways to help members of the Parish
be informed about the ongoing life of the Parish.
* Be aware of appropriate ways to communicate
information to the members, i.e. written, technologically, orally.
Vestry Meeting Highlights and Visit with Archdeacon Stringfellow - June 1, 2010
1. Archdeacon Howard Stringfellow, of the Diocese of Bethlehem, visited with the vestry for 90 minutes, prior to the regular vestry meeting. A wide range of topics were covered, (the Archdeacon saying he was "taking the pulse" of Church of the Mediator), and a lively discussion followed. Archdeacon Stringfellow closed the meeting with positive comments about all he had heard.
2. Mark W was unanimously approved to become the replacement vestry member for Mary Beth B, who has had to resign due to family concerns.
3. After further discussion which carried over from the previous meeting, it was unanimously decided to purchase a safe for the church, which (as of this writing) has now been delivered and securely installed.
4. Summer vestry meeting dates were confirmed for July 27th and August 24th. The former will be a joint meeting with all commission and committee chairs, and the latter will include a picnic hosted by the Gauklers.
5. Group meeting dates for a parish-wide study of Mediator's "Unbinding the Gospel" project were announced. They will begin in the fall, one on Monday mornings, led by Patricia G, and the other on Thursday evenings, led by Maria. The following activities to this coursework will take place during the Lenten season of 2011. Further details will be forthcoming.
Treasurer's Report
I am happy to say that during the first half of the year pledged income was steady and as a result we are up to date with our diocesan assessment and acceptance payments, which is one of our larger expenses. I thank all our parishioners for all your contributions through this year that has made this happen. It's during the summer months that income tends to drop and budgeting becomes a challenge. Vacations and various activities keep parishioners away from church and pledges are slow in coming. I am requesting our parishioners to help us keep our income steady by mailing in pledges if you are unable to attend church on any given Sunday. We are blessed to have Bill Korp as our bookkeeper and Jo Trepagnier as our office manager, they are both constantly on the watch to reduce expenses, which helps our bottom line.
Even with a bad economy our church has so far maintained a balanced budget and hopefully will continue on the right track through the second half of the year.
Prayerfully submitted, Bina V, Treasurer