St. Alban’s Administrative Life in the Parish
Meeting Minutes
March 14, 2010
Structure and organization:
The Bishop’s committee is an advisory committee appointed by the Vicar. It is a local creation of this diocese. If a church can’t afford to pay a full time Priest, along with benefits, then it is considered a mission church. A Vicar is the Priest and has absolute authority to make decisions. However, Mother Cathy says she rarely chooses to do this. A vestry is a parish that fully pays a Priest, plus benefits. St. Alban’s is far from this, so it is important that we operate through committees. That’s why we’ve been meeting during Sunday school so the needs could be discussed and committees created to address those needs. Mother Cathy says the Bishop’s Committee should be a clearinghouse for arranging a calendar and coordinating the work of the church.
The Deanery is a group of parishes and missions. Those present feel the southern Deanery is the most organized in this diocese. They meet three times a year.
A report from the Deanery meeting last week says the Bishop’s search is organized and moving forward. There are dozens of names of applicants and they will present 4-5 names to the standing committee by June. In depth screening will be done prior to this.
Diocesan Convention – Anyone can attend. Elected delegates vote. Retired clergy vote also, as well as retired Bishops.
Assessment - Congregations are assessed on plate/pledged/regular support, which goes in the general fund. This assessment supports the Bishop and diocesan office plus their contribution to the National church. They average the previous two years’ income and 14% of that goes to the diocesan office (one-twelfth each month). This excludes what is donated to the building fund at St. Alban’s. From 2008 to 2009 we’ve gone from @$49,000 to $38,214, a decrease of 20%. This shows how we need members to help with cleaning, etc., as we just don’t have funds. We have @ $3,000 in the bank. The roof was paid for by insurance. We now need a Finance Committee unlike we’ve had before. They need to help the congregation understand our situation. Three people contribute almost half of the money we take in. So, if anything happens to one of them we may be in financial peril. Episcopalians tend to shy away from tithing, but it works. Consider trying this, even if you start at 1%. This could make a very big difference not only to the church, but also to our own well-being.
NOTE: This finance/stewardship committee needs to write some proposals by this fall and encourage the congregation to be faithful and consistent in their giving.
Bob Wagnon has stated he would like to serve on this committee.
This discussion will be continued next week.
Submitted by,
Cathy Carleton
