Minutes of the Annual Parish Meeting - January 2017

Saint John’s Cathedral 2017, the 156th Annual Meeting Minutes January 29, 2017 Interim Dean Ron Pogue called the meeting to order at 11:35 AM. Fr. Pogue briefly introduced the clergy, the Cathedral’s staff, and the Vestry. He gave particular thanks to Suni Devitt and Judy Allison for their work on the Cathedral’s physical plant this past year.

Canon Charles LaFond gave an opening prayer.

Senior Warden Tom Keyse declared that quorum existed. He appointed David Abbott clerk for the meeting and Michelle Vieira, Mike Koechner, and Matthew Henderson to be the Teller Committee for the election.

Minutes of the 2015 and 2016 Annual Meetings: Senior Warden Tom Keyse noted that two amendments were proposed for the 2016 minutes, which he read. A motion was made and approved to accept the minutes for both the 2015 minutes and the 2016 minutes as amended without reading.

Vestry Election: Fr. Pogue introduced and thanked retiring Vestry Members David Abbott, Tamra d’Estrée, and Michael McCall for their service. Jack Denman is running for another term on the Vestry. Tom Keyse then introduced the nominees standing for election: Tom Keyse, appointed Senior Warden by the Interim Dean; Amy Davis for Junior Warden; and Jennifer Allen, Leo Carosella, Kathleen DeMars, Jack Denman, John Grier, Laurie MacArthur, Rebecca Richardson, Priscilla Shand, Michael Vente, and Don Wood for positions on the Vestry.

Those who had not previously voted were asked to fill out ballots and turn them in. Voting for the new Vestry members closed as all the ballots were collected by the Tellers.

Dean Search Update: Tom Keyse provided an update on the dean search. He reviewed the work of the Profile and Interview Committees during the past year. The Interview Committee recommended three candidates to the Vestry on January 17, 2017. Keyse emphasized that information about the candidates was being kept confidential because at least two of them will not be called and will continue to serve their present parishes.

Cathedral Budget and Finances: Andrew Britton, past Treasurer, reviewed the budgets for 2015 and 2016. We embarked on a strategic growth initiative in 2012 and expanded our clergy in 2013.

While we were aware of the costs of the increased headcount, changes in the labor market surprised everyone with significant increases in health insurance and retirement costs that drove our expenses through the roof. While our revenue has grown under the leadership of our Canon Steward, expenses grew faster. Our mix of revenue shifted slightly, primarily due to insurance money to repair the roof. The operating expenses for 2017 are: buildings and grounds 29%, primarily due to spending on critical repairs; worship, ministry and outreach 23%; music and

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formation 16%; stewardship 6%; and communications 4%. Part of our role as the Cathedral is to be a leader in supporting the Diocese with our annual pledge which is 7% of our expenses.

In 2015, we renewed the Letters of Agreement (basically the employment agreements) with our Clergy, initiated a compensation review, created a Personnel Committee and approved a Housing Policy. We reviewed and updated our Investment and Endowment Policies and Finance Charters, created our Financial Dashboards, and began in earnest to address our Buildings and Grounds Issues.

In 2016, we formulated our five strategic initiatives and provided periodic updates. We drafted an Employee Handbook, created a priority list for deferred maintenance of the Cathedral’s physical plant, reviewed and restructured the staff reporting system, discussed ways of generating additional revenues, and conducted our annual pledge campaign.

Debt repayment and capital motions: In January the Vestry moved to have a special endowment draw to (1) extinguish existing debt and reduce the Cathedral’s line of credit, which will be retained for one year for cash flow timing needs only, (2) undertake critical repairs to our buildings, and (3) reduce our annual endowment draw from 5% to 4% by 2023 and limit the draw to actual investment funds, not property values, etc.

The following guiding principles have been adopted for our future financial health: 1. Budgets will be break-even to surplus at all times.

2. Vigilant attention to financial and related trends to identify coming issues.

3. Do not use debt financing (except for lines of credit to even out cash flows during capital campaigns only).

4. Fervent and dedicated maintenance of our physical plant.

5. Match mission and ministry to align with spending priorities.

Mary Frances Kelly, present Treasurer, noted that the Cathedral’s accounts were in a bit of a mess due to the adoption of a new system of accounts and a part-time business manager prior to the hiring of Becky Beall-Moore, who has done great work in straightening things out. Kelly reviewed both the approved 2017 budget and a balanced budget for 2017. The approved budget contains a $172,000 deficit but had to be adopted to allow the Cathedral to continue financial operation in 2017 while additional ways of balancing the budget were identified. The Challenge Campaign, begun in the end of December, seeks to raise $353,000 to balance the budget. As of January 28th, we have approximately $136,000 yet to raise.

Questions & Answers: 1. A question was asked about the differences between the adopted budget and the balanced budget. Answer: see previous paragraph.

2. Will the congregation be able to get copies of the detailed budget? Yes, with the exception of specific compensation information. Please ask Becky Beall-Moore for copies.

3. The mission plan was applauded.

4. What will be the size of the endowment after the special draw? Approximately $20 million.

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5. Are our spending priorities adequate for the new dean? All three candidates are well aware of the budgetary and spending priorities the Vestry has adopted. The clergy staff size of a dean and two canons supplemented by our volunteer deacon, Terri Colburn, and retired/ other clergy members of the congregation. The rest of the staff size is at a minimum.

6. The budgetary and spending priorities outlined above are continuing obligations. What do the dean candidates think about them? All three are aware of and support these priorities.

7. What is the amount dedicated to mission outside the Cathedral? A break-down of mission spending was provided. The Vestry included Saint John’s diocesan pledge and 1/3rd of a canon’s salary in the category of mission spending. About $90,000 from the 2017 budget has been allocated for mission work outside the walls of Saint John’s.

Concluding remarks: Tom Keyse thanked Bishop for his help and support over the past year. He also thanked Fr. Pogue for his leadership and courage.

Vestry Election Results: The following were elected to the five open Vestry positions: Jennifer Allen, Leo Carosella, Kathleen DeMars, Jack Denman, and Don Wood. Fr. Pogue thanks the Vestry nominees who were not elected for their willingness to stand for election.

Adjourned: 12:45 PM Closing Prayer: Evelyn Hornaday

Respectfully submitted, David M. Abbott, Jr. Clerk to the Vestry

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