St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Annual Parish Meeting Minutes January 10, 2016 12:00 Noon Fr. Jeff Hammond opened the meeting with a prayer from the BCP p. 836. A quorum was established by the attendance which was approximately 104 members. Fr. Jeff also provided a church calendar for the 2016 year. Jim Spruiell, outgoing Senior Warden, called the meeting to order. The minutes from the 2014 Annual Parish Meeting (see attachment) were approved by a motion from Bob Drury and seconded by Sandy Wuest. The motion carried. Vestry elections were conducted by Jim Spruiell who asked for nominations from the floor and none were received. On the ballot were 5 nominees: Julie Alvarez, Elizabeth Loggie, Frances Money, John Sumners, and Bill Snyder. Jim thanked each one for their willingness to serve. The ballot required voting members to select three (3). Ballots were gathered by current vestry members and outgoing vestry members counted the votes. During the time the ballots were being counted, Fr. Jeff discussed the Annual Diocesan Council Meeting and that St. Barnabas is eligible to take 6 voting delegates to the council meeting, which will be held February 18-20, 2016 at the McAllen Convention Center, and as many alternates as wanted. Fr. Jeff asked that we ratify the 6 delegates who are: Jimmy and Beth Davis, Johnny and Debbie Gorden, Carl and Vickie Luckenbach, and Bill Burns as the alternate. Morey Weldon made the motion to ratify the above people and Bud Parrish seconded the motion: the motion carried. Fr. Jeff continued with Committee Reports by first of all naming the staff and thanking all of them for their service and dedication to St. Barnabas. In his report, Fr. Jeff mentioned the chair of each committee and thanked all the committee members for their work. The committees are: Audit, CORE, Columbarium, Endowment, Finance, Ordination Discernment, Outreach, and Stewardship. Fr. Jeff explained that committee members serve and 3 year term and are rotated off. *Note: See attachment for committees Johnny Gorden reported that the Columbarium Committee has 48 slots and the singles are $1,050 and doubles are $2,000. Lorri Kendrick reported that there is approximately $130,000 in the Endowment Fund and that if someone wants to make a sizeable gift that does not go into the general fund then this fund
allows this. This is a tool for making a tax deductible gift. Lorri also stated that a $4,000 grant was just given for a water well. Ric McCormick is chair of the Finance Committee and will present the 2016 budget at a later time during the meeting. Ordination Discernment Committee for Jimmy Davis, who is considering becoming a priest, is in this process with two people who are not members of our church community members also on this committee. The Outreach Committee has some funds that are in the budget and other funds come from gifts. The Outreach Committee has made a gift of $10,000 to the Texas Water Ministry that vestry member David Spencer is involved with and made a presentation to the committee. The Stewardship Committee is chaired by Bill Burns and stewardship for the church is a continuous activity. *Note: See attachment for Committees and Membership Election results were announced by Jim Spruiell, outgoing Senior Warden. New vestry members are: Julie Alvarez, Frances Money, and John Sumners. Fr. Jeff next honored the outgoing vestry members who are Margaret Hawn, Jack Kendrick, and Jim Spruiell. The Budget Presentation was made by Ric McCormick, Treasurer. Ric reported that we had a surplus of approximately $59,000 at the end of the year. His highlights of the year were in the following funds: Outreach, Endowment, MMO (which ended up in the black for the first time), and that there is three months of operating expenses in the bank. He also reported that 133 families pledged (5 more than the previous year); 52 pledges of the 133 increased their pledges; there were 29 new pledges and that the average pledge was $2,800. Ric continued his report that for 2016 there would be a 3.5% salary increase for all staff, salary for an assistant rector, and that Rachael Cole, Parish Administrator, will increase her hours for the next year. The 2016 budget shows a $13,000 deficit but we will probably cover it since the budget is conservative. We will use our surplus if we need to. Ric encouraged someone else to serve on the Finance Committee since another person is needed on that committee. He also reported that the Audit Committee needs some more people to serve and help with the audit. Mike Massengale, who represents the Men’s Breakfast Group, at this time gave their annual gift to the parish.
Tom Karner asked Ric to clarify the surplus amount, which was $49,000 rather than $59,000, which was a typo and that funds were transferred from several line items. *Note: See Financial/Budget Handout Fr. Jeff thanked Ric for his expertise and exceptional hard work. The entire parish members present applauded Ric for his work. Next the parish saw the Memoriam video. Those who have passed away included: “CC” Gibbons, Tom Hutchins, Dahmen Brown, Wheeler Annen, Ernest Leef Miller, Jr., Elena “Christine” Hayden, William “Bill” Augustus Wareing, Jr., Ginny Walker, and Gene Schmid. A video showing St. Barnabas Highlights included: Special Events, Guest Speakers, Special Projects, Ministries, Youth Activities, and Special Services. Fr. Jeff thanked Rachael for her work on the video presentations. The Rector’s Report was given by Fr. Jeff. He emphasized that generosity is lived out at St. Barnabas. He gave a special thanks to Barclay, his wife, for her love and support. Fr. Jeff is excited about the upcoming new year. Special thanks was given to the Staff: Rachael, Carol, Sue, and Steve. He thanked the retired clergy: Dyana, Annie, and Tom. Then Fr. Jeff read a text from Fr. Bur, the new assistant rector. Together the two of them want to bring a deepening experience to people. They want to facilitate intimacy with God and each other. Fr. Jeff honored with great appreciation Morey Weldon, Pat McCormick, and Marilee Pankratz for their time and talents with each of their loving service to St. Barnabas. Fr. Jeff announced the new Senior Warden, Vickie Luckenbach, and asked her to say a few words. The Annual Parish Meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Vickie Luckenbach, Secretary 1/10/2016