Five Rivers District Leadership Team Meeting
June 12th, 2009
Group:
The Five Rivers District Leadership Team
Date:
Thursday, June 12th
Place:
Ottawa 1st United Methodist Church
Members present:
Richard Croll District Lay Leader, David Wasserfallen District Director of Lay Speaking
Ministries, Dr. Felix Burrows District Program Coordinator, Marvé Ralston District
Communications, and Rev. Ronald King District Superintendent.
Members absent:
Mary Brooks, Creighton Alexander, Nikki Alexander, Eva Durand, Kevin Symes, Mary
Margaret Rowen, Tom Brady
Agenda
Our role as a District Leadership Team
There was discussion about how we can best carry out the new district mission to Cultivate
Christian Growth. This is to be discussed in more detail at the next meeting. Some qualities
mentioned were radical Christian hospitality, enabling the local churches with growth and
spirituality and providing leadership in a way that cultivates Christian growth.
Each team member has been asked to reflecting on how they can encourage the mission of
the district through their role on the leadership team.
2009 Strategy
How do we establish a strategy that we can measure our district goals? What are our district
goals? What is each of us is supposed to do to provide district leadership and what needs to
be done corporately (how do we connect the dots of district ministry)? These will be
addressed in more detail in the next meetings.
Financial Report
The budget for 2008 and 2009 was passed out. Much discussion centered around 2009
planning. The budget for 2009 has been cut from the proposed 21, 500 requested, and
reduced from the motion of annual conference to restore the 2009 budget from $5000 AC
recommendation to $19,250 2008 approved budget. A motion on AC floor reduced the
budget to 15,500. There was discussion about how to decrease the budget line items to adjust
for the 20% decrease. Reallocation of the 2009 approved budget will be discussed and
presented at the next meeting.
A summary of apportionment payments for 2007 was handed out. It listed the East
Conference Districts church apportionment payouts. Five Rivers came in fourth paying
85.66% of 2007 apportionments.
The report indicates that there are several good things happened in 2007 in our district that
needed mention. Of the 74 churches in the district, six churches paid more than 100% of
their apportionments, another 50% of our churches paid 100% of their apportionments and
only two churches did not pay any of their apportionments (one of these is LaHarpe that
closed last year.) Overall, that,means that better than 2/3 of the churches on the Five Rivers
District are paying their total apportionment amounts.
Five Rivers District Leadership Team Meeting
June 12th, 2009
As of May 31st, Five Rivers is currently at 28.9% of apportionment payments which is .6%
higher than they were at this time last year.
Wesley Share Plan
The Wesley Share Plan has been launched. More envelopes are to be ordered and mailed
out for the second call of the plan. We do not have the numbers back yet with specifics
of how much has been collected for the plan to date (they have since come in. The first
call netted $877.00). More information will be given with the new envelopes that will
help clarify the plan.
Questions have been raised about whether churches who haven’t been paying their
apportionments in full will get credit for their apportionments if they send in money to
the Wesley Share Plan. A question and answer segment in an email of the Wesley Share
Update is intended to clarify this and churches might pay their total apportionments and
participate in the Wesley Share Plan as well.
Programming
We discussed programming for the months to come. Rev. King was informed at annual
conference by Brenda David, the new East Conference Youth Coordinator, that we have the
only active DCYM in the Kansas East Conference. There is a DCYM planning meeting
scheduled on Thursday, June 26th at Lawrence 1st west campus. It has been widely advertised
and a good turnout is anticipated. A DCYM Fall Rally is planned for September 5th and 6th at
Lawrence First West Campus.
District Lay Leader Richard Croll and Rev. Felix Burrows will be contacting Carol Krau of
GBoD concerning a request to facilitate a workshop in October for clergy and lay leaders.
She is on leave until July 1st so we are waiting for her reply. Other programming discussed
might include a District wide Walk to Emmaus (similar to Twelve Stations of the Cross).
The District Conference date has been tentatively set for April 4, 2009. Dr. Felix Burrows
and the District Programming Committee will be working with Rev. King to plan the District
Conference. Ways to make District Conference more inclusive of all the District committees
was discussed and ways to improve it were given. The main area of concern was the
business session and how it might be more informative. Rev. King’s exit service was
discussed for 2009 but not announced. Pam Rice, the chair of the Committee on District
Superintendency will present that information.
The next scheduled meeting is Thursday, September 25, 2008. The place will be announced..
David Wasserfallen led a closing prayer and the meeting was adjourned.