Vestry Minutes
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
November 24, 2014
Present: The Rev. Whitney Altopp, Sarah Blandford, Giustino Capodilupo, Bob Keyes, Elizabeth Lyons,
Lori Marks, Martha Morris, Bill Murrell, Michael Ryan, Lori Seibert, Eliza Shanley, Logan Snow, Nancy
Tortora, and Lauren Van Meter
Absent: Ken Vivian
Devotions were led by Sarah Blandford, who read a passage relevant to our life at St. Stephen’s from
“The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice,” by
Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling.
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Agenda Review – An addition if there’s time: Alerting parish community when deaths occur
in one’s family.
Approval of Minutes – The minutes had one correction under the Finance Committee
report: The $300,000 of capital work that needs to be done is for 2015 alone. After this
correction, Lauren Van Meter moved that the minutes be accepted. Logan Snow seconded.
All present voted to approve.
Calendar/Upcoming Events: The Parish Budget Forum on Jan. 18th should be added. A
special meeting to approve the budget is tentatively set for Jan. 12th at 7:30 pm.
Treasurer’s Report: Presented by Elizabeth Lyons. Summary – we are behind on pledge, but
still confident that we’ll get $100,000 in to get to the $460,000 that was pledged. The
change in other income ($7600) is from the $15,000 that still needs to be moved over from
other funds. Expenses – over on lease of copier due to volume. Telephone is also over.
Credit Card processing fee is over. There was discussion about how to lower the credit card
processing fee. Kay could include note in quarterly and year-end statements that the church
would save $3000 if people do direct debit instead of credit card. A statement to this effect
could be put in Sunday announcements. Repairs were over last month by $5,000 due to
repairs, miscellaneous items (lock install, etc.). Grounds was over mostly due to tree work.
Property Committee Meeting – they will discuss specific options for capital work for next
year as to what to include in the budget, make a priority list, and give specific
recommendations. Grants can be looked into as St. Stephen’s is an historical building, part
of Main Street, etc. Nursery School Report – Elizabeth and Bill will get together to match
numbers and give a report. Mike Ryan moved that the Treasurer’s Report be accepted. Lori
Seibert seconded the motion. All present voted to approve.
Stewardship Update: 125 families have pledged for $353,789.20 as of Nov. 24th. This
includes 8 who are new to pledging. 46 families have increased their pledge. If pledges
continue in this way, we’ll be $20,000 short of our goal of approximately $471,000. The
Stewardship Committee noted that we need to have a balanced budget (using not more
than 4.5% of endowment) in order to proceed with planned giving. A letter should be sent
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soon to families who have not yet paid their pledge for 2014. At the beginning of the new
year, a letter will be sent to people who pledged in 2014 and not yet in 2015. A reminder of
pledging should be placed in announcements, with a chart on where we are. In addition,
Eliza will talk to Kay about an email-friendly way for people to respond and pledge. It was
noted that Karin Fallon has been doing excellent work leading stewardship this year.
Rector’s Report – distributed previously. Some of the discussion included the following:
1. Staff to replace Sue Riley – How best to replace the position of Membership and Youth
and Family Administrator was discussed. Hiring a communications person, perhaps a
high school student, is being considered.
2. Sarah Moden-Alliston’s Work – A strategic plan has been developed for the work of
Youth and Family Ministry, in response to the Youth and Family Ministry Survey of this
summer. Concerns and questions about various programs should be brought to Sarah’s
attention.
3. Sabbatical Plans: Whitney’s sabbatical will be three-months long, taking place in 2016.
The application is due in Spring of 2015. An update at the December meeting will
include how the sabbatical will affect St. Stephen’s.
4. Executive Committee: Eliza Shanley will replace Mike Ryan as Senior Warden. Elizabeth
Lyons will come off as Treasurer. Logan Snow is coming off of vestry and as assistant
treasurer. Elizabeth will stay available for Kay, however, and help with the new
reporting process.
Warden’s Report – previously distributed.
1. South Hall: The potential South Hall tenant has decided to proceed with an alternate
location. The vestry will evaluate whether or not we should market a portion of South
Hall for lease to supplement our parish income.
2. North Hall Kitchen Update: Lori Seibert reported that for $13,000 a new oven and range
can be purchased, including installation, and disposal of the old unit. She made the
following motion:
“The vestry authorizes no more than $13,000 to be taken from the Memorial Fund,
$3,000 of which is already designated for an oven in Erik Carlson’s name, to replace the
stove and ovens.” Bob Keyes seconded the motion. All present voted to approve the
motion.
3. Use of funds for community dinners: Lauren Van Meter made the following motion:
“All net proceeds from the 2014 Community Dinner program shall be donated on behalf
of St. Stephen’s to a feeding ministry program, and the Mission Committee will be
tasked with identifying the recipient/function to receive the donation. “ Bill Murrell
seconded. All but Bob Keyes voted in favor of the motion. Bob opposed the motion due
to wanting to use funds as seed money for the next round of community dinners.
4. A notification regarding death of family members of parishioners should be
communicated via emails, just like when a parishioner dies. This notification should be
put in announcements and on Constant Contact at the family’s request.
5. Nutmeg Disbursal: The Mission Committee did research on the recipients of the prior
year’s funds, and made some slight changes from last year according to their research.
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Nancy Tortora made a motion to approve the suggested allocation of mission funds.
Lori Seibert seconded the motion. All present voted to approve the motion.
Reflections on Bishop’s Visit – Eliza Shanley led a discussion on reflections on the Bishop’s
visit. Some of the reflections were that we can reimagine ourselves as St. Stephen’s, that
the greater Episcopal community out there is trying to do similar things, that we are ahead
of the curve in Connecticut, and that we should make use of the Canons who are available
for help from the Diocese. We should focus on God’s plan, not the Church’s plan.
Resource Requirements – The vestry shared individual thoughts on the need of St. Stephen’s
Church for additional resources to fully live up to our mission of “Live the Word of God and
Pass It On.” These thoughts centered on the questions of how to provide additional
resources, whether or not a withdrawal from the endowment should be used to invest in
new staff, and how the vestry should proceed on this topic. The vestry is invited to send
thoughts on paper to Mike Ryan.
Parish concerns and thanksgivings were shared.
The Meeting adjourned at 10:30 with a prayer led by Whitney Altopp.
Next Vestry Meeting: December 15th at 7:30 p.m.