Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis
Board of Directors Minutes
July 21, 2015
I.
Call To Order
a. Establish Quorum – Present-Brooke Holloway, Jennifer Elam-Harthcock, Linda Mudd,
Sandy Smiljanich, Rev. Wes Mullins, Tim Moffitt, Gerry Humphreys, Tommy Lawless,
Bruce Wessler
Also present-Toni Smith, Cheryl Stockton
b. Make adjustments to agenda-Continuing business “b” time line for Informational Forum
c. Adjustments to and approval of last month’s minutes- We did not have a meeting in
June as we had a work day that week and were consumed by Seeds to Branches.
Motion 15-0701 Bruce Wessler moved to accept the May minutes
Second-Gerry Humphreys
Approved
II.
Devotional
a. July 21 – Jenifer Elam-Harthcock read from -“God’s Calling” daily meditations-The way of
praise. The way to move mountains is through praise. A second reading from the book
of Isaiah reflected on the subject of resting as a means of demonstrating trust in God. If
by resting we put everything in God’s hands we will be saved.
b. Aug 18 – Linda
c. Sept 15 – Wes
d. Oct 20 – Bruce
e. Nov 17 – Tim
f. Dec 15 - Brooke
g. Jan 19 – Gerry
h. Feb 16 – Tommy
i. Mar 15 - Sandy
III. New Business / Decision Items
a. Affirm vote from Executive Session 5/19/15 – Board Vacancy
Bruce Wessler moved to affirm the vote previously taken at the June Board workday to
accept Brooke Holloway as a replacement board member for Patrick Connaughton until
the February Congregational Meeting. That motion was previously seconded by Tim
Moffitt and was approved by the board.
b. Affirm email vote on 5/22/15 to establish separate bank account – Seeds to Branches
c. Counting Team Procedures – Proposed amendment to SOPP’s The proposed SOOPP
change is to “13.4 “as follows:
A Board member and a volunteer will pick up the offering immediately following
the collection. The Board member will secure the funds in the safe while the
volunteer is present.
Discussion-This makes clear what exactly should be done when the offering is brought
up to the counting room. The change is to put it in the safe in order to make the
offering secure.
Motion 15-0702 Sandy Smiljanich moved to accept the SOPP change
Second-Linda Mudd
Approved
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d. LGBT St. Louis History @ MO History Museum
Discussion-Wes was approached by a representative of the MO History Museum for
MCC to share the information that we have of the history of this church for a future
display at the museum. The information is located in a file cabinet and on CD’s. Wes
suggested that we allow the history museum to go through the information. We then
request them to show us what they are going to put into the display. Cheryl Stockton
said that she, Elaine Lopez, Bettye Babb, Jackie McNeil have a handle on church history.
Cheryl Stockton said we should keep the originals and allow them to make copies. Wes
said it would be a good idea to use our church people/committee and work in tandem
with them. There was concern to contact people who are in the photos/history for
approval.
Motion 15-0703 Bruce Wessler moved to make an initial appointment with the
representative of the History Museum to meet with the committee. The board
empowers this committee to review and assist them in making key decisions. The
people to be approached as committee members are Cheryl Stockton, Elaine Lopez,
Bettye Babb, and Jackie McNeil
Second-Sandy Smiljanich
Approved
e. Support for the Golf tournament on 8/29/15
1) Sign up a team of golfers
2) Sign up a tournament sponsor
3) Garner an auction item
4) Get an ad for the program book
5) Get goody bag items
6) Get a table of people to attend the dinner only.
6) Donate water, soda, wine, and/or snacks.
Discussion- Bruce encouraged the board to support this event. He discussed all the
options. Jenifer Elam-Harthcock is collecting $37.50 from each board member for the
sponsorship of a hole.
Vicky Stricklin has noted that they also need 70 golf ball sleeves and snacks for the
goody bags. It would be good if the board could help with this.
IV. Continuing Business
a. Fund-raiser for 2016 General Conference (see Lay Delegates Report)
Discussion-Cheryl Stockton and Toni Smith reported that Drag Bingo is so complicated
that it has been scrapped. There are so many pieces to planning a big event that they
are back to square one in the planning. The target is to raise $5,000 for sending lay
delegates to the 2016 conference. A Halloween dance/fundraiser was discussed at
length. It was decided that Toni and Cheryl are going to do some research to have
comedian Vicky Shaw come some time in November.
b. Time line for fall Informational Forum
Discussion-Bruce Wessler stated that the goal is to keep the meeting to an hour so we
do not run into Glory to Glory’s service. Report Financials and Seeds to Branches using
power point to make it efficient. Lay Delegates were instructed to keep their report
simple. They are to emphasize the need for donated air miles to cut costs. Building
Maintenance will report the formation of a Landscaping Team and the installation of
sound proofing in the chapel. Wes suggested that Seeds to Branches and Preview of
2016 be put together.
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V. Clerk Reports – Membership-Sandy Smiljanich
Membership Report
On the June 20th Board of Directors workday there were 71 people identified that needed to be
consider for membership following the Bylaw guidelines. Of those we divided them into the following
groups:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Members to be removed without contact (18)
Members to receive a letter moving them to inactive status (16)
Members to receive a letter moving them to associate membership status. (8)
Members to be called by a board member, and if no contact a letter will be sent advising them
that they will be moved to inactive status. (29)
Discussion-Board members are going to email the results to Sandy Smiljanich by this Sunday
She will the direct Christne White to proceed with sending letters of membership status. It
is important to get the membership number accurate.
V. Treasures Report – Gerry Humphreys (see Financials)
Discussion- Gerry reported that January thru June tithes and offerings were at 98.5 percent
of budget. Tithes are down a little bite over the summer. Seeds to Branches is at $120,000
and will soon be at $210,000 as a large donation is forth coming. There is now $44,000 in
the General Fund as Trivia money has been transferred there. The Restricted Fund is now
$15,000. All golf money will be put into the restricted fund. New accounts are being
created in order stream line the financials. Gerry passed out the audit and management
reports. He suggested that we look over the audit. Gerry is going to talk with the
accountant prior to sending the audit.
Motion- 15-0704 Linda Mudd moved to approve the audit subject to input from Guy Couch,
the accountant, and review of the board.
Second-Sandy Smiljanich
Approved
Opposed- Tim Moffitt
Motion 15 – 0705 Bruce Wessler moved to approve the Treasure Report.
Second-Linda Mudd
Approved
VI. Other Reports (as follows)
a. Pastor’s Report – Rev. Wes Mullins
b. Lay Delegates – Toni Smith, Cheryl Stockton, Carole Ward
c. Counting Team – Linda Mudd
d. Stewardship – Tommy Lawless
e. Business Maintenance Team – Tommy Lawless, Sandy Smiljanich , Tim Moffitt
f. Nominations – Jenifer Elam-Harthcock
May-July Senior Pastor Report
Chapel Repair Updates
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I happy to report that the chapel work is complete! We will be sending our final payment (for
acoustical panel installation charge) in the coming week.
Staffing
Brian Sieve has been selected as our seminary intern for the coming year. As you know, we are
his sponsoring congregation for MCC ordination. He will begin his work on or around Sept. 15.
Staff Retreat
The entire staff (including Brian Sieve) will again go away for a one-week planning retreat. Toni
Smith has graciously offered her place at Innsbrook to us again this year. We will be away
following service on Sunday, July 26th through Wednesday the 29th.
Worship
There has been a lot of activity in the worship arena since we my last report! The Seeds to
Branches pledge Sunday and the Seeds “Big Give Sunday,” the Interfaith Pride Service, the
anointing of our 2015-2016 Ministry Leaders on Pentecost, Family Day, and much more. All of
these services went very well, and I was quite pleased. We did have some members upset by
some of the other faith voices in the Interfaith Service, and we did our best to use this as a
teachable moment about the diversity of other faith communities in our city.
Looking forward, after our current series on the tenets of Progressive Christianity, we will be
ending the 2015 Christian year with a couple more series this Fall including one very fun series
on “The Faith We Sing,” which will be a fun partnership between me and the music ministry.
Worship Attendance
I have noticed a dip in worship attendance, and I am watching that carefully at this time. In may
simply be due to summer vacations, but I want to be diligent in monitoring if anything more is
going on there. I will keep you abreast of anything I notice.
Events & Programming
The Summer Programming has gone very well so far, and we are just over halfway through the
cycle. Our participation numbers may have slipped a bit compared to last summer, but we will
wait and see how that shakes out after the cycle has completed. One thing we do know is that
our participation from the men in the church is pretty abysmal. This is not new, but something
we have noticed and begun tracking. One thing we are going to do to address this in the Fall is
that I will be leading a Men’s Retreat designed to better engage with our men.
Pride
The pride season is nearly over. We have one event left which is Black Pride, coming up in just
about a month. The team has done a great job, and I encourage you to thank them for stepping
up so significantly this year to be present at four different weekends of Pride events.
Seed to Branches Capital Campaign God Thing
Seeds to Branches continues to be a true God Thing! We will see the financials in the meeting
and discuss them at length, but I estimate that by the end of the month (or certainly by August
15th) we will already have collected over $200,000. We could be well on our way to retiring the
IFF loan within the first six months to a year of this campaign! This represents a huge savings in
interest payments as well as the possibility of not having to do the annual audit for IFF next
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year (which would save an additional 8-10K). If we are able to pay off the IFF loan, we will move
to an every-other-year audit schedule.
Upcoming Time Away
Sunday, July 26-Wednesday, July 29: Staff Retreat
As mentioned above, we will once again take a partial week to brainstorm and plan worship
and programming goals for the coming year. We will not miss worship for this trip.
Friday, July 31-Sunday, August 2: Wedding
I will be in Florida to perform the wedding of church members, Laura Morrison and Laura
Adams. I will miss our worship service because of this trip.
Sunday, August 9-Wednesday, August 12: Indianapolis
I will travel with Kevin for a work trip to Indianapolis. Part of this time will be a vacation, but I
will also be meeting with the leader of their Family Ministry to get some practical guidance for
the program we will build here. I will not miss worship here for this trip.
Saturday, October 3-Sunday, October 4: Exodus MCC Anniversary, Abilene, TX
I have been invited back to my original MCC congregation for their 35 th Anniversary and the 10th
Anniversary of my ordination. I will speak at their anniversary event and during worship on
Sunday. Obviously, this will cause me to miss worship here at MCCGSL that day.
Tuesday, October 20-Monday, October 27: Vacation
Kevin and I will be taking a trip back to my hometown in the Smokey Mountains to see the Fall
foliage. I will miss one Sunday during this vacation.
Respectfully Submitted in Service to MCCGSL,
Rev. Wes Mullins

 Lay Delegates
The following report was received on 6/9/15
LAY DELEGATES REPORT ON CONFERENCE EXPENSES for 2016:
Lay Delegates met with Tim Moffitt re: possible October 17th (date is reserved on church calendar - by
Pastor Wes) ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (and fundraiser) ----- e.g. "Big Wig Bingo".
Tim M will be sourcing a couple folks to be Master of Ceremonies and conduct the bingo activities....who
can get licensed. If no one is available, who is already licensed -- and assuming we are allowed to use
someone who's licensed by a different organization, then Cheryl/Toni will pursue submitting for a
license application to the State. He also has found out that we can register (license) our own folks for
about $25.00. So, we may be able to utilize one of the Drag Queens from our congregation and go
ahead with the applying for our own license. (takes approx. 90 days to get answer)
The Lay Delegates will arrange for the workers and the space (our building) for the event; and will
create a plan for promoting the event. Upfront costs could approximate $400 or so, so we have to rent
the equipment from an authorized vendor, etc., but maybe we could solicit a sponsor to fund these
upfront expenses. ???? Toni S will talk with the Trivia folks as this event will be organized and run in a
similar fashion. Carole will look into creating some PR and advertising, e.g." save the date", graphics and
artwork.
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The expectation/hope is to Net $3,000 (maybe more!) from the event. This is based upon an attendance
of 100-plus people. A possible second event during the early part of 2016 could possibly allow us to
earn an additional amount (to get us to our $5,000 goal).
We briefly discussed doing something other than Bingo, that would require less upfront costs and less
rules and regs, but decided that the Bingo would bring in the most participants. Part of our goal at this
event will be to introduce new people to our church and our mission......and to celebrate our 42 years in
Saint Louis.
We'll be meeting with Tim again after the June Board meeting and then would like to meet with Pastor
Wes and someone from the Board so we can look at all the legal and financial requirements, etc.
Assuming that we get everything compiled that is need for an application and get it submitted before
the end of June, that should allow us time to get the "okay" from the State.
 Counting Team
New member Michael Eastman has been added to the counting team replacing Tonia Zellmer.
 Stewardship / Generous Expressions Ministry
Tommy attended the June 9th Meeting. The team reviewed The GEM the quarterly update. Set next
meeting to get quarterly statements and newsletter ready for early July distribution. They talked about
recruiting more people to serve on the team. We will gather names for next meeting. The team talked
about how the team can use the offering time to encourage peoples to give of their time and treasure.

Building Maintenance Team
1. The BMT had a meeting and walk through the building pointing out issues that need attention. We
also talked about the use of space and how to use it better to make more room for our growing
needs.
2. Visual Arts painted the back wall on the alter
3. The wall in the women's bathroom were the electrical hand dryer was installed has been repainted
4. The sound panels have been installed in the chapel. Thank you to Rev Wes and all that worked on
this project.
Ongoing list of major jobs that need to be completed:
1.
Rewire lighting in the kitchen
2.
Install hail guards on air conditioners
3.
Cleaning carpeting
4.
Replace lights that are out in sanctuary
5.
Painting of awning
6.
Painting 2 north exterior walls
7.
Overall electrical check/update
Sandy reported that she is holding off on talking to Terri Ward about the tiles in the Fellowship Hall.
Terri is doing extensive IT work for the church. We do not want to overwhelm her with request for
services at this time
 Nominations Panel Report
Jenifer and Sandy went over the duties briefly last time they met and she has a confirmation from Frieda
to be on committee. She plans to get with Frieda in the next week or so. They have several potential
candidates to approach for participation on the panel.
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Motion 15-0706 Bruce Wessler moved to accept all of the report
Second Linda Mudd
Approved
VII. Review Action Items from this meeting
1. Every board member is to contact Gerry Humpreys concerning the audit
2. Every board member is going to send an email to Sandy with an update of membership phone
calls.
3. Each board member is going to give $37.50 to sponsor a hole for the golf tournament
4. The lay delegates will report back with their plans for their fundraiser
Important upcoming dates:
September 20, Informational Forum
January 17 Programming Magazine Release
January 24, Board Candidate Forum
January 31, Program Launch (Fat Sunday Brunch)
February 14, Informational Forum
February 28, Congregational Meeting
VIII. Prayer Requests and Closing Prayer
IX. Adjourn
Motions 15-0707 Bruce Wessler moved to close the meeting
Seconded – Tommy Lawless
Approved
X. FYI ONLY: List of Ongoing Board Assignments
a. Building Maintenance Team – Tommy Lawless, Tim Moffitt, Sandy Smiljanich, Gerry
Humphreys
b. Clerk/Record Keeping and logistics – Sandy Smiljanich
c. Counting Team Manager – Linda Mudd
d. Finance Committee Liaison – Gerry Humphreys
e. Moderator – Rev. Wes Mullins
f. Nominating Committee Liaison – Jenifer Elam-Harthcock
g. Stewardship and Giving Team Liaison – Tommy Lawless
h. Treasurer/Financial Oversight – Gerry Humphrey
i. Vice Moderator – Bruce Wessler
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