Church Council Meeting - December 12, 2001

Tony Unger called the Church Council Meeting for December 12, 2001 to order at 7:40 PM in the Shelton Congregational Church Library. The meeting opened with a prayer offered by the Rev. Greg Schmidt. A quorum [6] was met.

The minutes from the November 25, 2001 Special Meeting were reviewed. Two corrections were noted: 1. The next meeting would be December 12th not the 14th. 2. Bill Barker did not decline the offer of Ch. Mgr. but felt he had more to offer as Asst. CH. Mgr. He did not rule out the possibility of assuming the position of CH. Mgr. Minutes were then accepted as amended.

Minister - [Rev. Greg Schmidt] Greg reported that there would be a Christmas Eve service at 7: PM. The Senior Youth Group would be participating in this service. The New Years Eve Service would be held on Dec. 31. A Pot Luck dinner is scheduled at 10:30 PM and the Worship Service at 11:30 PM. The theme will be Peace and Hope. The church caroling will be Dec. 16 at 6:30 PM. Pizza will be served afterwards.

Treasurer - [ Bruce Nichols ] During the month of November the church had expenses of $ 7,945.25 and income of $4,034.28 for a net deficit of $3,910.97. Year to date income has been $90,220.89 while expenses have totaled $109,579.08 yielding a year to date deficit of $19,358.19. Pledge income of November continued to be on the low end of usual monthly receipts. The net worth of the church at the end of November was $324,977.51, down $980.66 from the previous month.

Deacons - [Gene Ogden] No report.

Christian Education - [ Betty Ogden] Betty reported that the church pageant will be held on December 23 after church services. Also, Tony Unger has volunteered to give a children's sermon during the service on December 30th.

Women's Fellowship - [ Lucille Wells ] No report.

Outreach - [ Lesley Barker] No report.

Trustees - [ Bill Barker] Bill reported Trustees have approved the replacement of the furnace. Bids were received from two vendors. The bid of $5,625.00 from Cole Heating was the lowest bid. The furnace would be 377 BTU's, about 1/2 the size of the present furnace, but would be more efficient. The cost for the furnace could happen in 2001 or 2002 depending on when the actual work is done. We would like it to be in the 2001 budget if possible because of the proposed deficit in next year's budget. Also needing to be addressed is the water leak off the furnace and bids to replace the pipe that runs the length of the building to the bathrooms. Bill also reported that the Sanctuary painting is 95 % completed. The committee has been waiting on bids from a company in Hartford on the pew repair. While moving pews for painting, Greg and Bruce have repaired one of the pews.

Membership - [ Lois Sutter] No report.

Stewardship - Tony reported that letters have been sent out. A handful of responses have been received.

Personnel - [Glenn Wells] Glenn reported that he has not heard from Sue concerning the employee contracts. The new custodial services person is now Chris Hasiotis. A discussion was held as to how this position appears in the budget. Now that this service is contractual and not employee, a change should be made as to how it appears in the budget. Bruce suggested that the position be moved out of Personnel to the Trustee Committee in the budget.

Nominating - Kathey DeMarco reported that a position is open on Stewardship, Trustees, Membership, and Church Manager.

New Business:

1. It was moved that the custodial position under Personnel be renamed Custodial Services and the budget item placed under Trustees as a maintenance item. Under the bylaws, personnel is responsible for providing the services and trustees are responsible for setting the work. It was decided that the position could be moved to trustees without a bylaw change. The motion was seconded and passed. Then Greg asked that the control of Custodial Services be given to Trustees. This "Friendly Amendment" was then seconded.

2. Bill Barker moved that the budget be accepted as presented with a footnote at the end stating that because of added expenses, the budget is not finalized. Motion was seconded and passed. AIF

3. Bill Barker moved to affirm the Trustees vote to purchase a new furnace. The motion was seconded and passed. AIF

4. Greg Schmidt moved that church council authorize an opportunity for the church membership to contribute to the new furnace. This would be a special envelope, to be included in the January Newsletter. The motion was seconded and passed. AIF

5. A motion was made that the theme for 2002 would be Uniting in Faith. The motion was seconded and passed. AIF

The next council meeting will be held January 16, 2002 in the Shelton Congregational Church Library. Rev. Dr. Greg Schmidt then led the council in saying The Lord's Prayer. The meeting was then adjourned at 9 PM.

Respectfully Submitted
Betty Ogden