Church Council Meeting - October 15, 2003

Kim Karkut called the church council meeting for October 15th, 2003 to order at 7:35 PM in the Shelton Congregational Church Library. A prayer was offered by Rev. Jean McCusker. A quorum (6) was met with 10 being present (P) and 4 being absent (A).

The minutes from the September 17th, 2003 meeting were reviewed and accepted. Kim then called on officers and chairs for their reports.

Treasurer-Bruce Nichols-In the absence of Bruce Nichols it was reported that during the month of September 2003 the church had income of $8,614.92 and expenses of $6,501.42 for a net surplus of $2,113.51. Net worth for the church at the end of September was $225,513.68, up $2,275.99 from the end of August 2003. This month’s surplus is related to a combination of increased donations and a reduction in staff expenses. There was another slight increase of $162.00 in our Fidelity holdings. At the end of the month we sold $4,000.00 worth of the Fidelity Short Term Bond Fund to build up the balance in the checkbook in preparation for quarterly payments due in October.

Minister-Rev. Jean McCusker-This past month went by rapidly. It seemed filled with activities, times to learn, and opportunities to enjoy this congregation. In the past month there have been four worship services. I preached three times. The time I didn’t we had the Elm City Girls Choir with us. They were outstanding! I had office hours on four Thursdays. I visited with parishioners four times outside the office. I made three calls at the hospital. Had one visit at the office and waited for another person who was a no-show. I had a few phone visits and several email contacts regarding church business. I prepared one article for the newsletter. Had the privilege of baptizing Emily Rose Sandin on October 5th, 2003. I attended the Fundraising Dinner, which was very enjoyable. We also had a Stewardship meeting, and the September Trustee and Council meetings. There have been three educational opportunities in which I have participated. 1. A half-day workshop in Hartford about God’s gift of sexuality and God’s call to the church to become more inclusive. 2. A full day workshop in Clergy Misconduct Prevention Training in Danielson which increased my belief that interim churches would be wise to consider some of those issues before calling their next settled pastor and that the process of becoming a safe church would be a beneficial undertaking for any church. 3. A several month long course sponsored by Auburn Theological Seminary in Advanced Pastoral Care Training, after which I can apply to be certified as a Pastoral Care Specialist by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. The course meets for three hours two Wednesdays a month in Darien. I also attended the September and October Shelton Clergy Ass. Meetings. The Community Thanksgiving service will be at the Huntington Congregational Church on November 25th, 2003. I will have more details about that next month. The congregation was well represented at the Act dinner with five of us present. Bill Barker and I will be representing us at the Annual Meeting of the Conference this weekend. Bill (McCusker) and I enjoyed clam chowder and baked goods from our booth on Shelton Day. I have also traveled 842 miles for the church.

Deacons-Carol Edson-Deacons will meet Sunday, October 19th, after worship service. The upcoming holiday schedule will be discussed.

Trustees-Glenn Wells-Trustees reported the October 4th, 2003 workday as very successful. Kitchen ceiling tiles replaced. Bruce repaired the concrete steps. There is still some lead abatement work to be done. Other upcoming plans are an upgrade of the heating system. Dick Conklin has emptied the closet in the men’s bathroom and will use it as a lockable supply closet. Next trustees meeting will be Thursday, November 20th , 2003.

Outreach-Lesley Barker-Lesley passed out a copy of a recent newspaper article on Spooner House. ACT now owns 30 Todd Road in Shelton and have acquired the property without a mortgage. Planning and Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals approval for the shelter construction has resulted in a lawsuit against the city by neighbors. Lesley also mentioned the church prayer chain. Everyone would be contacted and asked it they wish to continue.

Personnel-Ron Karkut-Ron reported a quiet month for the Personnel committee. Kim Karkut, Church Manager, reported the Pastoral Search Committee in place and would be holding their first meeting on Sunday, October 19th, at 9 am. The meeting will take place at church.

Fundraising-Betty Ogden-In November we will raffle a Longaberger pie plate (drawing is November 23rd) and in December a microwave donated by Flo Gryder (drawing is December 21st). All tickets will be sold during coffee hour. Shelton Day was fun-filled and successful again this year. Glenn Wells made our soup this year. Pastor Jean brought communion to our booth for the workers who were not able to attend church.

Women’s Fellowship-Lucille Wells- The Christmas Fair will be held on November 22nd, 2003 and vendor tables will cost $25.00. We have four vendors, so far. Lisa Turecek will have a cupcake decorating table for the kids. Lesley will be selling pins for Spooner House. We will have our traditional soup and sandwiches. A Chinese auction will be held this year in place of the white elephant table.

Stewardship-Cheryl Patrick-The Stewardship committee will be hosting the Stewardship Dinner on Monday, November 3rd at 6:30 in the Beard Room. The guest speaker will be Diane Ciba. Diane’s duties for the Connecticut Conference includes working with the directors of Silver Lake on fundraising and providing support for a variety of projects. She is the Director of Children’s Music, Youth Advisor and Superintendent of the Sunday School at Mill Plain Union Church in Waterbury. All council members and spouses are invited to attend this important event.

New Business:

1. Bill Barker presented a draft of the recent budget. He hi-lighted salary increases of 3 % for the church secretary, 7 % for the choir director and organist. The difference between the salary increases was due to the fact the secretary was the only employee given a raise last year. The initial salary offer for a new full time pastor will be sixty-five thousand dollars. The upgrade to the heating system is included in this budget. A motion was made by Bill Barker that council accepts this draft of our budget. The motion passed unanimously.

2. Pastor Jean and Bill Barker will be attending the 136 Annual UCC Conference in the coming weekend. They will also be attending a workshop on Safe Churches. The next council meeting will be held Thursday, November 20th, 2003 at 7:30 PM in the Shelton Congregational Church Library. The council joined with Pastor Jean in saying The Lord’s Prayer. The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 PM.

Respectfully Submitted

Betty Ogden, Clerk