Leadership Council Minutes: July 2011

Northaven United Methodist Church
Leadership Council Meeting- Room 239
July 26, 2011 7 p.m.

Present: Betty Boyer, Marlene Haskell, Eric Folkerth, Tom Timmins, Dotti Timmins, Betsy Schenck, Shirley Cooper, Laurie Reichanbach, Elaine Wiant, Jim McBride, Dick Weaver and Mindy Dague

Meditation- Dotti Timmins

Betty motioned to approve the June Leadership Retreat minutes and the motion was carried.
Betty discussed the preparation needed by committees for the upcoming Draft Night. Betty thanked the Worship Team for the Creation summer series.

Finance- Elaine said the finances were going very well. The format for the finance report has changed. Percentages of the budget used are now displayed for each budgeted line item. Elaine said that we are right on track with our budget. The Co-op cost sharing was billed and paid in July so there is a variance in the June numbers but will be reflected in next month’s report.

Staff Parish- See Report- Jim McBride reported that the committee will be meeting with the parents of Youth to receive input about Chris Reed’s replacement. Jim met with Kathy Delsanter and reviewed the Co-op’s Teacher Performance Reviews which has been in place.

Covenant Fund- See Report- The Wills and Estate presentation has 28 people signed up. There was advertising in the Dallas Voice which proved to be successful and has increased registration.

Trustees Report- Dick Weaver met with Kathy Delsanter about the Co-op School for an overview of it. In November, Northaven will be sponsoring the Susan G. Korman 3 Day for the Cure. The group will be using the North Parking Lot during the day on Friday, November 4.

Stewardship – See Report- Betty would like for stewardship to be more public for a more extensive amount of time instead of just during the pledge period. Tom commented that he had reviewed the past newsletters and recognizes that we are doing well with the Stewardship Campaigns compared to Northaven’s past history. Tom feels like it needs to be subtle and not a in-your-face approach. Laurie suggested a Town Council meeting approach with Q & A /family style. Betsy suggested using this opportunity for volunteer sign-up and special needs for volunteers. Jim suggested a quarterly article and has concerns about posting financial information on our website. Jim said that it could discourage how much people decide to give depending on our current financial status. Tom reminded us that we had a financial series a couple of years ago called Did You Know? It was a series that addressed how the church funds are distributed. Eric commented that 28 to 38 percent are reading the Northaven Now news that is being sent through Constant Contact each week. Elaine mentioned that she can preview her email without actually opening it so the statistic of actual readership may be even larger. Eric said there is more detail in a printed newsletter. Chris asked if there is a tracking method of seeing who opens the newsletter on the new website. Eric said that the feature should be available soon. Eric suggested that every medium should be used on a quarterly basis when communicating information. Dotti asked if there is follow-up with new members about pledging. There was a consensus that there is a need to do so. Mindy commented that pledging information is in the new member packets and that we use to put the Did you Know? booklet in each packet for new members to read.
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Black Tie – See Report- Total expenses came to $546.79 for the BBQ Luncheon and approximately 158 people attended. Eleven raffle tickets were sold during the event. Currently, Northaven has sold 41 tickets and have met our obligation. We are now over the $400 plus mark and will continue selling tickets. The star of Modern Family, Jesse Tyler Ferguson will be presented the Media Award at the Black Tie Dinner and stand-up Comedian, Caroline Rhea,will be the Master of Ceremonies. Laurie reminded us that only 2,000 tickets are sold at $100 apiece. Laurie believes that we have already sold at least 5 tables which meets our requirement. The Minister’s table is needing a donor. The Minister’s table is important because Eric invites others to attend from the community to share the experience and the message behind the Black Tie Dinner event. Laurie will continue looking for a donor. The BTD committee asked the Council for 3-4 tickets to be purchased for Staff who is interested in going. The recommendation was approved.

History Project- See Report- Tom Timmins said that we have 2 bids for the cover and binding of the booklet.

Program Council- Hasn’t met since the Leadership Retreat. Several committees have met during this time. DACPA will be at the plaza at 5 pm for a Prayer gathering. On August 14, the CIS sponsored-El Salvador Mission Trip Sharing/and Godparenting luncheon is scheduled. The Pride parade is on September 18. The Faith Voices of Justice committee is working on the fall programs. Membership met and discussed concerns and discussed ways to follow up and connect better with absent members. Feast of Beginnings is a work in progress. It is tentatively scheduled for September 18.

Staff Reports
Office Administrator (Mindy) - The Church’s copier has been upgraded and the old copier went to the Co-op School. There will be a savings of $1,800 per year. The Co-op School will have the opportunity to print in color for the first time. For the first time, we handled the summer camp payroll. Everything ran smoothly. Contribution statements will be mailed out within the next week.

Youth Director (Chris Reed)-The Youth have been enjoying the Wednesday social events and the next one will be playing Laser tag. UMYF will be discussing the Guatemala mission trip experience and sharing photos. It will be open to anyone who wants to attend. The Youth portion of the website has been updated. The mission trip expenses were under budget. Going forward, there will be a back to school retreat planned on Labor Day weekend and Eric and Mary Clair will be leading it. Chris talked to the Youth about his resignation and he felt that it went well. Chris is moving into the last year of his classes. He is still deciding on what direction he wants to take. He is considering a PhD. in the field of Ethics. Chris is looking at his options in ministry that works outside of the church. Chris will serve an internship after he completes his classes this year. Chris is developing a web-based legal site that is showing promise.
Spiritual Formation (Eric Reported for Mary Clair)-Sunday School teachers for K2 have backed out and are looking for replacements. Vacation Bible School is next week. The Uppity Women series has been a big hit. Eric said that he hopes they continue the series.

Music and the Arts (Eric Reported for Stephanie) - The Choir and Ringleiders are taking a break in July and will be back to it in August. Ringlieders start back late August. They may need to split groups in half due to the group being so large. There will be a special commemoration for 9/11. The Music and Arts department is forming a music ministry team including Michael Hawn. They will be surveying the congregation and Stephanie is currently working on forming the new team. They will be looking at where we are now and where we will be going.

Senior Pastor (Eric) - Administrative news- Tricia is no longer working with us and Stephanie Stevens will be taking on that role. Stephanie will be working on Mondays and Tuesdays and will be formatting the newsletter. The Northaven trail will be developed with Northaven at the end of the trail for now. The master plan is to extend the trail past us and Northaven is concerned about future parking arrangements. Eric commented that people will park their cars and then will cycle down the trail. Sunday is a big day for cyclist as well as church services. There could be a problem since Northaven has no extra parking at this time. There is a Northaven Friends Group working on the trail issues with 2 other neighborhood groups. Eric heard from them recently and will be meeting with them soon. Eric feels strongly about talking about the issues now before problems occur. Interesting events are coming up this fall. The Charge Conference is October 30, 6 pm at Preston Hollow UMC this year. We have 3 additional interesting events-October 14-16 is the Reuben Habito Spiritual Retreat; the following weekend is honoring Jane Marshall and will include a Jane Marshall Concert on October 23, at 4 pm; Rev. Jimmy Creech, who had orders removed in Nebraska, will be coming to speak at Northaven as part of the Faith Justice Series this fall. Eccumenical service are being planned that will include 4 neighborhood churches on November 20.

Betty Boyer announced that September 20 is Draft night and Aug 23 is the next Leadership meeting.

Closing Prayer