Leadership Council Minutes- March 2012

Northaven United Methodist Church
Leadership Council Meeting- Room 239
March 27, 2012 - 7 p.m.

Those Present: Colin Rorrie, Elaine Wiant, Dotti Timmins, Beth Schuessler, Wade Schuessler, Mindy Dague-Lowery, Eric Folkerth, Carole Carsey, Alice Anderson, Mary Clair Lowrance, Nan Arnold, Martha Stowe, Betsy Schenck, Linda Harris, and Linda Thomas

 Colin Rorrie called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

Meditation by Dotti Timmins

Charles Axe was unable to attend so Colin Rorrie chaired the meeting. Minutes from last month’s meeting will be distributed at the next meeting.

Finance Report-See Attached Budget.  The budget has been based on the past 5 years of performance. A remote electronic check deposit is being set-up with North Dallas Bank & Trust. An in-house audit will be set-up by the Finance Team this year and an external audit is being planned for next year. There are plans of building a cash reserve. Ideas and suggestions are welcomed. 

Staff Parish-See Attached. The new Harassment policy and Corrective Action plan were requested to be brought to the next Leadership Council meeting.

Covenant Funds- No Report

Trustees Report- The annual visit to the Parsonage was made by the Trustees. Nan has already met with a contractor who has given an estimate of $800-$1000 for repairs needed.  There was a water leak on the side of the building by the Co-op School. A drainage system was put into place.  With the recent severe storms, the school rooms flooded again but the drainage system is working as designed. Re-caulking was needed and does require time to dry. The situation will continue to be monitored. Mary Clair’s office has a water leak every time it rains. The leak was assessed and it was discovered that the leak is definitely not coming from the roof. There is a small leak is in the wall that is trickling down the wall starting in the Choir room and ending in Mary Clair’s office. Nan contacted the original contractor of the building and they will be looking into the history of the previous work done and will get back to us.  The Trustees will be accepting bids on the lawn maintenance since it hasn’t been done for a few years. The Trustees are looking into refinancing the loan on the Parsonage.  The Building Trustees will meet the Sunday after Easter. A wish list was put together so if there is extra money at the end of the year, the Trustees will try to purchase some of the things. The portable speakers were on the wish list and Dick Weaver has made a generous donation to the church so the speakers could be purchased.

Program Council- See Attached.  There was a request made that each committee chair on the Program Council should make a list of Committee members to be given to Mindy so she can enter the information into RDS.

Stewardship Report- Two small pledges came in since the last meeting. Everything else is status quo.

Human Development Fund- Letters and HDF grants have been distributed.  The committee has been thinking of ways to communicate to the congregation throughout the year, such as, the Mission Minutes during Sunday Worship.


Staff Reports:

Minister of Children- See Attached

Minister of Congregational Life- See Attached.  Currently discussing the development of summer programming that would be available on Wednesdays and would be family-oriented.

Co-op-See Attached; Summer program dates are:  May 29 – July 5 (closed on July 4) for 2 – 4 year olds on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The school was complimented on the recent success of the Silent Auction by the Council.  There was discussion about the upcoming audit and it was clarified that the school will be included in it. Wade will be meeting with the school  soon to discuss it in more detail.

Office Administrator Report- See Attached

Music and Arts- Eric reported that each worship service during Holy Week will be very unique. There has been some confusion but Sunday School will be offered on Easter Sunday. The Concert Bells of Fort Worth will be coming back this season. The Children’s Choir is going well, is well attended, and will be singing this Sunday during Worship. 

Senior Pastor- There is a big Memorial Service for Mark Daves tomorrow.  The space in the Atrium is an issue which was apparent at the recent Pot Luck on Sunday. It was standing room only. The Care Team has really been busy all year. Eric is grateful for the good works that they do.
Closing Prayer

The next Leadership Council Meeting is Monday, April 23.  Note: The Leadership Council meetings have been changed from Tuesdays to Mondays.