The regular monthly meeting of the Vestry of R.E. Lee Memorial Church was held March 17, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall of the church.

Present: Buddy Atkins, Molly Brown, John Burleson, Jay Crawford, Roger Crockett, Susan Cross, Bob Glidden, Elizabeth Harralson, Julia Littlefield, John Milford, Dick Rathmell, Gretchen Walden, The Rev. Thomas Crittenden, and Gail Dick, Clerk. Absent: George Brooke, Bridget Kelley-Dearing, and Woody Sadler.

Approval of the Minutes:  Buddy moved that the minutes be approved. Dick seconded. Accepted by consensus.

Committee Reports:

• Finance Committee:  Woody Sadler was not present this evening but told Bob that he had “nothing momentous to report.”

• Property Committee: John Burleson reported that he had not been able to attend the last meeting of the Property Committee and he had nothing to report.

            Thank you to Jerry Nay: Bob noted that Jerry Nay designed, arranged for the work to be done, and paid for the work done in raising the protective screen covering the heater in the narthex. Bob read a resolution he had written thanking Jerry for this service.

Action: Dick moved and Julia seconded to accept this resolution. All were in favor. The motion carried. No dissent.

• Green Committee:  Molly Brown reported that the “Green Committee” had held its first meeting. The committee members to date are John Burleson, Elizabeth Harralson, Carole Elmore, Susan Cross, Margaret Whittington, Daniel Brinson, Peter Fyfe, and The Rev. Tom Crittenden. They are going to start with recycling. They will start small. Another possibility is to have a part in the church service on or near Rogation Sunday. It is possible that Kim Thompson, local recycling coordinator, could come to R.E. Lee and give a program on recycling. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.

• Columbarium Committee: Dick Rathmell brought in a lovely plaque to be placed in the memorial garden next to the patio in front of the church. It was purchased through Al Hockaday with money from the Columbarium funds being used to pay for the plaque. The committee will also be in charge of tending the garden.

• Mission Committee:  Molly raised the question on behalf of the Mission Committee about divesting investments to Sudan. Bob advised that the Endowment Committee has been monitoring this. Currently only .25 - .31 of 1% of our investments go to the Sudan. It was noted that in order to divest as requested, the church would have to get out of the entire fund. With so little invested in the Sudan, this would not be worth it.
• Molly asked if there is currently a committee in charge of the church grounds. It was unanimous that she should check with Sarah Lanford about this. Bob suggested that we ask for volunteers from the congregation to help spruce up the grounds. This should be done in the spring and the fall. This coming April or May would be a good time.  It was done once last year and a good time of fellowship was enjoyed along with getting a lot of work done. Bob suggested that the Property Committee be asked to organize this. John will relay this to the Property Committee. The Rev. Mr. Crittenden noted that maintenance funds are being used to pay to have the church grounds, mowed, weed-eated, and mulched. Tom would also like the Property Committee to have a look at the sloping yard in front of the Parish House to see what can be done to improve the unsightly lawn. It was noted that there has been some previous discussion regarding the lawn area in front of the Parish House to include the steps going up from the sidewalk and down into the parish hall. Funds have not been available so nothing has been done. Molly raised the point that perhaps the steps outside the parish hall and all the steps inside the Parish House should be marked in some way to help those who have a harder time seeing the steps. Bob asked John to take this to the Property Committee.

Old Business:

·         Vestry Reflections on Diocesan Programs: Bob distributed a hand-out entitled “Vestry Reflections on Diocesan Programs”. It asks Vestry members to evaluate the available diocesan programs including The Bishop Marmion Resource Center, Grace House Learning and Training Center, Higher Education Ministries, Phoebe Needles Camp and Conference Center, Program Grants, and Youth Ministries. Bob asked Vestry members if they knew anything about each of these programs. He noted the responses and will complete the survey and get it back to the diocese. Bob observed that typical vestry members don’t know about these programs.

New Business:

·         Peter Fyfe: With the Vestry’s approval, Bob will write a Thank You letter to Peter on behalf of the Vestry for his many years of service in scheduling the ushers. Bob asked Julia to ask Mo if he knew just how many years Peter had been scheduling the ushers. It was noted that Peter will be retiring only from scheduling the ushers. The Rev. Mr. Crittenden confirmed that Peter will still be involved on Sunday mornings.

                        Action: It was the consensus of the Vestry that Bob should write this letter.

·         Mutual Ministry Review: It was previously agreed that there would be a mutual ministry review after six months. There would be a performance review of the rector and a review of our performance as a parish. Bob noted that there are different models that have been used to conduct this review. The Vestry and the rector will discuss this and lay out the parameters for defining the areas to review and who will do the reviewing.  It is proposed that there possibly be three to four focus groups ranging from young family groups to seniors groups. Bob will send out documents regarding this. There are several models available or we can design our own.  Bob proposed that it not be a requirement for all Vestry members but for whoever wants to be a part of this. Bob said it would be nice if all Vestry members could participate. This meeting is to take place on Monday March 31^st at 4:30 p.m. This meeting is being held soon with the goal to complete the review by mid-May. Bob will send out a six page model document. First the Vestry will need to agree on who will be included in the focus groups and second, what questions will be asked and what will be talked about. The idea is for this to be a positive experience. The Vestry will start and end this process and the focus groups will be in the middle of the process. A committee from the Vestry will prepare the final report. Bob asked that anyone planning to attend let him know.

·         Undercroft: George, Bob, and The Rev. Mr. Crittenden have taken tours of the undercroft.  Bob, The Rev. Mr. Crittenden, and Tom Hart have also toured the undercroft getting some ideas of what could be done and what the cost might be.  They would start with fundamentals such as studying/removing the boilers, radiators, and exposed pipes. A steam heat outfit would need to be called in to check the pipes since they are still filled with water. It would be nice to get all these out of the undercroft but cost estimates would need to be obtained. There is also the question of acoustics. The ceiling is not sound proof. There would be a need for new panels for acoustics. There probably is asbestos in the sub flooring.  This part of the study has been gratis on the part of Tom Hart.

Comments by the Rector:  The Rev. Mr. Crittenden informed the Vestry that their Tallahassee home still has not sold.

The regular 12:15 Wednesday service is attended by only two people. Tom is wondering if there is more of a need for a 5:00 service on Wednesdays rather than a 12:15. There have been about 30 people at the regular 5:00 Sunday services. W&L student attendance has picked up.  Tom is very encouraged

It has been a smooth move into Holy Week and Easter. There was good consistent attendance at the Wednesday evening Lenten program. There was good participation in the Palm Sunday parade from Hopkins Green to the church. There was a great procession at the church from outside the Parish House into the church on Palm Sunday. Several people did not participate and went in to the church.  Tom would like to get more participation next year. Tom reviewed the Holy Week services:

            7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday with foot washing

            12:30 Good Friday service

8:00 Saturday morning service – to contemplate the disciples’ loss of Jesus after the crucifixion (30-40 minute service)

            7:00 p.m. Saturday evening Easter Vigil followed by lamb dinner

8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Easter Sunday morning. No 5:00 service on Easter. Seating at the 10:30 Easter service was discussed.

With no further business Bob adjourned the meeting at 6:23.

Elizabeth closed with an appropriate reading for today, St. Patrick’s Breastplate consisting of the words to “I Bind Unto Myself Today”, translated by Cecil Francis Alexander.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gail G. Dick, Clerk