Round Hill Community Church Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 23, 2023
Prepare for Meeting and Prayer: At 5:30 Nancy welcomed everyone to the meeting by celebrating the opening of the RHCC gallery and thanking those involved. Nancy also drew the trustees’ attention to the number of people who attended (60+). She noted that it was an example of part of the church’s outreach and thought it highlighted the growing interest of the local community in church activities. Nancy next asked Ed to lead a prayer. Ed offered a prayer of “quiet centered strength and ambassadorship of work and love.”
Minutes: At 5:39 the minutes from the November 2022 meeting were approved.
Pastors’ Reports: At 6:41 Ed and Shannon gave their pastoral reports. Ed reminded the trustees that he would be on sabbatical and away from campus in February. As of February 5 Shannon White would oversee the pastoral duties at Round Hill church. Shannon’s pastoral role would also continue while the pastor was away in June and July.
On the topic of personnel at the church, Ed noted that the new office assistant, Christa Otto, was doing an excellent job and fit in well with the staff working at the church. He also noted that April 9, 2023 would be the end of Lizzie Cid’s tenure at Round Hill Church. While she prepares for the arrival of her new baby she has decided not to continue in her current role. In Lizzie’s place, a new employee, Tarah Maurice, will be announced as Teacher of Christian Education. This position is not full-time and will be scheduled for 15 hours per week. Shannon White will supervise Tarah’s work. Mary Ann asked if a letter would be sent to the congregation regarding Tarah’s appointment. Ed said that he would be sending out such a letter. Questions were also asked by Mary Ann regarding where the church advertised for employees. Ed noted that employment adverts were sent locally to Greenwich Mom, Stamford Mom as well as to Indeed employment services. Ed was asked how many children were coming to church. How many families with children were needed to make the church school work? Jake asked whether we were in the same place number wise with child/young person attendance as we were seven years ago? Ed replied, there was more vocal interest in our children’s program but what is meant by “attendance” is not constant. Sunday attendance was not consistent. Ed suggested we might try ‘Targeted Sundays.” The church might build more effective children’s programs by focusing particular projects or activities on certain Sundays during any given month. The Trustees felt this might be an approach well worth considering in the near future.
Shannon’s report focused on three areas:
During Ed’s absence Shannon noted that she was looking forward to duties from the pulpit, continuing her Instagram “centering project as well as a prayer group at the church, another Breakfast Run for the needy in March and helping to facilitate the social “Dinners for Nine” (including some lunches) being set up by and for members.
Shannon was also very excited about the upcoming Holy Season of Lent and Easter. In particular, the celebration of new church members on Palm Sunday.
Lastly, Shannon announced that she was working on a pilgrimage project for 15 people entitled Faith as Journey. This project would involve hiking along the pilgrimage trail ‘Camino de Santiago’ in northern Spain.
Committee Reports: At 6:20 Nancy asked for committee reports from Bruce and Leslie. Bruce noted that the church’s financial “life” was in good shape. Bruce then carefully reviewed the Dashboard (located in the meeting materials). Jake had a question about pledge income vs project income. To what extent should we adjust our focus from pledging to project income for raising money. Several members felt this move should have more study and consideration. Finally, Bruce announced that the church had hired a White Plains law firm (Danzinger and Markoff) to oversee our 403(b) (which is replacing the Pension) details.
At 6:33 Leslie reported on pledges and donations. Jake asked if the number and amount of pledges were increasing. Leslie noted that pledge numbers were declining. Pat asked if the church could consider strategies similar to Public Radio and TV, ie. monthly sustainer pledges. The Trustees felt this might be a way to improve monthly cash flows. Nancy and Leslie thought this might be a good idea to pursue.
Leslie next reported on the Eco-Action team’s continuing work. She was happy to report that Christa Otto was a landscape designer and was happy to assist the team when necessary. Their studies regarding heating the Community House as well as installing thermal glass in the sanctuary are still ongoing. Finally, with continuing improvements in battery-powered garden equipment the Eco-Action group was actively looking to change some of the gardening equipment used around the church to battery-powered.
Leslie ended by referring the Trustees’ attention to the Spring Fling invitation that was included in the Trustee documents.
At 6:45, Ed opened up what he termed Round Hill Discussions on three topics: Fiscal Health, Church Growth, and Digital Ministries. Jake noted that all of these needed to be ongoing discussions and conversations. Ed agreed with Jake. Pat asked if the discussions would be open to everyone? Ed felt that groups first should be organized to define and focus what is meant by “Growth” in each of the three areas before opening the discussion to larger group participation.
At 7:00 Nancy asked all members to prioritize by month our twelve Church Values into a calendar. Members should bring their calendars to the March meeting for discussion.
7:03 Ed described his post-sabbatical project Meeting Greenwich Again, for the First Time. Ed hopes to extend his studies and inform his ministry by finding out more about our community through the eyes of local citizens and he would like all of the Trustees to think about one or more people they would suggest he should meet.