EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MINUTES
May 7, 2007
Present: Ruth Prindle, Rev. Gordon Forbes, Rev. Jim Todhunter, Rev. Sandy Dodson, Nae Pearson, Dianne Abraham, Aldene Ault, Judy Cox, Bud Dennie, Trish Esposito, Stevan Fisher, John Gipson, Pete Hotchkiss, Karen Lee, Jim O'Steen, Cynthia Page, Doris Raber, Kate Rogers, Anne Weissenborn, Leslie Weyn, Tim White. Guest: Bob Brown.
Moderator Ruth Prindle called the meeting to order at approximately 7:35 p.m. Rev. Jim Todhunter opened the meeting with a chant.
The Council approved the minutes for the April meeting, as amended.
Updates—Ministers, Boards, Committees
- Congregational Meeting—Ruth Prindle reported that, at the special meeting on May 6, 2007, the congregation unanimously approved the sale of the Virgil Williams painting to raise funds for the Retreat House renovations.
- Interim Search Committee—Ruth Prindle reported that she delivered CCC’s profile to Rev. Kwame Osei Reed at the Potomac Association Annual Meeting. The Search Committee should begin receiving names of candidates by the middle of May. Holly Brooks (for the Committee) and our conference ministers are confident that an interim can be in place by September, Ruth said.
- Senior Minister Search Committee—Rev. Gordon Forbes reported that the Senior Minister Search Committee has been staffed. The members are: Tom Ault, Merlene Bagley, Kristen Brown, John Gipson, Alan Hill, Maureen Ingram, Bob Robey, and Tim White. Nicole Wilson and Elise Gifford will hold a joint youth seat and will share one vote. Anne Weissenborn was concerned that there was a need to have more representation from people of color and those with a particular interest in social witness issues. Trish Esposito explained that it has been a difficult task to recruit members to serve on this committee, which might require up to two years’ commitment. Gordon said that he asked several additional persons of color and activists to serve, but they declined. Gordon said that two more members could be added to the Search Committee. Jim O’Steen expressed concern about a larger committee becoming unwieldy. Cynthia Page said that she supports the committee as is. Karen Lee moved that the Executive Council accept the membership of the Senior Minister Search Committee as proposed. After a second, Anne Weissenborn offered an amendment. Anne moved that the roster of the Senior Minister Search Committee be increased by two, at least one of whom is a person with a strong interest in the Social Action activities of the Church. After a second to the amendment, there was discussion. Rev. Jim Todhunter pointed out that Nicole Wilson, one of the youth members of the committee, is an activist. Gordon explained that one of the duties of the Search Committee will be to share with candidates CCC’s strategic goals, including the anti-racism initiative and open and affirming stance; Gordon felt that CCC’s strong traditions of social activism would be clear from these efforts. Jim O’Steen said he would not favor adding additional committee members. Rev. Sandy Dodson said that it is really a question of trust: i.e., do we, as a church, trust the Search Committee to represent the whole church? John Gipson said that, while big committees are difficult, probably a committee of 10-12 members would be workable, and that it would be good to achieve more diversity, but he worried that the effort to recruit additional members would hold up the committee from starting its work. Jim O’Steen agreed that it would be ideal to have a truly representative committee. Tim White said that, when candidates look at the Search Committee’s composition, there is a risk they will see just another well-meaning white church. Sandy said that, when she was a candidate, even though her experience was with the individual members of her Search Committee, she had a sense of inclusiveness. Tim suggested that perhaps the membership of the Search Committee should be held open until we are able to get the representation we want. Kate Rogers said she was concerned that we might not be able to get two more members to agree to serve. A vote was taken on the amendment. The amendment was defeated by 16 nays to 1 aye, with 3 abstentions. The motion to accept the membership of the Senior Minister Search Committee as proposed passed on a vote of 14 ayes to 1 nay, with 5 abstentions.
- Trustees—Tim White reported that the budget is about $100,000 in the red when projections for pledges are compared with the budget requests. To put this in perspective, Tim reminded the Council that our budget was actually $50,000 in the red last year, but we had funds remaining from the Capital and Recommitment Campaigns to offset the deficit. There will be a budget hearing and “chips” (i.e. priorities) discussion on May 23, 2007, Tim said. Ruth Prindle asked if an additional hearing could be scheduled at a time other than a weekday evening. She was concerned that seniors in particular, might not be able to attend an evening meeting. Tim said that he would check the calendar to see if an appropriate time could be found. Ruth reminded Council members that Board and Committee annual reports are due by May 14, in preparation for the church’s annual meeting on June 3, 2007.
- Celebrations—Stevan Fisher reported everything was set for the Church picnic on May 20. The Board for Church Life will begin set up at 10 a.m. on that day. There will not be a coffee hour at church that morning. Kate Rogers reported that reservations for the Roast, which is happening on June 15, 2007, are still being accepted. Also, plans are on track for the Banquet on July 14, 2007, Kate said.
- Physician Assistance in Dying—Rev. Gordon Forbes reported that the Northern California Conference of the UCC is bringing a resolution on Physician Assistance in Dying to the General Synod. Bill Neal is still planning to present workshops on the subject at the Central Atlantic Conference annual meeting. Bill also will brief the CAC delegates to the General Synod on the subject. Bill hopes that the resolution before the General Synod can be made stronger.
- Nominating Committee—Trish Esposito reported that the committee is in the process of preparing the slate of officers and board members for election at the annual meeting.
- Meeting Dates for 2007-2008—Rev. Gordon Forbes distributed a handout with proposed meeting dates for Executive Council and Boards for the coming year. He noted that the first Executive Council meeting for the new church year is June 4, 2007. He said that he hoped Boards that are selecting new chairs will do so at their May meetings. Ruth Prindle clarified that, if selecting a new chair was not possible, each Board should send a representative to the June council meeting.
Transition Committee Update and Discussion
Bob Brown opened a discussion of issues related to the retirement of Rev. Jim Todhunter. Bob offered some background on the role of the Transition Committee which, he reminded the Council, was formed in response to one of the recommendations of CCC’s consultant, Roy Oswald. The role of the Transition Committee is to support Jim in his leave-taking and also to support staff who are continuing through the transition. Prior to the meeting, the Transition Committee made available several articles on pastoral transitions that also formed a part of the discussion. Nae Pearson praised the articles for spelling out the issues in easy-to-understand language. Trish Esposito said she imagined that many members of the congregation will likely be disappointed with the recommendations in the articles that the retiring pastor must cease all pastoral activities, because members have expected that Jim would baptize or marry their child or preside at their funeral, for example. Tim White said that it was important that there be clarity because he had experienced a less-than-perfect transition where issues were swept under the rug, but bubbled up after the senior pastor left.
Rev. Jim Todhunter said that he felt it was important to share the articles. He said that he is learning as he goes, since this is the first time he has ever retired. He views it as his primary responsibility to be clear. He doesn’t want to create an awkward situation for someone. Jim has drafted a document entitled “On the Conduct of Retired Clergy,” which he read aloud. He views this as a draft and invited comment. Jim recalled that his spiritual director had advised him not to forget about love in this process. Jim said that he hopes that the policy outlined in his draft is loving both because it is right and because loving is not excluded.
There was a wide-ranging discussion, including council members’ individual reactions to the prospect of Jim’s retirement, as well as consideration of how best to open a wider dialog within the congregation. There were a number of suggestions on how to communicate to the congregation, including: putting the transition articles on the CCC website and in the kiosk in the entryway; distributing copies of the articles at Board meetings; making the transition a focus of a town hall meeting; having smaller focus groups to discuss the issues; and drafting an article for NewsNotes. Bob Brown wondered if there should be any discussion of the transition at the annual meeting. Jim O’Steen and Tim White expressed reservations about having these discussions at the annual meeting. They observed that the topic will be painful for many members and that there needs to be an opportunity for people to express their emotions. Ruth Prindle said that a possible agenda item for the annual meeting would be to consider conferring “emeritus” status on Jim. Rev. Gordon Forbes asked whether the Central Atlantic Conference or the Potomac Association should have some role in explaining the transition process, since it is, in part, a denominational policy. Jim Todhunter said that he did not want it to appear that he is having the policy forced on him; instead, he feels this is the right way to handle the transition. Judy Cox said that everyone does not have to be on the same page by July. She did not support the idea of introducing comparative “outsiders” (i.e. the Conference or Association) into a CCC process. She expressed that we need to trust our own congregation. Bob Brown observed that the conversation won’t be over even once Jim leaves. Tim White said that Jim has given the congregation roots at CCC, but now it is our turn to give Jim wings.
Stewardship Update and Discussion
Aldene Ault reported that the Board for Stewardship received 120 pledges in the first week after consecration Sunday; 14 the following week; and 7 the week after that. A total of 141 pledges have been received so far, out of a possible 270. Aldene said that pledges appear to be down in amount in part because last year’s dollar-a-day campaign was counted as part of the total pledge. Thus, if the pledging unit did not pledge at least as much as last year’s pledge plus the dollar-a-day amount, the pledge for this year appears to have decreased. In addition, Aldene said that the Board for Stewardship has heard that eliminating a separate line for pledges to the capital campaign has created problems for some members.
Potomac Association Annual Meeting Report
Ruth Prindle reported that the Association expressed thanks to CCC for our $60,000 contribution to Our Church’s Wider Mission. She also reported that two resolutions were passed.
Vicki Kemper
Rev. Jim Todhunter reported that he, Rev. Sandy Dodson, Nae Pearson, Aldene Ault, Rev. Gordon Forbes, Jan Forbes, Gwen Garrison, Linda Hodson, and Anne Weissenborn were among those who attended Vicki Kemper’s graduation from Wesley Theological Seminary. Vicki graduated Summa Cum Laude.
The meeting was closed with a celebration in honor of Ruth Prindle’s year as Moderator.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Leslie Weyn
Church Clerk
Other Council Meeting Minutes
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