Members present: Sheri Barker, Mark Lechner, David Perez, Pastor Ron Hovick
Non-members present: Kerri Wood, Alicia Saenz, Paul Ford, Nan Stufkosky, Brett Perkins (note taker)
Meeting began at 7:05 with a prayer. Pastor Ron continued his lesson on Nehemiah.
May minutes were approved with amendment: the inclusion of facia discussion. It was decided that this portion of out-building work would be included in next phase of capital improvements.
Financials approved after explanation from Kerri. Income continues to mirror that of 2010 and 2011 leading to belief that last year may have been an outlier. One reason for deficit is reduced income from Thrivent Choice dollars as a result of the program having been rolled-out and its monies now steadier but less. Expenses continue to be less than budgeted and overall we are negative $(20,100) through the end of May. The Council will discuss means for increasing income in the near future.
A friend of Pastor Jan Brosen has forwarded to us (former congregation) a letter stating Pastor Jan is looking to buy a new handicapped van and is seeking donations. Chuck Cole sat with the Council and answered questions regarding the genesis of the letter and its expectations. It was decided that an announcement would be made in the bulletin regarding this request.
The topic of signage was reintroduced. Based on feedback from the Marketing Committee, it was unclear how we should proceed, given the varied input being introduced at this stage.
The next Council retreat was planned for October 19th in the lower level.
An updated policy regarding fingerprinting and/or background checks will be delivered by the Personnel Committee in the near future.
Paul Ford and Nan Stufkosky were in attendance at the invitation of the Council. It was hoped they would be interested in filling vacant Council seats for the remainder of the year. Both agreed that they would like to be part of the Council. It was confirmed that the positions held by Mark Becerra and Oliver Lapuz had been vacated due to absences as dictated by our church constitution. A vote was then taken and it was unanimously agreed that Paul and Nan would fill seats until Annual Meeting.
Received and read were letters from Agape House and Onefund Boston thanking St. Mark’s for its charitable support.
A request was made to have the kitchen thoroughly cleaned on a consistent basis by a new entity. Historically, it has been cleaned by volunteers from women’s’ groups and more recently by Karin Quick on a weekly basis. It was decided that a combination of new volunteers and custodian would take up the work.
Pastor Ron report: the LSS senior companion program has approached us and asked us to consider participation. Pastor Ron will be gone July 2nd and 3rd. His responses on letter sent out have been positive. He is being considered for a role on an LSS strategic planning team designed to help disadvantaged get on their feet. He attended a City zoning meeting regarding the protection of church rights—one of only two churches to be represented.
Director of Operations report: The church sponsored Cub Scout troop (Pack 580) is currently empty after majority of scouts moved to a new troop. Brett asked Council how they would like to proceed and it was voted to keep charter through end of year and make decisions then. Also, Brett received a request to rent space to a Spanish church. He told them it wasn’t viable due to our own Spanish service and Council agreed with this decision. Also, VacationBibleSchool was a success although the number of children was down for the fourth straight year. A group will be formed latter in the year to explore options.
Council meeting concluded with The Lord’s Prayer at 9:40pm.
Next meeting—July 17th at 7pm