Spiritual Life Commission Minutes for March 7, 2009

Members present: Bob Edgarton, Joan Jordan Grant, Carl Gunn, Karen Janus, Linda Kimble, Joanne Painter, Susan Tierney and Anne Roundy. Linda served as chair since Anne has been away recently. Kate Winters was absent. The meeting began with check-in after very nice, yet longer than customary, worship. The previous minutes were accepted with a couple of name corrections. Bob agreed to take minutes and Anne volunteered to be Reflector.

Herb Oliver gave us an update regarding David G’s letter about the upcoming June meeting. A new letter will be forthcoming to follow protocol for calling a special meeting of the Conference. Visitors in attendance will not have a vote, so it is especially important for delegates to attend.

Executive Committee: (Anne) Topics of interest were the Special meeting in June, conversation about the structure of the Conference, a reduction of OCWM to National due to shortfall of dues and the damaged economy. In spite of the financial crunch, the meeting retained a hopeful and proactive perspective. David had been to hear Otis Moss II (our keynote for ’09 Annual meeting) and came away saying, “Wow!”

Coordinating Council: (Linda) Most of the session was dedicated to the presentation by consulting architects about Conference properties and the letter announcing the June 6 meeting.

Conference Concerns: (Susie) There will be a Virtual Reality boundary training in Waterville on April 30, 9:30-3:30. This is considered a very important training in view of wide spread usage of the Internet and the resulting risks and vulnerability for churches as well as individuals, especially youth. The training will seek to improve awareness of privacy issues and proper protocol to prevent dangerous exposure of personal information, etc.

May 3 will be a Youth Rally Day for Middle Schoolers, in Waterville, 2:30-6:00. Susie will clarify which grade levels are invited as “Middle School” applies to various grades in different schools. There has been enthusiastic response to recent youth events.

Academy: Kate was absent, no update. Budget: Anne needs to rework figures and solve some technical/Internet issues. She will get figures to us. Maine Ministerial Excellence Program: no report. BTS/Conference Committee: no news.

Calendar: The Virtual Reality training will be considered the Church and Ministry training this time around. Coordinating Council will meet 3/27, (skip April), 5/8 and 6/5. The Clergy Spring Retreat will be May 5/6, led by husband & wife team, Rev. Cameron and Joan Borton. A limited number of double rooms are available, and scholarship funds will be available; apply to Anne Roundy. The Fall Learning Event will be Nov. 13/14. We need to prepare a 2010 calendar at our May meeting.

Annual Meeting Planning: (Bob) Things are progressing smoothly. Worship planning is in progress, Linda has had contact with Otis Moss II, Mark Doughty will follow up on that. Time was spent tinkering with the agenda, with the understanding that there is a lot to do between Friday and Sunday, plus the Thursday retreat. Attendees need to appreciate that this is a three-day meeting and that if they choose to come late or leave early, that is why they may miss out on something.

Spiritual Resources Directory: (Joan) We are very close to having a working draft of the directory. Joan has a few new resources to add in, and a few old ones to update. We look forward to having hard copies available at the Annual meeting, and a digital version linked through the Conference web site.

NEXT MEETING: APRIL 4 - WE HAVE WORSHIP (JOAN) AND REFRESHMENTS :-)

Respectfully submitted, Bob Edgarton