Spiritual Life Commission
May 3, 2008
Minutes
Members present: Joanne Painter, Joan Grant, Bob Edgarton, Carlton Gunn, and Anne Roundy (chair).
Anne brought the meeting to order. Carl agreed to be Reflector, and Bob agreed to take minutes.
We had brief check-in.
Conference update: David Gaeweski was with us and reviewed budget figures to inform us about Finance Committee changes recommended to respond to Anne’s requested budget. The bottom line is that FC recommends cuts of $1800 for presentation to Executive Council. All the Commissions are seeing cuts of a similar percentage.
Annette Mott is expected to resign from her Conference position sometime in FY 2009, and the plan is that Ann Hodgeman will increase her workweek to 26 hours when she becomes the Resource Center Director. David expects to take on OCWM Interpretation, Mission Interpretation, and Stewardship responsibilities, but will turn over Search and Call duties to a new part time assistant.
David provided handouts for the Maine Ministerial Excellence program. Of the 10 steps in the Action Plan, the first two (reviews with Holly Hancock, and with Sp. Life Comm.) have been accomplished, along with #6 (research for potential grantors). To address item 3, David said he would like to have Holly Hancock return to review and comment, and another grant writer would be desirable (possibly Debbie Wolfenden). Item 4, work assignments for the seven subsets of the program, led to Anne volunteering to write draft descriptions for both the Clergy Consultation groups (with input from Carl) and the Lay Leader Consultation Groups (subsets 3 and 4). David will ask David Ray if he will work on subset 5, annual learning events for laity and clergy. Annette Mott, Linda Smith, and David Ray have worked on this previously, and it is hoped they can resume/continue that work. David G. asked Joan Grant if she would take subset 7 about Spiritual Direction, and she agreed (reminding us she has ongoing construction, retreat leadership etc.). David is working on the remaining items/subsets. David is hopeful progress will be made in his absence during his sabbatical.
Executive Committee: Anne reported that the meeting on 5/1 had revolved around budget review, a resolution to be presented at Annual Meeting (urging the Conference to begin a process to decide if we will become an O&A Conference), and reviewing where things stand regarding the Conference property assets. Another meeting will be needed to decide where that issue will be on the agenda for Farmington.
Coordinating Council: Anne reported on the April 11 meeting. Pilgrim Lodge was represented by Outdoor Ministries, but Rockcraft Lodge was not. There will be another meeting on 5/10, and Rockcraft representatives are expected to attend. Anne commented that David Gaeweski has prepared and sent a review of the history of property concerns, and wants everyone to be assured that we are not rushing into a decision.
Budget: This was covered mostly by the review with David, though Anne plans to forward by e-mail a budget summary she received from the Conference. Having that format will help us to better understand where the money goes, and we anticipate giving the budget closer scrutiny in future meetings.
Annual Meeting: Planning is ongoing. Some scholarship money is available if traveling presents a hardship.
Spiritual Resources Directory: Joan is continuing work on the directory, and seeking input for how to make it more than a list that gets buried among other papers. She is soliciting referrals about places and people in particular locations so she can make the directory more useful from a regional perspective. A draft is anticipated for the Annual Meeting, but it is presumed that this will be an evolving and improving resource as time goes on, hopefully to be accessed on the Conference web page.
Grant Writing: Anne has been to Portland to research potential sources of grant money for the Maine Excellence in Ministry programs. She was surprised to discover that Lilly Foundation did not show up in the database. Nevertheless, Anne found 30-35 potential grantors she is hopeful about.
Academy for Congregational Life and Leadership: Kate Winters was away at a workshop, but Anne announced that work is proceeding to establish the duties and responsibilities of the advisory board. The board is to have representatives from Conference staff, Bangor Theological Seminary, Church in Ministry and Spiritual Life Commission, plus six at large members of whom at least two will be laity. The board will set policy, make up a budget, work out curriculum, etc.
Clergy Compensation Guidelines: The new Federal COLA is 4%. Anne will prepare figures for both 4% and 5%.
Spiritual Life events calendar: (Proposed dates)
Gathering for Church in Ministry Chairs – Sept. 10, Wednesday
Training for Church in Ministry / Rapid Response Team –March 21, Saturday
Fall Learning Event – November 7/8 - Gil Rendell, speaker (Albion Institute)
Seminary Day(s) - Oct. 15 and Nov. 5 (one in Bangor, one in Portland, to be determined)
Advent Retreat – Nov. 13, Nov 20 (one north, one south)
Lenten Retreat – Feb. 12, Feb. 19 “ “
Clergy Spring Retreat – May 5/6 (Tuesday/Wed.) Anne will contact Living Waters
It is recognized that multiple retreats place a burden on Conference Ministers. It has been proposed that we let Conference Ministers off the hook, and solicit leadership from our many capable colleagues.
Carl offered reflection on common themes and the meeting content before we adjourned at 11:50.
Next meeting: to be determined – may be May 31 or June 7 or 14(?)
Bob Edgarton