COORDINATING COUNCIL

MAINE CONFERENCE, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

March 27, 2009, Waterville

 

Minutes

 

Present:

            Anita White, Moderator                                 John Glover, Penobscot-Piscataquis 

Herb Oliver, Vice-Moderator                        Don Green, Washington

            Walter (Ted) Ruark, Clerk                             Franklin Anderson, York

            Gerard Moore, Treasurer                               Linda Kimball, Commission for Spiritual Life

Kelsea Trefethen, State Youth Council         Jeanne Davis, Commission for Witness Life

Ron Beinema, Board of Trustees                   David Gaewski, Conference Minister

            Nita Dehais, Cumberland                               Susan Craig, Associate Conference Minister

Susan Kaplan-Burgess, Franklin                    Darren Morgan, Acting Associate Minister

            Bernys Doak, Hancock-Waldo                                   for Small Church Development

            Jane Lowell, Kennebec Valley                       Mark Schussler, Business Manager

Phillip McKean, Lincoln                                Susan Stevens, Conference Executive Assistant

Dan Johnson, Oxford Union                           Diane Bennekamper, Local Church Ministries

                                                                        Denise Goodman                                           

Absent:          

Aroostook representative                               Connie Insley, Commission for Witness Life                

Chair, Commission for Community Life      Linda Smith, Commission for Community Life

Ann Roundy, Commission for Spiritual Life

           

Call to Order: Anita White called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m. and welcomed Kelsea Trefethen as the new State Youth Council representative to the Coordinating Council. Denise Goodman opened with prayer.

 

Review of February 13, 2009 Coordinating Council Meeting Minutes: On a motion by Herb Oliver, seconded by Nita Dehais, the council voted to accept the minutes of the February 13, 2009 Coordinating Council meeting as printed, with one minor correction (name clarification).

 

Treasurer’s Report: Gerard Moore highlighted the following from his written report:

1.     Total income for the year to date increased by $16,176 compared to the same period in 2008.

2.     Expenses decreased by $7,976 compared to the same period in 2008.

3.     The 2009 net loss is $24,152 less than for the same period in 2008.

On a motion by Phil McLean, seconded by Ron Beinema, the council voted to accept theTreasurer’s report as printed.

 

Conference Minister Oversight Committee Report: Denise Goodman, chair, reported that the committee had been created to make recommendations to address the following issue: The Bylaws of the Maine Conference assign the responsibility of conducting a biennial (periodic) review of the Conference Minister to the Personnel Committee and the renewal of the Conference Minister’s call to the Coordinating Council. The Bylaws do not, at present, address the sharing of the Personnel Committee’s biennial (periodic) review results with the Coordinating Council.

 

In the course of its discussion, the Oversight Committee became aware that the national office is preparing a draft of a protocol to be followed if a fitness review is needed for a Conference Minister (or any ordained person employed by the Conference). Both issues have been addressed in the committee’s recommendations:

  1. The Personnel Committee will share a summary of its biennial (periodic) review with the Coordinating Council and will make recommendations to the Council regarding the renewal of the Conference Minister’s call and compensation.
  2. A Fitness Review of Conference Ministers Policy is needed and will be presented to the Personnel Committee, then to the Coordinating Council, and finally to the 10 associations for their approval. That policy would reflect the draft protocol being developed by the national office. In the meantime, the committee recommended the following: Should an Association Church and Ministry Committee determine a need for a fitness review of the Conference Minister or any other ordained Conference staff person, the Church and Ministry Committee in which that ordained person holds standing will be encouraged to cede its authority to conduct such review to a comparable committee in another conference in consultation with the UCC President and General Minister.
  3. The Conference Minister will meet, at the initiation of the Moderator, at least twice a year with the Moderator and Vice-Moderator to share concerns and receive counsel.
  4. Concerns received by the Moderator that do not constitute grounds for a fitness review will be referred to the Executive Committee after discussion with the Conference Minister. The Moderator would be in contact with the complainant during this process. If the issue is not resolved in this process, the Executive may, at its own discretion, refer the matter to the Coordinating Council for final determination.

The following questions were raised and will need to be addressed as the Personnel Committee and the Coordinating Council consider the Oversight Committee’s recommendations:

  1. Who (what body) incurs the costs of the fitness review?
  2. Should the Situational Support Review section of the Manual on Ministry apply to the “other issues” (non-fitness review concerns)?
  3. Should the Manual on Ministry included specific reference to and a suggested process for a fitness review of a Conference Minister, since many association bylaws specify that the Manual on Ministry be used in all cases of fitness reviews?

Anita White thanked Denise and the Oversight Committee for its work. On a motion by Franklin Anderson, seconded by Phil McKean, the council voted to send the Oversight Committee’s recommendations, with the comments from the Coordinating Council, to the Personnel Committee for its review and recommendations.

 

Business Manager’s Report: Mark Schussler highlighted the following from his written report:

  1. He has been working with the manager of Rockcraft to prepare contingency 2010 budgetary figures.
  2. The 2010 budgetary preparation process is being implemented and a proposed 2010 budget is expected to be presented at the June 5, 2009 Coordinating Council meeting.

 

Conference Ministers’ Reports

Susan Craig: Susan had distributed her report prior to the meeting and recounted her activities since the last Coordinating Council meeting, highlighting the May 3rd middle school event and the April 30th Virtual Boundary Training.

Darren Morgan: Darren had distributed his report prior to the meeting and noted that a number of churches are moving from fulltime to part-time ministries due to financial difficulties. He also indicated that several program churches are mentoring some of the new Parish of Promise churches. Darren also announced that his last Sunday as pastor of the Brownville Congregational Church would be on April 19th.

David Gaeweski:

  1. David distributed a summary of current Pilgrim Lodge registrations, broken down by camp session and home church of registrants.
  2. He identified the following pastoral transitions: Linda Hatch as interim pastor in Lincoln, Martha Hoverson as interim associate pastor in Yarmouth, and Alice Anderman as interim pastor in North Yarmouth.
  3. David reported that he had accepted the invitation from the Religious Coalition to speak at the public hearing on the same sex marriage bill before the Maine Legislature on April 24th.
  4. He indicated that 96 people have joined the Conference Group on Facebook. He stressed that this was not an official communication medium for the Maine Conference but was fellowship group within the conference membership.
  5. David reported that the latest proposal for restructuring of the United Church of Christ had been rejected. No reorganization recommendation will be made at the 2009 General Synod and no decisions have been made on “next steps.” For the Council’s edification, he described the current and proposed organizational structures.

Current                                                                      Proposed

Four separate/autonomous organizations

And the Executive Council                                                    A single organization

   (each with its own staff & endowment)                                (staff & combined endowment)

Four boards consisting of representatives of conferences    One board consisting of representa-

& historically underrepresented groups                                tives of conferences & historically

Local Church Ministries (@55 members)                     underrepresented groups

Wider Church Ministries (@55 members)                            United Church Board (88)

                  Justice and Witness Ministries (@55 members)

                  Office of General Ministries (@55 members)

                  Executive Board (95 members)

- Acts as Synod ad interim (between synods)

- Finance/Budget Committee (20 members) which

               distributes % of OCWM to 5 Ministries

 

Weaknesses                                                                Weaknesses                     

            Expensive (each board meets 2/year for 3 days)                   Fewer representatives of under-

            Cumbersome: policies need approval of all 5 boards                          represented groups

            Separate endowments controlled by individual boards         All conferences, incl. Maine: only

                                                                                                               1 representative

Concern about “hierarchical”

                                                                                                               Structure

 

   Strengths                                                                     Strengths

Many voices generally results in creative thinking              Less expensive (fewer meetings)  

All conferences, incl. Maine, represented on all 5 boards    Unified budget

Formula for historically underrepresented groups                Less cumbersome decision-making

 

           

Continuing Business:

Special Conference Meeting Planning Committee Report: Herb reported that the committee had met to begin the planning process. Issues discussed included the presentation by Austin Smith and Chris Berry of Scott Simon Architects, the need for a worship leader, parliamentarian and tellers, the pre-registration and registration process, and arrangements for the meeting at the Waterville church. In the course of its discussion, a number of questions were raised that can be anticipated to be asked prior to or at the Special Conference Meeting. The council provided the following responses to those questions:

1.     Should sections of the Rockcraft property be sold separately or should the entire property be offered as a single unit? [Questions 2 – 5 below would need to be addressed for each section to be sold separately] – If the vote at the June 6th Special Conference Meeting is to sell the Rockcraft Retreat Center and property, it should be sold as a single unit and with the assistance of one or more real estate agencies that specialize in this type of property. It was recognized that these agencies likely would be located out of state. Austin Smith may be a resource for identifying such agencies.

2.     Who will decide when to put the property up for sale? Technically the property would be up for sale following an affirmative vote at the June 6th meeting. Practically speaking, however, the real estate agent would provide advice concerning the timing of listing the property.

3.     Who will decide what the advertised selling price should be? While the advice of the real estate agency would be considered, a four-person committee comprised of the Moderator, the Business Manager, the Conference Minister, and a representative from the Board of Trustees would decide the advertised selling price. The Coordinating Council may establish a minimum selling price.

4.     Who will negotiate for the Conference during a possible sale, if required?

5.     Who will authorize a final selling price? The same four-member committee would negotiate and authorize a final selling price.

6.     What will happen to the funds from the sale of the property? Short-term and long-term? The funds received from the sale of the Rockcraft property would be held in a separate account until such time as the Conference, at an Annual or Special Conference Meeting, decides on its disposition.

7.     What will happen to the Rockcraft endowment and its annual investment income? Legal advice would be sought concerning the use of endowment income if the sale of the Rockcraft property is approved and subsequently made.

The council also requested that staff seek legal advice to clarify the role of the Board of Trustees in the sale of Conference property and obligations associated with the burial site located on the property.

There was considerable discussion about the contents of the additional letter to be sent to all churches, clergy, associations, and delegates.

1.     The letter should be sent to all churches, association officers, Commission members, Conference committee members, active and retired clergy.

2.     The letter should include the fact that only the sale of the Rockcraft property will be considered at the June 6th Special Conference Meeting. The Coordinating Council is not, at this time, making any recommendations concerning the Pennell Center or Pilgrim Lodge.

3.     Churches and associations will be asked to certify, by June 3, 2009, the names of official delegates to the Special Conference Meeting through return mail, telephone call, or email message.

4.     While the Special Conference Meeting is open to all, only official delegates will be permitted to speak to and vote on the issue before the meeting.

5.     A piece regarding the polity of the United Church of Christ which instructs delegates to vote their conscience as the Holy Spirit leads them at that time in that place will be included in the mailing.

 

 

Resourcing the Local Church Nominations:

Darren Morgan reported that 3 members of the Resourcing the Local Church Committee had resigned and need to be replaced. He presented the names of 8 people, according to their geographic and status requirements, who have expressed an interest in serving:

 

 

Clergy North/East (replacing Gini King):   Clergy South/West (replacing Carra Bradt):

Rev. Sandra Reed, Bar Harbor                       Rev. Nancy Foran, Raymond

Rev. Ginger Snap-Cunningham, Franklin     Rev. Susan Tierney, Madison

Rev. Bill Carter, Rangeley

Laity North/East (replacing Roberta Griffiths):      Rev. Ezra Chappola, Portland                        

            Allison Keef, Bangor – Bangor (All Souls)                           (Steven’s Avenue)

Sandy Kurtz, Dover-Foxcroft

On a motion by Ron Bienema, seconded by Linda Kimball, the council voted to appoint Sandra Read to Resourcing the Local Church. On a motion by Ron Bienema, seconded by Jane Lowell, the council voted to appoint Nancy Foran to Resourcing the Local Church. On a motion by Ron Bienema, seconded by Linda Kimball, the council voted to appoint Allison Keefe to Resourcing the Local Church.

 

Coordinating Council Fall Retreat: The council decided, after considerable discussion, to schedule its fall retreat for a single day, October 23, 2009, rather than the usual evening/day schedule as a cost-saving measure. The business portion of the retreat will be limited to 2 hours, leaving sufficient time to participation in a program compatible with the retreat format.

 

State Youth Council and Association Reports:

  1. State Youth Council: Kelsea Trefethen reported that the Midwinter Retreat had been held at the Gorham church on February 20 – 22. New executive committee members were elected at that meeting. Event activities also included fundraising for the Special Olympics, donating food to the local food pantry, and participation in the Sunday worship service. She also indicated that an executive committee retreat would be held at the Saco church this weekend (March 27 – 29).
  2. The following association meetings will be held at the designated time and location:
    1. Kennebec Valley Association – April 5, Old South Church, Hallowell
    2. Oxford Union Association – April 26, First Congregational Church, Fryeburg
    3. Cumberland Association – April 26, Windham Hill Church, Windham
    4. York Association – April 26, South Congregational, Kennebunkport
    5. Washington Association – May 5, Centre Street Church, Machais
    6. Franklin Association – May 10
    7. Hancock- Waldo Association – May 16, First Church, Belfast

 

Local Church Ministries Representative Report: Diane Bennekamper reported that a new “Praise, Worship and Song Book” would be available at this summer’s General Synod. She indicated that a new “Faith Practices Resource” has been developed, consisting of a 6-year schedule of 4 segments designed around different topics, each segment 6 to 12 weeks in duration.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 2:55 p.m.