Minutes of Vestry Meeting

Minutes of Vestry Meeting June 25, 2013

Clergy Present: Rector, Fr. Joe Acanfora.

Vestry Present: Elaine Hoptiak, Tom deSocio, Peter Edman, Bill Collins, Jane Campbell, John Stock, Joel Carrillo, David Smith, Gayle Fischer, James Daffron, Andrew Blount, and Terry Dankel.

Others Present: Betsy Tower, Strength Building Coach, and Gary French, Administrator.

7:15 pm – Announcement: The Rector shared that Terry Dankel would be having back surgery on Thursday, June 27, and asked for our prayers and support for Terry and his wife Elizabeth. Terry said he will be at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington for the surgery and that he expects to be in the hospital for 4 or 5 days.

The meeting proceeded with praise and worship, a reading and discussion of Romans Chapter 12, “Living Sacrifices.” The Rector said that God has gifted us uniquely and wants us to work interdependently to lead COAA. Vestry members shared their insights on the reading, noting that Romans 12:3 admonishes us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but to be sober in judgment, in accordance to the measure of faith that God has given us; verse 12:4 speaks of one body (unity and interdependency); verse12:6 speaks of different gifts, according to the grace given us, and verse12:16 admonishes us to live in harmony with one another. The Vestry prayed for openness to the Lord’s wisdom and leading for our meeting and decisions.

Living Our Strengths: Betsy Tower led the Vestry in a review of the homework from the prior meeting. She discussed the difference between a group and a team and asked us to share examples of how we have functioned successfully in a team environment. Groups are people gathered or located together. Teams are people organized to work together. James Daffron shared about his work with the Jaycees leading an effort that brought experts and volunteers together to clean up a neighborhood park. Tom deSocio shared about his experience as a team member at Ford Motor Company (FMC) where he was tasked with introducing Volvo Cars, the newest member of the Ford Motor Company family of brands, to the employees at Ford World HQ, shortly after Ford acquired Volvo. The purpose was to gain a lift in vehicle sales among employees, retirees, and FMC suppliers. Tom was responsible for assembling a team to plan and execute the event, which required working with FMC Human Resources, Facilities, and management to gain consensus as to when and where the event would be held. Tom also had to assemble a team of Volvo colleagues to support and participate in the event. In addition, Tom had to pull in FMC’s ad agency and some outside vendors they had worked with at other events. Tom said they packed the house for 2 nights and gained a huge lift in sales that they were able to sustain until Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese.

Betsy said these are excellent examples and that most of us don’t have an objective analysis of our gifts and strengths. She said that we can be successful as a team member or a team leader; both are important and fill a need. The important thing is to recognize our strengths and gifts and use them to work together in harmony to achieve a common goal.

Draft Policies and Procedures Manual: The Vestry was previously provided a copy of the draft manual for review and comment. The Rector explained that COAA did not previously have

1 written policies and procedures. He said that written guidance is important for transparency and consistency. The Rector said that Gary French took on the responsibility for developing the Policy Manual. Gary consulted with staff at another church about their church policy and procedures and developed a draft COA Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual, which is expected to be implemented by the end of the year. Gary noted that the mission statement in the draft manual refers to Church of the Apostles Anglican and defines it as “COA.” Gary said that we own both names and it makes sense to return to using COA because there is no existing COA Episcopal Church name that would create confusion.

Elaine Hoptiak asked whether we should have a standard 2-week notice for termination without cause. Gary responded that we would probably do this as a practice; however, there may be instances where we could not always do this. Because the Vestry did not reach a consensus, no change was made to this section of the draft manual at this time.

Gayle suggested adding wording in the General Information section, which includes guidance on employee performance and behavior, to emphasize that as Christians, we should do all things as unto the Lord, loving one another as Christ loved us and serving one another as Christ taught us. She also suggested that in the section regarding COA’s commitment to providing a work environment that is free from harassment that we insert the words “moral, Christian” in front of the words “work environment.” Everyone was in agreement with these changes. Gayle also had some minor editorial comments and suggestions for cross references between a few sections of the manual that she provided for Gary’s consideration. Gary said he would review Vestry comments and provide an updated draft for further review before our next meeting. The Vestry commended Gary for his efforts to develop a thorough, well-written manual.

Committee Assignments: The Rector said he wanted to implement a new concept for our committees and committee memberships. He said that he wanted us to look at committees as comprising those on Vestry and those who are not on Vestry in order to provide continuity of operations. He also suggested that Vestry members not serve as committee chairs. The Rector explained that we have a lot of work to do and the workload should be shared between Vestry, staff, and congregation volunteers to best leverage our available gifts and talents. He also encouraged Vestry members not to volunteer for more than one committee. The Vestry was in agreement with this new concept.

 Facilities Committee. The Rector stated that the $5,000 approved by the Vestry and the congregation was provided to the architect and builder and they are meeting with suppliers on cost and schedule estimates, which are expected by the end of this week. He shared the names of those who expressed an interest in working on the Facilities Committee, including James Daffron and John Stock who helped pull the information together for our June 9, 2013, Parish Meeting; Bill Collins as Senior Warden; Kristen Colligan, Vanessa Bickle, and Chris Rothgeb who are involved in education and worship; Pam Marsh who is our current facilities liaison point of contact; Gary French, our Administrator; and Phil Edwards as a volunteer from the congregation. The Rector will participate with this committee. The Vestry was in favor of the named committee members.

 Finance Committee. The Rector noted that Tom deSocio and Gayle Fischer were serving on this Committee, along with Phil Rooney, our Treasurer. He said that there will likely be other members added to this Committee.

 The Rector provided a handout that identified potential Committees in the areas of Discipleship, Evangelism/Communications, Mission, Stewardship/Finance, and Worship, 2 including related functional areas and ministries. Vestry members had several ideas on how the various functional areas could be grouped in a committee structure. We agreed to give this further consideration and revisit this discussion at our next meeting.

Transitional Housing for Homeless Members of the Congregation: The Rector said that Elaine Hoptiak had done significant work since our last meeting to develop a Vision and goals for a COAA homeless ministry. Elaine said she had worked with Nneka Ofulue and Celine Baker to develop the vision and goals, requirements for admission to potential COAA transitional housing, and information on support services available in the Fairfax area. Elaine said that to date, she had met with two potential applicants. Elaine explained that one of the applicants has serious physical limitations and is facing corrective surgery. This individual would not be able to use stairs for sometime after the surgery. Elaine discussed possible accommodations such as adding a stall shower to the half bath on the lower level of the Edman’s house.

There was additional discussion of the advantages of homeowners making the lease arrangements versus the Church providing the lease, the need to identify zoning rules, and the possibility of locating additional housing in the future. The Rector said he is aware of three- bedroom, one-level apartments renting for around $1100 per month in Fairfax County. However, he noted that there are limited units with subsidized rent and there is a very long waiting list for these. Celine is planning to contact Truro and the Lamb Center and possibly the Falls Church to find out what exactly they are doing regarding the homeless to determine if there are ideas from their experience that would be helpful to COAA.

The Rector said that Fairfax County officials had called Church Pastors to a meeting where they explained that Fairfax has maxed out on its capacity to serve the homeless and that the Churches needed to step up and help. Elaine said that she had done about as much as she could on this effort and encourages others to volunteer. She said that Celine would continue to be involved, but could not lead this effort. Celine’s research has unearthed some social workers that are associated with a nonprofit in the community. The team has not yet reached out to them. There are also licensed social workers who are members of the congregation who may be able help out with advice on services available, but they have not yet been contacted.

We will need funding to go forward with this effort. It is clear that the Compassion Fund is not sufficient to cover the cost of housing for our homeless members and that we will need donations from the congregation if we are to go forward with this effort.

Treasurer’s Report: Phil Rooney is out of town, and Gary French provided copies of the Treasurer’s Report to the Vestry.

At 10:45 pm, The Rector moved and Terry seconded a motion to adjourn. The decision to adjourn was unanimous. In closing the meeting, the Vestry joined in the closing prayer noted at bottom of our meeting agenda as follows:

“Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”