Bishop's Committee Meeting Minutes, April 2009

CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION

Bishop’s Committee Meeting
Monday, 6 April 2009
3:00 – 6:00 pm

Present: The Rev. Russ Ruffino
Elisabeth Catuogno, Warden
Rosemarie Valentine, Treasurer
Chase Palmeri, Clerk

1. Father Russ opened the meeting with a prayer and a gift.
2. Minutes of the meeting of 3 March 2009 were approved.

Action Report

3. Move to Corso Cavour has been completed.
4. Chairs were purchased at Arreda Famiglia. The wrong chairs were delivered.
5. Tables and closets were delivered and have mostly been assembled.
6. Italian service was held on 22 March, but not as well attended as expected.
7. Gordon College President has written responding to Father Russ’s letter of thanks for hospitality.

Vicar’s Report

8. Bishop’s Committee members received letters of appointment on Sunday 5 April, will be blessed at mass for church dedication Sunday 26 April.
9. Bishop’s Committee meetings will be held first Monday of every month at 3:30 pm.
10. Sermon on finances will be delivered by Father Russ on Sunday 26 April.
11. Sermons will continue to be sent to the full mailing list by Father Russ. Rosemarie will update mailing list to include all members of the congregation and provided contact information.
12. Photographs of the church are needed, particularly of special occasions, like Easter, for our own uses and to provide to St. Paul’s Church and the Bishop. Elisabeth will invite a prospective parishioner to attend and take photos for Easter. Rosemarie and Elisabeth willing to take photographs if that person does not attend and on other occasions.
13. Mid-week service arrangements to be finalized by Father Russ after his consultation with the congregation using a written form seeking their preferences with respect to the time, date and type of service.
14. Insurance policy has been obtained and will be kept with the rental contract.
15. Father Russ will write a bi-monthly newsletter to keep parishioners informed about church calendar, services, events, news, summaries of Bishop’s Committee meetings and actions.
16. Elisabeth has created test version of a blog that might be an easy and timely way to communicate news (see also Warden’s Report below). Father Russ will look at the blog and would like to consider this alternative to newsletter.
17. Role descriptions of Warden, Treasurer, Clerk will be prepared by Father Russ. To this end Rosemarie will provide him with a copy of Vestry Handbook.
18. Bishop’s Committee members should make an effort to write notes about how they do routine tasks related to their assignment for eventual inclusion in the Polices and Procedures Manual for easy access by others.
19. All files and papers related to the church including contract and insurance policy from point 14. above will be kept at the church premises where the church filing cabinet will be located. The church file is presently at Csaba’s house.
20. Past Bishop’s Committee minutes available in soft copy, through March 2009 will be saved by Rosemarie on a disk or pen drive and left in filing cabinet. This will be updated once per year by the Clerk with soft copies of all new documents. The possibility of storing the soft copy of key files on-line in connection with the church web page or the church blog would be explored by Elisabeth.
21. Attention to policies, procedures and committees is needed in four main areas: (i) publicity and outreach; (ii) hospitality; (iii) Sunday school; (iv) altar guild. These areas were discussed here and later during the meeting in reports from Rosemarie and Elisabeth.
22. Publicity and outreach. Cynthia Selfridge has offered to do this over next five months. Elisabeth and Father Russ will contact her to take this further. This was discussed further during the Warden’s Report as below.
23. Hospitality. One person should coordinate this. Kay has been willing so far. Helene Rufty and Carol McConnell have also offered and can be approached by Elisabeth to assist.
24. Sunday school. Elisabeth and Helen Rufty comprise a provisional Sunday School Committee. They have acquired materials except felt board and books that are much needed. And she has been doing some outreach to contact and follow up with English-speaking parents.
25. During upcoming weeks we will continue without Sunday School. Spring and Summer will be used for planning, organizing, and getting last materials. It was agreed that Sunday school will be launched with an agreed, well-planned approach and teaching arrangements in September.
26. Elisabeth agreed to do outreach for the Fall and will contact parents of potential Sunday School children and consult them.
27. A coordinator will be identified for Sunday School, possibly Helene Rufty. A committee should be formally appointed and other members of the congregation should be encouraged to get involved in teaching on a rotating basis. It would also be good to have a person on the Sunday School committee who is not a parent. Father Russ will follow up on this.
28. Altar Guild. The work of the Altar Guild includes cleaning the church, laundering the linens, producing the bulletin, making sure there are church flyers, assigning readers and chalice bearers . Father Russ agreed that he will take on the responsibilities of the Altar Guild, except the laundering of the linens.
29. It was agreed that Rosemarie should have an alternate for the Altar Guild, that training could be held to teach others how to undertake altar guild and acolyte responsibilities at some time in future.
30. It was agreed that cleaning the church could be done by a cleaning lady and that Father Russ will approach his cleaner.
31. Father Russ will be absent from Orvieto while in Rome 13-16 April filling in for Father Michael.

Warden’s report (Elisabeth)

Worship Space

32. Store room will be organized including lighting and closets that will be assembled as soon as chairs are picked up by courier.
33. One closet will be used to store hospitality related material and Rosemarie has requested one cabinet for the altar guild supplies.
34. All contracts and utilities for church have been finalized by Elisabeth.
35. Elisabeth will update the inventory and put “Property of Church of the Resurrection” labels on church property if possible.
36. Flowers for church were donated by Catuogno’s.

Publicity

37. Proposal’s for publicity and outreach activities included:
a. Church blog
b. Increasing links and search optimization
c. Increased amount and quality of contact with people on mailing list
d. Print and on-line advertising
e. Permanent framed posters for tourist offices in Orvieto and Todi
f. Re-design of brochure and exploration of further distribution channels for it
g. Editorial contacts with Fodor’s. Rick Steve’s, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, etc.
h. Information to British, Australian, and American consulates local real estate agents, villa rentals, other businesses providing services to foreigners
i. Person-to-person contact through networking including an invitation to worship and lunch afterwards, to be coordinated with Hospitality committee
j. Father Russ on the road, looking for speaking engagements
k. Direct contact with local study abroad programmes
38. Additional suggestions included:
a. Father Russ officiating for weddings and blessing of marriages
b. Offering church space as a location for musical events
39. Elisabeth informed the Committee that she has created a test version that can be seen at www.cotr-orvieto.blogspot.com The blog could help in increasing the amount and quality of communications with people on the mailing list who could subscribe. She has also contacted some study abroad programmes and begun person to person contacts. Father Russ and the Committee members supported all of the proposed initiatives. Elisabeth agreed to follow up on each to the extent possible. Costs are likely to be Euro 250-300. The Committee agreed that she could incur costs up to this amount. The Treasurer will incorporate expenses for publicity in the budget for 2009.

Signs

40. Elisabeth has met with the Comune of Orvieto and requested permission for a sign above our door and on the arch leading in from Corso Cavour. She will provide to the Comune a design of the sign including wording and dimensions. The actual design will be made later by Csaba or Helene. It was agreed that the dimensions of the sign would be slightly small than the existing grate over the door.

Altar Guild Report (Rosemarie)

41. The Paschal Candle and a brass candle stand were donated by Father Russ and Barbara.
42. The Laudian frontal was purchased.
43. Some vestments have been purchase. They will be stored in the closet in the foyer.
44. Alternate(s) for Rosemarie and need for training noted as above, p. 29.

Treasurer’s Report (Rosemarie)

45. Income from collection plate increased in March, but still collection plate income to-date in 2009 still does not cover the direct costs of holding the Sunday service. Offerings to date in 2009 have been Euro 979.10 direct expenses of holding the service have been Euro 1048.67 leaving a deficit of Euro 69.57 for the first quarter of 2009.
46. Total expenditure made for the Church of the Resurrection, covered by St. Paul’s and other donors, during the period 1 January through 31 March 2009 were Euro 10 048. This included capital and operating expenses, including the costs of the stipend and housing of the Vicar, rent for the church and move in costs.
47. It was agreed that we should have a table that shows all costs of the church for the given year including columns for budgeted (or projected) expenses and for actual expenses. That table should clearly show separately operating and capital expenses.
48. It was agreed that Rosemarie will contact Laura at St. Paul’s to learn how its accounting is set up to determine if the same formats could be used by the Church of the Resurrection, before revising the budget and expenditure tables that she prepared. This will be done, if possible 13-16 April while Father Russ is in Rome.
49. Rosemarie will provide Father Russ with global figures of all operating and capital costs – if possibly by 26 April - so that they can be provided to the congregation to help all to understand the need to mobilize more resources.
50. The Treasurer moved and all agreed that the Treasurer be informed of all expenditure made for the church, regardless of whether reimbursement is sought.
51. All expenditure will be recorded as such regardless of how that expenditure is financed, even when the person or institution making the expenditure does not seek reimbursement. In that case the expenditures will be shown as donations.
52. Petty cash vouchers with receipts attached will be submitted to the Treasurer by the Bishop’s Committee and members of the congregation for all expenditures they make whether or not reimbursement is claimed.

Other Business

53. A calendar of all future events will be included on the agenda for information and review in next Bishop’s Committee Meeting.

Next meeting: Monday, 11 May 2009