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Northampton United Methodist Church Council
Minutes of Regular Meeting Held  at 8:00 am on October 13, 2007  

The Chair, Don Cooper, declared a quorum and called the meeting to order.

The meeting was opened with prayer by Stan Rittgers.

Members present: Dave Scavuzzo, Stan Rittgers, Kim Lint, Brett Bartels, Karen Hilderbrand, Don Cooper, Steve Yashnik, Dave Waldron, Cindy Patterson, Sonia Kern, Noreen Evans, Pat Davis.

Pat Davis and Kim Lint graciously consented to work together to take the minutes of the meeting.

Dave Scavuzzo announced that an anonymous gift of $1,000 had been given for the café (Re-Vision).

Karen Hilderbrand, Finance chair, noted that presently we are $31,000 under budget compared to last year at this time when we were $10,000 behind.

Unfinished Business

Re-Vision:

Discussion of the Re-Vision project and the commitment letter mailed to Church Council members by Dave Waldron in July. Responses: two handwritten notes returned and seven completed forms returned. Everyone who attended the July meeting but did not respond to the letter was called by Don Cooper (along with ten other church leaders). Verbally, $12,500 has been committed by Church Council members (six giving units). Five Church Council members committed to raising funds for the project through a rummage sale and a couple of members stated they had all ready given (some twice) for this project. Overall, Church Council members say they are committed to this project and the average commitment level of Church Council members (on a scale of 1 to 10) is seven. One person said she was not for the project but has changed her mind. Several stated that they were unable to commit funds (e.g., "gave to RFKC," "too many other commitments," "I have kids in college which is stretching our budget," "already giving [generously] to the church," "our extra mile giving is maxed out").

A discussion of the Re-Vision project included these questions/comments:

1.  Is the group committed enough to follow through with this project? It was agreed that the commitment of the leaders will reflect the commitment of the congregation. The consensus was (again) that the leaders are committed, we are extraordinarily blessed, we are called to spread the good news (and our "DNA"), and that God is at work here. Now the challenge is to communicate the vision to the congregation.

2.  Do we really need a place to get coffee in the church? It was agreed that this is not the reason or the vision for the café. Outreach is the reason.

3.  Who will move tables and chairs around the new café? The current model being pursued for the café is one of it being run like a business. One or more employees will manage the facility with support, as needed, from volunteers from the church. Employing church youth was mentioned as was hiring one person to oversee (manage) the business and facility.

4.  Where is the passion for this project? The consensus is that once the true vision for this project for outreach and bringing people to Christ is properly communicated to the congregation, excitement and passion will follow. Clearly, the full vision and purpose of the project has yet to be effectively communicated to the congregation.

5.  What is the vision of the project? The café will be used as a meeting place for small groups, a safe meeting place for youth, a "demilitarized zone" for the unchurched, and a comfortable place for interested people to ask questions and build a bridge to the church. The world is not comfortable with the present image of the church, and we are called to go to the world in their place of comfort.

6.  How do we best illustrate both the "bricks and mortar" side and the ministry side of the project to the congregation? The consensus was to continue to (and more effectively and thoroughly) communicate the vision of the project from the pulpit and during worship, have members of Church Council discuss and share their passion for the project with their respective small groups, and ask all church leaders to look for opportunities to answer questions and pass the true vision of the project onto members of the congregation.

A discussion was held regarding the type of person it will take to lead this project to fruition. It was agreed that one person should lead the "charge" and that it will take a person with a passion (vision) for outreach ministry who understands project management and what it takes to get a project like this done. In fact, it may take two people: one to lead the ministry end of the project and another to lead the facility/business management end of the project. As was agreed on previous projects at NUMC, it usually takes one type of person to lead the planning of such a project and another type of person to manage the details of the construction of the project (manage, negotiate, pay bills, etc).

The benefits of having a separate entrance and clear signage were discussed. This would make it easier for the unchurched to visit and would more closely resemble the environment that has become so enticing and comfortable to the world.

The importance of having both a business plan (with specific financial, equipment, and personnel issues addressed) as well as a ministry plan was discussed.

Cindy Patterson made a motion, which was properly seconded, to have a task group develop both a business and ministry plan that includes identifying a person to lead the project and a financial cap for getting all this done. The motion passed by unanimous oral vote. Discussion on this issue included the fact that the person for this position was not required to be from the church, but a member of NUMC was preferred.

The Chair (Don Cooper) directed that a Task Group be organized to address this motion. Members of the Task Group include Don Cooper, Terri Sunderland, Sonia Kern, Karen Hilderbrand, and Dave Scavuzzo. The mission of this group is to recommend a person to fulfill previous motion and investigate methods of developing a business/ministry plan for the project.

Stewardship:

Karen Hilderbrand will be speaking to the congregation regarding stewardship and the "state of union." John Wheaton and Karolyn Dunlop will speak regarding ministry to people outside (internal and external to the church), and Sonia Kern will discuss the café ministry.

Pledge cards will be requested on November 18th & 25th and go in a box on the altar. The cards will be reviewed only for a ball park figures.

The use of gift annuities was discussed briefly thinking that they might be useful to our congregation. Contacting Brian Ray was thought to be the best path to learn more about these.

New Business

All leaders were encouraged to visit small groups, share the café vision, and get feedback about the project.

Reach will be held the week of July 6, 2008 (Sunday through Saturday; setup the week before). A steering committee is in place. Contact Cindy Patterson for more info.

Having no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:20 am.

The next Church Council meeting is scheduled for Saturday November 10, 2007, at 8:00 am.

Respectfully submitted, 
Pat Davis