At its January meeting, the Vestry:

1) discussed and approved the 2004 operating budget, including $60,000 in fund transfers to balance the budget, as recommended by the Finance Committee;

2) met with Lisa Fischbeck and Joan Siefert Rose of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate, learning that the congregation has recently doubled in size and receiving a report on the anticipated budget for ECOTA for the next few years;

3) authorized up to $10,000 for a six-month pilot evangelism program in print and audio media, this project to be funded from Undesignated Bequests and Gifts;

4) received an initial report on stewardship of time in the parish; and

5) accepted the Inter Faith Council proposal to provide temporary housing for the homeless during IFC renovations.

The January meeting of the Vestry was held in the parish library on Thursday, January 15, 2004. Vestry members present were Ted Vaden (Sr. Warden), Paul Carew (Jr. Warden), Bert Liverance, Suzanne Sauter, Robert Wright, Jean DeSaix, Dick Taylor, Kevin Trapani, Bunnie Collura, George Evans, Joe Khoury, and Jack Scarborough. Also present were Stephen Elkins-Wilkins (Rector), Martha Hart (Deacon), Barbara Hastings (Parish Administrator), John McGee (Treasurer), Barney Varner (Sr. Associate Treasurer), and Nancy Kelly (Clerk).

Following an executive session of the Vestry, the Rector opened the meeting at 7:10 p.m..

Devotions
Mrs. Collura led the devotions. She focused on leadership, reading a portrait of a godly leader from Psalm 15. She concluded with a prayer for guidance.

Selection of Timekeeper
Mrs. Hastings agreed to serve as timekeeper for the meeting.

PARISH CONCERNS

There were no issues of parish concern expressed.

There were no corrections made to the minutes of the focus session of December 18.

The following corrections were made to the minutes of the Vestry meeting of December 18:

pp. 4-5, change 501c3 to 501(c)3 in next to last paragraph on p. 4 and in motion, paragraph following motion, and last paragraph of p. 5

p. 11, delete the last paragraph and insert in its place "The Finance Committee submitted its recommendation for the Bobby Mills bequest.

p. 12, change "to the Outreach Endowment" to "to that fund," and change "and 50% to the Stoudemire Chapel Fund" to "and the other 50% to the Stoudemire Chapel Fund."

It was moved by Mr. Liverance, seconded by Mr. Wright, and passed unanimously, that the Vestry approve the minutes of the focus session of December 18 and that it approve the minutes of the Vestry meeting of December 18 as amended.

Both items of the addendum have been completed.

There were no items on the Consent Agenda.

Rector
The report of the Rector is attached.

Referring to item 1 of the report, the Pilot Evangelism Project (proposal attached), Dr. Khoury suggested that radio exposure might be more effective if it were more than twice a week. He also suggested that smaller ads over a longer period of time would be preferable to larger ads less frequently. Ms Sauter agreed, expressing the opinion that audio media has more impact than print media.

Mr. Wright cited anecdotal evidence that when the parish has done more advertising, attendance has been better. He asked how we can sustain increased attendance once people have been attracted to the church by major services and special events.

Mr. Taylor expressed negative feelings about allocating such sizeable funds for advertising at the same time as cutting programs in the 2004 budget. Mrs. DeSaix expressed agreement with this. Mr. Elkins-Williams replied that the rationale for this project is that the parish is trying to build programs. Mr. Carew agreed that there would be a need to explain the expenditure as a means of improving program, and he agreed that approval of the proposal would be an appropriate step to take. Mr. Wright, addressing the issue of the timing of this proposal, said that it would be better to implement the project this month, before Lent. Mr. Taylor reiterated that he cannot support this proposal tonight.

Ms Sauter agreed that the church needs to increase its visibility in the media, although she expressed some concern about spending this much money on the project at this time.

Mrs. DeSaix asked how much the church is currently spending on ads. Mr. Elkins-Williams said that the parish appears in the directory listing in the Chapel Hill News. Organist-Choirmaster Van Quinn occasionally submits ads for evensongs, the cost of this publicity being supported by the James Fund.

Mr. Vaden stated that he will recuse himself from any vote on this matter.

Mr. Taylor asked why this proposal was not considered as part of the 2004 budget. He asked why it is being considered now, right after budget discussions of the difficult decision made to transfer funds to balance the budget. Mr. Elkins-Williams said that this expense would be an allocation rather than a transfer, to which Mr. Varner replied that in effect it is the same as a transfer because the money would be coming from the same fund.

It was moved by Mr. Taylor, and failed with three (3) votes in favor, five (5) in opposition, and one (1) abstention, that the matter be tabled until the February meeting of the Vestry.

Discussion resumed on the proposal. Mr. Elkins-Williams asked if it would be possible to approve a lesser amount for this program year. Mr. Wright asked if the rates for radio and newspaper ads were based on a particular time framework.

It was moved by Ms Sauter, seconded by Mr. Wright, and passed with five (5) in favor, three (3) in opposition, and one (1) abstention, that the Vestry authorize up to $10,000 for a six-month pilot evangelism program in print and audio media along the lines presented in the Pilot Evangelism Project proposal, this project to be funded from Undesignated Bequests and Gifts.

Mrs. DeSaix asked what information from the communications consultant led to the belief that this program would be effective. Mr. Elkins-Williams replied that there have been no studies on the effectiveness of such programs.

Deacon (Martha Hart)
Mrs. Hart referred the Vestry to her semi-annual report of last month, saying that she has nothing new to report.

Sr. Warden
The report of the Sr. Warden is attached.

Referring to the second item of the report, upcoming Vestry elections, Mr. Vaden asked Vestry members to forward to the Rector or the wardens the names of potential candidates or to contact the candidates directly.

Discussion turned to the third item of the report, the Johnson Intern Program. Mr. Carew asked if our continued relationship with the program will jeopardize potential funding. Mr. Wright replied that there are some foundations that will support the program specifically because of its affiliation with a religious group, just as there are those who will decline to do so for the same reason. Mr. Varner asked if the Johnson Intern Program will have its own books or will continue to run them through our system He said that this needs to be considered carefully.

Jr. Warden
The report of the Jr. Warden is attached.

Referring to the third item of the report, the regional conference for the Consortium for Endowed Episcopal Parishes, Mr. Elkins-Williams added that the conference will be held on February 28 from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.. He encouraged Vestry members to attend.

Mrs. Collura reported on the stewardship of time report (attached) that she has been compiling over the past few months. She will continue to update the report as she receives more information. Dr. Khoury commented that the report contains very good stewardship information.

Parish Administrator
The report of the Parish Administrator is attached. This report includes the Vestry Candidates Survey and the 2004 Vestry Election Schedule.

Treasurer
Attached is the Treasurer's Report for December 2003. Also attached is the budget comparison for November/December 2002/2003.

Mr. Varner reported that the work to close the books for the 2003 budget year is almost complete. Mr. Elkins-Williams commented that the report shows good news in that the 2003 budget ended on a more positive note than was projected when it was adopted in January 2003.

The major area for concern is that pledge revenue is not growing. Mr. Elkins-Williams attributed this to an unusual canvass year, including the impact from the actions taken at General Convention and parishioners who have transferred to the Episcopal Church of the Advocate. The good news is that more than 25% of pledges for 2004 increased by 10% or more.

Finance Committee
The report of the Finance Committee, including the 2004 working budget that was fine-tuned at the Vestry budget retreat of Saturday, January 10, is attached.

Mr. Varner reported that pledges to date total $926,338, which shows an increase from the revenue totals available to the Vestry at its Saturday budget retreat. This compares to pledges totaling $926,931 at the same time last year.

Discussion turned to the use of fund transfers again this year to balance the budget. In 2003 there were transfers totaling $37,000. The working budget for 2004 earmarks $60,000 in fund transfers to balance the budget. The bulk of these transfers would be from Undesignated Bequests and Gifts. Mr. Elkins-Williams observed that revenue for this fund is unpredictable, to which Mr. McGee added that the effect is that we're spending down this fund.

Mr. Trapani expressed the opinion that in spite of all the hard work of Vestry members and others directly involved in the canvass, revenues do not meet the needs of the parish. He feels strongly that the parish isn't supporting its ministries. This leads him to conclude that the tactic of using fund transfers to balance the budget is not a matter of excessive expenses, but rather of inadequate contributions.

Discussion turned to expenditures. Mr. Liverance suggested that $5000 from the Episcopal Seminaries line item be allocated instead to the Christian Education line item. Mrs. DeSaix asked if the reduction in the Christian Education line item will send a negative signal to Christian Education Director Gretchen Jordan. Mr. Elkins-Williams suggested instead that the $5000 under discussion be used to restore to 2003 levels the Christian Education, Vestments, Youth Ministry, Crossties, and Reconciliation Ministries line items.

Mr. Vaden reminded the Vestry of the careful, deliberative process followed in devising this budget at its Saturday budget retreat. In response, Mr. Taylor asked why the Vestry wasn't looking at the resources now available.

Referring to the lapsed clergy position of Associate for Parish Ministry, Mr. Wright observed that Vestry decisions for the 2004 budget will have an impact on the 2005 budget.

Ms Sauter reminded the Vestry that there is always the option of revisiting budget decisions during the year, to which Mr. Wright added that the Vestry on Saturday considered but ultimately rejected the idea of proposing a partial year deficit budget.

Mr. McGee noted that 15% of the proposed budget is supported by funds other than pledges.

Mr. Trapani observed that some parishioners might see a conflict in asking for an increase in pledges when there is a large balance in the Undesignated Bequests and Gifts fund. Mr. Taylor added that it is disingenuous to claim that we're depleting our resources when we continue to accumulate them.

Mr. Wright asked that the Diocesan Asking line item be corrected to read Diocesan Share, which is the new term being used by the Diocese. Mr. Elkins-Williams noted that the Vestment Maintenance line item should be merged with the Vestment Replacement line item to be a single Vestments line item.

It was moved by the Finance Committee, and passed unanimously, that the Vestry approve the 2004 budget as proposed, with the changes in the names of the line items discussed, now to be known as Diocesan Share and Vestments.

To a question for clarification from Mr. Vaden, Mr. Wright confirmed that this budget includes the transfer of $45,213 from Undesignated Bequests and Gifts.

Mr. Elkins-Williams expressed thanks to the members of the Finance Committee for their hard and diligent work, and the Vestry applauded the committee.

Buildings and Grounds Committee
Mr. Liverance reported that the sidewalk project negotiations continue, with discussions with Bruce Heflin and the arborist at UNC. The committee would like to see UNC participate in the project, continuing the project beyond the church property to the corner to include the Spencer Dorm property.

Mr. Liverance reported also that the Parlor Committee recently met, on Tuesday, January 13. The Chapel Committee also is meeting.

The work to join rooms 25 and 26 with a Dutch door has been completed.

Of continuing concern is what to do about the church's HVAC system.

Rob Sullivan is working on determining modifications needed to the sound system in the church.

Proposed Plan for IFC Homeless Shelter Renovations
Attached is a proposed plan, submitted to the Vestry by the Social Ministry Committee, for Chapel of the Cross participation in housing the homeless for a two-week period during IFC shelter renovations. Mr. Elkins-Williams expressed his appreciation for the thoroughness of the report.

It was noted that references to housing up to 24 guests should read a maximum of 24 guests.

Mr. Liverance observed that the elevator could pose a security problem and would have to be locked. It would also be necessary to lock off the stairwells providing access to other areas of the church.

Mr. Vaden asked if anyone has looked into the issue liability insurance. Mr. Elkins-Williams replied that Chris Moran has said that he has done so. Mr. Liverance added that we need to make certain that our current insurance will cover this outreach project.

It was moved by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Carew, and passed unanimously, that, based on the report of the Social Ministry Committee, the Vestry go forward with acceptance of the IFC proposal to provide temporary housing for the homeless during IFC renovations.

Episcopal Church of the Advocate
Lisa Fischbeck, soon to be Vicar of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate, and church treasurer Joan Siefert Rose, joined the meeting for discussion of the budget for ECOTA for the next few years.

Ms Fischbeck reported that the parish has doubled in size, from about 25 households totaling about 50 individuals, to some 50 households totaling about 100 individuals. Of the new members, about half are Episcopalians.

ECOTA is looking for new worship space. Plans to move to the Century Center in Carrboro have been abandoned, as the church was informed that on some Sundays the town would have priority over use of the space.

Ms Rose reported that projections for the ECOTA budget are based on a few assumptions, one of them being that worship will continue at the Unity Church only through September. Beginning at that time, the parish will be taking on additional expenses. ECOTA reserves are projected to be depleted by 2006, at which time the parish may need to request further assistance from the three sponsoring parishes.

Mr. Elkins-Williams reported that the mail campaign requesting financial support of ECOTA resulted in about 50 responses and yielded about $11,000, this amount in addition to the gift of $25,000 from a Chapel of the Cross parishioner. Of the $11,000, $8000 has been placed in the operating budget and the remaining $3000 in a fund for building and land.

Mr. Wright asked about the status of the $25,000 gift. Ms Fischbeck replied that it is currently being held in the fund for building and land.

Mr. Wright observed that there is no need for Chapel of the Cross Vestry action on this budget, as ECOTA will have a canonical budget as of Annual Convention.

Referring to the Moving Expense line item, Mr. Wright asked if this means that Ms Fischbeck is planning to move her family to Orange County. She confirmed that she hopes that this will take place this summer.

Mr. Wright asked also about the advertising line items. Ms Fischbeck responded that ECOTA is not yet listed in the Yellow Pages. She added that the parish also wants to start posting flyers around town.

Mr. Wright commended ECOTA on its average pledge of $1500.

Mr. Vaden encouraged the continuance of strong ties between the Chapel of the Cross and the Episcopal Church of the Advocate, even though the mission has now been officially launched.

Mr. Elkins-Williams led the Vestry in prayer, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m..

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy F. Kelly
Clerk of the Vestry

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

(All attachments are kept in a binder in the library along with the draft minutes of the vestry meetings.)