July 16, 2020 Council Minutes

Holy Trinity Council Meeting

July 16, 2020

Held online via ZOOM

We gather in God’s Name Opening Prayer

1. Blessings
2. Thank You Cards
3. Meeting minutes June 9, 2020 – approved online.

We celebrate and Give Thanks for the Past

1. Treasurer Report
  • See attached report.
  • Camp Calumet: The question was raised whether we should donate the money allocated in the budget for Camp Calumet scholarships and retreats directly to Camp this year, given their lessened income due to the pandemic this year. No decision was reached.
    1. Secretary Report
  • Property:
  • Most issues the Fire Department identified last fall have been addressed; Dave Mercer and Property Team will continue to work on the rest.
  • Last week’s storm caused a power surge that damaged some of our electrical systems and knocked out internet and phone. Internet will hopefully be back this weekend, a few phone lines are back already. The damaged fire alarm system, which is part of the electrical system, will be a harder fix, since the parts needed for our current system are no longer manufactured. Replacing the systems might be covered under insurance, due to the nature of the damage.
  • Office: Mark has been in touch with regular building users, and provided an update on their status.
  • Fri & Sat AA groups: In the infancy stages of planning a return; are meeting over zoom for the time being.
  • Tuesday AA: Meeting over zoom, and has no immediate plans to return.
  • Sounds of Seacoast: No immediate plans to return. They would like to retain their Monday evening slot once it's safe to do so.
  • Monday Bridge group: Decided in April not to meet until at least November; their decision to return won't be re-evaluated until then.
  • The Ikebana Ikenobo Kittery Chapter (a flower arranging group that was supposed to have their first meeting here in April) would like to use the outdoor tent to hold their meetings, as they have less than 12 total members and can safely social distance. Their group is currently discussing whether or not that would be an acceptable option.
    1. Investment Group Implementation
  • See Treasurer Report.
    1. Pastor’s Report
  • See attached report.
    1. Ministry Team Reports
      a. Serve the Lord – Paul
  • Caring Connections: Cheryl’s recovery from surgery is going well. She has been active in doing phone and emails.
  • Social Ministry Fund Drive: The drive ended with a 51% increase in giving over the original 2020 budget.
  • Discussion of sharing it in a local paper and on social media, as well as during church.
  • Social ministry endowment distribution (continued discussion)
  • Motion/Second/Approved: To stop reinvesting the annual revenues and have those funds given to Social Ministry Team to distribute annually as a supplement and addition to their annually budgeted funds.
  • Discussion of whether to also give accrued principle down to its original level, or leave it as a larger principle which will mean a larger amount to give away later. Decision made to table it for the time being. b. Grow in Faith – Julie
  • Faith Formation met July 22. Russ Hillard is going to coordinate adult forums in the fall.
  • Virtual VBS with LutherCrest will be the first two weeks of August. c. Come Together – Rebecca
  • Outdoor worship seems to be going well thus far.

We Seek God’s Direction for our Church

1. Information/discussion about Church policies connected to COVID-19 restrictions
  • Discussion. Pastor and Krissy will sit down and discuss further, with Russ Hillard.
    1. Pop-up Pantry update
  • A work in progress, but going well so far. We have had people utilizing it.
    1. How is Church doing after four months of COVID-19 restrictions?
  • Our attendance is actually slightly higher than some previous summers. The situation is not ideal but Holy Tritiny is OK.
  • In-person gatherings have seen a few folks who haven’t joined us in a while due to technology barriers.
  • We understand that nothing about this situation is ideal. We are going to err on the side of extreme caution to keep not just ourselves but others safe. Places that have reopened have seen numbers increase, and that is not who we want to be.

We Look to the Future

1. Discussion about video-audio upgrade for services
  • Small team of people is working on how to do projection/online presence for whenever we return to the building, so people who do not yet feel comfortable in person can continue to participate. The system would also allow for better recording in the sanctuary.
    1. Upcoming calendar review (next two months) a. Council meetings: August 13 , September 10, (Thursdays, due to outdoor worship) b. Zoom meeting or alternative option?
  • Keep on Zoom at least for August. Closing Prayer