March 18, 2021

Holy Trinity Council Meeting Minutes

Thursday, March 18, 2021 6:00pm

Held online via Zoom

Present: Tim Krick, Cristina Dolcino, Kristen Crawford, Julie Moore, Judy Evans, Linda Edwards, Paul Karl, Erlinde Beliveau

We Gather In God’s Name

Opening Prayer

  1. Blessings
  2. Thank You Cards
  3. Meeting minutes February 10, 2021 - approved on line

We Celebrate and Give Thanks for the Past

  1. Treasurer Report
    • See attached report
    • Linda continues to clarify the requirements for Payroll Protection. Although she has inquired several times, she has not heard back from them. March 24th is the deadline.
    • Kristen - A motion was made and seconded that the monies in the Good Samaritan Fund be moved to Pastor’s Discretionary Fund to streamline items (since both line items serve the same purpose).
  2. Secretary Report
    • See attached report.
  3. Pastor’s Report
    • See attached report.
    • Internet coverage needs to be better by improving upload speeds. To do this, costs an additional $100 a month. Initially plan was to go with Comcast but cost vs. goods was not accurately represented. The church will remain with Firstlight as the provider.
  4. Ministry Team Reports
    • Serve the Lord - Paul
      • See attached report
      • Donna Huot is stepping down from heading up the Prayer Tree email chain. Cheryl will be searching for a member who is interested in heading this up.
      • Jessica is recommending continuing to financially support low income /minority peoples to obtain interest free loans. Linda mentioned that a while back, Ed Mallon had someone from the interest free loan company come in for an Adult Forum to educate the church members regarding this great program. Perhaps this could be done again.
    • Grow in Faith- Julie
      • See attached report
      • 25 Easter lilies were ordered.
    • Come Together - Linda
      • No report
      • Linda is exploring ideas for safe ways to gather together.

We Seek God’s Direction for our Church

  1. Initial discussion about reviewing Church’s Constitution and bylaws
    • Plan: Tim will check with the Synod to see if there is a process by which other churches have completed a review and update, so we do not reinvent the wheel. This will be done before putting together a committee to undertake this process. Also ELCA has a new updated form to use as a resource.
  2. Audit Committee Discussion - review 2020
    • Plan: Pastor will reach out to 2-3 people with this skill set to see if they are interested and available to complete an audit. An audit was not completed in 2019.
  3. Church member request: Holy Trinity sign on to a Covenant to Care for Creation.
    • Plan: To respond in the affirmative and encourage church members to pursue this at a level that works for them. Council supports working towards becoming more green and aware of how we use our earth’s resources.
  4. Returning to in-person services data analysis and discussion.
    • Pastor Tim - Since in person services have started, attendance is sparser than last October (where 30-35 people were in attendance). Pastor is not concerned about this and plans to continue as is. Attendees wear masks and do not sing. Singing with masks will be allowed in the outdoor services.

Sources of local data below for review prior to meeting: Here is the most recent information for Strafford County https://covidactnow.org/us/new_hampshire-nh/county/strafford_county/?s=1550490

Here is the most recent information for Rockingham County https://covidactnow.org/us/new_hampshire-nh/county/rockingham_county/?s=1550490

Here is the most recent information for the state of New Hampshire https://covidactnow.org/us/new_hampshire-nh/?s=1550490

  1. Snippets/Strands from discussion focused on the first chapter of How To Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going by Susan Beaumont.
    • Pastor Tim: No action plan needed, just breathe through this and increase one's awareness of everything that is going on.
    • Paul: No matter what we will make people uncomfortable..if change or no change.
    • Metaphor: “We need to drive a bus in a direction - some people will get off at certain stops”
    • Ultimate goal is to “be” the church and not to grow the church. We “are “ the church when we live transformed lives. Our goal is not to sustain an institution.
    • Julie: Resonated with “a place for liturgy”.
    • Erlinde: Resonated with “God is in relationship with space and time and nature” vs. a 3 tiered system of understanding the Universe.
    • Cristina: Helpful to know and understand what do people crave?
    • Judy: Church is slowly lagging behind, trying to catch up.
    • Paul: Church is permission giving. Challenging job for Pastor during this liminal process!
    • Pastor: We are providing comfort during Covid.
    • Linda: Spoke of the important role of Communitas and where she has experienced this.

We Look to the Future

  • Upcoming calendar review (next month)
    • Council Meetings: April 8, 2021
    • Easter (April 4th)
  • Read Chapter 2 in How To Lead and be prepared to discuss.

Closing Prayer