Deacons Minutes

March 21, 2013

Attendance:  Don Behnke, Eddie Armendariz, Mike Bartholomew, Carrol Blevins, Nancy Cowan, Carol Goss, Bill Haynes, Marianne Maley, Bill Marlowe, Donna Mathis, Dutch Matkin, Jacque Parks, Bruce Pearson, Cindy Tafoya, and Collette Walz

 Absent:   Harry Topley, Anna Suggs (excused), Irene Kouna

            Carol Goss opened the meeting with a prayer at 7:00 p.m.  

ACTION ITEM FOR SESSION:   None

 Pastor's Remarks:  

Rev. Story, who attended the first part of the meeting, said the following:

-- the deacons must select one of their members to be on the church nominating committee, which will begin work right after Easter to nominate people willing to serve as elders and deacons for three years beginning in 2014.   He added that the congregation has not yet approved the recommendation to reduce the number of elders from 18 to 14;

            -- he requested that all deacons contact their sheep ("walking buddies") prior to Easter, to inform them of the various activities for Holy Week and to encourage their attendance;

            -- Rev. Story has now been at First Presbyterian for ten years and is planning a "second wind" project to determine the direction the church should take for the next decade.  To assist him in this long-range project, he asked each deacon to send him an e-mail about how he or she views our church's resources, strengths and weaknesses, how we should deploy our resources over the next ten years, and any other input we may wish to provide. He needs to receive these e-mails prior to July, when he will gone for a month.

            -- this summer, a female theology student from South Carolina will serve an internship at First Presbyterian.   She speaks Spanish, so one of her main duties will be to assist Rev. Wayne Hawkins with Iglesia del Pueblo, although she will be involved in other church activities as well.

 Old Business:  None 

 New Business:   The deacons will provide ushers for the Maundy Thursday service.  Don will determine whether an offering will be taken and will advise the deacons.   The deacons will be responsible for the fellowship time following the Easter Sunday service and for delivering the Easter flowers to shut-ins following the service.  We must also select one of our members to be on the nominating committee.  This is a difficult, time-   consuming job.   Nobody has yet volunteered to take it on.

 Moderator's Remarks:  Don requested the Deacons Captains to clean out and organize the storage cabinet in the Deacons Room.

Committee Reports:

            Administration:    To date this year, our total giving is down about $4,000 from this time last year.   Unrelated to the foregoing, but of equal concern, is the lack of password protection for information on the computers about our church finances.  Don has volunteered to be the de facto systems administrator for our church's computers and will ensure that there are proper back-up procedures and protected passwords. 

            Building and Grounds:   The church workday on March 9 accomplished a great deal.   We were delighted with the large turnout of volunteers, especially considering the cold, windy weather that day.

             Christian Education:   The Salt and Light program, which depends entirely on fundraisers and is not a budgeted item, is running a deficit.  Many of the people who eat on Wednesday night are poor and do not pay for their meals.  Don said he would ask the Roadrunner Food Bank whether it could provide us with some food for Salt and Light.    

             Congregational Life:   Likewise, the potluck lunch on March 17 to welcome new members also enjoyed a good turnout.

             Local Missions:   Don reported that the church has already given a large quantity of bedding to Iglesia del Pueblo.   From now on, we will distribute bedding only once a month, not twice.   On April 1, Don will take whatever bedding we still have to Conlee Elementary School.   According to the principal at Conlee, many of its students are from needy families who would appreciate the bedding.   Don is also considering helping the school establish itself as a distribution point for the Roadrunner Food program, although Don would not personally run this program.

             Missions:   The committee is putting the finishing touches on its updated booklet about the various mission activities which our church supports.   There have been many changes over the years since we published the last booklet.

             Music and Worship:   Two substitute pastors, Rev. Richard Schlater and Rev. Al Kissling, will fill in while Rev. Story is absent the first two Sundays of  April and again the entire month of July.  We much appreciate the willingness of these two veteran clergymen to serve us. 

             Visitation:  Carrol reported that the Visitation team met on March 15 to review our list of our congregational members who are shut-ins and/or living in one of the retirement homes.   Our goal is to meet personally with each one of these members of our congregation prior to our next meeting on April 19.

            Transient Meals:   Donna Mathis will replenish our dwindling supply of food for this program.

             Transportation:   Bill Marlowe has volunteered to be one of the drivers.   

                        We adjourned with the Mizpah Benediction at 8:20 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted by Bruce Pearson