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FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH (U.S.A.), LAS CRUCES, NM
STATED SESSION MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18,
2012
Moderator Reverend Norm Story convened the meeting at 7:00 PM and Jerry
Grandle of the Buildings & Grounds Ministry Team opened it with a
meditation and prayer.
Elders present:
Lon Anderson, Corina Armendariz, Austin Breck, Gene Christensen, Jerry
Grandle, Lloyd Kirschenmann, Janet Loman, Martha Mitchell, Jim Parks,
Richard Paul, Kate Puckett, Roger Sellers, Greg Sherman, Stephen Taylor,
and Nora Yaryan.
Elders Excused:
Jacqui Jones.
Elders Absent:
Brian Griffith.
Guests:
New Member applicant Nancy T. Johnson, Rev. Carrol Blevins, and Deacon
Moderator Rusty Smith.
Establish Quorum:
The Clerk of Session established that a quorum was present.
Approval of Agenda:
The agenda was approved as published.
Introduction of New
Member Applicant:
Nancy T. Johnson was introduced as new member applicant joining by
reaffirmation of faith. The Elders introduced themselves, described
their role as a church officer, and offered a brief comment on what the
church means to them and what their membership in this church provides
for them. Nancy said that she was baptized as a Methodist in Hobbs, NM
and was transferring from the Woodhaven Presbyterian Church in Irving,
TX. She has been an Elder and moved to Las Cruces to live with her
sister about 2 months ago. The Session voted to accept Nancy Johnson as
a member of our church family, and she will be presented to the
congregation on Sunday, September 23, 2012.
Pastor’s Report:
Reverend Story’s reported that he had met with Rev. Marcus Burr about
reducing his workload after he regains the use of his arm. He proposed
that Rev. Burr be installed as Parish Associate Minister Emeritus of
Pastoral Care and that we invite Rev. Carrol Blevins to join us as
Parish Associate Minister of Pastoral Care, and assume many of the
duties previously performed by Rev. Burr. Rev. Blevins addressed the
Session and advised us that she would be happy to accept our offer and
that she would continue her regular once a month pastoral ministries at
Good Sam. A motion was made and seconded to approve these changes to our
Pastoral Care Ministries, and it was passed by acclimation. Rev, Burr
and Rev. Blevins will be installed in their new positions during church
services in October.
Rev. Story advised the Session that he has been invited to teach a class
on comparative religion at NMSU later in the month.
Rev. Story advised us that Rev. Perkins Patton and his wife Patricia
have been unable to continue their work with the church sponsored Boy
Scout Troop and Cub Scout Packs. Elder Richard Paul, the Missions
Ministry Team Moderator, has volunteered to assume their duties and is
already doing so. The Clerk has been directed to draft a letter of
appreciation to the Patton’s on behalf of the Session and the church for
their hard work and support of this excellent community outreach
program. We plan to present it to them during regular church services
sometime in October.
Rev. Story advised the Session that a Called Meeting of the Presbytery
of Sierra Blanca on September 28-29 in Roswell will review and finalize
the new organizational structure proposed by the Special Committee of
the Presbytery of Sierra Blanca. Based on the information currently
available, the Special Committee will propose the organizational
structure reported in the August 18, 2012 Session Minutes, i.e., a
Presbytery consisting of 4 geographically related church clusters. Each
cluster would handle most of the normal Presbytery business associated
with their churches using the resources of their churches. The
Presbytery would probably have 4 meetings per year and the normal
business of the Presbytery would be handled by a part-time Stated Clerk
working out of his/her home or local church. Pastor Story urged all of
our Presbytery Commissioners and local retired ministers to attend the
Called Meeting so that they could voice their opinions of the proposed
changes and vote on them.
Rev. Story announced that he had received a text message from Brian
Griffith advising him that Brian was resigning his Elder position
effective immediately, and he asked that we join him in a prayer for
Brian and son, Timothy. He asked the Session to consider the letter that
we received from Mesilla Valley Hospice advising us of their very
strained financial situation this year. Hospice estimates that they will
provide approximately $1 million in charity care this year and the only
receive $380,000 per year from the Dona Ana County Health Services fund.
This leaves over $600,000 that they must raise from the local community
and other sources. They requested that we consider taking a special
offering for Mesilla Valley Hospice during one of our regular church
services. Early in the discussion of this request, it was pointed out
that Mesilla Valley Hospice was not one of the 10 local charities
scheduled for the Deacon’s sponsored Las Cruces Cares event at Watkins
Hall on Sunday, November 4, 2012; but they will be invited for next
year’s event.
After considerable discussion focusing on whether or not it was
appropriate to designate this worthwhile local charitable service as the
only one that we would support by having a special offering during
regular church services; a motion was made and seconded to deny the
Hospice request for a special offering. However, in lieu of the special
offering, we would publicize the Hospice need for immediate financial
support this year in the Church Bulletins, the Good News, and the
Lantern. Our announcements in these church publications would encourage
all members who want to support Hospice with their donations, to do so
by giving them directly by mail or dropping a check off at the Hospice
office. The motion passed by acclimation.
Reverend Story reminded all the Ministry Teams that we will start
discussing the comprehensive lists of what they do, and the priority of
each task, but if they had identified anything that was missing, or had
changed, they should change their existing list accordingly.
Clerk’s Report:
The Clerk’s Report was as written in the meeting agenda. The Clerk
requested approval to remove Richard Jones (# 4632) from our rolls
because he has written a letter requesting that he be removed from our
membership rolls. The removal of Richard Jones was approved by
acclimation.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes of the Stated Session Meeting on August 18, 2012 were
approved as written by acclimation.
Deacons Report.
Deacon Moderator Rusty Smith stated that the Deacon’s Annual Hamburger
Fry has been scheduled on the Church Calendar for after Church services
on Sunday, October 7th and the 2nd Las Cruces
Cares event has been placed on the Church Calendar for after Church
services on Sunday, November 4th. Both of these events were
previously discussed with the Session with the proviso that they would
be scheduled on the Church Calendar without conflict with any events
already scheduled. The Deacons requested the Session approve them as
scheduled. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Deacon’s
request and was the motion was passed by acclimation.
Committee Reports:
Administration:
Written with 1 action item. The noted that the $590 required to purchase
the new folding chairs required by moving the Iglesia del Pueblo
congregation into the old computer room in Jones Hall was available from
several Memorial Funds. Rev. Story advised the Session that he had
discussed this use with the families that provided the funds, and they
had approved of this use of their Funds. A motion was made and seconded
to transfer $590 from the appropriate Memorial Funds to purchase 40
folding chairs. The motion was approved by acclimation. A motion was
made to approve the Administration Teams resolution to move the
remaining Children’s Garden Rental funds into the Church’s General Fund.
The motion was seconded and approved by acclimation.
Buildings and Grounds:
Written with no action items.
Christian Education:
Written with 1 action item. The team recommended the Session approve the
use of church facilities for a “Lock-in” of Youth (6th grade
and above) on October 26-27, 2012. Their recommendation was approved by
acclimation.
Congregational Life and
Outreach:
Written with no action items
Missions:
Written with no action items.
Music and Worship:
Written with 1 action item. The Team requested approval of a
presentation on the musical and visual arts in worship in our sanctuary
on Sunday evening, October 21. It will be led by Karen Lafferty at
conclusion of her weekend with Renewal 4 Women, and will also have a
free will offering that will be taken to support a missionary in
Honduras. The request was approved by acclimation.
Foundation:
No meeting and therefore no report. The Administration Team Moderator
asked about the status of the $36,216 that the session had previously
authorized and requested the Foundation return to the church for church
improvements. The Foundation Moderator said that they had not received
any request from the church for any monies. Both the Moderators agreed
to review this issue and try to resolve it prior to the October Session
meeting.
Nominating:
The committee reported that they had completed the nomination slate of
Elders for the Class of 2015, and were close to filling the Deacon
vacancies. However, the resignation of Elder Brian Griffith has added a
new Elder vacancy that they now have to fill. They now expect to
complete their task in early October.
Financial Report
for Aug. 1- Aug. 31, 2012
Aug. (Actual) Aug. (Budgeted) YTD (Actual) YTD (Budgeted)
Income $32,198.74
$285,434.81
Expense $39,449.70
$291,342.37
Omnibus Motion to
receive all Committee Reports and accept Financial Report:
Approved by consent.
Old Business:
a) The discussion of responsibilities, duties, and work priorities
developed by each Ministry Team started with the list developed by the
Buildings & Grounds Team. Several items were discussed in addition to
the 7 items identified on their initial list. Their list will be revised
to include these items and the lists of the other ministry teams will be
discussed during the October meeting and in subsequent meetings.
New Business:
a) The Confirmation of Rev. Carrol Blevins as Parish Associate Minister
of Pastoral Care and Rev. Dr. Marcus Burr as Parish Associate Emeritus
Minister of Pastoral Care is documented in the Pastor’s Report, above.
The next Stated Session Meeting will be Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at
7:00 PM. The Christian Education Ministry Committee will be responsible
for opening prayer and meditation.
Adjournment:
Reverend Story adjourned the meeting with prayer at 8:35 PM.
______________________ ______________________ _____________
______________________ ______________________ _____________
Carlton Connor Norm Story
Date Approved
Clerk of Session Moderator
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Last update
2012-10-16 14:15:49