Administration Ministry Team

Minutes for meeting of February 9, 2010

 

Present:  Carl Connor, Gene Christiansen, Joan Rawson, and Ken Osborne., Gene Christiansen; Carl Connor; Excused: Mike Bartholomew and Mel Parish.  Pastor Norm Story and Michelle Osborne joined later for a discussion about desired Salt & Life program financial information changes.

 Meeting called to order a 7:05 p.m. by Carl Connor, and Gene Christiansen opened the meeting with prayer.

 Minutes of the 1/12/10 meeting approved as written.

 Old Business

 1)  Bylaws:  Carl distributed proposed By-Law revisions and the team discussed, modified or rejected the proposed revisions item by item; and then approved the proposed revised By-Laws attached to these minutes.  The ministry team’s philosophic approach to our task is that since the Book of Order provided broad guidelines for the operation of the Church, and allows each Session to establish the rules of operation appropriate for each unique congregation, we should follow their guidance.  Using this “less is better” approach will not bind any future Session or Congregation to what we think might be appropriate today.  It will allow the Session in the future to make and/or change rules within the guidelines of the Book of Order without going back to the Congregation to change the By-Laws each time that a Session wants to make a change.  It also allows the Congregation to call for a special congregational meeting to direct or even change the directions of the Session.  The approval or rejection of the attached Proposed By-Laws is an ACTION ITEM for the Session.

 

2)  2010 Financial Status:  We reviewed our 2010 financial status as shown in the 31 January 2010 reports and agreed that the reports should be simplified to show only 3 columns.  These columns are:  1)  The current month income or expenses; 2)  The 2010 year-to-date totals; and 3)  The approved annual budget amount for each line item.

 

We also agreed that the Total Income and Expenses to date should be shown in a box on the 1^st (Income) page of the report in addition to its normal summary location on page 5, after the Congregational Life expense summary.  If any Ministry Team needs a specific report change, please notify the Administration Ministry Team Moderator and we will work with you to get you what you need.

 

3.  Discussion of FY2010 budget:  The FY 2010 budget was discussed briefly to acknowledge our thanks to Wayne Maley, Music and Worship Ministry Team Moderator, who pointed out that we had included that they had wanted eliminated.  This change reduced their budget to $17,450, the approved budget decreased from $458,232 to $456,208.91, and the projected budget deficit decreased to $10,683.91. Ratification of this change is a Session Action Item.

 

4. Discussion of informal accounting review:  We discussed the status of the informal accounting review of the Church and the Foundation’s books by John Grant, Nancy Cox, and Joan Rawson.  They have reviewed financial data as far back as 2001, with particular emphasis on 2007, 2008, and 2009.  It has resulted in the restructuring of our bookkeeping practices to ensure, wherever possible and practical, that Foundation funds are not co-mingled with Church funds.  John has worked very hard to produce accurate reports for the 2009 Cash Assets and Liabilities of the Church’s General Fund, our Durazno Property, the Deacons, and the Iglesia del Pueblo Church.  He is also working on a Phase one Building Improvement & Debt Retirement Report.  All of these reports will provide the reader with a clear understanding of these distinctly separate parts of our overall Church finances and will be included in the Annual Report.

 

5.  Discussion of Year End Personnel Reviews:  We discussed the Year End Personnel Evaluations and will complete the final one on Thursday, 2-11-10.

 New Business

 1.  Review of Building Use Requests:  We discussed the pending Building Use Requests and agreed upon a response as follows:

 

a)  Beverly Briggs had called about a potential conflict between the previously approved AVANCE, New Mexico Breakfast meeting on Wednesday, 14 April and the Salt & Light dinner later on that day.  Although the Salt & Light dinner is planned as an outdoor event, Reeves/Watkins hall is viewed as a back-up location in case of inclement weather.  Beverly asked about the feasibility of moving the AVANCE breakfast to Thursday morning, 15 April, but the Team thinks that there is more time to turnaround from a breakfast meeting to an evening dinner than there is from an evening dinner to a breakfast meeting the next morning.  We decided that the AVANCE breakfast should remain on the morning of 14 April as previously approved.

b)  We approved the request from the Las Cruces High School to use Watkins and Reeves hall on May 3 through May 12 for their AP Exams as they have for the past several years.  We agree that this use falls under our Outreach to the Community and that the students who visit our campus will be more receptive to other outreach efforts because they are familiar and comfortable with us and our facility.

 

2.  Request for specific Salt & Light financial information by Michelle Osborne:  Michelle briefed us on the reasons that she needed information about significant donors to the Salt & Light program, as well as the reasons that she wanted to eliminate the detailed breakdown on what donations and income were received for which specific task.  After some comprehensive discussions about the funding, needs, and growth of the Salt & Light Program the Ministry Team approved the following for the S&L Program:

a)  All S&L income received during 2010 will be consolidated and reported as INCOME and will not be broken down into any sub-category.  This income will be used as necessary to pay all S&L expenses, which may continue to be broken down into those sub-categories necessary to manage and control program expenses.

b)  The Bookkeeper will track and report to the Program Coordinator the names and addresses of all individuals or organizations whose donations to the S&L program exceed $100.00 so that they may be quietly recognized for their contributions to the success of the program.  This information will not be shared by the Program Coordinator.

 Meeting adjourned 8:35 p.m. following a prayer by Carl.

 Next regular meeting is March 9, 2010, at 7 p.m.

 Respectfully submitted by Carl Connor

 ATTACHMENT TO ADMINISTRATION TEAM MINUTES OF 2-9-10 MEETING (Pg 1 of 3)

BY-LAWS

of

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Article I

Name

The name of both the Church Congregation and the Religious Corporation shall be the First Presbyterian Church of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Article II

Relationship

We hereby declare our acceptance of the Constitution of The Presbyterian Church (USA), hereafter referred to as “The Book of Order”, and recognize our subordination to The Presbyterian Church (USA), her several courts, and particularly the Presbytery of Sierra Blanca or its successor.

Article III

Identity

Hereafter the members of the congregation and of the corporation shall be one and the same by identity, and shall be known as the congregation.  Hereafter the Session and Board of Trustees shall also be one and the same by identity, and shall be known as the Session.

Article IV

Officers

 1.  We defer to the Book of Order’s guidance and definitions in all areas of membership (currently G-5.0000) and officers (currently G-6.0000).  We will specify those areas where the Book of Order does not define or specify the composition of the Session or Board of Deacons.

 2.  The Session shall normally consist of eighteen duly elected elders, 1/3 of whom shall be elected each year, with a moderator as specified in the Book of Order.

 3.  The Board of Deacons shall normally consist of eighteen duly elected regular Deacons and may also have one Youth Deacon.  1/3 of the regular Deacons and the Youth Deacon (if approved by the Session) shall normally be elected each year.  The Youth Deacon position shall be reserved for a member between the ages of 17 and 20.

 4.  Officers of the Congregation elected by the Session shall include:

a)  Clerk of Session

b)  Treasurer

 

Article V

Congregational Meetings

 ATTACHMENT TO ADMINISTRATION TEAM MINUTES OF 2-9-10 MEETING (Pg 2 of 3)

  

1  Meetings of the Congregation shall be held in the church in accordance with the guidance established by the Book of Order (currently G-7.0300).  Congregational meetings will normally be held as follows:

a)  A Fall meeting to receive the report from the Nominating Committee, and then to nominate and elect Elders and Deacons, after which a new slate of Nominating Committee members will be elected.

b)  An annual meeting in mid-January to mid-February to approve the Pastor’s Terms of Call, and receive the Annual Report.  Other business may also be conducted as necessary.

 2.  Special Congregational meetings may be called according to the requirements of the Book of Order (currently G-7.03002b).

 3.  The Pastor of the Congregation shall preside at all Congregational meetings unless an absence is anticipated, in which case the Moderator will be selected in accordance with the Book of Order (currently G-7.0306).

 4.        A quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Congregation shall be as defined in the Book of Order (currently G.7.0305).

 

Article VI

 

Nomination and election of Ruling Elders, Deacons

and Nominating Committee Members

 

1.  Nomination and election of Ruling Elders and Deacons shall be according to the requirements of the Book of Order.

 

2.  A Nominating Committee shall consist of the following:

a)  Two (2) Ruling Elders elected by the Session

b)  One (1) Deacon elected by the Board of Deacons

c)  Four (4) members (not currently members of the Session or Board of Deacons) elected by the Congregation from a list nominated by the current Nominating Committee, and any other persons nominated from the floor.

3.  All nominations for office, either from the Nominating Committee or from the floor, shall be of persons who are on the active membership roll of the church, faithful stewards, and who have signified their willingness to fulfill all duties of their office if elected thereto.

 4.  Elders and Deacons shall be elected for a term of three years (or less in the case of filling out an unexpired term vacated by another member), with 1/3 of the Elders and Deacons being elected each year.  The Youth Deacon will normally serve a one year term.  The number of successive terms one may serve on the Session and Board of Deacons is governed by the requirements of the Book of Order, except that the Youth Deacon may serve a maximum of two (2) successive one year terms.

 

Article VII

Duties of the Session

 1.  The Session shall be entrusted with such corporate responsibility as the laws of the State of New Mexico shall require of it.

 2.  The Session shall be entrusted with the oversight of all congregational responsibilities as specified in the Book of Order.

 3.  The Session normally meets monthly, or as often as it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities.

 4.  In order to facilitate the efficient conduct of its affairs, the Session may divide itself into several committees, which may make recommendation to the Session for its consideration and action.

a)  The Moderator will be an ex-officio member of all committees.

b)  Committees may co-opt members from the congregation who may be given the privilege of the floor and a full vote within the committee.

c)  The chairperson of all committees must be members of the Session, and will normally be the Elder with the most seniority on the committee.

d)  The Clerk of the Session shall be an Elder elected by the Session for such term as it may determine.

 

ATTACHMENT TO ADMINISTRATION TEAM MINUTES OF 2-9-10 MEETING (Pg 3 of 3)

 5.  The Moderator shall be the Pastor, who shall preside at all meetings, except as provided for in the Book of Order.

 

Article VIII

 

The Board of Deacons

 

1.  The Book of Order describes the duties of the Board of Deacons.  The Board of Deacons shall elect a president, secretary and treasurer from among its members.

 

2.  The Deacons normally meet monthly, or as often as they deem necessary to conduct their business.

Article IX

 

The Treasurer

 

In accordance with the Book of Order (currently G-10.0401) and the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission the Treasurer shall be elected by the Session.  The Treasurer shall monitor the receipt of all funds belonging to the congregation, except those sub-organizations approved by the Session, and shall monitor the expenditures and ensure that they conform to the annual budget as authorized by the Session.

 

Article X

Annual Financial Review

A financial review will be conducted by a committee as defined in the Book of Order (currently G-10.0401d).  The financial review committee shall consist of three members of the Congregation, one of whom shall be the moderator of the Administration Committee. 

 

Article XI

 

Annual Reports

 

Annual reports covering the work and activities of all organizations and officers of the Congregation shall be made to the Congregation at its annual meeting and shall be submitted in writing in time to be distributed electronically and in hard copy as required prior to the meeting.

 

Article XII

 

Amendments

 

These by-laws may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the members present at any Congregational meeting, provided notice of such proposed amendment has been given in writing and by announcement of said meeting as required by the Book of Order.

 

END