First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, VA

Session Summary Minutes – March 17, 2014

The Session met with new members at 6:00 pm in Room 206. Jim Gates opened the meeting with prayer, and the following persons were examined and welcomed into membership:

Emily Anderson / Jennifer Giblin / Pat Lonning
Rebecca Easter / Mary Lonning / Jim Novak

After prayer, a quorum was noted with the following members present:

Carolyn Buzek, Karen Campo, Jim Dille, Jean Farrell, Ron Gates, Barbara Haga, Jon Mann, Rudy Miller, Jeanne Perin, Cline Reasor, Lloyd Taliaferro, Joel Weaver, Eunice Whitehurst, Jim Gates, Valena Hoy, Jim Wood.

Guest – Jeff Keeney

Jeff Keeney came before Session for his examination to enter into the candidacy phase of preparation for ministry . He discussed four questions: His call, how he came to Presbyterianism, what he feels God is calling him to within the church, and finally, both a strength and growing edge of his calling.

After questions and favorable comments, Session ruled by Common Consent to approve Jeff’s request to become a candidate for ministry; the next steps for him are to go before the Committee for Preparation on Ministry, then before Presbytery.

Treasurer’s Report

  • Treasurer Cline Reasorfirst reported on the Year-to-datefinances for the church:
  • FPC Operating Revenue and Expenses this year compared to last year

February 2013 / February 2014 / % Change
Revenue / $341,005 / $289,021 / 15% decrease
Expenses / $245,688 / $173,172 / 30% decrease
Net Total / $95,317 / $115,849
  • FPC Preschool Operating Revenue and Expenses this year compared to budget

Budgeted / February 2014 / % Difference
Revenue / $759,562 / $674,230 / -11% difference
Expenses / $782,910 / $675,607 / -14% difference
Net Total / -$23,348 / -$1,308 (-$4,368*)

*Tuition prepayments (~$3,060)

  • 2014 Stewardship Campaign Update

30 decreased their pledge by $30,364

39 had no previous pledge and pledged $108,380

114 increased their pledge by $106,110

105 stayed the same

111 households pledged last year, but have not done so this year ($325,465)

259 households are contributors that haven’t pledged

2014 Stewardship Campaign
10/30/13 / 11/6/13 / 11/13/13 / 11/20/13 / 12/4/13 / 12/11/13 / 12/18/13 / 2014 YE / January '14 / End
166 / 197 / 208 / 222 / 229 / 234 / 237 / 250 / 269 / 285
$1,023,334 / $1,142,200 / $1,194,980 / $1,250,790 / $1,279,990 / $1,290,312 / $1,310,762 / $1,353,860 / $1,429,307 / $1,495,287
2013 Stewardship Campaign
11/11/12 / 11/18/12 / 11/25/12 / 12/3/12 / 12/10/12 / 12/17/12 / 12/27/12 / 2013 YE / End
209 / 220 / 228 / 247 / 267 / 279 / 283 / 287 / ---
$1,131,579 / $1,207,414 / $1,231,944 / $1,315,544 / $1,372,304 / $1,395,504 / $1,404,984 / $1,423,784 / $1,520,000
  • Cline then presented the proposed FPC Preschool budget, and questions were addressed by him and by Joel Weaver, Chairman of the Preschool Committee. Session will vote on the budget in April.
  • Finally, the proposed FPC 2014 budget came before Session for review and questions. As with the Preschool budget, this will be voted on at our next meeting.

Clerk’s Report

Jeanne Perin reported on two future PEVA events:

  • The next quarterly PEVA meeting to be held April 29 at Wycliffe Presbyterian from 1:00 to 5:30 pm.
  • Saturday, April 5th, from 9:00am to 2:00pm, FPC will host a PEVA workshop entitled Congregational Ministry Choices for the 21st Century. It’s open to all clergy and church leaders in our presbytery.

Consent Agenda

Jim Gates requested that Rebecca Easter’s name be added to the Consent Agenda for adults requesting baptism, and Carolyn Buzek suggested that the motion to approve the three new position descriptions, Executive Pastor, Pastor for Worship and Pastoral Care, and Director of Operationsbe moved off the Consent Agenda so they can discussed individually later in the meeting. With those exceptions, the March Consent Agenda was approved by Common Consent.

Also, a copy of the three FPC year-end reports, now that all are approved, will be made available in the library for interested members.

New Positions

As a result of Sessionmeeting with Jeff Schulte, our consultant from The Sage Hill Institute, three new position descriptions were drawn up. Our Treasurer, ClineReasor, a member of a smaller group of active elders who met with Jeff for two lunch meetings, facilitated the question and answer time that followed. Cline started by introducing a proposed FPC organizational chart and with Barbara Haga and Jim Wood’s input, explained how it differed from the current church structure:

After discussion of the chart, the new positions from the pulled motion in the Consent Agenda were addressed separately and discussed with the relevant explanation and details. The summary for each follows:

  1. Associate Pastor for Worship and Pastoral Care
    The job functions and skills for this position are fully in line with Valena’s gifts, and after some discussion, the Session voted unanimously to pass the following motion:

Motion: That Session approve the revised Ministry Position Description for the Associate Pastor for Worship and Pastoral Care and appoint Valena Hoy to fill it

  1. Director of Operations

For several months, Barbara Haga and the Personnel Committee have been interviewing to fill the position of Director of Operations, and she reported having two strong candidates. She felt sure that we would be ready to offer a candidate the position soon. The following motion was passed unanimously:

Motion: That Session approve the revised Ministry Position Descriptionfor the Director of Operations

  1. Executive Pastor
    Several years ago, Valena Hoy was successfully positioned as FPC’s Executive Pastor, so having an Executive Pastor is not a new concept for our church. After discussion, the consensus of Session was to place Jim Gates in this position. It would be a transitional position for him since for the past few months, he has been looking for a ministry position elsewhere. Because of his ongoing search, an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC) would be created as soon as possible to search for an Executive Pastor. Two motions resulted and were passed unanimously from this discussion:

Motion: That Session approve the revised Ministry Position Description for the Executive Pastor and appoint Jim Gates as Transitional Executive Pastor until he is called to a new position

Motion: That Session approve the appointing of an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee to search for an Executive Pastor to fill this position

Continuation with Consultant

Next we next discussed how best to proceed with making the most of our relationship with Jeff Schulte, since it was felt by all the Session members that working with him has brought about some very positive changes. The result was two motions:

Motion: That Session approve the hiring of Jeff Schulte of the Sage Hill Institute up to four additional visits with staff to assist in the process of aligning our priorities, visioning, and budgeting

Motion: That Session approve the appointing of Barbara Haga, Jim Dille, Jeanne Perin, Cline Reasor, Lloyd Taliaferro, Eunice Whitehurst, and Jim Wood as a team to be the liaison to Session in the process with Jeff Schulte.

Personnel

Barbara Haga, Personnel Chair, then brought Session up-to-date on recent personnel changes:

  • Sheryl Wood, Mission Outreach Coordinator, is finishing up details, but officially resigned as of February 28.
  • Diamante Dabney-Lopez, Hunter Johnston’s assistant is preparing the bulletin.
  • Christopher Griffith has been hired as the Interim Minister of Contemporary Music.
  • Personnel is currently recruiting for a Welcome Desk Coordinator.

It was moved and seconded to adjourn at 7:45pm. After congregational concerns were brought forward, Jon Mann closed the meeting with prayer.

Final 3/27/14