Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Raleigh
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting
November 11,2015
Call to Order: Father Paul called the meeting to order at 7:00pm and led us in prayer.
Members Present: with Father Paul; Anna Kouba, Sydney Langford, Joanna Biliouris, Harry Nicholos, Mary Wehbie,George Pappas, Sophia Myers, Bob Lyford, John Fakiris, Frank Nixon,Connie Kledaras, Steve Flaherty
Members Absent: Greg, Delage, Jim Elliason, Katerina Knezevic
Guests: Jason Kekas, Robert Shand
Elaine Noulis, as a representative of the sisters at Panayia Prousiotissamonastery in Troy, advised that they are very thankful that we allowed them to sell their handmade gifts at the Greek Festival. Elaine presented a beautiful icon to the church from the monastery.
Approval of Minutes: Joanna Biliouris presented the minutes from the August 19, 2015 meeting. A motion to accept the minutes of the August 19, 2015 Parish Council Meeting was made byConnie Kledaras and seconded byFrank Nixon. All approved, motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report: Harry Nicholospresented the AugustP & L and Balance Sheet. The following items were noted:
- Stewardship pledges YTD total $236,000. We are a bit ahead of last year in pledges. However, historically in December, we receive about 25% of total pledges.
- Cash balance is about $30,000 right now so painting of the exterior of the church will need to be on hold until our cash position improves.
- It was suggested that Bob Lyford provide a class to the Parish Council about how to interpret the financial statement entries on the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet.
Kitchen Renovation Update: John Fakiris gave an update from the kitchen renovation committee. He provided a blueprint diagram outlining the proposed expansion of the kitchen from Mauer Architecture. This would expand the kitchen by 250 square feet including a three basin sink and a dishwasher. A cost estimate was not provided but the architect is hopeful it will be within our budget. The committee will send the plans out for three bids by October 15th.
Festival Discussion: Preliminary information indicates that festival sales were down 16% from last year. However, last year was a record year for the festival. It was reported that security at the fairgrounds may have been turning away potential attendees. Jason Kekas is going to discuss this with his contacts at the fairgrounds.
Father’s Comments:
- Father read an email from a parishioner to Jason Kekas about how wonderful the festival was this year.
- Father will be going to Florida to see his father-in-law the week of September 21st.
New Business:
- Steve Flaherty provided an update on several ministries. We need ambassadors, currently we have 14. Steve provided a report on the Choir conference in Florida and the Cinema International ministry has seen 8-9 movie. It was suggested that future movies be listed in the bulletin for other parishioners to attend. Steve also provided an update on St. Anthony activities for the next few months.
- Joanna Biliouris provided an update on the Preschool. We have enrolled 1-2 new children and hopefully can break even on expenses with these new enrollments.
- Robert provided an update on the first GOYA meeting, it was very successful; officers were elected and overall a good turnout.
- The Sunday School Open House was a couple weeks ago. It went very well, turnout was a bit low but having another open house in December. There was discussion about having girls help out with services.
Old Business:
- October 4th – Parish Council is providing desserts for the St. John the Merciful luncheon.
- Robert Shand advised the plumber is looking at the pipes again due to some backups recently.
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made at 8:00pm byConnie Kledaras.
Father Paul led us in closing prayer.
Next Parish Council Meeting is scheduled for October 14stat7:00 pm.
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