The Children's Formation Ministry Team discussed upcoming events including Vacation Bible School in July and the end-of-year Sunday School picnic in May. They also reviewed the Sunday School schedule and teachers for the next school year. The Buildings and Grounds Ministry Team discussed completing various maintenance projects from their spring work day and developing plans for the former silt pond area. The Outreach Ministry Team provided updates on local outreach programs and set a date for their Stop Hunger Now event. The Youth Ministry Team reviewed plans for Youth Sunday and their fundraising efforts, and discussed recruiting new youth leaders for the upcoming school year.
Flores de Mayo-history and origin we need to understand
Ministry teams minutes April 2015
1. Ministry Teams Meeting Minutes: 8 April 2015
Ministry Team: Children’s Formation Meeting
Members present: Becky Showalter, Bobbie Feraco, Megan Douglas, Sarah O’Connor, Michelle McElrath
Agenda Items Discussed:
1. Nursery / child care
- Nina moving over to the Education Building at 11am to provide care in the Preschool room seems to be
working well. Youth Helpers signing up for most weeks on Sign-Up Genius. Action Item: Continue
checking to see that youth are signed up for each week. No helpers this week or next . . . will make
some direct calls. (BECKY)
- Michelle Garbutt has agreed to be the caregiver for the Wednesday night Bible study and can cover as back
up for Nina. She is on the payroll – needs to do Safe Church training.
Action Item: Talked to Stephanie and the church will pay for Michelle to attend training. Keep an eye
out for the next local opportunity or set one up for next fall. (BECKY)
2. Holy Week and Easter egg hunt
- Stephanie reported that Easter was a wonderful day. Easter egg hunts and two services were well attended –
Nancy Reed helped Nina at the first service and Sarah Allen helped at the second service.
3. Vacation Bible School
- Bobbie and Sarah have chosen July 17-19 for Vacation Bible School for an “Everest” theme.
Action Item: Sarah is ordering curriculum. Will borrow some of the decorations from Bobbie’s
parents’ church, which is doing “Everest” the week before.
4. Welcome to Michelle McElrath and Sarah O’Connor!
- These two have agreed to co-coordinate the Children’s Program next year. Thank you and welcome!
Action Item: Set up date for Michelle, Sarah and Becky to go over details of what’s involved. Saturday
morning, May 16?
5. Youth Sunday, May 17 at 11:15 service
- 4
th
-5
th
grade class make communion bread?
Action Item: Marottas will make bread with kids as part of Sunday School on May 3
rd
.
- Typically, this is when we give small thank you gifts to our Sunday School teachers. Bread from Great
Harvest has gone over well the last couple of years.
Action Item: Let Jane W know how many to order for SS teachers. Write Thank You notes.
6. End-of-the-year picnic for Sunday School families , May 31 after church
- Hot dog lunch and potluck at Baileywick Park
Action Item: Touch base again with Jennie to confirm date. Reserve Lake Lynn Pavillion. Write GT
article.
7. Sunday School classes for next year
- Three classes. Preschool-Kindergarten, 1
st
-2
nd
Grade, 3
rd
-4
th
Grade
- Talk with current teachers to see if they are interested in teaching again next year.
Action Item: Email teachers to see who will be returning (BECKY).
Returning Maybe Not Returning Don’t Know
Emily Jividen (PK-K)
Jenny and Randy (PK-K
– After Christmas)
Hazels (PK-K)
Marc and Kari (3-4)
Andrea & Rebecca (3-4)
Mary Kingsley Michelle & Rod
Bobbie & David
Laura Cashion
Tivey Clark
Dargan Gilmore
Robbie Schuler
Jillian Schuler
Chris Cooper
Mark / Kerry Troester
Kellam and Riley
2. 8. Better / more professional playground equipment and overall space discussion:
- Wish list: Better equipment, bigger, separate area for toddler equipment and school-age equipment, more
area to run, a covered picnic area.
- Next year, perhaps have fundraisers, etc. Right now, we want to make sure that expansion is discussed
within the current land-use plan.
- Add motion-detector lights in the back to discourage kids from hanging out there at night.
Action Item: Email Building and Grounds again. Building & Grounds responded that we do not have
this in the budget right now, but if we want to move forward with this, then we should discuss what
we want to see, the overall footprint, and perhaps get some ballpark prices so that a proposal can be
made to the vestry.
9. Possible expansion of the daytime preschool:
- Mary may open another preschool room for her daytime preschool and would, in general, like to move her
classrooms closer to the back door by the playground. It would be relatively easy to rearrange so that she
would have Room 208 (big) and Room 207 (small) – the back two classrooms. It would be a little harder for
two big rooms, but could be done. We’d need to talk about that more.
Action Item: Mary is still unsure at this point. We will discuss again if necessary.
10. Summer schedule beginning June 7
- Switch back to two services - 8:30 and 10:30.
- Decisions regarding Children’s Ministry:
o Move last day of Sunday School to May 31 instead of June 7
o Will provide Children’s Church during the 10:30 service.
o Nina will stay in the nursery during both services.
Action Item: Contact Nina and send out email to the teachers about not teaching on June 7. (BECKY)
Send out Sign-Up Genius signup for Children’s Church. (SARAH)
3. Ministry Team: Buildings and Grounds
Members Present: Matt Chytka, David Feraco, Ken Tessier, Randy Smith and Diana Hudgens
Agenda Items discussed:
• Follow-up on last meeting’s action list.
Action Item Assigned To Due Date Comment
Finalize the definition of the
emergency response team
Alfred and
Diana
Still pending
Contact Carl for more input on what
we can plant/seed in the prairie
grassland meadow area.
Alfred Done
Email Nativity grounds plan to
Alfred for inclusion in minutes
Matt Done
Finalize workday plans, get
materials, coordinate breakfast and
lunch
Alfred March 21 Done
• Spring work day Saturday March 21 – follow up
o Thanks to everyone who was able to participate; we had another successful Buildings and Grounds
workday!
o Activities completed:
Power-washed the concrete walkway in front of the Narthex and other walkway areas that
needed cleaning.
Power-washed selected areas (dark streaks) on the east wall of Estill House (towards the
Memorial Garden walkway).
Washed and cleaned the Nativity sign at Ray Road.
Brushed or blew gravel/sand off the walkways around the campus.
Cleaned the grounds of fallen branches, dead leaves, and any debris that had blown in over the
winter period.
Spread mulch in selected areas.
Planted new plants around the campus under the supervision of Matt and Sharon. Blueberry
bushes, butterfly bushes, Winter-berry bushes, a dogwood, plus much more were planted in the
area just off the new parking lot.
Cleaned the area around the old trailer location. Pruned trees and shrubbery around the oak tree
that is located behind that area, removed debris including old branches in a pile, pruned/cut down
the tree with a broken trunk next to the playground area.
Built and installed handrails on both sides of the wooden stairs leading up to the back entrance to
the Church building.
Cleaned out and organized the storage room next to Phil's and Paul's office that has the green
chairs in it. There was a lot of old audio equipment, which Jason helped us to sort into keep/give
away/throw out.
Cleaned up the area between Estill House and the new Memorial Garden walkway. The area was
raked to remove gumballs, rough leveled with rakes and finally grass was seeded over the entire
area.
Cleaned up the Memorial Garden: raked/blew gum balls off, pruned and neatened the place up.
Checked that all visitor “pockets” have pew cards in them. Also checked that there were wood
plugs over the center screw in the hymnal pockets.
One bulb in ceiling above the altar was broken and was replaced.
Replaced soap dispensers in the five restrooms in the church building.
Installed blinds in the choir bell room in the Education Building.
Installed two new programmable thermostats in Estill House.
Installed a stainless steel kick plate on the inside of the Education Building entrance door.
Installed a stainless steel plate on the divider in the men's restroom in Estill House to prevent
further damage of the divider.
Repaired the door in the right-most toilet in the women's restroom in Estill House. It was on an
angle and could not be locked.
Installed a stainless steel kick plate on the inside of the back door to Estill House.
4. Repaired loose cabinet doors over coffee maker.
Installed a missing shelf support in the printer room.
o Total material and plant cost came to around $900
o Follow-up activities:
We need a little more power-washing to be done on some of the brick walls around the entrance
to the church building. One section was cleaned, and the others now stand out as needing
cleaning also.
The floor in the hall in the education building needs to be stripped and waxed. We will likely need
a professional to do the stripping.
Any other follow-up activities that come to your mind?
• We need to organize a small team to solicit ideas for how to best use the area where the pond was during
construction of the new parking lot.
o Ideas should be solicited from the school (Mary Kingsley), from the environmental team (Carl Sigel), from
the youth teams (Riley Gaddy), and any others who may have an interest in that area.
o The area may end up being a mixed use area that meets the wishes of more of the groups mentioned
above.
o Each recommendation from the team should be accompanied by a cost estimate.
o We need volunteers for this team!
o Ken Tessier has volunteered to organize a small team to solicit ideas for how to best use the area where
the pond was during construction of the new parking lot.
The environmental team has also organized a small group for the same purpose, so Ken is asked
to coordinate with that team through Carl Sigel.
There was further discussion that developing the old silt pond location might make a good Eagle
Scout project. It would involve studying, organizing, and coordinating, all good things. Upon
reflection, however, it was concluded that the project would be too tricky for a teenager, so we
reverted to an adult team headed by Ken.
• Eagle Scout project request
o We had received a request from Jack Nolan to suggest an Eagle Scout project for him. Ideas still on the
table: to reinforce and possibly enlarge the enclosure around the garbage containers (recently scattered
by raccoons), to enlarge the garden space (if that is a desired objective), or to build benches along the
walkway near the memorial garden.
o Diana will talk with Jack.
• Termites are back in the church building for a third year in a row
o On the window sill of the church.
o At the moment, that problem seems to be under control, as the termite inspector, who also treated for
termites two years ago, has volunteered to extend the warranty to cover the current termites.
• Old basketball goal
o The problem of the broken and unusable basketball goal arose.
o It was declared unfixable, and Matt volunteered to cart it off the property.
• Anything else we need to discuss in today’s meeting?
o Randy Smith introduced a request from Chris Christiansen to place a broom and dustpan in each of our
three buildings.
o Chris also informed us that our garden hose and hose caddy are no longer functioning properly.
o He proposed a new hose caddy and new 150 feet hose.
o Diana volunteered to discuss these with Chris.
Action Items Assigned/Tracked:
Action Item Assigned To Due Date Comment
Organize team to solicit ideas for the silt pond area.
Coordinate with environmental team
Ken T. 5/13/2015
Discuss possible Eagle Scout projects with Jack Diana 5/13/2015
Remove old broken basketball goal Matt 5/13/2015
Discuss broom, dustpan and new garden hose
suggestion with Chris
Diana 5/13/2015
Finalize definition of emergency response team Diana and Alfred 5/13/2015
5. Ministry Team: Outreach
Members Present: Pete Crow, Cheryl Waechter, Noah Showalter, Maxine Highsmith, René Garcés.
Agenda Items discussed:
1. Some announcements for Carl
6 new beds have been assigned to the following families: Allen, Kenney, Booth, Thoman, Chytka/Waidler, and
Carroll.
2. Report on Bread for the World—Cheryl
1-day event held, and COTN got a shout out. Principal of local school attended and explained how their students
don't get breakfast, though they sometimes get free/reduced-price lunch.
3. Update on Pride Packs for Leesville Elementary—Cheryl
Collections didn't do real well the Sunday after Easter, so may decide to change the date depending on when
Easter falls.
4. Update on tutoring program with Leesville Elementary—Pete
Cheryl checked into tutoring being run by another church at Baileywick, and asked if COTN had been in touch
with LES volunteer coordinator. Pete indicated we should hear if COTN got grant by 4/15, and regardless we
would want to proceed with tutoring. Pete mentioned to Principal Cohen he wasn't get much feedback from
guidance counselor. Pete was told each grade has about a 1h15m block of time scheduled during day of free time
to study, so, tutor could work with teacher and student(s), or work 1 on 1 with students, etc. So, thoughts are,
before school start, an academic Saturday would be held, where tutors would be assigned to where their help is
needed most, and they'd be paired with a teacher. Tutor may even meet some of the parents during the academic
Saturday. The Augustine literacy project trains tutors how to help students with academic difficulties. 1 person
form COTN is planning to get trained in July. All the training is provided free, and half of the costs for material is
also covered. Principle
Cohen has experience with Augustine literacy project, 1 was successful, and 1 was a disaster, and, he had not
noticed any improvement in test scores, though improvement in student's self-esteem was noticed. Volunteer
tutors need to get a background check, and principle Cohen has scheduled at 5:30PM on 4/27 to get background
checks.
5. Great 50 Days of Easter mite box reminder—Patti
Diocesan challenge to raise $50/parishioner to fund EFwM, whereby $50 equates to several tons of crops picked.
6. Consideration of date for Stop Hunger Now—René
8/2 or 8/9 are dates when Cheryl and Pete will be in town. Need to check with Stephanie and see whether
either 8/2 or 8/9 are OK, or, if any particular Sunday in August is better. Need to check with
Stop Hunger Now organization to see if they have openings in August too. Ask Carl for contact info he
used last year, and if not, then check web-page.
6. Ministry Team: Youth
Members Present: Sally Bloom, Jane Weinberger, Jon Showalter, Paul Grass
Agenda Items discussed:
1. Youth Sunday: Letters to seniors’ families going out soon. Susannah Bloom, Tom Gordon to speak; Grayson Holmes
to usher; Stephen Hughes in the band. Jane arranging for bread with leaders/teachers. J2A doing Gospel skit; Rite 13
doing prayers of people.
2. Youth group: Extra for rising Fixers on May 3. Parent meeting for new fixers group and what J2A is. Jon will bring grill;
will recruit Pat Kenney. Moving last youth group to May 17.
3. J2A sent out extra fundraising efforts to families; hoping they’ll pick up on these and schedule them.
4. Pancake supper made $1500! One more fundraiser with Domino’s and quilt raffle left for this school year.
5. Paul’s last day? Working out with Stephanie. Probably mid June.
6. Recruiting youth leaders: Rite 13 set; Fixers--Fran is working on this; new EYC group--Sally working on. Youth group?
New Youth Leader?
7. EYC new curriculum is coming along; youth ministers and other priest have been contacted and Paul and Stephanie
are meeting with Karen Ridout and Jane Vella about this.