Diocesan Council&Convocations
Diocesan Council Meeting Minutes, June 12, 2008
By Diocesan Council
Jun 27, 2008, 07:20

Diocese of New Hampshire

Diocesan Council Minutes for June 12, 2008

DRAFT VERSION

Attendance

Bonnie Chappell, Heidi Frantz-Dale, Bill Exner, Bobbie Fairman, Susan Fockler, Susan Garrity, Sally Hague, Judy Haigh, Betsy Hess, Charles LaFond, Connie Morton-Ewbank, Ron Moore, Anne Plumer-Fisher, Margaret Porter, Bishop Gene Robinson, Tim Rich, Carol Twomey, Jason Wells.

Call to Order

Moderator Margaret Porter called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.

Devotions

Sally Hague led devotions using prayers from the Church of Ireland’s Book of Common Prayer.

Approval of Minutes

Bill Exner moved that the minutes of the May meeting be accepted as emailed. Sally Hague seconded. Motion carried.

Discussion of Lambeth Conference of Bishops

The Bishop shared details of his appearances in the UK before, during and after the Lambeth Conference. The letter from the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council to the Archbishop of Canterbury, which was approved at last month’s meeting, has been sent. No response has been received. The Council requested that the Bishop let us know on the dates when he would especially like the prayers of the Diocese. He asked for the Council’s opinion on the best way, and how often, to communicate during his time away. Brief daily communication was suggested with more substantive reflections occasionally. These might be downloaded from the diocesan website and printed out, or could be sent out via D-mail, with postcards going to those who don’t have D-mail. This might be an opportunity to model a communication process that could be useful in the future. The Council wishes to let the minutes show how proud we are of our Bishop!

Action Items and Reports

Request re Council Minutes: Lakes Region Convocation requested that the Council reconsider the issue of making Council minutes public. After some discussion, it was decided that the scribe will send out a draft of the minutes to Council members within one week of the meeting; members will have five days to respond with additions or corrections. (All members are asked to respond when they receive the draft, even if the response is “no comment.”) Heidi Frantz-Dale moved that the minutes be made publicly available on the website within two weeks of the meeting, after Council has had a chance to make changes. This vetted edition would still be considered a draft until formally approved at the next meeting. Betsy Hess seconded the motion. Motion carried. Margaret Porter will post the minutes to the website. She thanked the Lakes Region Convocation for raising concerns about transparency.

Spring Event: The Spring Event, which was to have been held at Gunstock Mountain on Saturday, June 21, has been postponed until May 9, 2009; it will be held at the same location. The program will be similar to what had been planned for this year, with some enhancements. The Event will be publicized at the fall convention and in the NH Episcopal News. It may be possible to get permission from one of the speakers to do an Advent or Lenten study, or to make a DVD. The baseball hats that were to have been sold at the Spring Event will be available at the Outreach gathering in July. It has been determined that, in the future, the Spring Event will be on the second Saturday in May. Convention delegates are reminded that they are expected to attend. It was suggested that perhaps we need to do better publicity locally, in order to develop more enthusiasm.

Lakes Region Concerns about Spring Event: The Lakes Region Convocation has expressed their displeasure with the cancellation of Spring Event. Heidi Frantz-Dale, Lakes Region clergy representative, stated that, although they understand the necessity of cancelling, it appears that this is a sign of a larger issue of communication that we need to work on.

Convention Resolutions: Lakes Region Convocation has submitted a draft of a resolution that all congregations, regardless of their size, have the same number of convention delegates. Northern Convocation is preparing a resolution requesting the study of a different formula to determine each church’s fair share, with smaller churches having a proportionately smaller burden, but generating the same total amount for the Diocese. Margaret Porter stated that the resolution task force that was put in place at the May Council meeting will be looking at the process of how resolutions go to Convention. If they have something to propose by November, there is the possibility that they can ask permission of the Convention to bring it to the floor.

Outreach/Evangelism Grant: Susan Garrity, Chair of the Commission on Evangelism presented a grant request for $1200 to support Fr. John Yen of Grace Church Manchester in his ministry to the Sudanese community in Manchester and throughout New England. A total of $2400 is needed, but $1200 will be provided from the Bishop’s discretionary fund. The remaining $1200 could be split between Evangelism and Outreach. The issue of accountability by grant recipients was discussed; a procedure for follow-up is needed. Susan Garrity will post a brief form on the website which will allow recipients to report back to the Commissions. She moved that the grant be approved as presented. Bill Exner seconded. Motion carried. Susan will check with Becky Forbes to determine to whom the payment should be made.

Evangelism/Youth and Young Adult Grant: St. Andrew’s Church in New London requested $5000 for a pilot project – an intergenerational outdoor worship service on Sunday mornings, to be concurrent with the regular indoor worship. Cricket Cooper, St. Andrew’s Rector, will be working with Caroline Fairless and Jim Sims; most of the grant money will be used to pay them. Information will be made available so that other congregations can use this model in the future. Anne Plumer-Fisher reminded Council that, if churches have attended one of the workshops given by Caroline Fairless and Jim Sims, these presenters are willing to help them do one worship service. So far, only one church has taken them up on the offer. It was suggested that this information be shared with the convocations. Bill Exner moved that we accept the St. Andrew’s proposal, with the Evangelism and Youth/Young Adult Commissions determining exactly how the requested amount will split between these two groups. Heidi Frantz-Dale seconded. Motion carried.

Outreach/Diocesan MDG Grants: Bill Exner reported on the Outreach Commission’s conference call on May 30. (a) The CHIPS program will be going forward in 2008. In 2009, the program will need $7000 instead of the usual $3000. (b) Lutheran Social Services (LSS) has a summer internship for work with refugees. Anyone interested should contact Bob Kaye.  LSS will be needing $13000 for refugee resettlement. (c) On Sunday afternoon July 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., the Outreach Commission will hold a Prayer Vigil for Lambeth and for peace concerns at All Saints’ Church in Wolfeboro. (d) A group is working on the water rights issue and will be providing information on possible actions that can be taken. (e) An MDG committee has been formed and will be contacting parishes to see what they have been doing to meet the millennium development goals. This information will be shared throughout the Diocese. (f) Bill Exner suggested that the MDG funds in the 2008 diocesan budget be divided between Masiphumelele in South Africa, which we supported last year, and the Holy Trinity Health Clinic in Honduras. It was also suggested that we might want to give some of the MDG money to LSS. Bill Exner moved that we give $5000 to Masiphumelele, $5000 to the Honduras clinic, and $1000 to LSS. Connie Morton-Ewbank seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mission Resources: Benge Ambrogi and Mission Resources have met with the Bishop’s Committee of Christ Church Portsmouth to discuss future needs. Currently, the church receives a sizable Mission Resources grant.

General Convention: As requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of the House of Deputies, NH deputies and alternates met recently to discuss the St. Andrew’s draft of the proposed Anglican Covenant. They respectfully reviewed the document and suggested some changes. Randy Dales will respond to the President of the House of Deputies with a synopsis of the concerns of the Diocese of New Hampshire, in hopes that it the rest of the church will be informed.

Financial Report: The financial report was deferred until the next meeting, when a quarterly report will be presented.

Council Retreat 2008: The retreat planning group will be meeting. Paula Bibber will be making arrangements for a bus.

Bishop’s Time

The Bishop reported that he has five ordinations and one celebration of new ministry scheduled for this month. These are good opportunities to remind lay people that our primary ordination is at baptism.

The Presiding Bishop will be in New Hampshire on September 26 and 27. She prefers to meet with small groups. The Council and Bishop discussed how these small groups might be chosen and where the meetings should be held. The Bishop would like feedback on this issue by next week. Heidi Frantz-Dale reminded Council that it is important that information regarding the visit be clearly communicated.

Assignments for July 10 Meeting

Devotions – Margaret Porter

Snack – Judy Haigh

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Twomey

Scribe