Diocesan Council Meeting Highlights – July 24, 2018
By Kathy Hartman
The July 24 meeting was called to order by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely at 7:00 PM. Kathy Hartman led the opening devotions. The Consent Agenda was approved. We all congratulated Maurice Harris on the recent awarding of the honorary title Dr. Maurice Harris, ABD (“all but dissertation”) as he completes his dissertation over the next several months.
The financial news, as presented by Gerry Davis, continues to be good. Revenues are at 46% of budgeted projections; expenses are at 48% of budgeted projections. The diocese currently has a $5,000 deficit. Parish contributions are down by $22,969. Of the 45 parishes, 32 are completely up to date, 10 are one month late.
The AlleluiaFund has collected $24,550 in donations from 110 contributors.
The Budget Planning Committee for the 2019 budget anticipates that parish contributions will be the same as for 2018. Total revenues are also expected to be level, with only an increase of $4,000.
The General Convention, as reported by Bishop Ely, was good, full, exhausting and rewarding. The Diocese of Vermont was well represented through our very active delegation, each of whom were very active in committees, task forces and general convention duties. The greatest highlight for many was the re-admission of Cuba as a member.
A sub-committee has been established to review clergy compensation, which includes supply clergy, with the results to be considered at General Convention.
The Commission on Ministry is compiling reports from Local Ministry congregations. The COM is now looking for reports from Local Ministry Clergy who are now active priests.
The Racial Reconciliation Team is planning the next Clergy Day to be held on October 4, 2018.
There has been a slight uptick in the percentage of reader engagement in The Mountain in recent months with Constant Contact reporting 40-45% of subscribers opening the email. This compares well to our average of 37–40% last years and an industry average of 27.6%.
The Rock Point Campaign has been an outstanding success – with $1,930,000 raised at the time of this writing! Community partners continue to plan coordinated events to keep Rock Point a community focus.
With closing prayers, the meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.