PRESBYTERY COUNCIL
November 13,
2007
Presbytery
office
The
Council of thePresbytery Minnesota Valleys was called
to order at 10:00 a.m. by the chair Roger
Grussing.
Those
present included:
Roger Grussing,
Dawn Carder,
Norma Spurgin,
Rallah Madison,
Grayson Osteraas, Connie
Seltz, Pamela Prouty,
Sue Coller, Bob Bartlett, Penny Jo
Temple-Johnson, , Pat Kunze, LeRoy Ennenga,
Carol Stiles,
Dale Champ and Dan Billings
Those
excused included:
Sue Coller, Executive Presbyter,
Kathy Terpstra, Arlen
Sjerven, Nancy Chamberlain, Dawn Linder,
We
started with introductions and devotions by
Grayson Osteraas.
The
proposed agenda was approved.
The
minutes from the October 9, 2007 were approved.
Reports
Executive
Presbyter
The Executive Presbyter submitted a written
report (appendix A). COUNCIL VOTED to
receive the report.
Stated
Clerk
The
Stated Clerk had an oral report.
Leadership Team
COUNCIL
RECOMMENDED to Presbytery the Rev.
Bob Maharry to the Nominating
Committee and to empower the Leadership Team to submit a
name of a male elder from Cluster 2
COUNCIL APPROVED the following people to serve on
a task force for how to use the proceeds from the sale
of the Riverside Presbyterian Church in Sartell: Darlene King, Maine, Underwood, Herb Rotunda,
Dawson, Bev Modlin,
Amboy and Gloria VandeBrake, Brainerd (she is also on
the Sartell, Administrative Commission). Sue Coller will
resource this task force.
We had a
discussion about the task force to recommend a
process/philosophy for the nomination of the General
Assembly Commissioners and Presbytery officers. We talked about
having Sessions nominate people, about the previous
rotational system and the present system of
self-nomination.
Also we suggested for this Task Force to look at
the present form and make sure it reflects the
suggestions in the Book of Order. And that the
present nominating from be seen as more of an interest
survey rather than self-nomination. Perhaps we need
to communicate better with Sessions and Presbytery
committees about possibilities for people to serve the
Presbytery.
COUNCIL
VOTED to ask the chair of Council to convene a group for
the process of drafting the guidelines for the
nominating process of Presbytery officers and General
Assembly Commissioners. This group would
return their report to Council for final review by the
January 2008.
The committee would include one person from
Nominating, two from Council and one from COR.
Grayson Osteraas and
Rallah Madison will serve on this task force
from Council.
Communication Task
Force
We had a
brief discussion about the survey.
Committee
Reports
Budget
and Finance Committee
Bea
Ourada was present to talk about the
audit. Our
books have always been kept on a modified cash basis
which means that certain things are retained in the
books which would be useful for beyond the current year
such as the valuation of the website and the building
etc.
COUNCIL
VOTED to recommend to the Presbytery that we continue
with a modified cash basis for bookkeeping which has
been used since the inception of the Presbytery with the
addition of a change to show current adjusted value of
investments.
COUNCIL
VOTED to conduct an outside audit any time there is a
change of Executive Presbyter or Financial Manager; this
would in addition to the every five years which is
already in the Manual of Operations. This will go in
the Manual of Operations.
COUNCIL
VOTED to receive the Profit and Loss Budget Performance,
the Balance Sheet, the Per Capita and General Mission
Giving to date, dated October 31, 2007.
COUNCIL
VOTED to recommend to Presbytery that the First
Presbyterian Church, Tracy be allowed to dispose of a
ten foot by seventy-five foot piece of property as long
as there is the understanding that the Tracy church and
not the Presbytery is responsible for payment of all
fees and demonstrate to Presbytery that the transfer has
been done and all fees have been paid.
COUNCIL
VOTED to reimburse those Presbytery representatives who
serve on Presbyterian camp boards (Clearwater and Lake
Okoboji)
mileage at the Presbytery Committee rate, and
other expenses incurred when adequate provisions have
not been made.
CONCIL VOTED regarding the Windom loan for $5,000
for furnace repair which was added without permission to
a roof loan at a local bank. A letter will be
sent to the clerk of session with copies to the
moderator of the congregation, the local bank and the
Committee on Ministry stating that all loans using
church property as security need to be approved by the
Presbytery.
Personnel
COUNCIL
VOTED to allocate $25,000 for housing allowance for the
Executive Presbyter for 2008 and all subsequent years
until a change needs to be made.
Dawn
Linder also reported that they had a successful
evaluation of the Executive Presbyter.
We also
talked about the need to adequately train people to
serve on personnel committee both for the Presbytery and
the local congregations.
Committee/Task
Force/Ministry Action Team liaisons
Connie
Seltz reported about the Congregational Growth and
Development that the majority of their last meeting
talked about restructuring.
Dan
Billings reported about the International Partnerships
which continues to work on the clean water project and
potential challenges for the upcoming project. On September 8,
20008 a delegation from the Occidente Presbytery will be
visiting our Presbytery. The mission
worker Karla Kole from the PCUSA has asked to visit our
Presbytery; she is the current PCUSA mission worker in
Guatamala.
Dawn
Carder reported that the Committee on Ministry is
considering adding a couple of Saturday meetings for
2008.
COUNCIL
VOTED to receive the Executive Presbyter’s report.
We
continued our discussion from the “walk through the
churches.”
The
role of discipleship v. membership
o
Presbyterian identity
diluted
o Faith
stories
o Issues
related to congregations that may consider leaving
PCUSA
o Use of
Commissioned Lay Pastors vs. use of ordained pastors of
other denominations
o Training
about what it means to be Presbyterian
o Property
and finance
o
Determine our pastoral role
to each congregation
We broke
for lunch at 12:05 p.m. and reconvened at 12:50 p.m.
Gloria
VandeBrake and Susan Roberts from the Sartell
Administrative Commission met with us. They gave their
final report.
COUNCIL
VOTED to place the recommendations from the Sartell
Administrative Commission on our list of items to keep
in front of us.
We
acknowledged those who will be going off of Council at
the end of the year and thanked them for their
service.
We
adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
The next
Council meeting will be Tuesday, January 8, 2008.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela R.
Prouty
Stated
Clerk
