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July 2, 2002
The Council met in the Chapel conference room. President Yarbrough called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
Members in attendance: Mary Bosco, Kate Clayton, Ben Covington, Nancy Ferree-Clark, Sandra Greene, Steve Harper, Judy Hays, Chuck King, David Langford, Marilyn Yarbrough, and DeeDee Boyington. Visiting Member of Congregation: David Work
Steve Harper led the group devotional with a reading from John 13 and a prayer.
June Minutes: A motion to correct the spelling of Pat Henry's name passed.
DeeDee Boyington will create a listserv for use by the Council. The Council meeting minutes will be distributed by e-mail to council members with e-mail addresses beginning with the September minutes.
Pastor's Report
Membership: 486 members. Births: John and Elizabeth Pirola have a new son, Sabastian, born on June 17 at Rex Hospital. Parking: Handicapped parking in the front of the Chapel appears to be working well. The campus-parking department has been notified that the gates for the Allen building parking lot have not been raised for approximately 3 weeks. DCIA: This group has requested that each member congregation provide a representative to the Public Education task force. Disciples: In August Sue Eldon will be attending training in Richmond to become a Disciple Bible study teacher. Meeting Location: Starting in September, the Council will meet in the Episcopal Center on the first Thursday of each month.
Nancy has been asked to serve on the Institutional Review Board at Duke Hospital for the coming year.
Chapel Support: Ben Covington is pleased that various members of the Congregation recognized the need for additional ushers and volunteered to serve in this manner.
Christian Nurture: The youth participated in a swim party at Croasdaile Village. Several youth have trained to serve as regular volunteers there. Wes McGraw has reported that Dean Willimon's annual seminar will be on January 25, 2003.
Mission and Outreach: The committee continues to work on a Web page to communicate information about mission and outreach activities. A brochure is being prepared for new members. The Haiti group worked at the Durham Food Bank. There is a possibility that the Congregation will work with the Wesley group on a Habitat house this fall.
Finance Committee
Cash Reserves: The Finance Committee proposed that the Treasurer maintain a cash reserve equal to 25% (3 months) of the annual budgeted expenditures for the current year. Details of the policy are documented in written policy. A copy of the policy is attached to the archived July minutes of the Council. A motion to accept this recommendation carried.
It was recommended that the membership list for the Congregation be shared with Friends of Duke Chapel. The list will be used for a mailing to invite members of the Congregation to contribute to the Æolian Organ restoration. A letter from both Nancy and Dean Willimon will accompany the mailing. A motion to accept this recommendation carried.
The council voted to allocate $150 to the summer choir dinner.
Treasurer's Report:
Chuck King distributed and reviewed the "Statement of Financial Position" as of June 30, 2002. Congregational giving is at 96.3% of the budgeted amount.
The process for calculating Surplus Operating Funds was reviewed. Approximately $70,000 is currently available as Surplus Operating Funds. The Motion to accept funding of the (cash) Reserve for 2002 at $45,000 carried.
Applications for insurance quotes for liability insurance for the Council have been signed.
New Business:
Anti-death Penalty Petition: David Work, a member of the Congregation and member of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty (PFADP), presented and discussed a moratorium on executions in North Carolina. He offered us the opportunity to support and sign the moratorium and submit it to the NC Moratorium Now/PFADP group. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow a time to study the fairness of the death penalty in our state. Although individual members of the Council agree that such an investigation is warranted, the Council discussed at great length as to whether or not the Council could speak for the Congregation on a social issue. There was agreement that additional time is needed to read the materials distributed by David and to consider this request.
Nancy led the group in a closing prayer. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 p.m.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 5, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Episcopal Center. Kate Clayton will lead the devotion.