It is important for each church member to be aware of the hard work and long hours performed by the members of the Leadership Council since the church conference in April. The desire of each member of the Council is to make the right decisions that will lead our church to a successful future in growing God’s kingdom in Boca Raton. While we may not agree on the process, we all agree on the desired outcome. The meeting Monday night took three hours, illustrating the efforts of the Council in our goal. The following is my recollection of the meeting and my expressed personal views.

Pastor Marcus opened the meeting with a prayer and a devotional.

Ron Allen, president of Morgan Taylor Company, a longstanding member of our church, gave a formal presentation on the condition of our facilities on both campuses. His presentation was impressive with details and overview, covering the condition of the roofs, air-conditioners, buildings, and walkways. It was my opinion that his presentation indicated that overall, the facilities are in decent to good condition with a few exceptions. Roof cleaning was recommended on the East campus along with low-cost maintenance on the air conditioning units (line insulation). The West campus needs some roof work and parking lot repair. Pastor Tom asked Ron to review a leak in the Chapel. Ron and his company have been involved in the repair or replacement of our facilities dating back to 2002. Please contact him directly or speak with Fran Bertotti if you have a concern. Overall, I thought his report was quite encouraging.

Joe Manino gave a presentation on how the current governing body of our church, The Leadership Council, came into being in 2012. Revised in 2016, the document describing the composition and policies of the Council was distributed to each member. In the future, new members on the Council will be given this document in January and will be asked to participate in a brief leadership training at the start of their tenure. There are several concerns regarding current composition and policy. These include which members should have the privilege of voting, alternate committee members, and attendance requirements for Council members. Pastor Tom, and in his absence pastor Marcus, will chair a committee of Charlie Tate, Joe Rakestraw, and Merv Timberlake, to make recommendations at the July meeting. All policy must be consistent with The Book of Discipline. Charlie Tate reminded the Council that this document represented the “Constitution” of our governing body, and must be closely adhered to.

Sharon Saige gave the business administrator report. Those documents are available for review. In brief, we continue to run a budget deficit, and our attendance continues to drop on both campuses. This is the summer, when attendance and giving are historically low. On the bright side, the increase in pledging has now totaled about $44,000. However, this remains well below the goal established at the April church conference of 20%. Please continue to pray about your financial commitment to the kingdom of God.

Fran Bertotti gave the trustees subcommittee report. The list of minor repairs is available for your review. Fran did express concern about the West Campus parking lot and the need for repair prior to our Pumpkin Patch Outreach in October. Particularly encouraging was the report of volunteers supplying labor and in some cases materials to improve our facilities on West and East campuses. Volunteerism is the heart and soul of any church. Please do your part.

Chuck Reeder gave the Staff Parish report. There have been rather dramatic changes in our staff this summer. As reported last month, our West Campus children’s director and Sunday school teacher has resigned. This month, Melissa Walls, after 10 years of faithful service, has resigned as Director of Children’s Ministry. These resignations leave a tremendous gap in our ministry to our children and youth. The committee proposed a bold plan to develop a new position of Director of Family Ministry. This individual would be in charge of the children and youth ministries on both campuses. For this to work, in addition to his or her direct ministry, this individual would need to have significant people skills in order to produce the volunteers (parents and other church members) necessary for each of the programs. Budgeted funds are available for this position and there may be an opportunity for some budget savings with the consolidation. The plan was unanimously approved by the Council and the search for the director will begin this summer.

Sharon Beede gave the finance committee report. Her report is available for review. In summary, the committee continues to express concern about the financial well-being of our church. We continue to run a budget deficit and the long-term implications of this is onerous. The committee continues to work diligently to find areas in the budget that can be modified to reduce costs. Some of these areas may include reduction of the music ministry expenses on the East campus, the financial consequences of selling one or both of the parish homes, and an overall reduction in the Staff Parish budget. On the positive side, we have reduced cost for our custodial services, and we have increased income through new rental agreements with MECE on the East Campus and the Montessori school on the West Campus. In addition, there may be additional savings as noted earlier in the establishment of a Director of Family Ministry. A motion was approved to move $100,000 from our foundation fund into a Merrill Lynch liquid account. A second motion encouraging a budget reduction of 15%, with 10% coming from Staff Parish was defeated. It would be my opinion that Leadership Council has two schools of thought on the budget issue. Some Council members feel that the budget should be reduced and the deficit eliminated. Other Council members, including myself, feel that our church ministry must be revamped and updated, if we are to succeed in the future. This will likely require deficit spending in the near future. All members of our Council want our church to succeed on both campuses. As members, your input is necessary—not only your thoughts, but your time, energy, and giving.

Pastor Marcus briefly discussed the first meetings of the Strategic Planning Task Force and the Ministries Reassessment Task Force. These two teams were established at our April church conference and will be evaluating all aspects of worship at our church currently and our strategic planning for the future. They will be working all summer to bring a report to the Leadership Council in September.

Pastor Tom gave his final report as a full-time pastor. He will be spending three weeks starting July 7 in Atlanta to complete his study at the Emory University School of Theology. He shared his sense of blessing at being a full-time pastor at our church and left the Council with a most appropriate Bible verse to live by: Ephesians 4:32. Look it up, it’s worth remembering. Charlie Tate concluded Pastor Tom’s remarks by expressing a deep appreciation and love for Pastor Tom and all that he has done to further the ministry of our church. We are so very grateful that he will continue to be with us on a part-time basis.

Pastors Rachel and Ryan continue to be on maternity leave. They will be returning to work on July 1. Our prayers of joy continue for young Charlie.

Suzanne Reeves gave the Lay Leader report. Suzanne is serving on both planning teams as a facilitator with Pastor Marcus. If you take a minute to review the Leadership Council composition and policy document discussed earlier, you will find the responsibilities of the Lay Leader. Suzi is the living, breathing, walking and talking example of what the Leader of Laity is supposed to be. We are so blessed to have her.

Our new Young Adult Representative, Mallory Albeck, did not present a report at this meeting.  The purpose of the Young Adult Representative is to insure that the Leadership Council discussions and votes include the perspective of the next generation.

Jill Haire, our Connections Ministry Director, filed a written report. She continues to work on a plan of action this summer for increasing number of greeters and ushers for our services starting in the fall.

Joe Rakestraw, one of our Council members, is working with Mike Woolsey to establish a new outreach ministry with the motorcycle enthusiasts in our community. He asked for the council’s endorsement. Council members recommended George Liebel as an additional convener of this “motorcycle gang” and unanimously supported this outreach. Please be careful, boys!!!

Doris Clark gave an exciting and enthusiastic report of the first meeting of the Pumpkin Patch Committee. There are four co-chairpersons. Minutes and summary of that meeting are available for review. The level of volunteerism this year is very exciting and all profits from this activity will be used to support the operating budget of our church. Please plan to participate in this wonderful and very successful community outreach ministry.

Pastor Tom ended a lengthy but successful meeting with prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles F Tate III, MD

Chair, Leadership Council, FUMC, BR

This is the second report of the Leadership Council Chair, consisting of my reflections on the meeting held May 21, 2018 at the West Campus. Council attendance was excellent and each of the members are to be commended for their hard work during the past month. Each committee submitted a written report which is available for review. It was a busy, but highly productive meeting, going just over two hours.

Our Church Business Administrator Sharon Saige reported on recent pledges turned in. 28 people have increased their pledge or pledged for the first time with an overall increase of $22,000 in giving. We hope and pray there are more pledges to come in, as our needs are great. Leadership Council members should be wearing bright new name badges in the next month. We want everyone to get to know the lay leaders and ask questions or express concerns to them. We are planning a new photo church directory to be published by the first of the year. Photography will be scheduled for this fall. Becky Clark will be the staff “point person” on this project; we need volunteers to help her make this a big success. Please contact her and offer your services. We have received a 95 page appraisal of the West Campus from Integra Realty Resources in Orlando, a company recommended by our conference. The West Campus property appraisal was acknowledged; the property was valued at $3.6 million.

Jill Haire gave a report on plans to expand our greeter program. We will be developing a plan of action that will greatly expand the number of greeters, so the burden of serving every week can be reduced on our current loyal group. This is an extremely important ministry, as studies have shown that visitors decide within 7 to 8 minutes of walking into a church service whether they feel encouraged to return. Stay tuned and please extend the hand of friendship to all.

Pastor Marcus gave a report from the Nominating Committee. We welcomed our new Young Adult Representative, Mallory Albeck, to her first meeting. Claire Vande Polder was elected to serve on the Staff Parish Relations Committee. The pastor then nominated 13 members for the new Ministries Reassessment Task Force and 9 members for the Strategic Planning Task Force, which were mandated by the vote at our Church Conference in April. All nominees were approved. The task forces will be working this summer to assess our church and make recommendations to move forward into the future with success. These names will be published in the bulletin and on Realm. Please get to know them and share your thoughts with them.

Chuck Reeder, Chairman of the Staff Parish Relations Committee gave their report. Pastor Tom’s new position as a part-time minister required definition and salary adjustments. The Staff Parish proposal was approved, and Pastor Tom is ready to begin part time on July 1. We are extremely pleased to continue to enjoy his talent, caring, and love for the Lord. Custodial services have undergone a change since the resignation of Alex Castle. Sharon Saige has negotiated with a contract service, and the plan approved will produce an estimated $6000 savings to the church. Callie Schaffer, our Assistant Children’s Director and West Campus Sunday school teacher, has resigned. She plans to work full time at the Montessori school. We will attempt to fill her role with volunteers this summer and revisit this position in the fall. Please, if you enjoy children, volunteer once or twice a month to take care of our most precious gifts. The hiring of a full-time youth director (to serve on both campuses) has been deferred this summer. In the interim, Dani Boden has been hired as a part time youth and children intern. We will revisit this important subject this fall, and based on giving, goals, and recommendations of the Strategic Planning and Ministry Reassessment teams, reconsider a full-time position.

Sharon Beede, Chair of the Finance Committee, gave their report and recommendations. It was approved that a monthly financial report will appear in the bulletin every week, so that members “can’t miss” the information. Salaries for pastors and staff will be frozen this year as we tighten our financial belts. Finally, the Finance Committee members were unanimous in the belief that the church should move to a balanced budget as quickly as possible. Fiscal responsibility is essential to the health of our institution. It was agreed that Finance, working with Sharon Saige, will propose a detailed balanced budget next month. This will be based on actual current needs, current changes in giving, recent changes in salaries and new income. Please, prayerfully consider your giving to our church. It is only with your help that our goal to serve greater Boca Raton for God’s work can be fulfilled.

Fran Bertotti, Chairperson of the Trustees, gave their report. Ron Allen, a church member, and owner of Morgan Taylor Contractors is currently inspecting facilities at both campuses. He will be presenting a detailed overview of the condition of both facilities with proposed necessary repairs and replacements, at our June meeting. Approval was given to install storm windows in the East Campus parsonage. These funds will not come from the church budget. Approval was given for window repair and caulking on the East Campus. Fran also reported on an occupancy study she did. George Liebel was thanked for repairing the walkway between Fellowship Hall and the school building on the West Campus. A water leak was repaired outside the Chapel on the West Campus. There is a water leak at the West Campus parsonage that needs repair. MECE will be paying $5000 more this year to use the Life Enrichment Center. The Montessori school contract is in negotiations. The church vehicles need to be replaced. They are over 12 years old and worn out. No action was taken, but this will need to be addressed as we try to improve our youth ministry and outreach programs.

Lay Leader Suzanne Reeves gave her report. She noted that she attended the Trustees and Finance Committee meetings this month, participated in the West Campus services at 930, and has submitted her first message for our weekly email. She expressed concern about the condition of the West Campus infant/toddler nursery.

Charlie Tate asked Pastor Tom to chair an ad hoc committee to review whether there should be any changes to the members of the Council who vote on Council matters. Joe Rakestraw and Merv Timberlake were asked to serve. A report is requested to the Council at the June meeting.

The meeting was adjourned with a closing prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles F Tate III, MD

Chair, Leadership Council, FUMC, BR

This is the first of what I hope will be monthly summaries of your Leadership Council meetings, held the third Monday evening of each month. Our hope is to keep you, the attendees and membership of First United Methodist Church Boca Raton, fully informed about the actions and goals of the church leadership.

The Leadership Council is composed of the Council Chair, Chairperson and members of the Staff Parish and Finance sub-committees, as well as the Church Trustees. The Lay Leader, a young adult representative, and the Church Business Administrator are all voting members. Pastors Marcus, Tom, and Rachel are voting members of the Council, and Pastor Ryan, who leads the Atlantic Coast Wesley ministry at FAU, is a non-voting member of the Council.  Here is the summary of the April meeting:

1. There was unanimous consensus among the Council members present, agreeing with the April 15 Church Conference vote to approve the substitute Plan of Action.
2. Quarterly pledge statements will be sent out by the end of the month. A statement will go to all 1100 members and attendees of FUMC. In addition, NEW PLEDGE CARDS will be sent out. An accompanying letter will describe the reason for doing this and ask each person to consider giving as much as possible and/or working toward tithing. A simple financial statement for the first Quarter will also be enclosed.
3. There was a discussion about hiring a full-time youth minister. Financing this new staff member was discussed. The Staff Parish sub-committee was asked to begin evaluation of this process.

4. Pastor Tom indicated that with his part-time status starting this summer, his participation in the Pumpkin Patch Outreach Ministry this fall will be greatly reduced. He emphasized the need for laity to assume ownership of the Pumpkin Patch. The Leadership Council concurred that this was an excellent opportunity for the church to show their new spirit of servant ministry.
5. The Leader of Laity, Suzanne Reeves, made a motion to have all members of the Leadership Council wear a name badge with name and Leadership Council position during church services and activities. This motion was unanimously passed. In addition, the lay leader will be taking part in Sunday services once per month and will be contributing to the bulletin or church weekly email every month. In the future, a church email address will be developed for certain lay leaders to improve communication with church members.
6. Concern was expressed about the need for more participation in greeting and ushering at the services. Jill Haire will be working with the Leadership Council to establish an action plan.
7. Mallory Albeck was approved as the young adult representative to the Leadership Council. The vacancy which remains on the Staff Parish sub-committee is expected to be filled at the May Council meeting.
8. The Staff Parish sub-committee is tasked with reviewing yearly all personnel employed by the church and evaluate their performance and salary. They will also look into the youth minister position (see #3 above) and Pastor Tom’s job description and salary as he shifts to part-time status on July 1. They will report to the Leadership Council on their progress at the May meeting.
9. The Finance sub-committee is tasked with analyzing at all aspects of the budget to consider opportunities to reduce the budget and other potential revisions to the budget, based on the needs of the church and the results of the new pledges.  They will report to the Leadership Council on their progress at the May meeting.

10. The Trustees are tasked with reviewing all aspects of both campuses facilities (grounds, buildings, equipment, etc.) and assessing the costs of maintaining, repairing and upgrading the facilities. They are to coordinate their efforts with the Finance Committee. They will report to the Leadership Council on their progress at the May meeting.
11. Pastor Rachel and Jill Haire were asked to put together lists of all FUMC small groups and all volunteer opportunities for publication.
12. The Council approved negotiations with the Montessori school on the West Campus to extend their lease, which currently would expire on July 31.
13. A report was received from Pastor Ryan concerning the Atlantic Coast Wesley campus ministry.
14. A discussion regarding the shower ministry for homeless individuals on Sunday morning will be scheduled for the May meeting. Subsequent to the Leadership Council meeting, the homeless ministry has elected to shift the homeless ministry activities from Sunday mornings to Saturday mornings through the summer.
15. Pastor Rachel commented on current activities at Coral Sunset Elementary School. There was discussion about setting up a tutoring/mentoring training program for those church members interested in supporting this ministry at Coral Sunset School. Pastor Rachel will follow up in the summer for all interested parties.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have questions, please contact me or members of the leadership Council.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles F Tate III, MD

Chair, Leadership Council, FUMC, BR