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:
- There was unanimous consensus among the Council members present, agreeing with the April 15 Church Conference vote to approve the substitute Plan of Action.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pastor Rachel and Jill Haire were asked to put together lists of all FUMC small groups and all volunteer opportunities for publication.
- The Council approved negotiations with the Montessori school on the West Campus to extend their lease, which currently would expire on July 31.
- A report was received from Pastor Ryan concerning the Atlantic Coast Wesley campus ministry.
- 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.
- 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
