“What We Believe” Update (6:34 pm) - Pastor Monica

• Pastoral team has been working on a “What we Believe” statement and other churches often post something like that on their webpage. 
• Potential visitors often look at that sort of statement and it would help Trinity get word out about our beliefs. 
• The Governance Board folder has the list of the full statements that are planned to be posted onto the website. 
• The Trinity UMC belief statement is based off of the basic UMC message with details added in with input from the pastoral team with phrasing taken from similar statements. 
• The sections on Humanity and Sin have very specific wording because we want to make sure that our church expresses that we accept LGBTQ individuals. 
• The LGBTQ Ministry, the Caring Ministry, and our concern for children are also highlighted on the Beliefs page. 
• Communion instructions were also added to a separate page on the website to let potential visitors know our communion beliefs and practices.
• Information on Trinity Connect was also added to the website. 
• Steven Motioned to approve the Beliefs statement → Kathy seconded → Board Approved
• Frank voted “no” indicating he felt it demonstrated a congregational “shift.” 

 
Updates on Caring & Visitation Ministries - Pastor Suzanne

• Suzanne would like to provide an overview every quarter for the board and for the congregation. 
• For this quarter so far (April, May, June), the ministry has served 20 people total, with transportation to food pantries, rental assistance, help with connecting folks to resources, and compassionate listening and more. (see full report in newsletter)
• The visitation group has visited approximately 30 Trinity members who are homebound or needing special care. The visitation group consists of volunteers who visit them and provide compassionate care. 

 
New Member Welcome - Pastor Tracey

• This coming Sunday eight new members will join the church! 
• It will be a wonderful celebration! Tracey is considering picking up a vegetable platter and would like to have a coffee cart volunteer for a brief reception after service. Ryan kindly volunteered to set out the platters and run the coffee cart. 

 
Family Promise commitment discussion - Savannah/Pastor Tracey

• Kay Franscoviak (our Family Promise main volunteer) has informed Tracey that Family Promise will resume having volunteers be physically present at the shelter. 
• Trinity will need a volunteer to be a volunteer coordinator to manage Trinity’s ministry for that area. 
• We will need to recruit someone to be the coordinator if we want to continue serving that ministry. 
• Our congregation would “host” for 3 - 4 weeks out of the year by providing meals on Monday, Wednesday, Friday evening and to stay there from 5 - 9 pm (it can be a different person who stays instead of providing meals). The volunteer is around in case of an emergency but not actively kept busy. There is also a Sunday morning time to be at the house in case of emergency. 
• We have had challenges recruiting people in the past to provide meals and with much more challenges for people to go over to the house. Therefore, common consensus is that Trinity will not be continuing with the Family Promise ministry. 

 
Modified Governing Board Meetings - Savannah/Pastor Tracey

• There are some bigger aspects that the board needs to address that cannot be fit into our regular 90 minute board meetings. Such topics include staffing, financial stewardship, and property. 
• We will have a board meeting that starts at 5:30 (with a potluck) and then have an initial discussion on a deep topic for an hour prior to starting our regular agenda 3-4 times per year.
• The August board meeting would be a good time to start at 5:30 and meet in person. 
• We will receive information prior to the meetings to go over prior to the meeting to help us better prepare for the meetings - board members should email Savannah and Tracey to help generate the big important topics. 

 
Committee Reports 

1. Trustees - Frank
   1. Bills: 
      1. Link Management: $672.00, Monthly Property Management Fee
      2. All Star Electronics and Security Systems: $809.50 Annual Routine Inspection
      3. Seat cushion for bus driver: reimbursement to Frank, $32.09
      4. Snuffy’s Plumbing: $302.46, clearing drains & Replace Pop Up Assembly in water softener-Parsonage
      5. Anderson Heating and Cooling: $198.00, 
      6. Clear AC Drain-South Storage Room-2nd Floor Church

Frank motioned for these bills to be paid from the Building Endowment Fund → Kathy seconded → Board Approved 

1. Parish excavation: 
   1. Holes in the yard persist after years of involvement with the irrigation system and from the sewage and water lines. No rodents have been found, and the mystery of the source of the holes remains, which has prompted excavation work. $190/hour for 2+ hours quote given from Krause. JL Excavating: $1,000 total but after he excavates there may be more expenses based on what he finds. 
   2. What direction should we head in for conducting the excavation? After the excavation, and finding the source of the holes and solving the problem, then the holes will need to be filled.
      Kathy recommended JL Excavating and this was approved.
      
      

1. Endowments - Ryan 
   1. Motion to spend Program Endowment funds
      1. Ryan Moved to spend $500 from program endowment to fund the June 6 event → Ryan motioned → Kathy seconded → Board Approved
2. Finance - Ryan 
   • Update: August is historically, a very low giving month. Online giving is growing and it is nearly one-third of all giving. There is low pledging due to people moving away or passing away: only 46 pledges were made this year. See Ryan’s full Finance Report.
   
   
3. Staff Parish - Steven
   • Music Director
     Steven shared an updated position description for Director of Music and Worship Arts. This new position is the current position description for Director of Music with some additional duties, including focusing on visual arts.
     The position description was approved for posting and dissemination.  Savannah motioned to dissolve the current Director of Music position and create Director of Music and Worship Arts. Kathy seconded. Motion approved.

 
Closing Prayer 
 
Next Meeting (Location - at the church) – AUGUST 24, 2021 @ 5:30pm to initiate discussion of big topics prior to the regular topics - bring potluck dishes

United Way course and ministry update (Suzanne): 

• Suzanne presented about a course she is taking through United Way to help with the Caring Ministry.  For the Caring Ministry, the course will help us refer people to services to help them. Kay and Steven were unable to take the course but will also be assisting Pastor Suzanne with the Caring Ministry
• We don’t need to limit our help to those who physically show up at the office or church - feel free to suggest the Caring Ministry’s resources to those you know who may need help. 

 
Worship and Connection (Tracey): 

• June 6: Big outdoor celebration during worship service (10:30) with light refreshments, for new staff, departing board members, and graduates.
• Logistics: Two sides of the lawn: one for those who wish to wear masks on one half, and one half for those who are not masked - goal is not to mix masked and unmasked.
• Volunteer organizer: Need 2-3 people to recruit volunteers for the events. 
• Chairs: Need three volunteers to roll chair carts down the ramp to the sidewalk, and as folks arrive figure out how many chairs they need and remind them to keep social distance from others; we can offer to carry the chairs for those who cannot lift them. This system would be more efficient than already spreading the chairs apart and then people can sit with their families without rearranging things. → Ryan’s idea: tell people that they can bring their own chairs if they wish - people may feel more comfortable in their own chairs and it cuts down on the number of chairs we need to cart and carry outside. 
• There will be two tables for the food distribution and the coffee station. 
• Morris will set-up the sound system for the event. 
• We will need four volunteers to set up canopies around 9:45 am.  Ryan and Steven can help with set up. 
• Food: Tracey will bring bottled water and mini-quiches: 7 dozen for $231.00, and they will be pre-packaged.
• Melissa has offered to prepare mini-cupcakes (~$25 for supplies) 
• Susie will pick up the fruit cups (peaches and mandarin oranges, 24 in a pack, $9 in a pack) from Sam’s club. 
• Claudia and Ryan will help with the coffee preparation for the event. 
• Steven will help put up the tents. 
• The rain plan is to have the event inside with folks spread out around the church during brunch.
• We are preparing for 80 attendees. 

→ Ryan’s recommendation is to pay for food from Program Endowment with up to ~$500 for food/water for the event.
 
Fusion Update (Tracey): 

• Fusion re-launch on June 13 at 6:00 pm to create a casual atmosphere. 
• Fusion: The Story of 2020 is the theme
• Ryan will grill and Claudia will organize volunteers for side-dishes (let Claudia know if you wish to provide something).
• Activities will be provided for the kids. 
• There will be time to remember those lost during the pandemic. 
• We will have four story tellers who will give short talks: a medical worker, a teacher, a reporter, and a small business owner.
• Think about folks you would like to invite and use the fliers to invite! 
• Volunteers will be needed to help set-up (contact Monica) and the event will be advertised on social media as well as through pdf flyers to be sent out. 
• Future Fusion events will be on Monday evenings (third Monday of the month at 6:00 pm) with one speaker per fusion event as had previously been the case. 

 
Ongoing online opportunities (Tracey): 

• Our online worship opportunities have been appreciated by various members, and experts say that the church should never lack online options post-COVID due to the new expectation for it and as an alternative way to connect to others in the church. The online Sunday morning group can also help reach out to home-bound individuals and those with disabilities who struggle to come in person.
• Branding/summary of our 9:30 am online group: “TRINITY CONNECT: go with the start time of 9:15 and do a 40 minute event, using some rotation of leadership (at least for the prayer time) so none of the staff gets cheated on a regular basis out of pre-worship "visiting" with folks in person in the sanctuary.” 
• Here's a possible name Tracey thought of:  Trinity Connect: Church from Anywhere.  We could describe it:  "Trinity Connect goes beyond worship streaming to offer the opportunity to experience online Christian Community, incorporating scripture, prayer, fellowship, and dialogue.

 
Dog Park Update (Tracey): 

• Insurance companies don’t want to mess with churches having dog parks - we are not able to get the liability insurance that we need. 
• The City is not currently willing to pick up the liability insurance. 
• The old “Trinity Green Plan,” which was developed 2-3 years ago, is something we can consider to go back on for use of the yard space. The plan would entail making the space landscaped with trees and a walking path. 
• Steven is willing to lead that effort, but stated his opinion that the plan may not offer much more than a path and nice grass. He suggested potentially using the space to display art around a social issue, for example, those who have lost their lives to addiction. He stated that versatility would be key for the space. 
• Ryan described the focus of the original design and walkway (creating a meditative space). 
• The first step identified was to improve the appearance of the lawn and take additional time for next steps from there.  Ryan will reach out to Ken McCammon (Grow Local) to see what limitations there are (due to the Community Garden) with what can be used to weed and feed the lawn, keeping Frank and Steven in the loop on what he learns.
• Kathy suggested the potential for having a small fountain to help make the space look nice. 
• We were reminded that one initial goal involved creating inviting space for folks to eat lunch outdoors during the warmer months.
• Suzanne suggested that we also need to consider maintenance for all potential options since we have limited volunteers. 
• We’ll wait until Monica’s ministry is in full swing to determine next steps to identify ways to use the lawn in coordination with new community people and their interests and needs.

 
Nominations Committee (Tracey): 

• There is an opening for the Finance Position. Ryan made a video for the eblast and he announced it in service on Sunday.
• There will be an opening for the Staff Parish position with Allegra leaving. Allegra will also record a video to be shared and she will speak about it during the Sunday service. 
• Nominees have declined the offer to join the board. We may need to shuffle people around on the board: Steven would roll into the Staff Parish chair and Ryan would cover Finance and Endowments.  It would likely be easier to recruit a Lay Leader than a Staff Parish Chair. 
• To avoid Ryan having too much unchecked access to Trinity’s accounts, Lisa will serve as the secondary signer for the endowment accounts, Kay will continue to be the secondary signer for the church accounts (Claudia will check on that and confirm with Kay) and Ryan will be removed from signing authority at Regions. Claudia will serve as the account admin and will be the only admin in order to avoid Ryan having access to the funds/accounts. 
• Chris Jewell may be interested in the finance chair position but the earliest that could happen would be January since members of the same family can’t serve on the board simultaneously. 

 
Trustees and Bills (Frank): 

• Link Management: $672.00 for monthly property management fee
• Anderson Heating and Cooling: $586.52 for HVAC work
• Omni Service: $250.00 for Drywall repair 
• Sound Advice: $485.00 for equipment to play digital “playlists” for use in worship and weddings

→ Frank motioned to have these bills paid from Building endowment → Allegra seconded → Board Approved 

• Holes in the parsonage yard: After many different causes have been examined with no definitive answer, a contract has been signed for excavation. $190.00 for two hours plus equipment costs. 

 
Endowments (Ryan): 

• Endowment updates in Ryan’s video: https://youtu.be/K9Nj_d4PJQI - thanks Ryan! 
• Ryan encourages us to spend money from the endowments, and the June event is a great example of something we can put money towards. $5,000 that was allocated for Fusion in 2020 will be re-allocated for something else and if not it can be deducted from the July distributions. 

 

• We have not had a budget for the garden, but the garden needs a hose reel and more things than past years. Ryan moved to establish $150.00 in our budget as a line-item from Program Endowment → Allegra Seconded → Board Approved.

 
Finance (Ryan): 

• Ryan sent out his report with notes. The main aspect to consider is planning for the Fall Stewardship Campaign, which Tracey is working on. 

Staff Parish (Confidential)

Pastor Tracey closed in prayer. 
 
The next board meeting will be on Tuesday, May 25 at 6:30 pm

Confidentiality agreement update (Savannah): 

• Turn it in to Savannah if you haven’t already. The form is in the January folder. 

 
Caring Ministry update (Suzanne): 

• Pastor Suzanne has formed a team to help with the Caring Ministry with Steven Flowers and Kay Franscoviak. They will provide support and advice for the management of the funds and the ministry. 

 
Senior Spring Luncheon (Suzanne): 

• The Friendly Visitors group met in March and decided to wait to hold the Senior Luncheon this year due to COVID, and the idea will be revisited this summer to see if this fall may be a good time. 
• Today Marty Moll passed away - please keep her daughters Cynthia and Lisa in your prayers. 

 
Trustees (Frank): 

• Bills for approval from the Building Endowment: 
  • Monthly Management Fee: $672.00 to Link Management 
  • Basement Door and locks: $2329.10 to Haley’s Lock, Safe, and Key
  • Winter Preventative Maintenance: $1,975.00 to Anderson Heating and Cooling
• Just plow it from the parking lot fund: $850.00 for snow removal 
• Frank motioned to pay all of these bills → Allegra seconded → Board Approved 
• The old bus will be put up for sale online. Frank is looking for help from someone who is experienced with Facebook marketplace or a similar online platform. We may be able to get $1,500 from the sale. Monica can post what Frank writes up as a summary of the description of the bus and Allegra will help with the selling platforms. Offers should go to info@TrinityLafayette.org for each message on each platform. 
• Thanks Frank for all of your work with the basement security! 

 
Endowments (Tracey): 

• The Everett Endowment has been gathering income 
• Once annually, on July 1, $5,000 of the Everett Endowment funds will be moved into the Operating Budget to help contribute to the music director salary. 
• Allegra moves to make the Everett endowment disbursement of $5,000 once annually to toward the Operating Budget for the purpose of Music Director compensation → Savannah seconded → Board Approved 
• Additionally, since part of the Program Endowment compensation will contribute to Monica’s salary, and it would be helpful to organize the Program Endowment such that we have a better idea of the budget projection. To help think ahead with Program Endowment costs, we will start asking for budget proposals from various ministry areas prior to approving the annual budget. Under the proposal system, up to $1,000 would be made available from the Everett Endowment for music-related expenses. Program Endowment proposals would be for spending requests for events and resources. In the fall each year, we will review the proposals and decide what is funded based on the finance chair’s recommendation and the budget requests. 
• October is estimated to be a good time to review the proposals. 
• The fall stewardship campaign will help the congregation understand what the mission/ vision is for the year, which aligns well with the fall proposals timing. 
• The Program Endowment proposals could be for both big and small requests from committees, staff and groups within Trinity. 
• Savannah motioned to approve the proposal → Kathy seconded → Board Approved.
• Extra endowment money currently generates a nice interest through INUMF; it is much greater than the interest in the Regions Bank. If Ryan could leave disbursements in INUMF until they are needed, that would help generate more interest. 
• Lisa motioned to approve to give Ryan consent to communicate with individuals/groups to move unneeded funds from Regions to INUMF → Savannah seconded → Board Approved

 
Nominations Team (Tracey):

• Since Allegra will be moving this summer, Tracey will gather the Nominations Committee to nominate an individual for the Staff Relations chair. 
• If anyone has ideas, share them with Tracey and Savannah. 
• We will also need a Finance chair because Eric and Isabel are moving down to Texas next month. 
• These two positions can be challenging to fill. 

 
Salary for Pastor of Young Adult Outreach (Tracey):

• We will utilize the Dream Funds first and then, secondly, the Program Endowment Funds. 

 
Discipleship (Lisa): 

• A Hans Christian Andersen Discussion Group will be led by Lisa for six weeks starting on Monday, April 12th for the next five Mondays at 7:30 pm via zoom. This group will help encourage people who may not prefer traditional Bible studies to get engaged with Trinity’s discipleship events. 
• A survey will go out online and in paper for non-online members to evaluate what members want for discipleship events. 

 
Missions (Mary Jo): 

• Mission Huku (https://www.inumc.org/districts/northwest-district-lp/mission-huku/): The Northwest District is raising funds for the pastors in Zimbabwe to help them be self-sufficient in their ministry. We can provide $366 for a pastor to receive 100 chicks and 10 bags of feed to contribute to the District’s goal to support 15 pastors in Zimbabwe. 
• The Easter offering will go towards helping at-risk children through supporting three local ministries: Family Promise, Indiana UM Children's Home (INUMCH - Lebanon) for helping youth and children who have been neglected, and the LUM summer camp. Churches will designate a day of prayer for children. A combination of the three organizations, split by third’s, is thought to help bring in offerings. 
• Mary Jo motioned to designate $366 for Mission Huku out of the designated Mission Funds → seconded by Allegra → board approved.

 
When you come on Palm Sunday and Easter, please sit towards the front, balcony and center of pews to allow a socially distanced environment for visitors who like to sit in the back. 
 
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 20 at 6:30 pm. 
 
Savannah closed in prayer.
​

In-person worship updates (Tracey):

• March 7th in-person worship will resume 
• Bulletins were not used previously in July - November, but we could use them to help with the Call to Worship. 
• The information in the bulletin helps share information for events and resources going on outside of service. 
• The board discussed the question of since COVID does not spread as much by contact (airborne), is it acceptable to hand out bulletins- overall, yes. 
• We agreed to wait a few weeks after starting in-person worship before starting bulletins for the service since we are not sure if many people will attend.
• There will be no in-person Sunday school or nursery care on Sundays. 
• For long-term planning we will consider how the nursery may be staffed during service since there are concerns about our current nursery workers.  Allegra will initiate a discussion with Melissa who serves as their supervisor. 
• IU Health has said that “normal” singing does not spread the virus anymore than talking does, but that professional singers who are trained to sing in large spaces pose a risk. 
• Based on that knowledge, we may want to consider bringing back singing. However, the people in one part of the balcony will not be wearing masks. Therefore, we could ask people to not sing if they choose not to wear a mask. The board agreed on that policy. 
• There is a need for one greeter to keep an eye out for anyone not wearing a mask. There is no normal “greeting” due to the need for social distancing, but one greeter to welcome newcomers while maintaining social distance. 
• The bus service has not resumed yet because of care facilities not permitting people to attend church, but Susie and the other bus driver volunteers will meet to discuss the possibility of resuming bus service. 
• The board will serve to help enforce mask wearing during in-person service. We will let any un-masked people know that masks are required and to offer them a mask. 

 
Dog Park Project (Savannah): 

• List of factors/questions to take into account if we have a dog park is given in the google drive. This list was compiled by Savannah and fellow veterinarians for us to use to consider. 
• One of the concerns was how to enforce dog vaccinations (for liability) and how to handle people potentially jumping over the fence to use the space. 
• Another main aspect is how the rain run-off from the park would flow into the fruit trees or garden, which could spread parasites and bacteria or potentially harm the trees. Some of this is already happening but with an official dog park these would be happening on a much larger scale. 
• Options to consider may be seating, lighting, and water access for dogs. 
• The Dog Park committee will meet with the city March 11 and keep these aspects in mind. 

 
Facilities Management (Frank): 

• Building Endowment bills: 
  • Monthly Property Management bill: $672.00, Link Management
  • Unclogging of the kitchen sink at the Parsonage: $155.00 Snuffy’s Plumbing Service
• Frank motioned to approve the bills above for payment from the Building endowment, Allegra seconded → Board Approved 
• Snow plowing bills have not yet arrived. Many are not happy with the shoveling and lack of quality in clearing the sidewalks and parking lot. Frank will be acquiring bids for a different company for next year.
• The women’s bathroom in the basement will become a unisex bathroom on Sunday morning and a lock will be installed that can indicate when it is occupied. Signage will be added about the restroom being unisex and the need to lock the door and reminding people that the children’s area is locked. 
• The women’s bathroom could become a unisex bathroom during all Sunday, which could help when Sunday schools resume in many months. The current unisex bathroom is inaccessable with the children’s area securred. We will wait and see what occurs with Lamplighters class once Sunday School resumes. 

 
Finances (Eric): 

• Income is above January (up 17%) due to our donor who gives $50,000 at the beginning of each year, 6% above on administrative expenses due to insurance, maintenance is 3% above and may level out later in the year, 6% under in all other expenses. However, these stats are not reliable to predict the rest of the year since it is just one month. 
• In March more numbers are expected to level-out with maintenance expenses and the budget billing system set up with annual adjustments. 
• (Savannah) We may want to consider having our budget billing adjusted quarterly if we are seeing big fluctuations month to month. 

 
Missions (Mary Jo): 

• March 14 is UMCOR Sunday, which means that it is our annual special offering (regular offering will still be collected). The “One Great Hour of Sharing” is UMCOR’s main donation Sunday to help keep the organization running. 
• UMCOR underwrites the administrative costs for disaster relief such that our disaster response donations go 100% to the people who need help on the ground. 
• Between now and March 14 we will collect UMCOR donations for the Texas disaster and then on March 14 the UMCOR donation for One Great Hour of Sharing.
• Mary Jo motioned to have “One Great Hour of Sharing” approved for March 14, Steven seconded → Board Approved.
• Family Promise has asked if Trinity can contribute baskets of supplies for families who are moving out of the program into more stable housing for families who have successfully completed the program. The cost of each basket is $125 for the supplies.  Families are selected by Family Promise. 
• Mary Jo motioned to give $125 from the restricted mission funds for the creation of a basket for Family Promise made by Kay who will be reimbursed: Steven seconded → Board Approved. 

 
Staffing (Alegra): 

• We have a new staff member, Monica McDougal, beginning March 1 as our new Young Adult Outreach Pastor. 
• Monica will be moving to Lafayette in spring but until then is working part time remotely until her graduation. 

 
 
Thank yous (Tracey): 

• Sean Lutes sent a thank you note for Trinity for our joining of the Centennial Historic District - a very nice note! 
• We received a thank-you from Lafayette Pride for our donation - another very nice note! 

 
Other news (Tracey): 

• Emily Kuehl has volunteered to be our garden coordinator this summer. She will be moving to Lafayette this summer, and in spring Ryan will temporarily serve the role. 

The next Governing Board Meeting will be on March 23 at 6:30 pm. 
 
Lisa closed in prayer. 
 
ADDENDUM: An email vote was taken and approved by the board to provide the nursery workers with half-pay until April 4. 

​Meeting minute review: Oct. 27 - Susie was not present at the meeting; Reading the October minutes, the last Miller distribution of $13,693.96 was split 50/50 between Dream Fund and operating budget. The minutes mention splitting with Program Endowment, but that is not the split that occurred.
Savannah motioned to approve previous minutes with corrections, Claudia seconded →  approved by the board
 
Confidentiality Agreement Updated (Savannah):

• There is an update from last year’s document. 
• Board members need to sign it and email to Savannah or drop it off to the church 

 
Second PPP Application (Susie):
Trinity does not qualify for the second PPP application - would have to show a 25% decrease in gross receipts for 2020 (we are at a 1% increase); therefore we will not apply. 
 
Vision Update Summary from the last few years (Tracey):

• We are continuing to prioritize safety for many reasons, but we want especially to focus on families with small children. 
• Trinity’s 2015 church growth consultant advised us to focus on recruiting young adults because most of our members were “seasoned disciples”. 
• Trinity sold the Education Building, moved children’s worship to the basement, and added a youth room upstairs. 
• We recently added the Young Adult Outreach position. 
• We sold the Education Building to eliminate the debt. 
• We sold the Graves House to do brick work on the 6th Street side of the church
• We started working on small groups. 
• We have started to curate the Care Fund to become a Caring Ministry. 
• Ruth helped build community partnerships. 
• Fusion emerged with help from Morris and use of evangelism and story.  The discernment process and Ruth’s work with us were funded by grants through the conference and Center for Congregations.
• The discipleship tenet was developed. 
• Living Stones was initiated. 
• The community garden was established. 
• Pastor Suzanne has helped deepen connections to community groups. 

→ The Visioning Team will reconvene in the next few months to revisit vision goals that were established in January 2020 and negatively impacted by COVID. 
 
Possible Dog Park (Tracey):

• Trinity has the largest green space in the Centennial Neighborhood. A dog park could be a great thing to have to help engage with the community, especially since there are several people moving into this area of downtown. 
• The City of Lafayette is dialoguing with us. 
• We can invite someone from the City to the February board meeting to discuss it with us in more detail.
• The previous plans for outdoor events (with fruit trees and a walkway) could still be implemented except for the extensive walk way. We already have most of the fruit trees in place. 
• (Susie) Most people already use the green space for their dogs and they usually clean up after the dogs (or they are about average). However, we should consider if there is a need to make the space an official dog park. 
• (Tracey) If we have an official dog park, people would have to provide proof of dog vaccination to get the code to enter the fenced area. The fenced area would be great for people to allow their dogs to run off-leash, which creates a nice place for people to connect with others. Small groups have formed at other dog parks because of people tending to be there at the same time and sharing a common interest. 
• (Susie) We would need to get alot of insurance due to increased liability, but the City can help us address this. 
• (Kathy) The dog park would be a free option that would not be a fundraiser for the church. However, upkeep costs may be something to consider due to the thin grass, as well as lighting. 
• (Steven) Recommendations were given for a team or 2 - 3 people to collect our questions for the city and then after they discuss details then they can get the city involved. Decisions to include would be aspects like fence sizing, lighting, and turf. 
• Savannah motioned to have a small group investigate the options and details for the Dog Park possibilities. Lisa seconded → Board Approved 
• The Dog Park Team will include Steven, Kathy, and Savannah, and Savannah and Jamie will also start a list of questions. 
• Tracey will check with the Conference to make sure that the Dog Park idea will be okay with them. 

 
Annual Conference at Indiana Wesleyan University (Tracey):  

• June 10 - 12, 2021
• The UMC General Conference has been postponed till August. The two delegates from Trinity will likely be called upon to vote on LGBTQ+ decision for UMC in October. 
• Savannah is willing to go, and Lisa is highly interested. 

 
Caring Fund (Suzanne):

• If the Caring Fund dips below $3,000, we could make an announcement to the congregation  (congregational appeal) to make them aware that donations are especially needed. 
• Suzanne will create a Caring Ministry Team to consider the responsiveness of significant financial need requests and how post-COVID Trinity can help further develop the Caring Ministry and integrate people into the congregation from the community. 
• The Caring Fund updates would still be communicated in the newsletters regularly. 
• The $3,000 cut-off is based off of how funds have been distributed over the last few months and the year to year averages. $3,000 is a nice buffer that will allow time to help build up contributions again before depletion. 
• Pastor Tracey recommended amending the motion that, if it dips below $3,000, the board will develop a funding plan - perhaps a general appeal, funds from Program Endowment, etc. - whatever they consider best at the time.
• Steven moved to approve the $3,000 benchmark strategy for the Caring Fund and the creation of a Caring Ministry Team and Claudia seconded → Board Approved. 

 
South Lawn Project (Steven): 

• Difficulty getting lawn care companies to respond, so Steven divided up the project into smaller parts. 
• Steven proposed stump removal estimate from Krintz Lawn Care for $625 for three stumps, roots, and bushes on NW side of the lawn from funds allocated specifically for the lawn (not from general funds nor building endowment), Savannah seconded → Board Approved 

 
Endowments (Savannah standing in for Ryan)

• Discussion: For many years, we have been taking a Smith scholarship distribution with few, if any, requests. Consequently, we have $13,419 sitting in Regions. By transferring $10,000 back to the endowment fund, we will see better returns on our investment but still have plenty on hand at Regions should we have a request in the coming months. Remember that the guidelines have been updated to include professional development costs for staff and members pursuing education in ministry.
• Motion: Ryan moves to transfer $10,000 from the unused Smith Scholarship funds in our Regions Money Market account to the Smith Education Scholarship endowment fund at the United Methodist Foundation, Mary Jo seconded → Board Approved

 
Building Trustees (Frank): 

• Moved to approve the following expenses from the building endowment → Steven seconded → Board Approved: 
  • Repair HVAC Leak: $1,008.73 to Anderson Heating and Cooling
  • New AED: $838.75 to SOS Technologies
  • Monthly Property Management: $672.00 to Link Management 
• Bills that do not need board approval: 
  • Security System monitoring: $135.00 to All Star Security Monitoring Systems 
  • Reimbursement to Frank: $11.16 for dumpster padlocks 
  • Reimbursement to Frank: $25.32 for postage for sending the old AED
• Steven, Pastor Tracey, Steve Ash and Frank met with Sean from the Lafayette Historic Preservation Commission to see if Trinity wanted to consider being a part of the Historic District. 
• The only difference for us would be that Trinity would have to promise not to change the church’s exterior (such as if we wished to add an awning, we would have to get permission from the commission) and we could do whatever we wanted with the interior without issue. 
• Most exterior request changes are approved by the Historic Preservation Commission, so we do not have much to worry about for our building decisions. 
• The goal is to preserve the architecture to preserve historical buildings, and our church is on board with that and we would like to be on board with their goals. 
• Steven moved that Trinity join the Centennial Historic District → Frank seconded → Board approved

 
Finances (Savannah standing in for Eric): 

• Finances are doing well right now. 

 
Staff (Allegra):

• Staff check-ins were conducted in December. Most staff challenges were due to the pandemic, conducting ministry from a distance. Most staff are doing well with self-care and continued learning.      

​Young Adult Recruitment Questions (Tracey): Moris, Cathy, and Dinah 

• What is or should be the motivation for young adult outreach in our community? 
  • Morris: young adults have a need for connecting to their community because they are locked into cliques and friend groups that often do not expand beyond the people they knew in college/high school. 
  • Kathy: They need role models. Also, young professionals may need a space to hang out outside of their homes (similar to how undergrads have the Wesley Foundation to hang out on campus).
  • Dinah: New people in the community have difficulties meeting new people outside of their work environment. 
  • Allegra: Making friends and forming a network is important. 
• What are we hoping the result would be? 
  • Kathy: Membership at the church, more people coming to service, spreading information that our church is here for people and open for people to come
  • Allegra: More participation and giving to the church 
  • Savannah: More younger members would likely cause the church to increase contemporary relevance for our church.  
  • Morris: More people who come here want to be connected to this location because several people come here and end up staying longer but find that they are not plugged in to the community or local environment. 
  • Steven: We could use our church space more than primarily for weekend service and activities - could increase the usage during the week. 
• How would we measure success? 
  • Kathy: engagement of young adults in our activities, number of young adults at service and events
  • Morris: Tracking frequency of who comes how often and which events they tend to participate in, additional points of contact with the church 
  • Savannah: usage of the church - is the church being used more? 
  • Steven: increased financial giving 
  • Allegra: Social media engagement and communications engagement with young adults 
• What are the non-negotiables for who or what Trinity will be in the future? 
  • Tracey: new people can help change things, but what do we not want to change even as our mission expands? 
  • Kathy and Allegra: our status as a reconciling congregation 
  • Dinah: community engagement 
  • Lisa: overall intergenerationality of the involvement of people at Trinity 
  • Morris: Outreach directly to the community each week, like what Morris did for Fusion when he built that program years ago 
• Demographics for our community: Second to Ninth street to South Street to Cincinnati
  • Number one demographic: “The Striving Single” group 

 
[At this point Melissa, Morris, Kathy and Dinah were dismissed from the meeting]
 
Savannah motioned to approve the board minutes from September →  Steven seconded → Board Approved
 
Caring Ministry and Outreach Update (Pastor Suzanne): 

• The Caring Ministry has grown in the last month with eight people being served and ministered to on an ongoing basis. Church members have helped make that happen with Suzanne’s guidance! 
• In Suzanne’s community involvement, she has informed other groups and boards for community groups that she is the Associate Pastor at Trinity.  She is happy to share information on her role! (And we have a new attendee based on Suzanne’s work - awesome!) 

 
Confidentiality Agreement and Board Agreement Update (Tracey): 

• New items added for 2021 year for the board: 
  • The “Striving Singles” group demographic expects people to highlight opportunities for them to grow and serve as well as people who can answer their questions easily. The board should help answer questions because otherwise the individual may leave without asking further out of concern for the church’s lack of vision. 
  • The board should be able to explain: who is on staff, child safety policy, social media pages, membership commitment, and church finances. 
  • It is important for board members to attend at least one Fusion meeting a year so that we can tell people what Fusion is like. 
  • The board members should commit to increase their giving each year (outside of extenuating circumstances). 
  • Allegra mentioned that she is happy to be the go-to person for any questions about the church’s social media. 
  • Savannah moved to approve the new additions to the board agreement → Kay seconded → board approved

 

• Reminders of confidentiality items: 
  • Keep confidentiality, only share if given direct permission from the individual themselves 
  • We build a trusting community when we keep confidentiality. 
  • Church members are entitled to know everything decided by the board outside of Staffing business, but members are not entitled to know everything discussed due to confidentiality and avoiding indirect communication among board members. 
  • Maintain building security: refer people to the office if you are asked to provide someone with access codes or keys

 
Thankfulness November (Savannah): 

• Savannah has organized to have the four individuals we mentioned last month recognized and they are all available all Sundays in November. 
• Savannah will recruit board members via email to announce the recognitions of these individuals during Sundays in November (excluding All Saints Sunday). Lisa is willing to do that one Sunday, just needs to check her schedule. Board members should watch for that email! 

 
Next Board meeting (Savannah): 

• To avoid meeting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Savannah motioned to have our next board meeting on Tuesday, December 1st at 6:30 pm (via Zoom) → Allegra seconded → Board Approved. 

 
Ryan (Endowments): 

• Funds available from Mary Smith’s endowment: “The Trinity Education Endowment will provide scholarships for the professional staff and active members or congregants of Trinity United Methodist Church to pursue continuing education and professional development for the betterment of Trinity” - can be discussed once a year if the $500 for the teaching scholarship isn’t requested, how that $500 can be used for Trinity staff who are working on education that will benefit their roles at Trinity. 
• In the future if Trinity funds could not sustain funding professional expense from the operating budget, these funds could be taped into for staff continuing ed. 
• Steven says it is good to carry over the name of the donor, Mary Smith Education Fund, even if the fund is used for Trinity staff. 
• Ryan motioned to make these changes → Allegra seconded → Board Approved

 
Remote Services (Savannah): 

• Our county is not having a huge increase in COVID cases but it is difficult to predict if our COVID numbers will change drastically during winter. 
• If our county gets flagged by the state, then we may want to consider going back to online services only. 
• We will follow state guidance and if our county gets flagged for increases in cases, then we will transition to online services only. We will also work with the country health department. 
• Tracey will have connection cards in service for people to fill out not only for us to better know who was there for welcoming and tracking, but also to know who to contact if someone at service tests positive and we need to notify people. 

 
Insurance Changes (Frank): 

• Savings of $1,400 a year if we switch to the Mennonite Mutual insurance (currently Brotherhood Mutual) but no one new to the church for less than 6 months could not be involved in youth or children’s ministry (regardless of background check or working with another person). Windows must be in each children’s classroom/meeting place (which we already have, except for the youth room because it is not a see-through window, but could replace that glass with the glass from an unimportant window in a closet/supply room), and follow safe sanctuary. Also any registered sex offender must be accompanied by another adult while they are on the premises.  We are obligated to run background checks on all people who volunteer to work with youth and children. 
• Tracey says that we have had people who are newer to the church working with kids but they have never been alone with kids or youth. 
• Savannah asked about costs of background checks to make sure that the background checks would not potentially end up costing more than the cost savings: Steven says those can range from $0 to $40, Suzanne says $15-20 on average, but Frank says that it is important to check background from all states. Suzanne also says that it may be possible to have volunteers who have a background check from a local school cleared by the insurance company as having a successful background check. 
• The change in insurance companies can happen anytime. 
• Steven motioned to approve a change in policy providers → Ryan seconded → Board Approved 
• New policies that reflect the requirements of the new insurance policy will be discussed at the December meeting. 

 
Building Endowment (Frank): 

• $294.35 for Bus titling, Frank got it licensed for 2021 already, to be paid from Bus fund
• From building endowment: 
  • Link Management: $672.00 for monthly property management
  • Snuffy’s Plumbing: $210.98 for dishwasher riser repair
  • Anderson Heating and Cooling: $220.00 for service pump
  • Anderson Heating and Cooling: $533.00 for preventative maintenance service 
  • Reimbursement to Frank for gas for the bus: $61.99
• Frank motioned to pay the bills above from the Building Endowment → Ryan seconded → Board Approved 
• Next week the bus will receive some preventative maintenance for the lettering and the preventative maintenance 
  • Lettering will come from bus fund (Tracey) 
  • Preventative maintenance costs for now will also come from the Bus fund (Tracey) 

 
Finances (Eric): 

• We are 43% over on our target income, 8% under expenses, but over on expenses for office supplies due to new computers for the office, and 13% under overall for expenses.
• We are positive $72,000 overall for September. 
• The last disbursement of the Virginia Miller estate: $13,900 dollars 
• Eric recommends to put the last disbursement into the operating fund. 
• The Program Endowment will be $12,600 for this next year, not sure of carry-over, so the question remains if we could afford to hire the new part-time worker if the $13,900 wasn’t added. 
• Tracey proposed to put half of the $13,900 in the program endowment and the other half in the dream fund. 
• Allegra motioned to split the funds between the dream fund and the operating budget → Savannah seconded → Board Approved 

 
Conference Apportionments (Steven): 

• We are currently withholding the conference apportionments. However, we should consider how long we want to withhold that and place the money in a CD that matches that time period. The interest gained from the CD could be donated to Reconciling Ministries. 
• Tracey says that one year would be appropriate given the time needed for the General Conference to get a new session together/create an open denomination, etc.  
• Steven proposed to continue withholding apportionments for the next 12 months → Kay seconded → Board Approved
• Steven proposed to have Susie calculate the current total and then donate the current interest to Reconciling Ministries → Savannah seconded → board approved. 
• Steven proposed to have the apportionment money moved to a CD in accordance with the financial directors → Eric seconded → Board Approved 

 
December 1 is the next meeting.  Allegra closed in prayer. 

All Saints Sunday (Tracey): 

• Trinity has traditionally had candles lit for only the church members who had passed, but other churches will use candles for family members of those who have passed 
• We had 5 candles last year lit on All Saints Sunday (not very many).  So we will light candles this year for family members of church members.
• In the newsletter about All Saints Sunday and in the E-blast saying that, if you have lost a family member since November 1 of last year, contact the church office.

 
New Ministry (Caring Ministry) for those in Need (Suzanne): 

• Non-perishable items in the office kitchen area that can be given out to anyone who stops by the church who is in need
• Currently there are bottles of water, applesauce, nuts and crackers and other things can be brought in to be added 
• Pastor Suzanne will have a business card stack there as well so that people we help know who to contact about the caring ministry. Suzanne will also have office hours, beginning in October, on Tuesdays from 1-3 pm, to have time to discuss with people who are interested in support from the Caring Fund. 
• We want to avoid handing out cash because word gets out quickly about that but we want to help by giving out something to address immediate needs. 
• Lafayette Transitional Housing has a 24-hour open office with resources, so if someone comes to Trinity at a time where the office is not open we can refer them to LTH. 
• Suzanne plans to have some instructions for how to talk to people in need who show up at the office as well as pamphlets for LUM and other service providers. 
• Ask a staff member if you need access to the office. 

 
Stewardship Campaign (Tracey): 

• We need to figure out if we are doing something different than last year. 
• Savannah has a list of volunteers who have gone above and beyond this year to focus on the generosity of giving time instead of only focusing on financial gifts. 
• We will still ask for financial commitments but it doesn’t really inform the budget for the next year. 
• Kay says that a part of the pledge is volunteering your time, so it may be good to continue the pledge with time and money. 
• November for a month of giving, recognizing volunteers: Kay motioned → Allegra seconded → Board Approved 

 
November Thankfulness Month (Savannah): 

• Honor a person in each ministry and show how people can get involved for each Sunday in November. 
• Different areas include the Bus Ministry, Fusion, Family Promise, and the church garden, and the first Sunday would be All Saints Sunday. 
• People who would be good candidates to be honored: Mel and Janet (gardens), Kay (Family Promise), Susie (Bus Ministry), Morris (Fusion)
• Savannah will recruit people to announce these honors during Sunday service.

 
Missions (Mary Jo): 

• Mary Jo and Tracey shared that we have $245 available in the Missions Fund that is not earmarked for other things so it would be good to donate it for our various causes. 
• Wesley Foundation students visited last Sunday, and the Wesley Foundation could benefit from mission money: $100 from Missions Fund 
• The Reconciling Ministries - Give $100 from the Missions Fund
• Willio and his wife started a school in Haiti in 2006, and school resumes in October and the school needs money for books, supplies, and children’s clothing. Mary Jo proposed that we give $45
• Susie suggests that we give our Easter Offering to Willio’s school to provide more assistance. 
• The school Willio launched is run by two other Baptist pastors who are currently in Haiti. Willio recently reached out to Tracey recently asking to spread word about the need of the school. 
• Kay proposed giving more to Willio’s school since there is immediate need and waiting to give to Wesley Foundation for later. 
• Kay motioned to provide $145 to Willio’s school in Haiti → Claudia seconded → Board Approved
• Kay motioned to provide $100 to Reconciling Ministries → Eric seconded → Board Approved 

 
 
Facilities Management (Frank): 

• We have a new bus! It has 20,000 miles on it and two wheel chair spots.
• It is a margarita bus, so we will need to have it repainted or re-wrapped with new graphics. Susie will recommend a graphics company and so will Savannah. 
• Trees behind the parsonage are coming done on October 15. 
• More church basement work is ongoing to figure out more about the flooding. 
• Matt has terminated the use of the Trinity Kitchen for his business, and he will return his keys. 
• Bills for the month: 
  • Link Management - Monthly Building Management: $672.00
  • Snuffy’s Plumbing - replace the riser on the dishwasher: $210.98
  • Anderson Heating and Cooling - $220.00 for service pump, $533.00 for preventative maintenance 

 
Savannah motioned to pay the bills from the building endowment → Allegra Seconded → Board Approved 
 
All bills except the bus ($40,906.00 to Master’s Transportation) and bus gas ($61.99, reimbursement for Frank) come from the building endowment fund. The bus and the bus gas come from the Bus account. 
 
Frank motioned for the bus purchase approval → Allegra seconded → Board approved 
 
Finances (Eric): 

• August expenses were under budget overall, part of that is due to the conference apportionment but even without that we are under budget. 
• Income has also been greater than expected. 
• We are $71,000 positive - yay! 
• Loan Forgiveness (Susie): We have not yet received our code to get the official forgiveness, we are not “officially forgiven” yet
• (Tracey) The Indiana conference office let go of about eight different staff members due to apportionments being down because of COVID.
• Savannah motioned to revisit this and check back in three months and then vote if we want to release our apportionment → Eric seconded → Board Approved
• Currently the amount is accumulating interest in the savings account with the Indiana Conference Loan and Savings Ministry Inc.