September 22, 2020 Minutes

In Attendance: Chair Savannah Jewell, Frank Cederquist, Eric Danz, Allegra Smith, Claudia Alenduff, Ryan Wynkoop, Lisa Nielsen, Susie Riley, Kay Franscoviak, Mary Jo Risk, Pastor Suzanne Clementz, and Pastor Tracey Leslie.
 
Savannah opened in prayer.
 
Approval of last meeting’s minutes: Kay motioned → Frank seconded → Board Approved 
​

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.