Acts of Vestry

May 2004

In the May 2004 meeting, the Vestry:

• Formally approved a Mission Statement for St. Mark’s and a funding plan for the Tower renovation, which had been adopted during the recent Vestry retreat, which was held off-site.

  Mission Statement: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is an open community, welcoming people wherever they are on their faith journey. We celebrate the gifts of God that empower us to engage boldly in the struggles of life and care for others with love, justice, and compassion.

• Funding for repairs on the tower will come from in gifts and pledges from parishioners, with $ 18,000 in the mortgage fund of the current year’s budget, and not exceeding $ 96,570 of additional funds already set aside by the Vestry for long-term maintenance and emergency repair situations. Special thanks were given to Betty and Wes Foster and Tucker and Jack Harris for their amazing generosity.
  
  
• Heard a report from Alison Feighan and Dee Hahn-Rollins on planning for the upcoming Parish Planning Conference at Shrinemont. The theme of weekend was to be, “What We Are Called to Be as a Community.”
  
  
• Discussed a report from Paul Abernathy on ongoing questions about defining membership in St. Mark’s, He gave examples of two specific issues that fell into a gray area of membership. These and other concerns related in particular to the lack of connection between the Parish Register, a formal document required by the Episcopal Church, and actual parish membership records.