March 5, Parish Meeting Minutes - Community Behavioral Covenant
PARISH MEETING
Community Behavioral Covenant
Minutes
Meeting Leaders: Katie Roach, Carlyn Tiefenthaler, Steve Wyckoff, Brian Hollstein
The meeting was called to order in Morrill Hall at approximately
· What a covenant is and why a covenant is needed, was discussed.
· We wish to promote dialogue and not a competitive debate. We want to listen as well as speak. Open and honest sharing of feelings and opinions is important.
· Our objective is to create an environment where the leadership of the parish would deal with clear opinions and facts, not rumor or hearsay when making decisions which affect all of us.
· Diversity of opinion is important; it will strengthen and inspire us.
· The spiritual discipline grounded in a covenant of behavior will allow us to translate our faith into daily practice and promote an atmosphere of mutual responsibility for our future.
The following comments were made by those present:
- We should have a forum for parishioners to meet with the Vestry on a monthly basis. This would promote a better understanding of the issues being addressed.
- Are Vestry meetings open to the members of the parish? Yes, they are. However, in order to speak to the Vestry, the visitor must request to be on the agenda
- We can make better use of the Internet and email to elicit and facilitate input. St Mark’s website ought to have information on how to contact members of the Vestry. Communication without knowledge of the facts is a problem, which must be addressed.
- The vestry needs to use the Lion’s Roar, letters, etc. to communicate with those who do not use the internet.
- Does the Covenant apply to the Vestry too? Yes, we have adopted it as a draft, which will be used at our meetings from now until Memorial Day. We will then review it and make changes if necessary.
- Are committee meetings open to interested parishioners? As a general policy, yes.
- Can members of the congregation speak at committee meetings? Yes, however, the visitor must request to be on the agenda. Committee heads will meet to discuss how to balance increased communications with the need for discretion during their deliberations.
- The schedule of committee meetings should be posted in advance and minutes made public. This is a good idea. It will have to be considered within the context of staff and volunteers’ time.
- How can we manage so much communication? The staff is stretched as it is. St. Mark’s could benefit from having a communications director.
- Katie Roach and Father Rider said that volunteers are desperately needed in many areas of parish life and anyone interested would quickly be given a job.
- Is the Vestry open to diversity? Most definitely, ”yes”. A diversity of opinions is most easily heard when those who offer the opinions are cognizant that they speak in a context of diversity.
- When members of the Congregation address committees or the Vestry, they should be held to a two-minute rule. If you can’t say what you have on your mind on an issue in two minutes, you haven’t prepared well enough.
- How will we know if there is a change in our behavior as a result of adopting the Covenant? What can we use as a measurement?
- The Vestry ought to hold special meetings on important decisions in the same manner that New Canaan Town Council does.
- The Vestry and the Congregation must engage.
- We should consider having a postable electronic bulletin board (a blog), password protected.
- The implementation process for the Roadmap should be the responsibility of the Vestry and the Congregation.
- The Vestry and committees could post meeting agendas on our website and on the bulletin board in advance of the meeting
- Is the Rector part of the Covenant? Answer: Yes.
A brief summary discussion of the above comments was made by B. Hollstein. After a prayer by Fr. Rider, the meeting was adjourned at
