Wednesday, November 4, 2015

2:00 pm MDT/3 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/4:00 pm EDT

            Check In & Prayer Tom, Mary, Melanie, Bohdan, and John were present. Congratulations to John on his retirement and new calling. Gratitude for Tom’s wife’s improved health. Gary emailed that he could not make the call. Tom opened in prayer. Ed called in later in the meeting.

Minutes from September Meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report The treasurer was not on the call. He did email his report prior to the meeting. The balance in the account is $1632.38.  There were no out of ordinary income or expenses.

            Coordinator’s report Ed updated the database following the e-news and sent out a newsletter with an appeal letter and retreat brochure. He applied for a Synod grant for the lay fellowship and was awarded $4000. Al D. is interested in the retreat. Ed’s church is still in the process to call an associate pastor. His health continues to be a challenge—he can only work a limited time each day.

Old Business:

2016 retreat: Ed sent out an e-blast and the newsletter went out yesterday with the brochure (in black and white) as a part of it. It will be April 25-28, 2016 at Highland Presbyterian Camp & Retreat Center in Allenspark, CO, near Denver. Bohdan is the registrar. You can email him regarding your interest in attending but will need to mail him a check.

            Discussion on article on “The Pending Exit of the Clergy. Ed sent out a link to the article. Too often it is the healthy people who leave the church and the unhealthy who stay. How do we who are in recovery deal with boundary issues? Members of our group have experienced “financial levers”, have felt like no one is “watching our backs”, and one heard a colleague suggest clergy form a union to have someone advocate for us. One person requested assistance from the synod in obtaining legal advice and the Synod was unable to provide assistance. Clergy appear to be dispensable, lightning rods, scape-goating. What do we have to offer as a Fellowship in the struggle to stay healthy?

Annual meeting: will be held at the retreat.

New Business:

Question about “Conscious Contact” at Ed’s church. It was held regularly during the lecture series and people indicated they would come if it continued following the series.  The Synod grant will allow them to buy drums for the meeting. Ed will be working on scheduling regular meetings for the group.

Next meeting: December 2, 2015 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm