SHENANDOAH ASSOCIATION COUNCIL MINUTES

for Thursday, September 18, 2008

at St. Stephen’s UCC, Harrisonburg, VA

PRESENT: Marilyn Heishman, Peggy Kennedy, Melinda Loeblich, Willard Lutz, Leslie Nickel, Barbara Rhodes, Richard Vaught.

Peggy Kennedy provided devotions.

The Minutes from the August Council meeting were approved by consensus.

Marilyn Heishman reviewed the Treasurer’s report. Marilyn will send a reminder letter to the churches that have not yet sent in their 2008 dues payments. The Association will pay the Conference at the end of the fiscal year for its share of the administrative assistant’s salary for the second half of 2008. The ACM will speak to Fall Meeting speaker, Rev. Graylan Hagler to see if an honorarium of $250 plus travel expenses will be acceptable.

VOTE: The Council ACCEPTED the Treasurer’s report by consensus.

Marilyn recommended that the Council redeem its matured CD in the amount of $3,383.84 and roll over the CD valued at $2,500.

VOTE: The Council APPROVED the recommendation.

ACM Report – The ACM noted that there are no active search processes in the Association and no significant conflicts. The Association has licensed Stephanie Heishman-Litten to work at Centenary. The Conference is hosting three boundary training events for trainers this October, one at St. Paul’s (Woodstock), one in New Jersey and one in Catoctin. The Ecclesiastical Council for Deb Huffman will be held on October 5 at 3:30 pm at St. Stephens.

CAC Board of Directors – Donna Nix is quite ill and is unlikely to return to the Conference office.

Church and Ministry – The Commission is seeking to conduct an exit interview with Trent Williams, who resigned as pastor of Trinity UCC (Timberville).

Annual Meeting Task Force – Melinda Loeblich is the Chair of the Task Force. The group met on September 13 at Centenary. A “green” theme has been established for the 2009 meeting. Larry Rasmussen, Union Theological Seminary professor and expert on environmental ethics will be the keynote speaker. Rev. David Roe, Pastor, St. John’s (Hamburg) is serving as worship and music leader. Other Worship and Music subcommittee members include Adair McConnell and Marge Maust. The Subcommittee will meet on October 1 at St. Stephen’s. Robert Frye of Grace UCC will serve as the decorations chair. The Conference level meetings are scheduled for November 1, February 7 and April 18. An onsite visit to the University of Delaware is scheduled for February 24, 2009.

The theme for the 2010 Annual Meeting is “Vitality of Congregations.” The speaker selected has not yet committed.

Fall Association Meeting – The meeting is scheduled for October 26 at St. Stephen’s. Registration forms will be sent to member churches and clergy at least 30 days in advance of the meeting. Adair McConnell and Marge Maust are working on worship. The business session will include the 2009 budget and the proposed revisions to the Association Constitution and Bylaws. The registration fees are as follows: $12 for registration and a meal, $4 for registration, $4 per child.

2009 Budget – The Council APPROVED by consensus a draft 2009 for consideration by the Association at the Fall meeting. This is a deficit budget intended to spend down reserves. The Council agreed that the 2010 budget will need to track income more closely.

Next Meeting: Thursday, October 16 at 6 p.m. at St. Stephen’s UCC. Marilyn will have devotions.

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie Nickel, Secretary