TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2011
The Executive of the Montreal Presbytery held its stated meeting, called by the Chair, Rev. Shaun Fryday, on Tuesday April 26, 2011 at the SouthWest Mission located in Verdun Elementary School, 610 Desmarchais Blvd., Verdun, Quebec. Mr. Roger Snelling, acting-chair, presided.
Present: Mr. Roger Snelling, acting-chair; Rev. Arlen J. Bonnar, Secretary; Mr. Fred Braman, Rev. Barbara Bryce, Ms. Janice Knowles, Rev. David Lefneski, Rev. Patricia Lisson, Rev. Darryl Macdonald, Rev. Phyllis Smyth, Mr. Paul Stanfield, Rev. Faye Wakeling, Mr. Rod Young
Corresponding Members: Ms. Lynda Ecott, Rev. Wendy MacLean
Regrets: Rev. Shaun Fryday, Mrs. Shirley Stark, Rev Doug Stewart
Mr. Roger Snelling reported that the chair, Rev. Shaun Fryday was unable to attend the meeting.
MOTION: (Rod Young/Fred Braman) that Mr. Roger Snelling be made acting–chair for the duration of the April 26th Executive meeting. Carried
The acting-chair constituted the meeting at 3:30 p.m.
Two additional items were added to the agenda. An update on the sale of the Central Korean United Church buildings was added under Business Arising and a report from the Administration and Finance Committee was added under Committee Reports.
Motion: (Darryl Macdonald/Janice Knowles) that the Executive of the Montreal Presbytery approve the adoption of the agenda and set the time of adjournment for 5:00 p.m. Carried
Rev. David Lefneski, minister of SouthWest United Church, welcomed the Executive to the SouthWest Mission. Rev. Lefneski outlined the work and programmes of the mission.
The acting-chair welcomed Ms. Janice Knowles, representative for the United Church Women, to the meeting.
On page 4978 under the report of the Budget Scenario Working Group section 5), the words "if the building is sold within ten years" should be added to the recommendation regarding Extension and Survey grants.
Under the Vision and Transformation Report on page 4979, the correct name of the workshop is let us "build" a house.
Motion: (Darryl Macdonald/Fred Braman) that the Executive of the Montreal Presbytery approve the adoption of the amended minutes of its meeting held March 29, 2011. Carried
Central Korean
Rev. Wendy MacLean reported that she had received feedback from Rev. Maki Fushi, staff person from the General Council Communities in Ministry, regarding the disbanding of Central Korean United Church. Rev. Fushi expressed her concern as to how the Montreal Presbytery dealt with the situation.
Mr. Paul Stanfield, President of the Finance and Extension Board, reported that the Trustees of the Central Korean Church had arranged for the property to be appraised and the evaluation is $800,000 - $900,000. The next step is to choose a real estate agent.
An inventory has been taken of all moveable objects in the church and manse. The pianos have been evaluated.
Ecumenical Representation
The follow up with the director of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism is still pending.
Budget Scenario Working Group
Mr. Fred Braman reported that there had been progress in the last month. At its April meeting, the Presbytery had passed the motion regarding the funding formula and preservation of investment capital.
The committee is still looking at cost reduction measures.
The Executive moved in camera to discuss staff issues. Rev. Darryl Macdonald assumed the role of minute taker.
Motion: (Fred Braman/Darryl Macdonald) that the Executive move in camera to discuss matters pertaining to the Presbytery Staff. Carried
Motion: (Fred Braman/Darryl Macdonald) that the Executive move out of camera. Carried
The staff returned to the meeting and Ms. Lynda Ecott resumed the role of minute taker.
Mr. Fred Braman discussed the possibility of moving the Presbytery office to St. Columba House and renting three office spaces. The Executive asked questions around the criteria used to determine the needs of the Presbytery office. The following concerns were raised. The Presbytery, as a whole, has not been engaged in the discussion of space requirements. The search for new premises is coming from a financial consideration and it may be premature to make a decision on location when the Presbytery is in the process of looking at priorities. There will need to be a meeting with representatives of Westmount Park regarding a possible move.
Retreat in June Guiding Principles
The Executive agreed to set June 14, 2011 as the date of a daylong Executive retreat. The possibility of hiring an outside facilitator was discussed. Rev. Patricia Lisson and Rev. David Lefneski agreed to co-ordinate the retreat. The object of the retreat is to look at the guiding principles needed to help the Presbytery move forward with budget decisions. Decisions will not be made at the retreat but it will be an opportunity to discuss information gathered to date. It was noted that over the past ten years the Presbytery had been through similar processes and guidelines were seldom put into action.
Union Building Task Group
Mr. Fred Braman led the Executive through a report on the Union United Church Relocation Project so that the Presbytery would be current on the progress made to date. The Building Committee has asked the architect to re-submit plans that are more in line with Union’s budget. The Executive discussed the financial aspects of funding the project and how the Presbytery would be involved. Mr. David Armour, director of Philanthropy has offered to provide some guidance and resources from the General Council.
April 20, 2011 Letter from Shirley Stark re: continuing employment until December 2012
The Executive agreed to the request of Shirley Stark to continue in her capacity as the Presbytery Resource Officer until December 2012. The Executive asked the Secretary to acknowledge the letter and thank Mrs. Stark for her many years of service to the Presbytery. The Staff Committee will work with Mrs. Stark in transition period.
March 20, 2011 Lee Corlett payroll status update
This correspondence was referred to the Pastoral Relations Committee
April 19, 2011 Policy change for police record check
The General Council has changed its policy regarding police checks. The
Sub Executive of the General Council immediately established the policy that a Vulnerable Sector Verification (Level 2) is required for ministry personnel and candidates when:Verification (Level 2) has never been provided,
orsince either a Vulnerable Sector Verification (Level 2) or a Criminal Records Check (Level 1) has been provided;
Otherwise, a Criminal Records Check (Level 1) satisfies the requirement for Police Record Checks for ministry personnel and candidates
April 12, 2011 Union United Church letter to Montreal and Ottawa Conference (Presbytery cc’d)
The finance committee of the Montreal Conference has deemed that the request from Union United Church is not part of its jurisdiction. The Secretary was asked to contact the Executive Secretary of the Conference and have the letter re-directed to the Montreal Presbytery. The letter will be given to the mission support committee to see if any money is available from the unallocated Conference mission support budget.
Chair
The acting-chair did not have a report.
Secretary
Rev. Arlen Bonnar thanked Rev. Darryl Macdonald for taking on the role of acting-secretary in his absence.
Treasurer
Mr. Rod Young reported that he had attended the Conference Finance Committee meeting. The committee reviewed the 2012 – 2014 budget. The Conference has a surplus and the Finance Committee is proposing the following distribution. Twenty thousand dollars will be allocated to send youth delegates to Rendezvous 2011. Money will be put toward the deficit incurred by establishing the position of a half time youth worker. The five Presbyteries under the jurisdiction of the Conference will receive a one-time reimbursement of assessment money paid. The Montreal Presbytery should receive a rebate of $17,000 from its 2011 assessment.
Vision and Transformation
Rev. Wendy MacLean reported that she had invited Rev. Maki Fushi to meet with members of the Japanese United Church and other ethnic groups. The event was open to anyone who wished to attend. The event was designed to bring congregations and ethnic congregations together. The event attracted very little participation from outside the ethnic ministry group. Rev. MacLean spoke about what she had learned from Rev. Fushi. Rev. Fushi put forward the question as to why the Montreal Presbytery did not have a mechanism to support ethnic ministries and her concern over the disbanding of the Central Korean United Church. The Executive felt that the General Council needed to be in dialogue with the Presbytery before making such pronouncements. The Executive felt that before any further steps could be taken there would need to be an exchange of information regarding Presbytery’s experience in the matter in order to help the General Council put the situation into context.
Presbyterial
Rev. Patricia Lisson was the guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the Montreal Presbyterial. There were forty-three people in attendance. Mrs. Janice Knowles was named as president of the Presbyterial.
Administration and Finance
Mr. Fred Braman Fred requested that a motion be brought to the May Presbytery meeting delegating authority to the Administration and Finance Committee to deal with property matters over the summer.
The Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (site of former Erskine and American United Church) is nearing completion and the grand opening is at the end of September. Mr. Braman noted that there will be an United Church presence at the opening.
The Executive asked the Secretary to communicate with the Chair regarding his preference for a donation to be made to a worthy cause in his name. The Executive felt the new Gay Lesbian Transgendered Questioning Youth Centre at Beaconsfield would be an appropriate cause.
The motion regarding La Passerelle and SouthWest United Church will be on the May Presbytery agenda.
(David Lefneski) that the Executive adjourn its meeting at 6:00 p.mMotion:
Mr. Roger
Snelling
Rev. Arlen John Bonnar
Acting-Chair
Secretary
To return to minute page click here