Attending: Bob
MacAllister, Carl Meade, Dave Wilbur, Kathy Sullivan, Linda Baker, Sara
Baker, Cindy Nickerson, Syd Bare. Rev. Terry and Bruce Sandberg attended the
first half of our meeting.
Bob opened the
meeting at 7PM approx.
Rev. Terry
reported that approx 75 people attended Ash Wednesday service, much more than
we expected, and mostly from our own congregation.
There is still
confusion when the ushers should come forward.
Maundy Thursday
and Good Friday services will be at 7:30pm. Readers will have a practice
walk-through and reading at 6pm on Maundy Thursday.
We discussed our
new policy on observing silence in the sanctuary prior to the worship service.
This committee, ushers, and greeters should be setting a good example.
Rev. Phil
Mitchell and Carl Schultz Jr. will be guest ministers following Easter Sunday.
Bruce spoke to
us about the church committee’s progress on obtaining a defibrillator with
training. Also the church committee is pleased with the Diaconate’s efforts
regarding tiny tots’ security and matching child with parent(s) at pick up
time.
Bob reiterated
that the Sunday Sexton’s primary responsibility is security. The sexton will
see to it that Baldwin Hall entrance is locked during the service, and patrol
the first floor during the worship service. If anything should happen, as
Deacon of the Day our first response is to dial 911 from the office phone.
Rev. Terry
restated to this committee that no one should feel obligated to provide money
to persons plying Main Street with down-on-their-luck stories looking for
cash. There are other agencies that have the resources to help these people
get help they need.
Minutes : Motion to
accept minutes, seconded, approved unanimously.
Treasurer : Carl reported
we are set for supplies. Petty cash balance is now $56.61.
Old
Business : Sunday sexton will be able to handle some of the physically
demanding responsibilities that we have as Deacons of the Day.
We discussed
responses received from persons asked to volunteer their expertise if a medical
emergency should arise. There is some concern that formally accepting would
constitute a liability on the individuals’ part as a professional medical
assistance provider. We discussed keeping this emergency response program very
informal to minimize exposure to liability for any volunteers.
We discussed
Tiny Tots and CE for children. Deacon of the Day needs to contact CE Director
Patty Eldredge to get her planned whereabouts with the children on Sunday morning,
at least for the benefit of advising visitors with children.
Bob reported
that plans are underway to have a special service to honor women. This will
be the Sunday following Mother’s Day, May 17.
New Business : Sara spoke on
the Shoe Box effort that we have discussed in recent months. She brought some
UPS boxes of different sizes to compare. She suggested we could fill boxes and
send to Eli Terry’s unit, possibly in April. There was much discussion on the
project and whether the appropriate committee to lead this project should be
ours or the Mission Committee, primarily for the reason that this type of
church drive is a mission. A sub-committee can be formed with them and
Diaconates to drive this project.
Linda Baker will
organize the readers for Maundy Thursday.
We did a
walk-through of our Deacon of the Day responsibilities. We explored the
sacristy and the chancel and reviewed our tasks line by line.
Kathy led us in
prayer to close the meeting. We adjourned about 8:45pm.
The
Deacon of the Day schedule for next four weeks:
March 15, Sara
Baker
22, Kathy Sullivan
29, Cindy
Nickerson
April 5, David Wilbur
Our
next meeting will be April 1, 2009
Respectfully
submitted,
David Wilbur