Vestry Minutes
Monday, June 15, 2026
Present: Rich Gabrielson (2) presiding, Deb Marrer (2), Brian Erle (1), and Maui Palmiter (1)
The Vestry meeting began at 1:05 with a portion of Noonday prayer.
The minutes from the May meeting were approved.
Finance Report:
Rich is making a few small adjustments to the May report. Cathy will move the window expense from line 1310 to 1205. Giving has been down for May which has affected our bottom line for the year.. Building maintenance was especially high due to the cost of the new windows and sacristy plumbing repair. The last six months have had very high utility costs, probably due to increase usage and prices. Brian has checked the church telephone/internet bill and found that we are still paying for 2 phone lines. He is going ahead and canceling the second line.
Property Report:
The Town of Union code inspectors came to reinspect the church and passed us. This will be a yearly inspection. Craig noticed a leak in the music room, and is not sure if it came from the ceiling or tipped vase of water. We have had heavy rain recently, and there has been water in the church basement in a few areas. (Under naive and in both restrooms) It was decided that the gutters and down spout should be checked and possibly cleaned out.
Old Business:
Church Side Door Repair - The latch on the door by the garbage cans was fixed with a squirt of WD-40.
Memorial Service for Barb Lounsberry - Barb Lounsberry’s memorial service will be on Saturday, June 27 at 10:00 at St Paul’s Episcopal church in Endicott. There will be a lunch following at the Round Hill Masonic Temple, 400 E Main St Endicott NY.
Ministry Safe: All Vestry members have completed the training and printed out their certificates. We need paper copies from Debra and Sarah, and Rowan and Tal still need to do their training.
Rectory Residents and Groundskeeping:
Lawn Works has been cutting and trimming the grass and billing St. Andrews monthly. This will be reimbursed by the boys through Good Shepherd. We still need to have the Cranmer Fellowship covenant signed by all three residents, and Rich will contact Jonathan again to get things moving.
Use of Joan's Monetary Gift:
After much discussion, the Vestry decided and voted on replacing the remaining roof areas on the church. We felt this was the most urgent need and the best use for these funds. (as there are active leaks) Brian had gotten two estimates for this and both were very similar in price and detail. Brian made the motion that we go with Augustine Construction. Maui seconded the motion and all were in favor. The motion passed. The work to be done by Augistine does not include replacement of the rectory or garage, which we decided could be put off.
New business:
Future Vicar/Rector Salary:
Rich has been researching the average Rector salary history and guidelines in the ADLW. After looking at the figures he presented, we quickly realized that we are well below the average salary range for a full time Rector. Our stretched budget will realistically only provide for a part time (20 hr.) position at this point. We will soon be rewriting the job description for our posting on the ACNA job board. Brian and Maui will collaborate on doing this.
Initial Discussion of Sustaining/Matching Fund Proposal:
We had some discussion on this topic, but will wait until next month and continue our discussion with Ted Wolf, who will present some investment ideas of his own. We will be in prayer on the subject of financial stewardship and what that means as we look to the future for our church.
Future Spruce-Up Day:
We will be thinking about getting a workday for sprucing up the church and grounds at St. Andrews. (And what areas to focus on) We all concluded that the early fall might be a better time for doing this.
The next Vestry meeting will take place on Mon., July 27 at 1:00
The meeting concluded with prayer at 3:00
Draft minutes submitted by Maui Palmiter, Vestry Clerk