Session Headlines
Middletown will SEND OUT Co-Pastors to new mission
Summer Youth Director Hired
Building Project will continue by unanimous vote
Thursday Evening Services this Summer
The Session had their Stated Meeting on Tuesday, April 29th. Craig Cassey was excused.
· The Session approved The Rev. Kerry Slinkard, Pastor of the Oxford Church, to officiate at Ann Snodgrass’s wedding on June 21st, and the Rev. Denton White, Pastor of Grace PCA in North Carolina to officiate at Sarah Grover’s wedding on September 13th.
· Dagny, daughter of Karen Hammond will be baptized on May 11 at the 11:00 service.
· Frank and Ann Aichinger informed that Session that they have accepted a call to be new church development pastors for the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.
· The Session called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, May 18th at 10:30 am to dissolve the relationships between the church and the co-pastors. Their last Sunday will be June 8th.
· The Session agreed to “send out” Frank and Ann to this new mission, to build a mutual relationship between this congregation and the new church in North Carolina.
· The Session will be seeking a professional interim minister as soon as possible.
· Frank will prepare a draft of the church by-laws for the Session to consider and revise. Ann will be working on pastoral notes for the future pastoral leadership.
· The Session will continue Leadership Learning with Becoming Your Favorite Church.
· JoAnne reported the strong congregational giving in the last months have helped us back onto a sound financial situation, in spite of the manse not being rented. She will again talk to the congregation thanking them, and updating them on the finances.
· It was agreed to publicize the Summer Sports Camp in Downingtown.
· The Women’s Bible Study for next year was approved.
· The Session agreed to hire Bruce Rappaport as Summer Youth Director, with the option to extend this for nine additional months. At this time all that is needed is one additional chaperone for Montreat Youth Conference.
· It was agreed that Thursday Night Services will continue this summer. At this time, dinner will not be offered.
· Power Point will continue to be used for the contemporary worship. Frank and Ann will work on training those who will set up and operate the PowerPoint.
· Margaret Essaf will coordinate the prayer chain when Ann leaves.
· Building and Property is seeking the best way to secure the ash tree in the cemetery by the education wing.
· The Session approved a generous policy for the extended sick leave of the sexton.
· The Session affirmed their support of Tana as secretary.
· The representatives from the Session on the Nominating Committee are Bev Smith (chair) and Keith Robinson.
· The Session will meet with the confirmation class on Sunday, May 4th at noon. The next Stated Meeting will be May 20th. There will be a special meeting on May 27th for transition issues and to hear the Reveal Survey Report.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
The Session called a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 18th at 10:30 am for the purpose of dissolving the pastoral relationships with Frank and Ann Aichinger as Co-Pastors. They will be sent out to their new mission on Sunday, June 8th.
BUILDING PROJECT
The Session has unanimously affirmed that the building project will continue through the interim time. They feel strongly that this has always been a project of the congregation and not the pastors, and that the strong support of most of the congregation is behind this.
JoAnne Gallagher continues as the leader of this effort, and is working on finalizing the plans with our contractor, M3, the architect, the civil engineer and the mechanical engineer. When there is needed, she will be recruiting a supportive building team to help complete the project.
CONGREGATIONAL GIVING
The Session wants to thank those in the congregation who have been generously supporting the mission of the church. We have received overwhelming support in the last six weeks that has helped us maintain a acceptable cash flow position. Please keep this up as we move ahead in the ministry that God has before us.
BUILDING & PROPERTY COMMITTEE
Building and Property Committee has generated a list of many projects, large and small, which need to be accomplished to help with the upkeep of the church. We are seeking outside bids on a few projects that need the help of contractors, and the committee members have been hard at work completing the more manageable projects.
Some projects that have been completed are as follows: Repair to the copula which had been leaking. Repair work on the ceiling in the balcony. Repair to the plumbing in the upstairs C.E. wing bathroom. Scraping and painting in the downstairs C.E. wing bathroom which had been badly damaged by the leak upstairs. Repair to the sub-flooring and replacement of the flooring in the entryway to the C.E. wing. If you have not had the opportunity to check out the work, I encourage you to take a walk around and see what has been done.
We are fortunate to have many dedicated and hard working members of the committee including Dave Jones, Donna Coulter, Ray Fox, Shorty Mains, Charlie Bowen and Mike Burke. We welcome recent new members to the committee, Dave VanZant and John Bradley.
We are planning a workday in the coming months. Look for announcements in the bulletin. We would love the extra help!
Lisa McWaters, Building & Property
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
In the next months, the nominating committee will have a big job of bringing nominations for the Interim and Pastor Search Committee. They will need your prayers and your support.
From the Session:
Bev Smith (chair) and Keith Robinson
From the Congregation:
Don Heilala, Karen Mayer, Kate Rainey and Shelia Schreffler
From the deacons.
Cheryl Quirk