Consistory Meeting Highlights

by Bob Bradsell, Vice President

Consistory met on Wednesday, May 12^th, and talked mostly about the future…

¨     We Adopted a Budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2011.   It’s basically a “flat” budget… no increases / several cuts where we were able / and some ‘gray’ areas, given the need for planning and transition to a new pastor over the next year.   Given the state of our finances, we had little choice.   The budget will be presented to the congregation within the next few weeks – and will take effect July 1 (the beginning of our fiscal year).

¨     A Musical Change in our Future.   We received and accepted – with a combination of ‘regrets’ and ‘congratulations’ – notification from Music Director, Chi Yi Chen, that she will resign from that post at the end of June…because she’s getting married in July!   We wish Chi Yi all the best.  We understand she may be relocating to the Norfolk, VA, area with future husband, Jeff Wolbrink.  We’ll miss her…and we hope she’ll come to see us now and then.  The Music Ministry here at BRC will be added to the Strategic Planning process.

¨     Strategic Planning.   The Strategic Planning Taskforce (Wendy Herbert, Mike Vande Woude, Bob Bradsell and Scott Magliochetti) have been meeting regularly on Saturday mornings, and they reported on their work:  A hard look at our committee structure – and a recommendation that we revitalize it around the church’s mission statement…with a slight change in the mission statement.   Wendy presented a recommended lineup of “Task Teams” around the mission statement largely to replace the current list of “committees”; and Mike presented as a cost-saving / cost-sharing move both a plan to consolidate several committee functions, and a plan to coordinate several basic services (snow plowing and lawn care, to name two) with other area churches.  Stay tuned for developments.

¨     New Leadership.  In anticipation of two of us completing our terms (elder and vice president Bob Bradsell, and deacon, clerk and pre-school board president Scott Magliochetti), we elected elder Wendy Herbert to the post of vice president of Consistory, effective with the term beginning July 1^st.

Our next regular meeting is Wednesday night, June 16^th.   Let us know how we’re doing…and if you have questions, ask.  Corner one of us over coffee – or call – or put a note in the collection box.  We’ll do our best to respond.