Diocesan Council Highlights - May 13th, 2014

The May 2014 meeting of Diocesan Council, the governing body (“the Synod between Synods) of the Diocese of New Westminster would likely be the last meeting in it’s current form as it is expected that the next meeting in June following Diocesan Synod will be the new format of: the Bishop; six lay & six ordained Archdeaconry representatives; two representatives from the eight Archdeacons and one Diocesan Dean; two youth representatives; Treasurer (or Assistant Treasurer); the two most senior Legal Officers in attendance (being in order of seniority the Chancellor, the Registrar and the Legal Assessor); the Chair of the Mission and Ministry Committee; one Ordained and one Lay person may also be appointed by the Bishop who shall continue in office, at the pleasure of the Bishop, from the time of appointment until the final adjournment of the regular Synod next following appointment. Also, with voice but no vote: the Executive Archdeacon if not already a voting member; the Business Administrator; the Director for Mission and Ministry Development; the Legal Assessor unless attending as a voting member; the Assistant Treasurer unless attending as a voting member and a recording secretary appointed by the voting members of Diocesan Council. All of these changes will be formalized at Synod, May 23rd and 24th, 2014, barring a negative vote on the Resolution to adopt these canonical changes.

Right at 6:30pm, Bishop Melissa Skelton called the meeting to order by offering the prayer for Synod. She also informed Council that some portions of the agenda would be reworked to allow those guests attending Council in order to give presentations to be near the beginning of the agenda. She also announced that the pizza for dinner was en route.

MINUTES of March 11th, 2014
The MINUTES were adopted as circulated

CORRESPONDENCE

The Bishop directed Council’s attention to the four pieces of correspondence which are linked:

Letter from VST of March 6, 2014
Letter from Pat Kuechler of March 14, 2014
Letter from Barbara Struthers of April 29, 2014
Letter from Peggy Trendell-Jensen of May 10, 2014

ACTION FOR DEBATE

Christ Church Cathedral – Diocesan approval of capital campaign

Dean Peter Elliott spoke on behalf of Christ Church Cathedral’s request from Council to approve their proposed capital campaign tentatively titled “Raise the Roof, Ring the Bells, Feed the Hungry”. The driver for this three-pillar campaign is the need for a new roof. The current roof shingles installed in the 1980’s are covered with moss and are in very poor condition which may soon result in moisture leaking through and damaging the interior of the 120+-year old stone clad wooden church. The binding agent for the shingles is asbestos, which adds considerably more complications and expense to the roof replacement.

The Dean went on to explain how he with others on the Cathedral’s development team found a donor who wants to give a major gift for the building of bell tower which is perfectly permissible according to the Cathedral’s arrangement with City of Vancouver Heritage authorities. In fact, the exterior elevator tower built in 2006 was designed to compliment a bell tower if that structural addition became a reality. The lead gift of 2.5 million has created the energy to move forward with a capital campaign to replace the roof and also to include a new kitchen. Cathedral compassionate service ministries feed between 80-100 people per day in the fall/winter/spring and the current kitchen which would be barely adequate in a 2000 square foot single family home is way past capacity for the demands on its space and fixtures.

The concept is to raise a total of 7.5 million in thirds over the next 18 months with the lead gift of 2.5 million being the first confirmed third. The Cathedral is looking for a matching gift of 2.5 million from Vancouver’s philanthropic community and then a campaign for the final third focused on the Cathedral’s congregation and friends around the Diocese of New Westminster.

The Precis of the campaign and a detailed summary of the project are linked. The proposed motion found on the bottom of the Precis page was voted on.

The MOTION WAS CARRIED

Holy Trinity Cathedral (HTC) – Update & progress report on development project

Former Diocesan Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, Jim Stewart began the HTC presentation by reminding Council of the $700,000 loan received by HTC from Council a year ago and that thanks to that money the project is moving forward to build a high-rise, revenue producing tower on the HTC site (for detailed information about the project please refer to the document linked above).

The Venerable John Bailey, former rector of HTC and now a consultant on the project directed Council’s attention to the architectural drawings depicting what the site will look like following completion. The drawings were on display that evening in the St. Augustine’s, parish hall. He went on to provide background on the public campaign for the project that has been gaining political support around the City of New Westminster. The Planning Department of the City of New Westminster has expressed concern that the project has achieved considerable grassroots support without them having approved it. Archdeacon John said that the Chief of Police and officials of the New Westminster Fire Department have publicly expressed their approval.

 

Stuart Thomas of Terra Housing is one of the hired professionals working with HTC and he was next to address Council. With the aid of power point spreadsheets he moved into a more detailed presentation that described the process of obtaining costing information for the work, including; the residential tower, the community development and the heritage re-fit of the HTC building. He pointed out that costings for the proposed new constructions were easier to estimate than the heritage renovation portion.

He spoke about the many positives and how the HTC parish is working hard to have all the components in place to present the proposed project as an attractive opportunity for a developer.
The Organizing Committee and the consultants are working with Diocesan Legal Registrar, Don Paul on aspects of “the deal.” Stuart advised Council that churches are often considered “problem clients” as they desire extremely specific outcomes, however in consultation with Don Paul all involved in leadership of the project are confident that they can find a development partner.

Bob Hardy the Diocesan Treasurer asked about the 17,000 square feet of space that is allotted to HTC. He voiced concern about ongoing maintenance of that space after the project is completed particularly keeping in mind that HTC as a worship space will need to be closed for a considerable time during construction. “When the church re-opens, who will sustain it?” Stuart responded that the plan outcome defines that the 17,000 square feet will be debt free and the only resources needed will be operating costs.

Bishop Melissa agreed with Bob that the parish’s role is very important and that they will need to actively pursue a new and visionary ministry plan. The Reverend Dr. Richard Leggett asked if any of the revenue from a successful outcome of the HTC high-rise project would be leftover to seed an endowment fund. The answer was that HTC’s revenue portion does not at the moment provide for an endowment. The ongoing maintenance of the Church will be provided from the income of three rental suites in the residential tower.

There were more discussions about the use of the space for the benefit of the parish and for the neighbourhood as a place for worship and outreach.

Although progress has been made, it is still early in the process and there are many considerations and possible scenarios regarding the repurposing of that proposed space and a future ministry plan for the Parish of HTC.

St. Helen, Surrey – Loan Request

The St. Helen’s, loan request of $25,000 (up-to) to renovate their rectory in preparation for the arrival of their new incumbent in July is documented in the link above.

On behalf of the A&F Committee, Treasurer Bob Hardy and Diocesan Business Administrator, Rob Dickson spoke to this request. The loan request supported by A&F has come before Council because the parish has requested an interest rate of 3% as opposed to the current interest rate of 6%. Although the understanding is that this is a “one-time” action, in reality the rate of %3 is more representative of the current lending environment. Don Paul pointed out that the Parish Loan fund does allow for 3% on loans with amortizations of three years or less. The Parish of St. Helen’s, however, would like to amortize this $25,000 loan over 10 years.

The Reverend Georgina Harris who has had recent experience with renovation raised the issue that the estimate seems low given the scope of work needed. Rob responded that the parish is confident that the work can be done with donated fixtures and volunteer labour including volunteers for skilled trades with the resulting costs coming in well within their estimates. Rob also shared with Council that the parish is confident they will be able to pay down the loan much more quickly than the 10 years as they have a number of fundraising issues in development that will focus specifically on this debt.

The MOTION to grant the loan at 3% for 10 years was CARRIED.

St. Stephen, West Vancouver – Lease with Cedarvale Child Learning Centre Ltd.

Don Paul addressed Council regarding the retroactive lease, specifically around the expense of the extensive renovations made at the tenants expense and the parish’s liability. As of the May 13th, Council meeting there are according to Don three versions of the lease currently being circulated and vetted, however the differences are minor.

The one page document linked above outlines the new lease components and also contains the motion.

The MOTION was CARRIED

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION / INFORMATION

Monthly Financial Statements – January, February and March 2014

Business Administrator Rob Dickson addressed Council explaining that the three statements are presented together at this time of year largely due to the lag time around the year-end audit. He directed Council’s attention to the March Executive Summary. The financial position of the diocese is $130,000 ahead of budget due to a variety of successful cost-saving measures and the corporate sponsorship donations received for the Consecration and Installation liturgy.
Diocesan Treasurer, Bob Hardy moved acceptance of the three statements

The MOTION was CARRIED to receive the statements.

MEMO – Working Group on Ministry with Young People

In a Memo to Diocesan Council, the Reverend Ruth Monette, Acting Director for Mission and Ministry Development provided some raw data from a diocesan survey on youth ministry. Ruth remarked that the receipt of 75 responses was quite good, however the survey results may have been skewed due to the fact that the Artaban Board asked and were given permission to distribute the survey link to their constituency. The Working Group on Ministry with Youth People had not met yet to discuss the results of the survey and to look at the numbers more deeply. There will be more information to come before Council in the future when that work is done.

REPORT - Working Group on Christian Camping

The Reverend Ruth Monette was tasked with the responsibility of briefing Council on this report. Ruth said that to implement any of the recommendations listed in this report that the question “if the Diocese wants to do this?” would need to precede the recommendation.

In this document (linked above) the Working Group mapped out how various forms of camping could happen. Options were identified and costs considered.

The “sleep-away” camp in the Diocese of New Westminster has been historically connected to Camp Artaban. The Working Group determined however that without significant changes being made at all levels to that organization, Camp Artaban is not presently an option. If sleep-away camp is a programmatic desire, the Working Group determines that it must be “done well” and for Artaban to reach the standard it would need to achieve, the costs would be in the 3 million dollar range. Renting an established facility for a sleep-away camp could possibly be achieved for $30,000 a year but access would be extremely limited in length of time available and the times of year available.

The Working Group was not overly keen on the “day camping” model as it lacks the opportunity for “community building” and “personal growth.” The Diocese of BC has been actively exploring this model.

The costs of the various recommendations are broken out towards the end of the report document.

The were a number of voices at Council that spoke about the need for Diocesan Council to make a definitive decision about the role of Christian Camping in the Diocese and specifically about Camp Artaban’s future in that program. A motion was developed that the Report of the Working Group on the Implementation of the Task Force on Christian Camping, November 4th, 2013 submitted to Diocesan Council May 13th, 2014, be presented to Synod (without the resolution recommendations) for information and discussion, and brought to the next meeting of Council (June, 2014) for a decision.

The MOTION was CARRIED.

White Paper Implementation Task Force – Verbal Report

Council was informed that Diocesan Registrar, Don Paul has worked tirelessly to have the Canonical changes ready to be voted on during the first Resolution block at Synod on the morning of Friday, May 23th so that the elections can be prepped and held for the new Council format.

The nominated members of the Constitution and Canons Committee were listed for approval: The Ven. G Douglas Fenton, The Ven. Ellen Clark-King, The Rev. Shirley Stockdill, Mr. Allan Coombe, Mrs. Jennifer Dezell Mr. Donald N. Paul (CHAIR) and Ms. Linda Robertson.

The MOTION to approve them was CARRIED.

Resolution 1 for Synod
Report of the Constitution and Canons Committee 05-17-2014

PRESENTATION

Council of General Synod CoGS)/Jerusalem Sunday Report (Power Point text linked in pdf format)

The Venerable Lynne McNaughton is a member of CoGS representing the Ecclesiastical Province of BC and Yukon. Lynne supplied a Power Point presentation to Council covering some of the highlights of the meetings held May 4, 5 and 6.
Lynne informed Council that there are detailed reports of the highlights of all three meeting days on the General Synod website. 

She went on to say that this was the second meeting of this group elected at General Synod almost a year ago. So with the work underway, this group largely listened to reports. Lynne did stress that the Primate’s office, CoGS and the National Church are very keen on Jerusalem Sunday, (Easter 7, June 1st) and she urged Council to view the many resources for parishes available on the General Synod website.
Anglican Journal article promoting Jerusalem Sunday

Following this report Council went In Camera. At the conclusion of the In Camera session, Bishop Melissa Skelton called for a motion to adjourn which was followed by the doxology.

 The next meeting of Diocesan Council is scheduled for June 9th at St. Augustine’s.

Images: Top and homepage, Bishop Melissa takes notes during the HTC presentation. Upper right, Dean Peter Elliott concludes his presentation requesting approval for the CCC capital campaign, David Nash on right. Upper left, Jim Stewart provides background to the HTC project. Upper middle, the drawings of the proposed HTC project. Lower middle, right, Stuart Thomas. Lower right, DC members listen closely to the St. Helen's loan request. Lower centre, The Reverend Ruth Monette speaks to the Working Group on Christian Camping Report. Lower left, the Venerable Lynne McNaughton encourages Council to support Jerusalem Sunday.

Diocesan Council is the decision making, governing body of the Diocese of New Westminster currently consisting of: the Diocesan Officers (Bishop, Dean, Executive Archdeacon, Chancellor, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer) the Archdeacons of the five Archdeaconries, the Archdeacon who is the Director of Deacons, two additional Diocesan Legal Officers, (Registrar and Legal Assessor), a Lay Secretary, a Clergy Secretary, the chairs of the Diocesan Standing Committees.
There are two Deanery reps either Ordained or Lay. Sometimes Deaneries have two lay reps and sometimes two clergy reps, sometimes one of each. A Deanery is a group of churches, geographically affiliated and the reps are elected at the Annual Synod Meeting.
Synod Staff also attend meetings but are not members of Diocesan Council. They include: Business Administrator, Stewardship and Planned Giving Officer, Comptroller, Youth Coordinator and Communications Officer (and other staff as required).
Diocesan Synod consists of all the active clergy in the Diocese of New Westminster and 2-6 lay people elected from each diocesan parish proportionate to the size of the parish community.
Diocesan Council functions as the Synod between Synods, it is a representation of the large group that meets annually.
Diocesan Council and Diocesan Synod are both chaired by the Bishop. Diocesan Council is adjourned for the months of July and August.