Category: Parish Committee

The Parish Committee met on October 18, 2019.

Dwight Gertz and Tim Moynihan were unable to attend. Rev. Rankin, Peter Sugar (Facilities), Ralph Smith (Personnel), Sarah Andrysiak (Generous Giving), Gert McDermott (Administrator), Becca Fasciano, Chris Hamilton, Ken Hurd, Kathy Huber (Transition Team) were present.

Summary of Business

The PC voted to increase the hours of Sarah Klockowski to allow her to assume the responsibilities for Youth Ministry that had been budgeted in RE, but unfilled for some time.

The Personnel Committee has been diligently at work under Ralph Smith’s direction. This group was involved in the reworking of Sarah’s position and creating a methodology and process for evaluating our Interim Minister and Parish Administrator. As part of the latter, the job description and scope of the Parish Administrator will be updated and revised as appropriate. The PC heard productive reports by the Transition Team, Facilities Committee and Generous Giving.

Facilities

Peter Sugar (Facilities Chair) reported on several projects that the committee is managing. The playground project has work to be done in terms of visioning and scope. Questions about public versus private use need to be resolved first by the Playground Planning Committee. These have implications for equipment and cost. Design issues also need resolution. The Playground Committee needs to evaluate the possibility of a supervised ‘Community Construction’ project versus a professional one. Also, the PC will reach out to see if the town is interested in partnering in creating a public option. A meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee will schedule a discussion for this.

The parking lot has one bid for its repair that is approximately $22k-28k. Three bids would be optimal, and the additional bids are being sought. The Roof Project is to follow the same process of soliciting three bids. The Facilities Committee will pursue that along with the possibility of bringing Air Conditioning into the Parish Offices.

Transition Team

The Transition Team met with the PC to review their plan and to discuss avenues for collaboration, in addition to the timeline and outline that was distributed. The group thought that a discussion of Parish Finances, Settled Minister’s Salary, Parish membership and size, and the use of FPL’s financial resources would be important to address. This will be scheduled in keeping with the TT’s outline for discussion.

The TT feels very engaged with the Parish as it moves forward to select a new Settled Minister. They feel the enthusiasm of the congregation and its openness to examining ways to improve and to evolve. The TT would like the Search Committee selected by May, 2020, and they would like the compensation package for our new minister in the same timeframe. This falls to the PC to accomplish.

Generous Giving Plans

Sarah Andrysiak presented a thoughtful and thorough plan for Generous Giving that relies on creating multiple ways of engaging the congregation. A number of parish members have volunteered to advise and collaborate with Sarah as she creates opportunities for visiting, meeting in small groups and listening to the parish about their various ways of supporting the growth and work of FPL.

The parish will soon learn about the Generous Giving plans for the year.

Church Leaders Meeting

In an effort to increase collaboration among church committees, a meeting of the Church Committee Leaders will take place on October 30 at 6:00pm. This meeting will hear about the priorities that each committee has before them and discuss how each can further the general aim of engaging the greater Lincoln community in order to increase church membership.

Personnel

In addition to increasing Sarah Klockowski’s hours to include responsibility for youth ministry, the Personnel Committee has developed a structure and method for evaluating the job performance of both Pastor Rankin and Gert McDermott. The latter will also address the questions about the Parish Administrator’s job definition and scope in that were raised in the Annual Report. The Personnel Committee is, also, working on rewriting the Personnel and Policies Handbook.

There is one open position on the Parish Committee that is being addressed.

Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

Respectfully,

Nick Covino for the Parish Committee

The Parish Committee met on September 18, 2019. Dwight Gertz and Karin Levy were unable to be present and Rev. Rosemary Lloyd filled in for Dwight to present an update on the Governance Task Force. Rev Rankin, Gert McDermott and Sarah Klockowski were in attendance.

As mentioned earlier, the PC is making an effort to connect more regularly and easily with the parish and its committees.  The list of PC Liaisons is below. Should you have business related to one of these functions, please be in contact with one of these members who will bring relevant concerns to the PC or to the relevant party. 

Committee Liaisons

Finance	Chris Andrysiak
Personnel	Carrie Marotta
Youth Programs	Jean Welsh
Facilities	Tim Moynihan
Deacons, Music, Administration	Nick Covino
Generous Giving, Transition Team	RL Smith
Outreach	Priscilla Damon
Membership and Community Engagement	Karin Levy
Governance Task Force	Dwight Gertz

The PC met after church on Sunday September 22 to hold an Open Meeting with the Parish

Summary of Business

The PC voted to returnthe title of the current “Membership Committee” to its original “Welcoming Committee” to reflect its current function.

The PC Voted to receive $60,000 of excess funds from FY19 Operations (i.e., last year’s budget) and transferred this total to the FY20 Operating account.

Treasurer

Mr. John Krzywicki (Treasurer) reports that the first two months of the fiscal year have been right on track.  With Generous Giving pledges last spring finishing short of what is required to cover the budget; a new position in Community Engagement likely to require additional funds to be successful (note; it did not exist last year when the FY20 budget was prepared); and the usual uncertainty regarding pledge collections, John has proposed some guidelines to manage a tight budget. Small (<$500) requests/requirements for funds to cover expenses not included in the budget (exclusive of Capital Expenses) can be presented for review to the Treasurer or the Parish Administrator. Those that seem to be ‘one time’ and that do not establish a ‘precedent’ for future funding will be seen in a favorable light. Larger items will be examined in light of available funds, rebalanced from other lines where possible and against the need to finish the year with a positive balance. The PC has authority to exceed the budget by $25,000, but it aims to keep expenses in line with the Parish Approved Budget.

John’s analysis of unused funds from prior years finds, not surprisingly, that the majority of the excess funds were from unspent salaries from unfilled positions. These positions are currently filled (e.g., Student Minister, RE, Community Engagement/Adult Programming) which means that the Treasurer, Parish Administrator and PC must manage this year’s budget very closely. It also means that next year’s budget is highly likely to be larger than FY20.  

Community Engagement/Adult Programming Coordinator

Sarah Klockowski joined the PC meeting to introduce herself and to speak a bit about her programs. Sarah has both an MA in Biblical Languages and an M.Div. degree with a specialty in Social Ethics. A former Youth Pastor and High School Educator, Sarah is already working to fulfill the Shared Ministry Review’s charge to create more ‘outward facing programs.’ Moving to her new home in Medford, she is excited to begin her work with First Parish.

Rev. Jenny will be Sarah’s supervisor and a small advisory group of Carrie Marotta and Chris Andrysiak will provide a sounding board as this position evolves.

Facilities

The Facilities Committee has been very active.  Unfortunately, there are three significant projects that require repairs that are likely to exceed $200,000.  These are the Parish House Roof, the Play yard, and the parking lot. In addition, Tim Moynihan reports that the committee identifies another 6-8 smaller projects (e.g., doors).  There are limited Capital Expense funds (near that $200,000 level) to cover these repairs.

Next month, Facilities Chairman Peter Sugar will report on the scope of the necessary work and present the plans and costs acquired from the relevant construction companies for this work.

Governance Task Force

Rev. Rosemary Lloyd presented an update of the work of this committee. The group has been meeting through the summer, reading Hotchkiss’ Governance and Ministry. They echoed the SMR findings that there is need to clarify roles, responsibilities and authority as well as to codify committee charges, volunteer roles, staff responsibilities and church policies. These members will make their report and recommendations to the Parish Committee next month. These ideas will be sourced through the parish in a thoughtful manner before coming to the PC for any required ratification.

Transition Team

Throughout this year the Transition Team will be exploring with the congregation questions like: Who & What is The First Parish right now?; Who are our neighbors? and What is our mission and the core values that will guide us into the future?

These will be the foundation for the document that the parish prepares to introduce itself to potential Settled Ministers.

The SEARCH COMMITTEE will be selected by the end of this year and it is the likely author of this document. At this point, the PC intends to ask for recommendations from the parish of members for a Search Committee and it will appoint three additional members to ‘round out’ a team of 7.  More on this to come.

Personnel Committee

This committee has been hard at work preparing job descriptions; recruiting, interviewing and hiring new staff; creating processes for a review of the Minister and FPL Staff. Several of these reviews have been completed by Rev Jenny with input from relevant others.  The question raised in the Annual Report regarding the scope and responsibilities of the Parish Administrator will be examined by this committee with assistance from several parishioners, Rev. Rankin and the Parish Committee. The parish is in debt to Ralph Smith, Carrie Marotta, Gus Browne and Jane O’Rourke.

Concluding Thoughts

1. The FPL Green committee did a significant service for the Parish.  They built a proposal in keeping with the most popular priority from the survey of the parish of two years ago: Addressing Climate Change and the Environment. Their proposal for Solar Panels was impressively written and researched (with demonstrated cost-savings for the action) was presented clearly at two PC meetings. This team coordinated closely with the Generous Giving committee, including holding an evening meeting to discuss how to partner. FPL Green volunteered to fundraise for the project in a manner that did not compete with the Annual Pledge Drive. They raised funds from non-church colleagues, made personal gifts and, thus far, has raised about 60% of the cost of the panels.  This effort was not required. These members have been stewards of an important value of the parish and responsible partners with the church in conducting business and developing an asset that will save money and the environment.  The congregation says: “Amen.”

• Volunteers are needed. The Religious Education program still has too few teachers. if you have the ability to share your values with our young people, please contact Elizabeth Kelly (Youth Programs Committee) or Margit Griffith, (Director Religious Education) as soon as possible.  The Touch of Christmas Fair has ONE LEADER who needs a partner and committee members for this important event.  Mentoring is available and the commitment to lead this effort can be limited to This Year only.  Please let Karin Levy know if you are able to help. Focused Task Forces always need help to gather information and deliver short products.  A Review of the “Safe Congregation Policy” that might include a talk by the Lincoln PD on Active Shooter Actions and a variety of updates to parish documents needs helpers.  Let me know if you are interested and have time to write, talk, and help.

• The PC will hold a Leadership Retreat in October to draw committee chairs and other parish leaders together to discuss goals and strategies for the year.  This will be planned in the next two weeks.

The next official meeting of the Parish Committee is October 16 at 6:00.  The PC will hold a planning phone call on October 3 at 2:15.

• Nick Covino, Chair, for the Parish Committee

The Parish Committee met for the third time this summer to address some of the pressing business of First Parish and to queue up some of the work for the upcoming year. As we wrote in June, the PC will be making a strong effort to communicate its work with the parish.

A note such as this that summarizes some of the main themes of the discussion will follow each meeting. There are point people from the Parish Committee assigned to key committees within the church. Should you have business related to one of these functions, please be in contact with one of these members (not the PC Chair!) who will bring relevant concerns to the PC or to the director of the small committee.

Committee Liaisons

a. Finance:  Chris Andrysiak
b. Personnel:   Carrie Marotta
c. Youth Programs:   Jean Welsh
d. Facilities:   Tim Moynihan
e. Deacons, Music, Administration:   Nick Covino
f. Generous Giving, Transition Team:  RL Smith
g. Outreach:   Priscilla Damon
h. Membership and Community Engagement/Adult Programming:  Karin Levy
i. Governance Task Force:   Dwight Gertz

Summary of Business
The PC voted to appoint Peter Sugar to become the Chair of the Facilities Committee and Thornton Ring as a new member. It, also, approved the hire of Sarah Klockowski, M.Div, MA as the church’s first Community Engagement/Adult Programming Coordinator.

Community Engagement/Adult Programming Coordinator
Sarah Klockowski has joined the First Parish as our first Community Engagement/Adult Programming Coordinator. Sarah has both an MA in Biblical Languages and an M.Div. degree with a specialty in Social Ethics. A former Youth Pastor and High School Educator, Sarah has a passion for faith-based community engagement, spiritual development and community building. The Personnel Committee, in keeping with the recommendations of the Shared Ministry Review to create more ‘outward facing programs’, expanded the ‘Communications’ role that Kathy Harvey-Ellis filled so well to provide leadership and a resource to help FPL be more connected to the greater Lincoln community with hopes to increase church membership. Rev. Jenny will be Sarah’s supervisor and a small advisory group will provide a sounding board for them as this position evolves into the right shape.

You will learn more about Sarah and her work shortly. Please welcome her to this new leadership position.

Parish House Playground
A combined Task Force with members from the PC, YPC, Finance, RE and a few parish experts will work with the Facilities committee to create a plan to renovate the church play yard. At this moment, the play yard is closed for safety reasons while the committee envisions a renewed space and develops a budget to support it. There are structural as well as design issues that preclude ‘clean-up/fix-up’ self-generated initiatives. The Task Force will move as swiftly as it can, but this project will take, at least, several months to design and several more to build.

The PC has asked for a monthly report from the Task Force and it will share the progress of this Task Force with the congregation.

Outreach
Larry Buell provided a review of the activities of the Outreach Committee last year. In addition to the energy of the FPL Green initiative that brought Solar Panels to the Parish House Roof and raised 2/3 of the funds to pay for them, there were a number of community engagement projects (Capital Improvement and Transformative Innovation grants) that were detailed in the Annual Report of First Parish. Larry added a final tally of the financial disbursements from Outreach for 2018-19 that were not completely covered in the Annual Report due to timing. Gifts to the community from the Preston Fund totaled $81,240. Larry and Melissa Brooks created a report to the Parish Committee that we will find a way to archive and make available. The PC began a discussion that it will have with ALL committees around how each can contribute to the goal of more closely engaging the greater Lincoln community with hopes to increase church membership.

Communications
Jennie Morris has generously agreed to help us to both train Sarah to be able to deliver the important “Communications” vehicles of First Parish and to help us to maintain the Web. This will be a bit of a work in progress as Sarah’s position will be focusing on programs and helping FPL to connect more vibrantly to the greater Lincoln area. Jennie, Rev. Jenny and the PC will continue to monitor the church’s needs in this area. Thank you to Jennie for her flexibility.

The PC voted to approve $4,296 for web design and maintenance for this year.

Treasurer
Newly elected Treasurer John Krzywicki reviewed the budget for the end of FY19 and looked ahead to FY20. With help from Gert McDermott, they identified the historical Over/Under areas of the budget for the past four years. While the variances are quite small, they can total as much as $50,000 in a year with ‘unfilled positions’ leading the way.

With the help of the Finance Committee, John will look to identify several budget areas to monitor more closely.

Concluding Thoughts

1. This year’s budget is quite tight. We are programmatically blessed with a full complement of staff and we are fiscally challenged with very little discretionary revenue for the upcoming year. Not only is it unlikely that there will be funds available from unfilled staff positions, these new, key, positions will require additional financial help to be successful.

The Transition Team and the new Community Engagement/Program Coordinator, in particular, are engaged in critically important work for the parish that will require additional funding to be successful. The Parish Committee will draw upon the small reserves from FY19 operations, as discussed at the Annual Meeting, but we see a need for the Parish to make time this year to review its relationship with finances.

2. Volunteers are needed. The Religious Education program is about to begin and there are too few teachers. While we will make an effort to address this in a more strategic fashion, if you have the ability to share your values with our young people, please contact Elizabeth Kelly (Youth Programs Committee) or Margit Griffith, (Director Religious Education) as soon as possible. The Touch of Christmas Fair is, also, looking for two leaders for this important event. Mentoring is available, but it will be optimal to have these positions filled by the next month.

3. The main goal of this, and the next few, years is to increase membership at First Parish. This is only going to happen over time and as a result of some intentional work.

There is a great story to tell about the strengths of this congregation that needs to be shared. By becoming a stronger part of the work, values and cares of greater Lincoln, we can have an opportunity to make a difference and, hopefully, invite our neighbors to worship and to work more closely with us. This is a priority for all members, leaders and committees. The PC will convene a longer meeting to invite parish groups and parishioners to plan this out, sometime in the fall.

The next official meeting of the Parish Committee is September 18 at 6:00.
⎯ Nick Covino, Chair, for the Parish Committee