Beaver Creek Church of the Brethren
Leadership Team Meeting
April 21, 2016
Present: Bill Wood, Darlene LaPrade, Brad Eckard, Theresa Eckard, Bill Eckard, Deanne Dastoli, Diane Miller, Charles Wright, Joe LaPrade. Ex-officio: Glenn Bollinger – Pastor, Donna Miller – Treasurer, Dana Suter – Church Clerk. Absent: Ann Healy.
Bill Wood called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Deanne led the group in a devotional prayer. The minutes from last month’s meeting and the Treasurer’s report were approved.
Calendar Roundtable: First Sunday Breakfast – May 1, TA Singers – May 15, VBS – July 10 – 14 combined with Montezuma and held at Beaver Creek, Men’s Fellowship Steak Dinner – June 25, Brethren Woods Spring Festival – April 30, Chicken Barbecue – April 30, Mother/Daughter Banquet – May 7.
Bill reported the need for a delegate to Annual Conference which is being held in Greensboro, NC this year. Ann Healy will be attending as one of the delegates. This need will be communicated to the congregation in the slides on Sunday mornings.
Facilities Team Update: Bill Eckard reported that the baffles for the basement have been ordered and will be delivered at the end of May. The exit lights are being replaced with LED lights. The furnace and the ice maker have both had some recent repairs. There are two more pews which have been taken to be repaired. Matt Eye has completed some landscaping around the church.
Pastor’s Report: Glenn reported that he and Kevin Daggett from Dayton COB will be going to Pennsylvania next Wednesday for some continuing education credits. Glenn thanked everyone who helped or participated in Regina’s ordination service last Sunday. Regina will be required to transfer her membership to Mountain View COB. Glenn has had two requests for membership transfer to Beaver Creek from Morgan Bender and Ben Martindale.
Report and discussion of church finances: Direct Deposit: Charles reported that the Finance Team had explored different options for placing money directly into the church bank account such as PayPal and merchant accounts. These options can charge extra fees and/or take a portion of the funds given. Anonymous Gifts: Charles reported that the Finance Team contacted other churches to see how they handled anonymous gifts. The Finance Team feels that in order to maintain confidentiality and get the money to the bank as soon as possible, the gift should be given to the Financial Secretary and then forwarded to the Treasurer who would notify the Finance Team. Teller System: Joe LaPrade stated concerns that he has heard from members of the congregation including the number of tellers, potential rotating in/out if a teller resigns, reduction in giving, and an increased amount of money being handed directly to him and Darlene. Charles reported that the Finance Team researched other churches and most have between 4 – 8 tellers and Beaver Creek is using 7. Most churches that they contacted pick up the money from the night deposit on Monday morning and the Financial Secretary is involved in the counting process. There was discussion about counting the cash only and various other options. Darlene stated her main concern is with the amount of errors being made and the potential of the books of the Financial Secretary and Treasurer not matching. Bill Eckard stated that the Leadership Team had talked about the teller program often in the last six months and in light of the unhappiness surrounding it he made a motion to go back to the prior way of collecting the offering where the financial secretary collects it, counts it, and makes the deposit. No one seconded the motion and Bill Wood as chair ruled that the motion failed for lack of a second. Charles shared that the Finance Team is offering to meet with the Leadership Team any time to show the process they have been using with the teller program. Results of Financial Review: Charles reported that a financial review was completed of the checking account only. The Finance Team will be working on a review process for the future reviews that include all accounts and put it in writing. Joe LaPrade stated that he would like to see a complete Financial Audit of the books performed. The cost of an external audit by an accounting firm has prohibited the Leadership Team from seeking that option. Bill Wood led a discussion on the church polity’s use of the word “accounts” implied all of the church’s financial accounts. Since the 2015 review was done on the checking account only, the Leadership Team felt that the conducted review did not meet the criteria laid out in the polity. Bill Wood suggested the following resolution: To thank the Finance Team for the internal review and encourage them to complete the review for 2015 on all the accounts. Darlene made a motion to accept the resolution and Deanne seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by a written vote. Charles will bring the results of the review back to the Leadership Team. Bill Wood made the additional point that current practice makes it difficult to know whether the banks holding the church’s deposits fully support our values, such as religious freedoms.
Glenn led the group in a prayer.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm.
The next Leadership Team meeting is May 19, 2016 at 7:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dana Suter – Church Clerk.