April 17-18, 2015

April 17-18, 2015

1. The Corporate Board of the Ministry Council met for its annual meeting Friday and Saturday, April 17-18, 2015, at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Center, Cordova, TN.
2. Eighteen of the twenty-three Ministry Council Members and Staff were present. Members: Rev. Donny Acton, Ken Bean, Jill Carr, Mary Ann Cole, Rev. Michele Gentry de Correal, Rev. Troy Green, Rev. Carlton Harper, Elizabeth Horsley, Rev. Lanny Johnson, Rev. Ron McMillan, Adam McReynolds, Gwen Roddye, Rev. Sam Romines; (Excused: Sally Allen, Rev. Tom Sanders); Youth Advisory Members: Emily Mahoney, Eddie Montoya, Jr; (Excused: Carolina Gillis); Advisory Members: Rev. Lisa Anderson (Excused: Rev. Michael Sharpe, Rev. Forest Prosser); Director of Ministries: Edith Old; Executive Assistant: Megan Warren. Also present were Ministry Team Leaders Rev. Chuck Brown, Rev. Elinor Brown, Mark J Davis, and Rev. Milton Ortiz.
3. Received updated financial reports presented by Dan Scherf, CAD. Eleven distributions of Our United Outreach receipts have been made thus far in 2015. OUO receipts are running about $50,000 behind last year. Given the shortfall and the fact that the greatest portion of OUO is traditionally received in the last quarter of the year, non-essential spending is being postponed until as late as possible in the year.
4. Celebrated that denominational debts are now fully paid.
5. Heard from Rev. Cliff Hudson, Director of Development for Our United Outreach. Because the annual OUO Committee meeting had to be rescheduled due to winter weather, the recommendations for 2016 OUO allocations have not been determined. Heard about challenges of increasing participation in OUO by congregations and discussed ways the Ministry Council can participate in promoting OUO.
6. Received the 2016 proposed budget, revised to adjust to the realities of OUO shortfalls. Commended the Global Ministries Leadership Team (GMLT) for their cooperative work in making the necessary changes to the budget, which included the decision to freeze salaries for MC/MT staff through 2016.
7. Enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the PDMT Leader over dinner Thursday evening; and, divided into three small groups, to meet with the other Team Leaders for Friday evening dinner.
8. Spent meeting time in a general forum setting with the Team Leaders, hearing about the ministries and our shared mission. Noted the mounting evidence of cooperative work and the successful servant-empowered leadership occurring within the teams.
9. Approved the MMT request and job description for a part-time Bilingual English/Korean Administrative Assistant. Because Korean is the third most common language spoken in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, this staff person will be assisting with translation of resources from English to Korean, in addition to administrative duties.
10. Heard announcement of 2016 Ministers Conference, January 12-14, Brenthaven CP Church, Brentwood, TN. The theme is “Ears to Hear: Preaching to Disciple Millenials.”
11. Learned that the MC website will be hosted in-house beginning around the end of October. The new web address will be cpc.app-staging.com. This change will save money and allow the MC to have greater control over how the webpage looks. The structure will be fully functional on all devices—computers, tablets, and smart phones.
12. Heard about the 2015 Forum, “Unlocking the Scriptures,” November 8-11 at the Brenthaven Church, Brentwood, TN.
13. Heard a new initiative for church planting developed by the MMT. People will be identified who can get small groups together in potential areas for new church development. The small groups will be supervised for a period of time while assessments are made to determine the viability for an NCD.
14. Heard about a new Facilitator of International Short-term Missions who will coordinate international mission trips for US groups.
15. Approved a new employee evaluation form for use by Ministry Teams.
16. Heard about potential mission opportunities in Haiti and Australia.
17. Appointed Jill Carr to serve as budget liaison between GMLT/Central Accounting/Ministry Council.
18. Appointed Ken Bean to assemble an ad hoc committee of Ministry Team members who have interest and/or experience in fund development, and to bring to the August meeting ideas or proposals about ways to increase funding/ revenue for the Ministry Council/ Ministry Teams.
19. Heard a report on B.R.I.G.H.T. Lights group led by MC Youth Advisory Member Emily Mahoney. The purpose of the organization is to support girls in their early teen years as they seek to develop a strong relationship with God and resist negative societal influences.
20. Affirmed vigilance of DMT in ensuring that any content or program in association with the PCUSA does not run counter to CP beliefs as articulated in the Confession of Faith.
21. Prepared a letter to be sent to the Unification Task Force, communicating unanimous support for the process of Unification and listing areas for consideration as the Task Force moves forward.
22. Approved the report of the Director of Ministries, which included a recommendation that Community Values, a document developed by the Ministry Council/Ministry Team staff to enhance shared ministry, be included in the Ministry Council Personnel Handbook.
23. Elected Ministry Team Members– DMT: Rachel Cook for a 2nd term of three years
    PDMT: Rev. Sandra Shepherd for a term of one year, to fill the unexpired term of Micaiah Thomas.
24. Spent time Saturday morning in group workshop: Walking the Talk.
25. Adjourned to convene on August 22-23, 2015 (Saturday and Sunday) for Concurrent Meeting of Ministry Council and Ministry Teams to be preceded on Friday, August 21, by the Orientation for New Ministry Council Members and Elected Ministry Team Members.