March 1, 2011--Meeting Notes

OPENING AND ATTENDANCE A meeting of the Congregational Development Commission was called to order at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 by Casey Shobe. Betsy Fornal attended the meeting along with Commission members: Jim Burgess, Carol Drought, Joel Gardner, Jackie Kirby, David Lucey, and Catherine Thenault. The Rev. Dennis Bucco, Rector of St. Luke’s, Pawtucket, was a guest. The meeting began with a prayer.

ST. LUKE’S, PAWTUCKET INTERIM REPORT
In the six months since receiving a grant from CDC, St. Luke’s has hired John Burns as Music Director and Organist. John is a recent graduate of Rhode Island College and teaches music at Woonsocket Middle School. Plans for the near future include purchasing copies of Wonder, Love, and Praise and hiring an instrumentalist from time to time. A children’s choir has been organized. The children’s choir sings on the first Sunday of each month which has been designated Youth Sunday. The grant to St. Luke’s will be paid over three years. The first year they received $6,000 and in the second and third years they will receive $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. St. Luke’s also has plans to merge with St. John’s, Ashton.

GRANT PROCESS
The deadline for grant applications is March 15. There was a discussion of the source and amount of CDC funds available for grants as well as the amount committed for 2011-12.

PROGRAM & BUDGET COMMITTEE PROGRAM
On Saturday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon the Program & Budget Committee will present a program on the state of the Diocese and the state of the churches. The program will be held in Synod Hall at the Cathedral.

CANON X—PARISHES
Betsy, Susan Carpenter, and Casey are meeting with Chancellor Ed Bennett about a possible change in Canon X. Members felt that the current wording provides all the tools necessary to change a church’s status from parish to mission. Members discussed several alternatives including rewriting the Canon and setting up procedures to accompany the current Canon X.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 5 p.m. in the Diocesan Annex. The meeting adjourned with a prayer at 6:50 p.m.