Attendees: Jane Moschenrose, Chair, Angela Farrar, Secretary, Joan Burnett, Bill Carlsen, Executive Minister, Rochester, NY, Doug Harris, Carl Heick, Mar Imsong, Jerry Pryce, Roger Strunk
Meeting called to order at 7:28pm.
Doug Harris opened the meeting with prayer.
Introductions included name, current ministry, and description of relationship regional MC has with local MC. Most committee members described relationships with their regional execs as positive to very positive. One region exec is very active in attending meetings and keeping connection with the local MC. Another region exec is open for conversation and generally supportive. Two regional execs are very supportive, either by sharing the region’s administrative support for the MC, or by having a region-level staffer who supports clergy and participates in the MC senate. Some regions’ membership percentage is low, which is a concern.
Jane summarized the conversation above, and read the committee description/role.
We have no business continuing from the last senate.
There are four items for our agenda.
1. Our task is to ensure that the local MC presidents and councils are aware of the national MC resources and activities. Jane related her experience that surveys and one-on-one conversations revealed hurts that had arisen in the past that hindered participation, and those hurts needed to be healed before there was participation and understanding. Jane proposed that we divide up the list of MC presidents and each call each one. (Basic outreach.)
Jerry Pryce expressed concern with the cycle of calling, leaving voice mail messages, getting no response, forgetting to call again, and getting no information.
Bill noted that many presidents of the constituent MC are senators and are therefore here and aware. They may need reminders to pass along the information they receive. The local council may have distanced itself from the national MC.
Jerry noted that some will be uncooperative; this task will not change that attitude.
Mar asked clarification that our task is to ask the presidents to share the information about resources.
Jane clarified that the task is indeed to request the presidents to share the information through newsletters, emails, local members’ meetings, etc.
2. Write, or delegate another to write, an article for the online manual on building a mutually supportive nurturing relationship between MCs and executives. Three diverse regional execs from diverse regions with the respect of other regional execs may be recruited for that task: Sam Chetti, James McJunkin, Larry Greenfield (Informational.)
3. How do local councils relate to national councils? What activities constitute that relationship? (Informational.)
4. Indiana/Ky is wary of the national MC, while Metro NY and ABC of the South execs prefer to control local MC, instead of MC being autonomous. Request is that we talk with these regional MCs to begin to dialogue about their concerns in hopes of reestablishing healthy relationship. (Dialogue and Relationship Building)
Ind/Ky stated they did not send a senator because they could not afford it. Bill suggests we find ways to fund their senate representation, because we as a senate are diminished by their absence.
Jane stated that we need to approve an agenda for our work, the four activities above which the MC Executive Committee suggested we do.
Members noted that there is some overlap between our job description and that of the Membership and Constituency Committee. Jane read both job descriptions. Historically, our committee is seen as the one that reaches out to local MC’s, esp. the ones who are not active with national for whatever reason. Maybe it’s more appropriate to decline item #4 and suggest Membership and Constituency complete that proposed task.
Q: Do the local MCs have a representative on region boards?
A: Often no, but maybe most informally maintain a connection with the region leadership.
Bill suggests that our agenda for item #4 instead be creating a strategy for outreach to individual clergy whose regional MC has disconnected from the national MC.
Members expressed a major concern for the local minister who may want connection and need the resources of the national MC, but her/his executive minister prefers to control the local pastor’s access to information. It is risky politically for our committee to reach out to that clergyperson, but perhaps worth the risk.
Discussion that individual clergy could pay directly to the national office if the local MC has folded. This point was verified by the bylaws.
In response to item #4, group consensus is that our role is networking and advocacy with the local clergy who want connection and resource with the national MC, but whose local MC is not active with national, or whose local MC has completely disbanded.
Bill closed meeting with prayer at 8:59pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Farrar
Attendees: Jane Moschenrose, Chair, Angela Farrar, Secretary, Joan Burnett, Bill Carlsen, Executive Minister, Rochester, NY, Doug Harris, Carl Heick, Mar Imsong, Jerry Pryce, Roger Strunk
Carl Heick opened the meeting with prayer at 10:30am.
Task #1: Ensure that the local MC presidents and councils are aware of the national MC resources and activities. Jane directed us in committing to contacting each local council. Existing relationship with the local president or senator takes priority for volunteering to contact the local council.
Members divided the list as noted below:
Jane: RI, VT, MI, Central, Mid-American (5)
Joan: CT, Washington DC, South (3)
Carl: Maine
Mar: MA, Philadelphia
Bill: Metro NY, Rochester/Genessee, Dakotas (4)
Roger: Great Rivers, IN, WI, Rocky Mountains (4)
Jerry: Cleveland, Ohio (2)
Angela: Evergreen, Greater Bay, Los Angeles (3)
Some presidents are here as Senators and are reliable to communicate to their regions: Oregon, Nebraska, and New Jersey
Task#2: Write, or delegate another to write, an article for the online manual on building a mutually supportive nurturing relationship between MCs and executives.
Doug will contact Sam Chetti, James McJunkin, Larry Greenfield
Task #3: Relationship between local and national MC consists of the following:
senate representation, sending dues, passing along the conferences and news that Kate shares, taking advantage of reduced cost for conferences, Minister magazine, contacting Kate and Sue as resource people via email, or utilizing them as resource people in person, consulting local MC surrounding ministerial ethics, utilizing online resources for pastor-church covenant agreement, and pastoral search materials. Discussion re: examples of use of consultation with national MC.
Discussion re: clergy signing the code of ethics as requirement of call. Many regions have new clergy sign it, but most of the clergy with long tenure have not been asked to sign.
Task #4: Advocacy with clergy in the regions in which there is not collegial relationship with the national MC.
Discussion re: challenge of working with some exec ministers who have difficulty with the autonomy of the MC. Former senators in Metro NY and IN/KY are starting points. Bill and Jerry discussed the sensitive issue of neighboring regional execs talking to Metro NY about their relationship with MC. Feel that it may appear that the neighboring regional execs are ‘competing’ for churches to change regions.
Mar suggests that we emphasize theological, scriptural foundation of our associational relationships.
Bill states our view of our separate, autonomous identities as regions prevent us from trying to work together and remind one another of
Joan states that National MC has enough new resources and events that we should contact local pastors directly: website, New Baptist Covenant event.
Historically, Jane notes, getting accurate addresses is one of the major challenges. Those with the most up-to-date info cannot share their mailing lists because of confidentiality laws and mistrust from the past.
Discussion re: sending out information strategically, focusing on non-participating regions. Perhaps ABPS can be contacted to enlist their support.
Instead of pastors self-selecting out of participation, bureaucracy and political issues within some regions mean they are omitted.
Jerry, Joan, and Bill recommended talking with Kate re: enlisting ABPS support for mailing, and Jeff Woods to contact the exec minister of Metro NY.
Discussion re: other bodies in ABC-USA having same difficulty with mailing list access and accuracy.
Mar suggested our committee send letter to General Secretary A. Roy Medley to emphasize that we are attempting to enrich the lives and ministry of all of our pastors, and promote the spiritual health of the denomination through the local churches. We are not in competition with other entities, but an ally to them.
Jerry states Jeff Woods’ position comes out of the Office of the General Secretary, so Roy would likely pass it on to Jeff anyway.
Doug and Mar discuss sending a letter expressing gratitude for what’s been provided, and enlisting more support, and sent to more parties in the denomination than Roy.
Doug suggested letter come from Jane as chair of the committee, in consultation with Kate. Consensus of committee is to take this action.
Roger closed us with prayer at 11:45am.
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Farrar
Attendees: Jane Moschenrose, Chair, Angela Farrar, Secretary, Joan Burnett, Bill Carlsen, Executive Minister, Rochester, NY, Doug Harris, Carl Heick, Mar Imsong, Jerry Pryce, Roger Strunk
Meeting called to order at 1:58pm
Bill Carlsen opened the meeting with prayer.
Jane reviewed our progress so far, and guided us to delegate and clarify remaining work.
Minutes reflect our conversation re: item #3. Jane requested Angela write the information for the online manual; Angela agreed.
Task #4: Advocacy with clergy in the regions in which there is not collegial relationship with the national MC.
Joan spoke with Jeff Woods yesterday after our meeting re: access to mailing list for all the clergy nationwide. Jeff gave her Maureen Morrissey’s name—she handles the mailing list for Office of the General Secretary. We can request she handle a mailing for us, and Jeff stated he would okay that. No longer a need to contact Roy Medley re: mailing support, with this permission given from Jeff.
Joan has already had a preliminary conversation with Senator Carl Davis (representing ABC of the South) re: communicating with his local MC President about our resources in hopes that he will support disseminating the information.
Communication to pastors will include information about the TIM groups (with an offer to send the MINISTER publication about the TIM groups), the ‘How to Connect’ to MC cards, the updated website including the online manual, and the upcoming New Baptist Covenant event in 2008.
Activities for task #4:
Jane will draft the letter.
Clergy of Metro NY region will receive it directly.
Joan will talk again with Carl Davis, asking whether committee should send his colleagues this letter directly.
Roger will contact the president of IN/KY region, asking whether committee should send his colleagues this letter directly.
Angela will make report to the Senate about our committee’s work, and send summary to Steve Bils.
Funding for the mailing will need to be secured. Jane will talk with Kate about what’s in our budget—depending on result, this might mean the letters are sent by email.
Carl ended the meeting with prayer at 2:40pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Farrar