A Meeting with Matt Stockard, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of East Carolina

Wednesday, September 15, 2004, 6:00 PM

Canon Stockard was invited to speak to the Wednesday night group that is now meeting once a month as representatives of Holy Cross Episcopal Church. Those in attendance were: The Rev. Ed Dunlap, The Rev. Dr. Dick Warner, Claudia Bennett, Fred Hammond, Mary Johnson, Kathleen McLaren, Ted and Judy Guilford, Beverley and Sandy Hill, Marian Hills, Doug and Peggy Fry, Paula Studebaker, Carl and Judith Beckett.

The meeting began after a brief social hour and dinner in the home of Carl and Judith Beckett.

The agenda was Canon Stockard’s thoughts on temporary meeting space and preparation for convention in February 2005.

Matt’s recommendation for us at this time is to utilize Ashley School for as long as we can with the possibility of moving into larger space there. When we told him the cafeteria space was originally offered to us but we turned it down because of the huge area (1,000 seats), he suggested partitioning off various sections of the room. That would give us space for a nursery as well as Sunday School space. He cautioned us about renting a “store front”, citing the 70 percent rule. If we rent a place and really begin to grow, then we would be locked into a lease with not enough seating space. The perception is that when people come into the worship space if they see a full room they will assume there is either not enough room for more people and they are not needed or the space does not look inviting for more people. He cited Peace Church in New Bern who ran into this scenario about a year ago and it hurt their growth potential and bit into their finances by paying a high monthly lease. He stated we should have at least 30% extra space to give the impression we have room to grow. He also suggested looking for a Seventh Day Adventist Church we could possibly rent on Sundays. He suggested we should broaden our musical selections to include more traditional songs for those who did not like or identify with faith and praise selections. Before we obligate for a land purchase, he is recommended our membership be 75 or more.

Convention: The Diocesan Convention will be held in February 2005 in Wilmington, NC at St. James Church. We will not be able to send delegates, but we will be recognized as a Mission, and we can attend. After we are accepted as a Mission, we will then have one vote at the Convention. At the point we are recognized, we will be able to request letters of transfer from our former churches; Vestry election will take place prior to the Convention. Matt brought copies of the Canon, which refer to Mission Status and what will be required of us to submit our petition. Please see the attached Canon on Missions. This is an important document because it states the process we will need to go through before Convention and everyone needs a clear understanding of the process. Included in the Canon is a statement that at least 10 members will need to sign for “Admission to Union with Convention of the Diocese of East Carolina”, however, Matt recommended having as many signatures as possible. We need to have our request submitted to the Diocese by the end of November.

Thanks to Fred Hammond, Claudia Bennett and Carl Beckett for input into these minutes.

Respectfully Submitted, Judith Beckett