1. Prayer
2. Outline the Process
3. Diocesan Grant Proposals
4. Administration - Decision Making
Break for lunch
5. Evangelism - promotion / awareness / publicity / communication
6. Leadership roles during process
7. Financial concerns
8. Formation during the beginning process
9. Prayer

Present: The Rev. Patricia Gillespie; Linda Maloney, St. John's, St. Cloud, EFM Mentor; Elaine Vanderpool, St. Stephen's, Paynesville; Bea Winkler, Our Saviour's, Little Falls; Cedar Morrigan, Our Saviour's, Little Falls, Diocesan Council; Cynthia Ann Evans, Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre; Johanna Morrigan, Our Saviour's, Little Falls, EFM Mentor

This meeting was held at The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, Little Falls, Minnesota

- Those present introduced themselves, and shared their thoughts and feelings about the venture in total ministry.

- Rev. Gillespie announced that St. John's, St. Cloud, will be voting at this month's vestry about whether or not they will become part of the total ministry team. They have been asked to contribute some of their pastor's time and the use of their copy machine, as their investment in the team.

- At this time, Rev. Gillespie will be providing supply to Grace, Royalton, 2 Sundays/month. Grace will be asked if they wish to participate in the team.

- The process of moving to Total Ministry was discussed at some length, working from a tentative outline and time-frame provided by Rev. Gillespie. The outline is attached to these minutes. Several points to be noted are:

• Each individual parish will retain its own identity.
• Training needs will be refined and shaped based on the identified ministries and needs of each parish.
• The entire congregation of each parish will need to be involved in the individual gifts discernment process. Every person in the parish will be asked to make a commitment to a clearly identified ministry within their church (this does not mean that everyone will be on the ministry team).
• The tentative start-up date for team building is Sept. 17-19, l999 (Ember Days). This will be a retreat time.

- Discussion was held about Diocesan Grant possibilities for start up monies for such possible areas as training materials and resources; communications equipment; mileage costs; printing equipment. It was noted that it will be essential to have up-to-date technology with regard to communication needs, given the geographical distances involved in the region.

- Lengthy discussion was held regarding the development of an accountable executive body who has the authority to make decisions. The following were agreed upon by those present, and each church representative will take them back to their vestries for discussion and feedback:

• Face-to-face meetings on a quarterly basis, with frequent e-mail/phone contact in between meetings.
• Name for this body: Spirit of the Heartland Council
• Composition of the Council: Pastoral Mentor (permanent/ex-officio member). A vestry-appointed lay member from each church in the team. Clergy appointed by the lay members of the council..
• Lay member term lengths: 3 year terms, staggered among the three churches currently involved, as follows: 1 year - Good Samaritan; 2 year - St. Stephen's; 3 year - Our Saviour's.
• Each member may be elected for 2 full terms and a partial term consecutively.
• Lay-appointed Clergy will be appointed for 2 year terms, and can be reappointed.
• The council will need an elected treasurer and a secretary.

- There was discussion regarding evangelism: promotion, awareness, publicity, communication. A newsletter for the Spirit of the Heartland with individual parish pages and a large distribution was proposed. There was discussion about a logo and name:

• "Listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." Rev.2:29 ( perhaps use on letterhead, flyers, etc).
• "Spirit of the Heartland: Episcopalians in Total Ministry" (as a proposed full name). Rev. Gillespie will be working on a web site (unless someone else really, really, really wants to do it).

- Rev. Gillespie noted that she will be looking for lay people to team with her during various parts of the formation process.

- Handling of financial issues was discussed. Rev. Gillespie noted that payment for her salary should be an easy process involving one automatic debit from St. Stephan's and Our Saviour's bank accounts each month. The process for Good Samaritan will be somewhat different.

- There was discussion about formation during the beginning process. Each parish will have adult education at least once per month. Several other ideas were discussed.

The meeting was concluded with prayer.

Minutes submitted by,
Johanna Morrigan

VI. Team Building
      A. Retreat Sept 17-19 (Ember Days)?
      B. Program Start-Up September?

VII. Team Preparation and Ongoing Support
      A. EFM
      B. Alternatives
      C. Supplements

VIII. Team Implementation
      A. During Training
      B. Ongoing support & prayer

IX. Team Renewal
      A. Ongoing in Existing Parishes
      B. Inclusion of newly interested parishes

Return to Spirit of the Heartland INDEX

Index of Council Minutes