Bishop and Chapter met on 22 December with 10 of 13 members present. Minutes of the 16 November 2015 meeting were adopted.

Open

The Dean led a conversation on the first three verses of the Epistle to the Hebrews, read at Christmas. Jesus was the “Word” of God, according to the Gospel of John. Witness of the prophets was also that word. What was the message of the prophets and, how does that compare to the Word in Jesus? If Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s glory, what does that say about God?

Business Arising from the Minutes

• Cathedral maintenance. The committee to prepare a plan for the longer term maintenance of the Cathedral building and to to oversee that plan has been determined. An initial meeting will be arranged early in the new year with the Bishop as chair.
• Memorial Hall – some members of the committee have been determined, Dianne Wilkins chair. Significant work to extract previously determined costs from renovation planning has been completed. The challenge now is to determine what items need to be done and what is within our funding capability.
• Steeple repair – Contact has been made with Atlantic Roofers who will do the repair. Early January is the likely availability. It remains unclear if insurance will help to fund the repair or if it is to our advantage to make that claim.. Adjusters will observe the damage at the time of repair.
• Staff changes – the church musician / director of music search committee has been formed, Keith Radford, chair, Sally Dibblee, David Perritt, Kathleen Snow and the Dean. A proposed time line includes a 31 January deadline for applications. St. Thomas University will also be advertising course teaching positions in early February. Advertising on General Synod job board, Diocesan eNews and with RCCO.

Decisions

Refugee crisis response – Ann Deveau and Brad McKnight presented an informative overview of the current state of planning. It was decided that the Cathedral will join with parishes of the Archdeaconry of Fredericton to begin to formulate a shared response. The extent of response will depend on fund-raising efforts and resources identified in joint planning.
Nominating Committee – J. Morell, C. Schmidt, the Dean (chair)

From the Dean

Creation of a mentorship-based programme for confirmation preparation. Pastoral and administrative duties as usual including: visits to hospital and Communion to Farraline Place and Windsor Court. Weekly mentoring for a postulant leading towards ordination.

Discussion

2016 Budget – significant discussion on the challenges of preparing a budget for 2016. A status quo plan for next year creates a $50,000 deficit over current giving. The degree to which we can continue/expand the position of Parish Nurse will depend on available budget. General agreement that projected offerings should increase. It was agreed that effort towards building a congregation-wide budget consultation process will help to determine where priorities lie with those who support Cathedral ministry and budget.

Events

Annual meeting: 2:00 p.m., 21 February 2016; weather 28 February

Next Meeting
Monday, 18 January, 7:00 p.m. GMH