Meeting – September 8, 1915

Diocese of Rhode Island

Commission on Finance

Meeting, September, 8, 2015

Higgins Room

Present:  Robert Batchelor; Robert Bergstrand; Dennis Burton; The Rt. Rev. W Nicholas Knisely; The Rev. Erik Larsen; Michael Lofaro; Stephan Sloan; The Rev. Joyce Thorne.

Also present:  Joan DeCelles; Canon Elizabeth Fornal; The Rev. Canon Linda Grenz; The Rev. Edwin Hallenbeck.

Guests: St. Barnabas, Warwick: The Rev Jim Bocchino, Priest in Charge; Mike Marsh SW; Stan Schofield, TR.

St. Mary’s, East Providence: The Rev Alvin Marcetti, Priest in Charge; Mike Boyce, JW. Gordon Hubbard, TR.

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Lofaro, An opening prayer was offered by Bishop Knisely.

The minutes of the meetings of June 9, 2015 and August 11, 2015 were approved as distributed.

It was noted by the Chair that COF member Dennis Burton has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective September 8. He will continue as a member of the COF until Convention at which time his term expires.

Finance Report for August 31, 2015 was reviewed by Mr. Batchelor. He stated most lines are running about as expected. Funds have now been received for sale of the Charlestown land adjacent to Church of the Holy Spirit. These funds will be placed in the DIT and are available in the Revolving Loan Fund. The book value of the Cathedral of St. John has been added to the Diocese physical plant assets at $4,674,800. The Cathedral is now a Mission Parish. Several questions regarding numbers displayed in the current report were discussed and clarified. Several of these matters are being corrected as the budget for 2016 is being constructed

Apportionment Report. The only church significantly behind at this time is St, David’s, Cranston. It was agreed that Canon Grenz will be in phone follow up.

Appraisal Report for Warwick Neck property. The St. Barnabas, Warwick guests joined the meeting. Fr. Bocchino noted the merger of St. Mary’s Church with St Barnabas in 2009. The merged congregation in the St. Barnabas Church has gone smoothly. The former St. Mary’s property has three sections, all part of a single lot. The Rectory, the former Church, and, the Parish House. There is a memorial garden behind the Rectory. The Parish House has been rented to Heritage Christian Fellowship for five years. They have made an offer to purchase the Parish House, parking lot and old church. There was a lengthy discussion of how best to proceed with negotiations for the sale, keeping the Rectory and Memorial Garden in St Barnabas name. No formal actions were taken, and the St. Barnabas guests found the conversation very helpful.

Revolving Loan Request. St. Mary’s guests joined the meeting. Fr. Marcetti reviewed recent changes at the church, including a thorough cleanup of the Rectory, now rented to the Jonathan Daniels Internship program and an upgrade and cleanup of the Parish Hall. The Loan request includes completing the Parish Hall project and a number of other projects. Discussion revealed that several of these projects, a Handicap Access ramp and Handicap Bathroom facility can be paid for with a Diocesan Grant, details to be worked out with Canon Grenz. The guests left the meeting.

No action was taken on the request pending specific determination of what can be included in the Diocesan grant request. It was agreed to consider both matters at the October meeting.

Policies—Major Gifts Policy. Discussion deferred to October.

            — Policy for Transferring and Bookkeeping of DIT Funds. A statement dated 6/11/2015 for this process was distributed by Mr, Batchelor. Following brief discussion it was Moved, Seconded And VOTED that the Policy & Bookkeeping procedure – Transfer of Funds between Diocese & Diocesan Owned Funds is the official policy for all such matters from this time forward.

Fire Code Status in Churches. A summary chart was distributed stating the responses to five (5) questions. There are still a number of churches who have not responded to our request that they review their status under the new fire code. This can be a very serious matter as any church not in conformance can be closed for public use by the local Fire Marshall. Follow ups will be made to non-responding churches.

St, John the Evangelist, Newport, Mudrak Fund Request. A revised Request for Mudrak Funds to upgrade their sound system for hearing assistance was distributed. This request conforms to the guidelines for the Mudrak Fund. Following discussion it was Moved, Seconded and VOTED to allocate $9,967.90 from the Mudrak Fund to St. John the Evangelist, Newport for the purpose of upgrading their sound system for hearing assistance.

Episcopal Charities Estate Gift. Copy of letter from Citizens Bank acting as Executor of the estate of Beatrice C. Minkins stated that $10,000 had been designated to Episcopal Charities for general use. A check for this amount was received on 6/11/15.

St. Dunstan’s School of Sacred Music. A determination letter dated August 19, 2015 has been received from the IRS terminating St. Dunstan’s status as private foundation. It has been reclassified as a 509(a)(3) public charity, tax exempt under 501(c)(3). This places these funds under the jurisdiction of the Diocese. Mr, Batchelor stated that hopefully this matter is resolved.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:02 P.M.

Respectfully submitted

Edwin F Hallenbeck, Secretary                                  Next Meeting: October 13, 2015