Vestry met in Serson Hall with a call to order at 6:30 p.m. There was a quorum. Fr Tom read a prayer/poem called Song of the Resurrection.

Members Present: Fr. Tom Thoeni, Rector; Diane Augustas, Sr. Warden; Julio Albino, Jr. Warden; Mary Lou Dogoloff, Paul Nelson, Rose Porembo, Jeannie Smith, and Murray Smith. Jack LaRose and Tom Connolly were absent.

Approval of Minutes: Fr Tom asked for a motion to accept the minutes from February 19, 2025. Rose P made the motion, Diane A seconded and the motion was passed by acclamation. The March 17 minutes will be presented for approval at the May 19, 2025 meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Rose P used handouts to discuss the year to date budget comparisons. She proposed structuring the budget to address unexpected projects that occur as well as planning  preventative improvements to the buildings and church campus. Irrigation repair was recently completed on campus a well as a/c repair and window replacements in the rectory.

Vestry Goals for 2025: Diane A detailed ways to update our church Website which will improve the visibility of St Paul’s with links, quick information as well as the location of the church. Fr Tom moved from Website improvements to what Streaming has added to viewers of our Sunday services. He thanked Tom Connolly for a legacy of excellence since 2020 as he developed the streaming. 

Our current Sr. Warden, Diane Augustas, prepared an encouraging letter to the vestry which may be expanded as a periodic letter to the congregation. She was excited, she wrote, to find so many dedicated members involved in various ministries. Her letter reminded vestry that renewal includes finding new members, supporting financial sustainability, improving our website and Facebook presence while sharing the excitement of being a warm and welcoming community.

Outreach: Our focus changes periodically so Judy M and Jack L decided to ask parishioners to fill our donation bins with food for the care of animals. Fr Tom reminded vestry that other volunteers are needed to identify local foundations which can be added to our annual Outreach list. The Farmers’ Market’s dedicated volunteers turn around earnings from our vendor sites and three stores into Outreach checks.

Stephen Ministry: Steve Carnell was a Stephen Minister in the past. Fr Tom explained what volunteers at St Paul’s could achieve with this training. He said it is an Ecumenical Ministry with 3 to 4 leaders with assigned ministers. When any of us is going through seasons of grief and other situations we need intensive listeners to help us, to be supportive. A Stephen Minister is there to listen and Steve Carnell highly recommends this ministry for our parish.

Stewardship: Our Land Use Committee will meet again May 19th by zoom. Lang Lowrey let our committee know that the State of FL legislature unanimously passed a vote to reinsert language that religious organizations will be able to build on church owned land. Lang said our plan for workforce housing is well situated to move forward. 

Best Practices Hearing Loop: Tom was not available to give a report.

Deanery Connections: Fr Tom shared that the rectors from St Mark’s and St Mary’s Episcopal churches were interested in talking about ways to be interactive parishes.

Rector’s Report: Fr Tom’s training has started. He found 11 courses he will be taking remotely from Trinity Episcopal Church in New York. In the March 17 minutes a goal for Fr Tom was listed as ‘identify and attend leadership training’.

Supervision - Staff Update: The office administrator asked to take a personal day today and the sexton is engaged in physical therapy on his knee.

Communications: Nothing noted.

Community Outreach: Bishop Doug Scharf appointed Fr Tom Thoeni to the Diocesan Land Development Committee held at St James House of Prayer Episcopal Church, Tampa, FL.

Operations Financial Leadership/Management: Fr Tom is crafting a project by writing an essay to pull together criteria concerning our endowment with two branches. One branch is Buildings and Grounds and the other is Mission in Ministry. Vestry will use this document for discussion and use of our endowment.

Payment processing and signature cards: Rose P had introduced entering into a new payment processing system called Vanco which ties into the Realm database which is used by the diocese and our parish. Vanco would replace Stripe payment processing and Square mobile payment system. Fr Tom reminded vestry officers to make out new signature cards at Bank of America.

Holy Name of Jesus relationship: Fr Tom asked vestry for thoughts regarding a request from HNJ to store on premise their newly purchased music equipment. Many suggestions were made to store the drum set and speakers in a container on the church property with insurance coverage or move the container to another area after they use the music equipment in the church on Sunday afternoons. Church storage is not available.

Fr Tom closed the meeting with a prayer at 8:30 p.m.

The next vestry meeting will be May 19, 2025 

Respectfully Submitted, 

Charlene Connolly, 

Recording Secretary and Clerk