Session
May 17, 2010 meeting

The Session met on May 17, 2010. Session members in attendance were Barbara Quigg, Joyce Wheeler, Tammy Seidick, Sue Butchinski and Bill Jernegan. I moderated the meeting. Four Session members were excused. Guests included Sandy and Carl Moran and six confirmands. We will have formal minutes later.

1. Rev. Stephen Emick, Associate Pastor from the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, observed our Session meeting. He is our liaison from the Presbytery's Committee on Ministry. (Every church will have a liaison visit by the end of July._ REverend Emick later wrote that the Session and Pastor were "very friendly, inquisitive and collegial." He presented a draft of COM's new "Personnel Policy for Pastors." COM will prepare revisions, based on input from 35 churches — including ours.



2. Devotion on "What makes a good teacher?" from I Corinthians 2:1-5, 12-16.



3. The six confirmands (Cheyenne Doughtery, Monica Snyder, Michael Farberm Autum Schray, Lindsay Wasson and E.J. Setar) recited the titles of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, in order. They said the Apostles' Creed. Then each one read his/her original statement of faith to the group. All were approved for membership and welcomed into our congregation on May 23.



4. Membership was 238 on May 20. Adding the confirmands, the total for May was 244.



5. Presbytery report — Camp Brainerd was given a gift of eleven thousand dollars by the College Hill Presbyterian Church. Lehigh Presbytery is now on Facebook. The covenant agreement between Lehigh Presbytery and Hungarian Reformed Church of Romania was approved. 2010 Terms of Call were approved for all pastors.



6. Our Session minutes for 2009-2010 were read and approved without exception by the Presbytery at the annual Records Review on April 15.



7. Our church was the polling place for the Primary Election on May 18.



8. Patriotic Tea on May 16 was very well-received by approximately 50 people of all ages.



9. The idea of a church picnic at Camp Brainerd was discussed.



10. Vacation Bible School, "High Seas Expedition," will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 from August 2 through 6. Debbie Snyder is director.



11. Financial reports for April were reviewed and filed for audit.



12. Mary Ann Ramey and Greg Miller were married in May.



13. Marriage of David Fehnel and Lori Ann Tomllaitis was approved for July 10. Later, at their request, wedding approved by Session (email poll) for June 4.



14. Pastor and her husband will be in Italy from June 21 through July 7. Rev. Douglas Cronce, Catasauqua, will cover our emergencies from June 21 through July 1. Rev. Roberta Kearney, Emmaus, has been asked to cover pastoral care for July 1-7.



15. Christian Ed. Committee is sponsoring a bus trip to Sight and Sound on September 18. Teachers participated in Brainerd Clean-Up Day on April 17.



16. Bathroom renovation is scheduled for the first full week in June.

Session minutes archive