Belmont United Methodist Church

Administrative Board Minutes

June 24, 2007

The regular meeting of the Administrative Board of Belmont United Methodist Church began with a centering time at the tables led by Terrell McDaniel. He asked what we are heir to at Belmont and how we can free ourselves for the future. "How can God influence today?" he asked and followed up with a prayer.

Chair Bill Cooper then called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. He pointed out the list of things we have to celebrate. A motion was made to approve the minutes of the last meeting which was duly seconded and approved by the members of the board. New and prospective members were introduced and welcomed.

It was announced that plans for a new church directory had been made and members were urged to set up appointments for the pictures for the directory by e-mail or calling the church staff.

A report from the Finance Committee stated that our giving was ahead of 2006. The Easter offering was above expectations. It was also noted that Belmont is current on budgeted apportionments to the greater United Methodist Church.

Lisa Gwock gave a report on the annual conference held recently at Brentwood United Methodist Church. She pointed out that each congregation was represented by an equal number of lay members and clergy which meant that 3 lay persons and 3 clergy represented Belmont UMC. New ordained elders and deacons were announced. The conference elected delegates to the General Conference to be held ay Fort Worth, Texas, April 23rd to May 2, 2008. Former Belmont Pastor John Collett was one of five clergy delegates from the Tennessee Conference. John Collett is now District Superintendent for the Tennessee Conference. The Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference will be held at Lake Junaluska and Lisa Gwock will represent Belmont.

Belmont's new pastor, Ken Edwards, gave a brief report of his first week stating he was busy and active as he adjusted to his new position. He introduced his family to the congregation including his three sons who were present.

Associate Pastor Linda Johnson discussed her three month sabbatical and stated that it was a real gift to her as a retreat and rest and practicing a new rhythm in her life. She was able to spend valuable time with her two college aged daughters and with her dying mother. She stated that she was happy to be back and felt the sabbatical made a significant change in her life.

Bill Cooper gave an update on the Living the Legacy campaign in the absence of Kim Hawkins. The plan was adopted in May 2004 and updated at the Administrative Board meeting in April, 2007. It discussed preparation for the September meeting and reaching out to the community and other matters.

Hayne Hamilton gave a report from the Building Committee. He stated that the budget and contracts were in place as priorities. He discussed the future renovations such as the elevator, the gathering place, the relocated Homeplace, and improvements at Edgehill UMC. He expressed concerns about the costs which rise 10% each year. He stated that the committee had agreed to take out the proposed prayer tower at this time because of the cost. He emphasized that we will need atleast 10% increase in donations over the time of the project and that the committee had a contingency plan to borrow funds if needed to complete the project.

The schedule and sequence would be as follows. The utility relocation has been completed. Construction is to begin on or about July 9th. It is anticipated that there will be no on-site parking after that date and that arrangements have been made to use the parking lot at Eakin School on Sunday morning with church bus to shuttle persons to the church. 20th Circle has been striped to allow for staff parking. It was announced that the Covenant Class would lose 6 feet from the classroom due to the installation of an elevator.

Heather Harriss, our new director of Children's Ministries, presented board members with a handout about the new directions in that program. A new curriculum from Cokesbury has been adopted under the theme "Live Big". She suggested that the members might like to donate old televisions which could be used in each classroom as the new program progresses. She distributed mustard seeds and noted that seeds grow into trees and al it takes is a little faith . She also told the board about the Vacation Bible School planned for July 23 -27 with the theme "Soaring to New Heights with God".

The meeting ended with a summary of the main points of the meeting today:
1. Senior Pastor Ken Edwards is here
2. Construction is beginning
3. Our children are doing exciting things
4. Our finances are good
5. Linda Johnson is back and ready to roar
6. The Mexico VIM team is in place.

The meeting adjourned in 51 minutes.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary O. Boyd, Acting Secretary