Council News
Harcourt Council meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. To keep the congregation informed of council activites, we will be providing brief highlights of topics of discussion following each meeting. Past Council minutes are available in the church office.
Council News from 2011 11 16
At the November 16th Council meeting the following topics were addressed:
- An important step for us all was the appointment, subject to approval at our next Congregational Meeting, of Dineke Dykman as the “Um brella” Councillor for Christian Formation. Since this position had been vacant since last July, it is very good news to have that Councillor in place, and Dineke certainly received a warm and appreciative welcome from fellow Council members.
- Kent Hoeg, Chair of Finance, visited Council again this month to provide an update of the consolidated budget proposal for 2012, and the estimates for 2013. Recognizing that by far the greatest portion of the expense items, (heat light, personnel, insurance, Presbytery Assessment, etc.) are essentially determined, Kent and his team have done a splendid job in containing our expenditures.
- Likewise, our many committees have dem onstrated com mendable discipline in holding the reins closely on their aspirations. W here we continue to be challenged, as we all know, is on the revenue side of the ledger. We can all help to support our congregational priorities by working together on the various fundraising projects (including prom oting rent of our buildingspaces to groups who might use them) and by thoughtfully reviewing our own offerings.
- Council undertook to make the monthly Council Agendas and subsequent Council Minutes, available to all (we hope) in the congregation who are interested. If you would like to receive, monthly, an e-mailed attachment for each of those documents, please send an e-mail note to our Harcourt office requesting that your e-mail be added to the distribution list. For those who do not have use of a home computer, a hard copy will be made available for reading at Harcourt, at some place (likely the Council notice board) in the Greeting Area.
Look for more in the December Herald! – Richard Barham : Council Chair
Council News from 2011 10 19
At the October 19th Council meeting the following topics were addressed:
- 2012 Budget and progress of the committees’ budget preparation
- Review of the Orientation Program for committee and council members, including consideration of changing the timing of the session
- V IT update highlighting importance of engaging the broader congregation
- Congregational priorities (identified by the congregation as Children, Youth and Family Ministry, and Stewardship) with a focus on clarifying specific expected outcomes and strategies used to achieve these outcomes
Council News from 2011 09 21
At the September 21, 2011 meeting, the following topics were addressed:
- Finances,
- Accessibility Committee report and policies,
- Communication - format and content,
- Orientation Program for council member and committee chairs - Sept. 28/11,
- Presbytery report of Congregational Oversight Visit, and
- Council priorities for the year.
