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The 2005 Annual Meeting of Grace Church was held on Wednesday, January 26 in the Parish Hall. As has been our custom of late, we began with a reception and our business meeting followed. Highlights of the meeting are detailed below. 

Election of New Vestry Members Jay Gaspar, Jim Miner, Julie Rossi, and Walt Strubbe were all elected to serve three year terms on the Vestry. The thanks of the entire Grace Church Family were extended to these four for their willingness to serve.

Consideration & Vote on By-law Change  At last year’s meeting, Charles Kelley proposed that Grace return to a previous way of electing Vestry members, which entails having at least two candidates for each open Vestry position. This by-law change was considered at two successive meetings of the Vestry and therefore presented for a vote this year. After some discussion, the vote was taken and the proposal passed. Sarah Cooper then proposed that four members of the parish be elected each year to serve on the Vestry Nominating Committee. In accordance with our by-laws, this amendment will be considered at two successive meetings of the Vestry and will be voted on at next year’s Annual Meeting.

Recognition of Outgoing Vestry Members Dale Jaeger, Jean Parks, and Frank Waggoner all completed terms on the Vestry at the Annual Meeting. They were called forward, recognized, and thanked for their service. Each was presented with a leather bound Prayer Book/Hymnal combination in appreciation of their service.

Officers for 2005 Announced Officers for 2005 were announced at the meeting. Warren Stribling has been appointed by the rector to serve as the senior warden for this year. The other 2005 officers, elected by the Vestry, are: Richard Padgham, junior warden; Craig Carpenter, treasurer; and Sheila Kelley, secretary. 

Rector’s Remarks Doug spoke about the many things Grace Church accomplished in 2004, and about some important goals for the year ahead. At the top of the list for 2005 is finding a Director of Music/Organist. The Search Committee soon will be interviewing candidates and hopes to have the position filled before our choirs break for the summer. Also in 2005, we will go forward with the production of the “Windows of Grace” book, develop a strategic plan for further congregational development, and address our debt. The Vestry is going on a retreat in early March in order to have an extended period of planning for the 2005 initiatives.

Organ Committee Report David Sinyard reported on the progress Grace Church is making toward obtaining a pipe organ. A committee chaired by David and assisted by a professional consultant has completed its consideration of various builders. This process took several years and concluded with the committee choosing Casavant Brothers of Canada and their proposal for an organ for Grace. The committee has reported its findings to the Vestry, which has accepted the committee's recommendation of Casavant as the builder. The 41 rank organ proposed by Casavant will take about two years to build (once a contract is signed) and will cost close to $800,000. The organ fund currently has about a $100,000 balance, which means that additional gifts are needed to advance this project. Grace members who are interested in this project are invited to make their interest known to the rector or senior warden. Substantial progress on this project is planned for this year as well.

Financial Report Craig Carpenter and Warren Stribling reviewed the financial reports presented at the meeting, noting several items of good news. The first was that the church ended 2004 with a small surplus ($4,300) in operating funds. This contrasts with a rather large deficit ($21,400) at the end of 2003. In addition, the Fall Every Member Canvass brought in $80,000 in increased pledges for 2005 over 2004. This enabled a nearly $60,000 increase to the operating budget for this year. The last item of financial good news concerned the Van Giesen Fund. The Vestry voted at its December meeting to restore the $200,000 principal of the fund, which was borrowed over ten years ago to build the new church. Half of the principal has already been restored and invested, with the other half to come before year end.

The meeting then ended, with an apparent consensus that the year just past has provided many moments of grace for Grace, and with trust that such will be the case in the year ahead.