Sunset Convocation Meeting

Sunday, July 22, 2001

St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church

Attendees:

All Saints, Hillsboro: Jan Pedersen, Bill Whipple

St. Barnabas, Portland: Mark Mahon, Cynthia Reynolds, Pam Zollman

St. Bartholomew, Beaverton: Roger Reynolds, John Rockwood

St. Francis, Wilsonville: Marilyn Brown, Nancy Kopeck, John Wysock

St. Gabriel, Beaverton: David Brownmiller, Lincoln Eng, Deby Falconer

St. James, Tigard: Linda Bernard, Simon Justice, Elesa Newell

St. John the Baptist, Portland: Val Ambrose, Kimberly Beck,

Frank Dorscheimer, Mary Dorscheimer, Jeff Honeyman, Alice Speers

St. Michael/San Miguel, Newberg: Bill Carey, Leroy Cheney, Linda Seelye

Absent: Christ Church, Lake Oswego, St. Alban, Tillamook, St. Bede,

Forest Grove, St. Catherine, Manzanita

The meeting was called to order at 2:15 p.m. with opening prayer by President Cynthia Reynolds.

Introductions and sharing:

All Saints: Chris Cole has joined the clergy staff, and the vestry will be retreating to Triangle Lake in August. The annual parish camp-out will be in Nehalem Bay this year.

St. Barnabas: Vacation Bible Experience was in June, and a great success. Continue to coordinate activities monthly for both elementary and middle-school aged youth. Summer Breakfast tradition continues; these are featured every third Sunday during the rest of the year. New used book store coordinator held a sale; over $700 was collected for Outreach programs. Gary DeRouse continues with studies at the center for the Diaconate, and Cynthia Reynolds will complete her Master of Arts in Theological Studies at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, in preparation for a call to parish administration (non-ordained) in December of 2002. Father David Olsen, retired, has been preaching and celebrating the Eucharist during July while Father Ted Rodrigues is away on vacation. This gives a

nice sense of continuity as well as family; Father David is a regular attendee while in town during the spring and summer months.

St. Bartholomew: Vacation Bible School will commence next week (July 29). Karen Bretle is planning to go on a missionary trip to teach English in the Honduras; fund-raising is on-going in preparation for this. The annual parish campout will be at Silver Creek Falls this year; between 30 and 70

people are expected to attend. The rector is at the Seabury Institute working on a doctorate. Those called to do so are participating in Stephen's Ministry training.

St. Francis: Featured "hymn request" Sunday went well and was very popular. "Between services" summer breakfasts are going well too. The parish nursing program is gaining momentum. The Sunday School is utilizing a "Godly Play" program and curriculum.

St. Gabriel: A new youth minister, with a four-year degree in ministry (non-ordained) will join the staff in August. The new piano is paid for! A parish health program is starting in conjunction with ministering to senior citizens. Participation in Alpha continues. A year-round stewardship

campaign has begun, under the supervision of consultant D.W. Gordon from the Diocese of New York. This has been very successful in other parishes, increasing financial participation by as much as 40%.

St. James: New rector, Simon Justice, arrived from England and settling in. Vacation Bible School.

St. John the Baptist: There were over 500 attendees at Roy Coulter's retirement party, which was a huge success. A letter to Bishop Ladehoff was composed and sent regarding the "state of the parish;" the first step in a search for a new priest. The position of Education Coordinator has been approved. The idea of a parish nursing program is being explored and discussed. Alice Spears will attend the national convention for catecuminates.

St. Michael/San Miguel: Bill Carey is serving as interim. A new vicar with Hispanic Ministry experience, George Hemmingway, will be coming soon from San Diego. There has been an increase in the number of Anglo parishioners, but many activities have been joint projects and bi-lingual, such as the Pentecost celebration and the Stations of the Cross during Holy Week. The Saturday night prayer meetings are attended by both English and Spanish-speaking members as well. Juan Gurrera of San Pablos Church leads one service each week in Spanish. Three Hispanic members are on the Bishop's Advisory Committee. St. Michael/San Miguel is applying for participation in the national Jubilee Center's program for social justice and against oppression.

General: The new chapter of the Daughters of the King is now one year old, with members from at least three parishes in the convocation. Another eight-week long training session will begin soon for those women who are interested. (Pam Zollman, St. Barnabas) Licensed Lay Preaching classes will be starting up again this fall; the deadline for application is August 15. Sponsored by Metro-East Convocation; contact St. David's in S.E. Portland for more information.

Mission & Vision Statements: Attendance in June was poor, so the "word association" exercise was repeated again at the July meeting. These results will be compiled and developed into a draft statement by the committee for presentation at the October meeting. In addition, all parish and the diocesan mission statements will be collected and studied for any similarities as well as significant differences in preparation for wording the convocation statement. (See WEB Page for word list.)

New Congregation Development: Letter (see WEB Page) addressed to officers, members, and vestries of the Sunset Convocation was developed and signed by David Brownmiller and Lincoln Eng. Discussion followed regarding the pros and cons of this method of accomplishing some of the goals of the convocation, such as networking, strengthening of ministries, sharing of ideas, youth programs, and higher levels of commitment and involvement at all levels (parish, convocation, and diocesan). Not to mention spreading the Word and bringing more people to Christ! The "assignment" to all delegates is to discuss this with those who elected them as representatives to convocation and convention, and see how each parish wishes to proceed. These decisions will be reported and discussed at the October meeting. This may involve vestry discussions only, or publishing the letter in each parish newsletter or posting in parish halls in preparation for general discussion.

Diocesan Council Report: It was learned that few of the vestries that had received DPA presentations had yet to pass this information on to the member of their parishes. Delegates were urged to lean on their vestries to do so. Marilyn Brown presented the draft diocesan budget thus far, which was noted,

discussed, and changes were suggested.

Nominating Committee Report: Val Ambrose and Kimberly Beck are our representatives to this committee for 2001. They reported a 75% slate thus far, with work still ongoing before elections at convention this November. This includes nominations for delegates to general convention; two Sunset

members have been suggested: Marilyn Brown and David Brownmiller.

The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.; closing prayer was led by The Rev. Simon Justice.

Respectfully submitted

Cynthia Reynolds, President

(St. Barnabas, Portland)

Web Page: www.snowsweb.com/members/sunset