Twenty-nine members of the First Baptist Church met on January 25, 2009 to hear annual reports, elect officers and committee members for the ensuing year, and to act on any other business to come before the assembled group.

Moderator Lorraine Wilkins called the meeting to order. Pastor Bob opened with a prayer for God’s guidance and inspiration. The clerk called the roll and the minutes were reviewed and accepted.

The Moderator suggested we consider each report in the annual report, assembled by James Comar, inviting questions, comments and input from the author of each report.
A question was asked of the Prudential Committee about the progress of the roundabout. Jim Comar reported that he and the Prudential Committee met with town officials and state highway officers for a site review to assess the impact of the roundabout on our property. a.) The road signs will be moved, but this should not make any serious impact b.) the committee requested that they leave the large granite highway sign on the same side of the sidewalk as it is now; town officials had wished to put it on our property c.)The most serious problem will be the restructuring of the sidewalks; they expect them to slant toward the road. The committee requested that they make them as level as possible by the church and there will have to be steps put in at the foot of the walkway into church at the Main Street entrance, but because they are raising the road and lowering the sidewalk there should be fewer steps. The entrance on Bonnet Street will remain the same. d.) The sign at the front of our church may have to be moved or changed, not significantly, and it will be paid for. e.) We will receive some compensation for our cooperation and the inconvenience.
Sharon MacFarlane added to her Youth Report a bowling activity with the group and that all church members were invited.
•Fellowship Fund –A member wanted to know how a decision was made when dispersing Fellowship Funds . Lois, fund administrator, reported that when a request was received, she discusses it with Bob and they act accordingly.
•Fuel Fund- Jim Comar thanked those who gave so generously to the fuel fund; these funds have gone a long way to alleviate a heavy burden.
•Trust Fund-The Prudential Committee removed $25,000 from the funds invested with the convention and have put that money into a Money Market Fund to help pay bills;($3000 has been used ) because of this, and the state of the stock market, our dividends will be reduced. The treasurer has not yet received an accounting for the year from the convention .
•Piano Fund-Glenna Taxter asked how was the fund for the piano coming. Jeff said that someone had made a matching grant offer of up to $2500. This would put the drive nearly over the top and work will soon begin on trying to raise these matching funds.
A motion was made by Russ Taxter to accept the reports of the committees and groups, it was seconded by Mary Keyes, there was no discussion and the motion was carried.

•Nominating Committee- Pastor Bob thanked the committee for their diligence in carrying out this important task. Jeff Linebeck moved that the slate of officers be accepted as nominated, Amy Comar seconded and the slate was elected with no other discussion.
•Budget Committee- the committee was composed of representatives from committees in the church, Martha Gale, Martha Thompson, Jim Johnson, Jim Comar, Pastor Bob and treasurer, Lisa Hess.
Jim Comar discussed our income level and how the figures are arrived at; about thirty people or families pledge a certain amount, some people have envelopes but do not commit to any certain amount but do contribute, we receive money in the offering plates, this year we will again receive salary support from the VT-NH Baptist convention, occasionally fees for rental and finally dividends from the money we have invested through the convention.
Lisa Hess, treasurer, made a correction to the Christian Ed. Budget spent for 2008.
Moderator reminded the group that Mary Martha Fellowship is willing to pay any months that are not pledged already on the website.
Repairs at the parsonage remain a large part of the proposed Parsonage Expense. One job being taken care of right now is the repair of the backdoor. Jim Gumm, a friend of Bryan Richheimers, is doing the work in exchange for use of church space for meetings. Cora Mattison sends word that we should fix that door!
The budget committee worked hard to keep the budget at a manageable level. That meant not giving Jeff a well-deserved raise. A monetary gift from the church will be given to Jeff. The church gave Jeff a round of applause for his continuing work at building the spirit of the church through his remarkable talent.
It was also noted that Lisa Hess had done a great conscientious job in her first year as treasurer. She was quick to credit Russ Taxter’s guidance. So, a round of applause for Lisa.
The motion was made by Russ Taxter that the budget be accepted as presented, Margaret Dawedeit seconded the motion, and with no more discussion the motion was carried positively.
Traditionally the Pastor’s package is voted on separately. The pastor and his wife departed from the meeting while the package was discussed. Bob’s salary will increase $1200. M&M Retirement will again assist with the retirement piece.
Glenna Taxter of the Pastoral Relations Committee reported on the pastor’s evaluation, conducted in the fall. They had compiled their findings and presented them to Bob.
In an effort to show the church’s appreciation of Bob’s hard work (Martha’s too), gifts and gift certificates were presented at Thanksgiving, Bob’s birthday, and at Christmas time. A suggestion was made that another way to reward Bob would be to grant him more vacation time.
Glenna Taxter made the motion that we accept the pastoral package as presented, the motion was seconded by Sharon McFarlane, and the vote was carried with no more discussion. Bob and Martha returned and were greeted by a standing ovation.
Lois Squires, who has been serving on the Diaconate as chairperson will be going off the committee, and the church commended her tireless efforts with a round of applause.

In old business:
•The Core Group met to discuss the formation of a Welcoming Committee. Lois Squires, Diaconate chair, had made many calls but there were no positive responses. So the Core Group will go in another direction. Efforts will be made to determine who the newcomers in town are and send a letter welcoming them, perhaps with a small gift, church information, and an invitation to our church. This would be followed up by a personal call. If a potential worshipper attends church, we would try to make them welcome and give a small gift, like the leftover mugs or the church cookbook. Bookmarks and stickers were also suggested. Amy Comar volunteered to be one person to help with this project.
•The Core Group had decided on the language to be incorporated into the Covenant that will emphasize the use of Covenantal Dialogue in our dealings with each other, especially when sensitive areas are being discussed. Margaret Dawedeit asked what Covenantal Dialogue was and Mary Keyes gave a great definition, explaining that it was a way of sharing ideas, listening carefully to other’s ideas, and indicating that you understand each other’s point of view.
Mary Keyes made the motion that we accept the recommendation of the Core Group, Glenna Taxter seconded the motion, and the new language was adopted by vote.
•Glenna commented that she had been disappointed in the results of the meetings with the Church Consultant, Beverly Prestwood-Taylor. Jim Comar and Martha Thompson agreed citing the amount of money spent and few results to show for the time and money spent. Others, Lorraine Wilkins, Dottie Sundquist, Bryan Richheimer, Lyn Campney, felt that it had been a very successful undertaking, commenting that we were more positively assessing our progress.
•Russ Taxter is exploring a new and less expensive website. The cost would be $50 a year plus $19.95 for the domain name as opposed to about $35 a month presently with unexpected charges being billed on occasion.
Amy Comar moved that we leave the final decision of web site up to Russ Taxter, Lisa Hess seconded the motion and in a vote it was carried.
Nancy Johnson moved that the Annual Meeting be adjourned, Jim Comar seconded, all were in favor. Pastor Bob closed with a prayer and we were adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,
Martha Thompson