Frequently Asked Questions
Vestry Town Hall Meetings ~ January, May and September 2006
Saint Michael and All Angels
The following are questions asked at the Vestry Town Hall meetings. The dates by each question are the dates of the Vestry Town Hall meetings where the questions were asked.
Financial
1/17/06 I understand we still don’t have a 2003 audit. Why? What about the 2004 and 2005 audits?
Giffen Weinmann Our auditor tells us that the 2003 audit will be ready in about 2 weeks. We did something different with the 2003 audit than we had done in the past, which was to include all of our affiliate organizations. Historically, we often did not have an audit. Then, when we did have an audit, it only included the Church operating books. For the 2003 audit we added all of the organizations for which the Vestry has fiduciary responsibility including the Women’s Exchange, the two real estate entities, the Alter Guild, the Women of the Church, etc. This process was a learning experience both for our auditors and for ourselves, and one of the things we came to understand was that we were severely understaffed in our accounting area. It was everything that we could do with one full-time accounting person and a couple of people who helped out part time just to get the day-to-day transactions done. As a result, we were not in a position to properly respond to our auditor’s requests for information as they were doing the 2003 audit. The inclusion of the other entities in the audit and the inability to properly respond to auditor’s information requests combined to delay the process significantly. Rather than try to speed up the process, we decided to do it right, to include the other organizations and to spend the time required to get accurate financials.
We also knew that we needed to address our staffing issue so we hired a Director of Accounting mid-last year. We now have a CPA on staff and we have budgeted for another accounting person in 2006 to focus on our restricted accounts as well as other accounting duties. Our hope is that those two new hires will allow us to keep proper track of all of our financial complexity, and to properly and timely respond to the auditors as they have requests for information. Our plan is for the 2004 and 2005 audits to be done at the same time during 2006.
1/17/06 Is there a way that financial information can be presented in total with numbers to date versus budget line items with variances as most organizational already do?
Giffen Weinmann There are four groups of financial information for which the Vestry has responsibility. We have 1) the operating books, 2) restricted accounts, 3) affiliate organizations that keep their own financial records (such as the Women’s Exchange, Altar Guild, etc.), and 4) our two wholly-owned real estate subsidiaries. We have fiduciary responsibility for the finances of all of these groups and, ideally, we would have all of that presented in one place on a consistent basis that we can see. However, we have not had the systems or the personnel to present the financials that way.
One of the points of focus of the Finance Committee over the last year or so is to consolidate our financial reporting in a way that makes it understandable. We have been presenting what our systems give us, but each piece is an incomplete picture of our financial affairs. That’s why we hired a DiRector of Accounting and why we are hiring another accounting person during this coming year. Adding administrative staff is expensive, but we need to do it in order to properly keep track of our financial affairs. We do keep track of variances between actual spending and the budget on a monthly basis, and this information is regularly reviewed by the Finance Committee and the Vestry.
1/17/06 How do the clergy’s discretionary funds operate? How much is it and how is it reviewed?
Giffen Weinmann Each of our clergy has a fund from parishioners’ donations, specifically given for the clergy’s discretionary use. The restriction on the funds is that they have to use the money to advance the mission of the parish. Every year each priest has to sign a certification to the Treasurer saying that they have followed the policies of the Vestry, and the Vestry has a written policy on what is appropriate use of those funds. The adherence to that policy is part of our auditing process and our auditors report their findings to the audit committee. The amounts fluctuate, but as of the end of November there was approximately $106,000 in these funds.
1/17/06 What is the status of the lease of the space to ESD? In other words is it going to run out soon?
Bob Wilbur Since the merger of the two schools, the contract provides that either ESD or Saint Michael’s can give the other party three years notice that they intend not to continue the relationship of the lower school at Saint Michael. There have been discussions over the last few years with the appropriate representatives of ESD. At this time, they have no plans to invoke that. It’s not their highest priority. There has been a review from time to time of whether it’s appropriate to invoke the three year rule. At this point, the decision has been made not to do that. It will be reviewed on an annual basis.
1/17/06 What is the approximate rent paid by ESD and where does it fit in on our operating budget?
Giffen Weinmann We have a contractual arrangement (which was put in place when Saint Michael School and ESD merged) under which ESD makes a monthly payment in lieu of rent. The payment is based on a formula that takes into account percentages of certain expense line items. We track our actual costs of these items (primarily operational expenses such as utilities, maintenance, and cleaning, but also a small part of our administrative and music costs) and we run those items through the formula to determine how much we bill ESD each month. Over the last several years that’s added up to about $450,000 annually. We account for those payments as “offset income” which reduces a portion of our operating expenses.
1/17/06 How do we quantify our non monetary gifts in our outreach statistics?
Giffen Weinmann Unfortunately, we have not had the personnel or systems in place to quantify non-monetary gifts in any regular or systematic way.
5/14/06 We have a budget of $5.4 million and pledges of $4.8 million. How do we plan with pledges less than the budget?
Allen Lassiter Our current year pledges are only part of our revenues for the year, although certainly the biggest part. We also collect prior year pledges. As you know, we had a shortfall at the end of last year in collection of current year pledges so we expect a substantial collection of prior year pledges that we are budgeting. Another source of revenue is the plate which is a substantial amount of money that comes in throughout the year and that’s part of our budget, as well as other contributions that normally come in. And often people will contribute more to the church than they have pledged and we have some statistical predictability on that, on a historical basis, so we budget this as well. There are also several other sources of revenues for the Parish that we budget to come up with the total.
5/14/06 Why does allocated money for choir and music not get used for choir and music?
Allen Lassiter We have designated funds set aside specifically for future use in the music program and that is available for supplies as well as for increasing our voices and other music programs. On an annual basis, we budget for the choir and for our music program as part of our overall operating budget process. Our 2006 budget includes a 13% increase in the Music department. We know that our music program is extremely important to our worship, and to our overall parish, and it’s a big focus area for us going forward. We are going to be increasing our emphasis on that area.
5/14/06 Has the Vestry considered a co-generation or combined heat and power plant as an alternative to boiler replacement?
Allen Lassiter That is one of those questions that I know Howard Templin has thought about and addressed. I understand those options were considered, but were deemed to be more expensive. I know that we looked at several bids on the boiler replacement and we hope that we’re going to have some favorable news on the amount of the bid versus our original estimates. We certainly can’t promise that. It’s one of those things that you won’t know how much it is going to cost until you open up the machinery and see what’s there.
Howard Templin We are replacing the boiler and some air handlers of the same vintage. This will not involve the chiller. Regarding geothermal; it is a good system, however, it isn’t cost effective for us. Here are the reasons:
1. We already have a complete system that was designed and installed many years ago. We would have to make significant changes to our existing system to make it work.
2. We would have to drill a large number of wells scattered around the site to get the volume of water necessary for our demand.
3. We don’t have the money for the retrofit.
Regarding co-generation, we did consider this but, based on Marvin Thedford’s evaluation, this is not a cost effective solution for us due to the small size of our new boiler, high gas prices and the cost of equipment necessary for this process.
I have a project now that is using geothermal and it is very promising. I know it is being used on a lot of new schools in our area. Certainly in the future it will be considered for new construction.
9/17/06 Do people who do not pledge, not give any money at all? If they do, how much revenue do we actually receive from “non-pledges” versus “pledges”?
Allen Lassiter Actually, we do receive a substantial amount of money each year from non-pledgers. Over the past four years our average revenue from unpledged contributions was approximately $345,000 and a similar amount is budgeted for 2006. Our weekly Sunday plate also includes significant donations from non-pledgers, and undoubtedly many also contribute to the Heart of Giving, Jubilee, Needy Family Fund and other SMAA outreach activities.
Diocese/International/National Church Issues
1/17/06 What are the important national and international issues facing the church as the Vestry sees them?
Sharon Alexander
Church
Chancellor The Important issues that will be addressed at the General Convention in Columbus in June 2006 will also have an effect on international issues. These issues are:
1. Consideration of the Windsor Report. The Windsor Report is expected to be a topic of considerable discussion. Several resolutions (and amendments) are likely to be offered. As these resolutions are made available they will be shared with the Parish by way of education sessions and posting on our website.
2. Election of a new Presiding Bishop. A selection process is underway and when finalists are available the names and background information will be shared with the Parish by way of educational sessions and posting on our website.
3 Election of new Bishops. March 2005 there has been a moratorium on the election of new Bishops in the Episcopal Church pursuant to the Covenant Statement described above. Diocese electing new Bishops will have elections in the 2-3 months before General Convention and these elections will be voted upon at General Convention.
One of the most important international issues is the discord between and within certain Provinces. The Episcopal Church, Anglican Church of Canada, Church of England, Scottish Episcopal Church, Church of Ireland, Church in Wales, Anglican Church of Japan and certain other Provinces have difference with other Provinces over issues of sexuality. To a lesser extent, issues relating to ordination of women are also a source of disagreement among certain Provinces, with potential ordination of women as Bishops being very controversial in England in particular. Biblical interpretation is yet another source for resolution of these issues, in addition to other initiatives such as a Panel of Reference formed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to help resolve disputes. Ultimately the Anglican Communion will need to determine whether it can continue to work together under its current system, relying on “bonds of affection” instead of more formal legal structures, or whether some more formalized system, such as the “Anglican Covenant” proposed by the Windsor Report, is necessary to maintain communion among the Provinces.
Equally important are the significant efforts that continue to be made to preserve relationships in the Anglican Communion. The Windsor Report, Panel of Reference and other initiatives have laid the groundwork for these efforts. In addition, as a whole the Anglican Communion continues to be very active in its traditional role in promoting Christian education, evangelism, assistance for the poor, sick and needy, prayer ministries and other activities. In the United States several groups, including a group of approximately 15-20 Bishops of very diverse viewpoints on sexuality, scripture and other issues in controversy, have been meeting regularly to work on ways to move the Episcopal Church forward together.
1/17/06 To comply with the Windsor Report, will this decision be made in secret or with a transparent representation process?
Sharon Alexander On October 25, 2004 the Vestry sent a letter to the Parish indicating its support of the Windsor Report, in part because the processes described in the Windsor Report were consistent with initiatives already underway at Saint Michael, but primarily because the Vestry agreed with the processes and their theological foundation as set forth in the Report. One of the initiatives was the formation of the Reconciliation Planning Committee, whose formation had been announced to the Parish at the February 8, 2004 Annual Parish Meeting. Saint Michael and the Diocese have both offered a number of educational programs on the Windsor Report.
On May 14, 2005 at a Special Meeting of the Convention of the Diocese of Dallas, held at Saint Michael, the Convention almost unanimously expressed its support of the Windsor Report.
Consideration of the Windsor Report will almost certainly be a topic of discussion and numerous resolutions (and amendments) at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church to be held in Columbus, Ohio in June 2006. Once preliminary resolutions have been received (resolutions can be submitted at the Convention so we will not know all of them ahead of time), the Vestry will sponsor an educational session to discuss these resolutions as well as other issues to be addressed at the Convention.
The Windsor Report is not an “order” or a “judgment” (Windsor Report, p. 6). It is a document that, among other things, sets forth a process or “pilgrimage towards healing and reconciliation.” (Windsor Report, p. 6). Each of the Provinces (i.e., the national churches, such as the Episcopal Church, Church of England, Anglican Church of Canada, etc.) were asked to “receive” and consider the Windsor Report, and many (but not all) have done so, some accepting certain recommendations and rejecting others. The Primates (leaders of the Provinces) met in February 2005 and received favorably many of the Windsor Report’s recommendations, requested modification of some and rejected some. On March 15, 2005, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church issued a “Covenant Statement” in which they offered their general support of the Windsor Report (note that the Bishops do not have the authority to take official action with respect to the Windsor Report; any official action from the Episcopal Church will have to come from the General Convention in June 2006).
5/14/06 How are delegates educated on the candidates for the presiding bishop?
Sharon
Alexander The website of ECUSA has information and the Episcopal Church USA has a lot of information as well. Episcopal Life has been running a series of articles about the different candidates. Websites have become a very common way to educate people. I don’t know whether the Diocese of Dallas is doing anything formally with the deputies, but the ones I know have been seeking out the information on their own and my bet is they are meeting and discussing this.
5/14/06 Are any of the candidates for Presiding Bishop or Diocesan bishop considered controversial?
Sharon
Alexander I think controversial is a difficult word to define. If the question is “Are any of them in same-sex relationships?” the answer to that is no. In California, there were three candidates for bishop that were in same-sex partner relationships but none of them won. It was the Suffragan Bishop from the Diocese of Alabama, Mark Andrus, who is married and has two children, who won. The candidate for Bishop of Northern California has been divorced twice and some may consider this to be controversial. In addition, four of the seven nominees for Presiding Bishop (Gulick, Alexander, Sauls and Schori) voted for Gene Robinson at the 2003 General Convention, but none participated in his consecration, and some may consider this to be controversial. Finally, the candidate for Bishop of Albany appears to be a supporter of the Network (the Diocese of Albany is a member of the Network), and some way may consider this to be controversial. However, none of the candidates rise to the level of controversy surrounding Gene Robinson in 2003. We will update this response if any relevant controversial information arises.
5/14/06 Why has Saint Michael’s not withdrawn from the Network (as the Church of Ascension has)? When will we withdraw?
Sharon
Alexander The Vestry met right after the Diocesan Convention voted to have the Diocese join the Network, and we sent a letter to the parish in October, 2004. It essentially said that we are not going to support the Network and we are not going to oppose the Network, we are going to wait and see what the Network is and what it may become. From what I have seen, the Network has not had much impact on Saint Michael at all; positive, negative or otherwise. I’m not sure what action would be relevant to take at this point.
5/14/06 Where do our delegates stand on same-sex marriage? Are they for or against the Windsor report?
Sharon
Alexander As far as the Windsor report goes, the Vestry voted in October 2004 overwhelmingly to put Saint Michael on the record, which was about eight months before the Diocese did this, that we support the Windsor Report and support its processes. I’m sure that there may be individuals here who do not support the Windsor Report, but as for your Vestry and your other leaders, the parish is on the record as being a strong supporter of it. When we had a Special Convention of the Diocese in May last year, all of Saint Michael’s delegates voted to support the Windsor Report. No one has polled our current Delegates to the Diocesan Convention on same sex issues, but it is not likely to be an issue since the Diocese already has a Canon prohibiting same sex blessings. I’m pretty sure, knowing the Deputies from Dallas to the General Convention, that they will not be voting in favor of any resolutions supporting same sex blessings or marriages, and they will support the Windsor Report.
5/14/06 The controversy about the new canons seem to be that they would apply to all lay, not just leadership of the laity. What is the purpose of the proposal for the canon revision?
Sharon
Alexander The purpose of the proposal is the theology that we have in the Episcopal Church, which is that everybody has a ministry. There is a ministry of bishops, priests, deacons, and of the laity. The underlying idea is to make sure that everybody is treated equally. In my opinion, this hasn’t been articulated particularly well in the proposed Canons. The revisions are well drafted and complicated. They are a sweeping change from what we have had before, and are controversial primarily for that reason. All of the canon lawyers I know, who have looked at it, are not particularly happy with the way the proposal has been drafted. If it passes, it likely will not be in the form that it has been submitted; certainly not without considerable debate.
9/17/06 How did the meeting between the Bishop, the Diocesan Delegates, and the Vestry on September 14, go?
Sharon Alexander The Clergy were also at the meeting. I thought it was a very positive meeting, both from the perspective of Saint Michael and the Bishop. He seemed very positive and encouraged after meeting in New York with some other Bishops, the Presiding Bishops and the Presiding Bishop Elect. He expressed hope that there may be ways to work through our problems rather than having a division, which he indicated he would like to avoid. He asked a number of questions to us and got a variety of responses. I think that the basic message that I took away, other than being optimistic and hopeful, is that the majority of the people at Saint Michael who responded to his questions do not have an interest in leaving the Episcopal Church. Instead, they would like to work within the Episcopal Church to resolve whatever differences they may have. The Bishop responded similarly. He said that even if a large portion of the Diocese wants to leave, he is committed to staying and working with the Episcopal Church as well.
9/17/06 In the September 14th meeting with the Bishop, were there any comments about the upcoming Diocese Convention?
Sharon Alexander As of today, September 17th, the resolutions and the amendments of the constitution and canons have not been distributed from the Diocese. They are not required to do that until 10 days before the Diocesan Convention. They tell me that they will get these out long before the 10 days, but they are just not ready for distribution yet. So I am not going to speculate on what those are going to look like until I receive them, I will make sure that they are publicly available and you will be able to review them as soon after. [The resolutions can be found at www.episcopal-dallas.org]
9/17/06 What has Bishop Stanton been told about Saint Michael’s being a part of the Network? Have we told the Bishop that we want to be a part of the Network? Or we don’t, or what?
Sharon Alexander There hasn’t been any official communication between the Bishop and the Vestry about this since right after the Diocese went into the Network in 2004 when we wrote a letter. The gist of the letter was that “we are not going to support the Network and we are not going to oppose the Network.” We were going to monitor the Network and we continue to do so. If we saw that it was going in a direction that would be detrimental to Saint Michael or it would not be advantageous for us, then we would take action at that time. But at this point, we have had no official communication with him after that.
David Martin I will add one more thing because a previous question asked about the meeting with the Bishop last Thursday. The Bishop has in fact been told directly by me, as a representative of our Vestry, two things -- one is that this parish wants to work with the Diocese to find solutions to the issues that confront us which will enable us to stay together. And secondly, that I believe that this parish is not interested in being a part of a “Network Diocese” that separates itself from the Episcopal Church.
9/17/06 What is going on with the Diocese? Are we affected by the Bishop’s activity? Specifically, what is the effect of Christ Church leaving?
Sharon Alexander Let me start with Christ Church. That was a negotiated settlement between the Bishop and Christ Church. I have not seen the settlement, but it follows very closely the type of settlement that Dean Wolfe, our former Vice Rector and now Bishop of Kansas, negotiated with Christ Church in Overland Park, Kansas. The terms are somewhat similar. Christ Church Plano is paying a lump sum of $1.2 million and they are assuming a mortgage of approximately $6.8 million. So, they are basically “paying” the Diocese $8 million to get the property by assuming that liability, which would otherwise be the responsibility of the Diocese if Christ Church just split. So, consideration was paid for the property and that was similar to the transaction that Dean Wolfe negotiated in Kansas. Christ Church has bought their property from the Diocese and the Clergy have turned in their “Episcopalian collars”. They have orders now with the Diocese of Peru and their Bishop is now the Bishop of Peru, who will be overseeing them. This also means that Fr. David Roseberry is no longer on the Standing Committee. He is no longer an Episcopal priest, but he is still an Anglican priest under the Diocese of Peru. The members of Christ Church who were on Diocesan Committees will step off of those unless they go to a different parish. Their delegates will not be allowed to vote at the Diocese Convention.
9/17/06 How are we affected by the Bishop’s activity?
Sharon Alexander After talking to the Bishop a couple of times, I think he is, in good faith, trying to bring some reconciliation and healing within the Diocese. He knows he is going to lose more parishes if he doesn’t find a way forward, he knows that we are an important part of that, and has expressed a strong interest to both David and me in working together on the reconciliation process. Where this is going to end up will depend a lot on what other parishes do.
9/17/06 The Standing Committee seems to have placed a moratorium on the ordination of female priests: is that a true statement? If so, how can the Standing Committee be made to act more in concert with the wishes of the Diocese?
Sharon Alexander The current Standing Committee does have a number of members who are opposed to the ordination of woman to the priesthood. That has been a problem and there have been women, including one from our parish, who have had to go to another Diocese to continue their process toward ordination into the priesthood. There’s really not much we can do. There is nothing canonically we can do to force the Standing Committee to do anything with respect to approving female candidates. The best opportunity we will have is to have one clergy and one lay member be elected at the Diocese Convention who supports ordaining women. There are a number of us carefully researching, which candidates are going to clearly support ordination of women. With David Roseberry going off the Standing Committee, there is an opportunity to get a third person on the Standing Committee who supports ordination of women. Therefore, it is possible that we can make some progress on this issue this year. It really comes down to what happens in the Diocesan election process more than anything else.
Bill McIntyre Bottom line, if people aren’t happy with what Saint Michael’s is doing or what the Diocese is doing, they ought to get involved.
Sharon Alexander Absolutely. You can make a difference if you want to.
Governance
1/17/06 Who can vote at the annual parish meeting?
Bob Wilbur As you know, under our current by-laws, the parishioners that can vote at our annual meeting are those that are communicants in good standing who have been financial contributors to our parish within the last year prior to our annual meeting.
1/17/06 Regarding voting at the annual meeting, does parishioner in good standing, etc. mean that one must have a pledge card on file for the current year or could one simply have written a check for something during the previous year.
Bob Wilbur There are two tests as to who can vote at the parish meeting. One is a communicant in good standing, which is someone that is on our rolls as a communicant of Saint Michael. The second criteria is that the communicant would have contributed financially to the parish in the previous 12 months. That would include a pledge under our stewardship program or a cash gift given during that year. They must, also, be over 18.
1/17/06 Is there a limit to the number of times someone can serve as a delegate to the Diocese Convention?
Bob Wilbur There is no limit; people can serve as much as they want.
Stewardship
1/17/06 Have we polled the 457 non-pledgers as to why they have not pledged and if so what are their reasons?
Jeff Rice and
Sharon Alexander
Church
Chancellor We are in the process of calling the non-pledgers and taking that information. We will have a better idea when our calls are completed why we have not received some of the pledges. So far it appears that we may be behind because we sent our reminder letter later this year and have begun calling later than in the past We are also discovering a few persons with pastoral concerns, and we are passing those on to the clergy.
Giffen Weinmann Note that in each of the last ten years we have had roughly between 250 and 400 communicants leave the Parish for one reason or another. These have been replaced by roughly 250 to 400 new communicants each year causing our communicant population to grow slightly during that period. The 457 of “non-pledgers” undoubtedly include communicants who have left the Parish during the last year and are therefore not expected to pledge again this year, although our systems do not give us the information required to identify how many of the departing communicants are in the 457 number. We do know that as of January 8th, we had 114 fewer pledges than we did at the same point last year even though the total amount pledged to date was up 3% vs. last year.
1/17/06 What is the number of pledging units in 2005?
Giffen Weinmann Taking into account all pledges made to the 2005 Stewardship campaign at any time during 2005 there were 1,552 pledging units. However we also received donations during 2005 from 500 individuals who had not pledged, so our total “giving and pledging units” during 2005 was 2,052.
5/14/06 In what capacity has Julie Seigel joined our staff? Who does she report to? Is she full-time or part-time? And what was the thought process in bringing her on board?
David Martin Julie has been working very closely CA Rundell and his staff in the capital campaign, helping us in our fundraising efforts. Interest had been expressed on the part of the stewardship committee to have her assist the stewardship campaign. Julie has become a member of the staff at Saint Michael’s and predominantly will be focused on development and fundraising activities.
9/17/06 What is the total goal for stewardship in dollars? What increase does this represent?
Missy Boone Our goal is $5.4 million. That is an increase of $500,000 which includes the 1st year of Strategic Plan goals and increased costs to continue current level of services in 2007.
9/17/06 We are always encouraged to make our pledge during stewardship, but what efforts are being made to increase the numbers of those who do not pledge since those who actually make a pledge are in the minority in our church?
Missy Boone That is the struggle that the stewardship committee has worked on forever, forever, and ever. Actually, the good news is that Saint Michael’s has a participation rate in stewardship pledges that is right around 50%. This is far above the average for most Episcopal churches. I think they run in the 35-40% range. We are a large parish; we have pledging units of around 3,100. Pledging units is a family or a single person. We have a large number of people that are a part of this church that don’t frequent this church. Our efforts to reach these people have been primarily through phone calls. We are studying other ways to contact these people. A couple of years ago, for the first time, we made phone calls to those people who have never pledged and we were successful in increasing our pledge units by 10%. If someone else has ideas they are willing to share with us as to how we reach these people, let us hear from you. It’s a topic of discussion every year on how to reach out to this group. We certainly address it and we are always thinking of creative ideas. We feel our best move is through communication and we just keep trying to come up with creative ways for that.
Capital Campaign
1/17/06 Talk a little more about the purchasing of additional property north of the parish.
C.A. Rundell
Capital Campaign
Chairman We are in the quiet part of the campaign to raise money to fulfill our contract for the purchase of the six remaining apartment houses. That’s a $6.5 million contract. In addition to that, we would like to raise enough money to payoff the mortgage on the office building that borders on the toll road, and enough money to buy what I call the alley, the street that runs just north of us here. We believe that we are going to be successful in doing that. It is a tall order.
We need $12 million to buy all of this property and we are well underway. We had a great kickoff gift from the Clement’s. There have been a number of other gifts of varying sizes totaling a little over $2.5 million. We have received commitments that would bring us up to the $3 million level. We have a lot of requests working, a lot of people who have said they want to give, that want to sit down and talk about it. We are extremely anxious to fulfill the $6.5 million opportunity because if we don’t take advantage of it, it’s probably gone. Dr. Michelson notified us shortly after we signed the deal with him that if we didn’t take it he had another buyer. That was almost predictable.
In any event, in business, you hope for the best but you plan for the worst. We have done both just in case we fall short of our $6.5 million April goal. We are asking people to contribute either currently or over a five year period. Bob Wilbur has taken the initiative and arranged with our bank to borrow up to $4 million against the property so that we could meet that $6.5 million goal. We are optimistic about getting to where we belong, and as I say, we are in the quiet part of the campaign. Everybody will have an opportunity as of February 1st, after we close off our annual giving, to participate to the greatest extent possible.
1/17/06 If the property is purchased, how will the title be held? Will it be in the name of the Bishop?
Sharon Alexander Pursuant to Canon law all real property in the Diocese that is used for “church purposes” is required to be held by the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas (“Diocesan Corporation”). Therefore, the main campus of Saint Michael, Incarnation, Transfiguration and all other parishes in the Diocese are required to be, and are, held by the Diocesan Corporation. The Diocesan Corporation has Trustees who are elected by the Convention of the Diocese of Dallas to hold the property in trust for the sole use and benefit of the parish. Therefore, Saint Michael’s campus is held by the Diocesan Corporation for the sole use and benefit of Saint Michael. Both Diocesan and ECUSA Canon law, as well as the governing structure of the Diocesan Corporation, prohibit the Diocese or ECUSA from attempting to take the property away from Saint Michael or restrict our use of the property, so long as we continue to operate within the Canons of the Diocese and ECUSA.
The Canons also state that property held for “investment purposes” should not be held by the Diocesan Corporation. Currently the property to the north of the Saint Michael campus on which two apartment buildings were recently demolished is held by a wholly owned subsidiary of Saint Michel called Douglas Square Title Holdings Company (“Douglas Square”). Douglas Square will also own the additional property once it is purchased. Saint Michael’s leadership has kept the Diocese and the Diocesan Corporation informed of the progress of our acquisitions and holdings and all agree that currently it is proper for Douglas Square to own the properties. During the Spreading Our Wings campaign during the 1990s the Diocesan Corporation did not want to take ownership of the properties Saint Michael acquired until Saint Michael had completed construction on the properties because the Diocesan Corporation did not want to assume the liabilities and duties associated with vacant land and construction, including dealing with zoning issues, building permits, insurance, utilities and similar items. Saint Michael and the Diocesan Corporation are following the same procedures we followed during the Spreading Our Wings campaign. These procedures are designed to conform to the requirements of Canon law and sound business and risk management fundamentals.
1/17/06 Why did the capital campaign for the chapel not reach its goal and as a result we have debt? What have we learned from this that will be taken into consideration in the upcoming campaign?
Giffen Weinmann The Chapel capital campaign actually raised more than its original goal. The debt was incurred both to support multi-year pledges and to pay a portion of an estimated $800,000 of increased costs (24% of the original $3.3 million project budget). The increased costs were primarily the result of items that were discovered during the renovation, including unexpected issues related to connecting the existing roof to the new Chapel structure, code compliance issues that required that we add fire sprinklers to the Lanai area and to the Bishop Moore Chapel, asbestos abatement required as part of solving the sprinkler issue, and unexpected drainage work required by city inspectors. A meaningful portion of the increased costs was also the result of costs that differed from original preliminary estimates and design changes made during the construction process.
Compared to earlier capital campaigns, the Chapel campaign was actually one of the most successful in our history. The Parish has incurred significant debt several times in the past to support construction. While our historical records are not complete, we do know that the Parish borrowed over $300,000 for the construction of the main sanctuary in 1960 which was not paid off until 1972. In 1975 we had $587,000 in mortgage debt related to the then new school facility which lasted into the 1980’s. By 1994 we were in debt again, this time by $1.7 million (as part of the Spreading Our Wings campaign) which was not paid off until 1999. By comparison, the original $600,000 in Chapel debt was relatively small and has already been paid down to $250,000. It is expected (with pledge payments coming in) to be down to $125,000 by mid-2006 and fully paid in 2007. We currently have in cash and pledges that cover all except about $40,000 of this debt.
Since the current capital campaign does not contemplate any construction, there is no risk of construction related over spending.
1/17/06 I live in Frederick Square Apartments. When do you think I will have to find a new place to live?
Bob Wilbur We have contractually committed to all of the Michaelson tenants that they will be able to stay in their apartments for a period of 120 days after closing on April 19th, but actually, it will be 120 days from May 1, 2006.
1/17/06 On the Capital Campaign $12 M seems like a large number all at once. With long term rates at historical lows, why not utilize the benefits of relatively inexpensive leverage to allow parishioners to budget their donation over time?
Bill McIntyre Since parishioners are being given the option of paying their donations over a period of up to four years, some use of loans will be required. Based on SMAA’s favorable credit standing, favorable terms are expected and estimated interest expense is included in the capital campaign goal.
5/14/06 In reference to the Capital Campaign, how do you intend to raise the remaining money for expansion?
C.A. Rundell We have strong leadership in this church and people who are committed to its growth. We’re very happy with the success we’ve had so far. We’re excited, and I want to thank all of you who participated in that. We’re trying to raise $12.5 million on top of about $8 million that was raised for the chapel and for the properties we already own. Park Cities Baptist Church sailed past their $33 million budget for their parking garage and office building, with essentially the same membership that we have. I don’t think we’re going to have any large difficulty in finding the other $5 million or so when we get around to it. You have been very receptive so far. We appreciate that and we expect it to continue.
Strategic Planning
1/17/06 Over 50% of our Parish is singles, so why are they not on the seven areas of focus of strategic planning?
Cullum Clark
Strategic Planning
Co-Chairman The seven categories that we have focused on in the strategic planning process are built around existing staff. In every case there is a staff person, for instance, adult education, newcomers, children and family, youth and in every case we have the administrative sort of structure to go forward with plans within an area. The activities that have been done are largely in member’s hands and there is still a lot of time in this process, so whoever actually thinks we need to be addressing it, we would sure welcome your contacting the Vestry with ideas for what we really need to be doing and for that matter whether we need some kind of staffing commitment. We really tried to focus on areas where are there are budgetary resources expended and staff in place to do things.
1/17/06 What would be the forums for Parish members to see the feedback and results of the strategic plans by section?
Ann Hobson
Strategic Planning
Co-Chairman What we are working on as our next step is how we are going to take all this information and bubble it up into an easily digestible, readable, presentable format because our number one goal is transparency and, with that, communication to the Parish. We don’t want to hold on to this and have it be something that just stays in committees. Our goal to get it back out to you. We are working now and in the Spring on how to make it easily digestible and communicable.
1/17/06 When are the results of the Strategic Planning Committee to be available and how?
Bill McIntyre Again, an overall report should be available in the spring. The plan is to publish it in paper and electronic formats. While the plan will be officially rolled out on Homecoming Sunday in September, working groups will be implementing portions of the plan between now and September.
5/14/06 What input has the bishop had in the formulation of the Strategic Plan?
Cullum Clark The Strategic Plan has been an SMAA internal matter. The good news is we’ve had gigantic input from the parish: 600 + people participating in our meetings all through 2005 and early 2006, but we’ve not had formal conversations, at the level of the strategic plan committee, with the bishop.
9/17/06 We have a very aggressive strategic plan and that’s GOOD! How are we going to measure results? (i.e., Youth Ministry - a goal and need that is at least 27 years old!)
Cullum Clark We agree that the Strategic Plan is aggressive, and that measuring results is imperative. We can measure results at two “levels.” At the first level, we can and will report to the parish, annually in all likelihood, on which specific action items have been initiated or implemented, and which ones have not. Many of these action items are worthwhile undertakings in themselves, though without any specific quantifiable “outcome,” since the goals of our church are obviously in some cases unquantifiable.
At the second level, in some cases we can measure quantifiable progress. We aim to increase participation in virtually all of our major ministries and programs, in some cases with specific goals in mind. In CFM, for instance, we want to increase attendance at the “average” EDGE event from 30-40 to about 100. In the case of youth, we agree with the premise that achieving progress in this area is a very high priority of our parish.
We certainly aim to increase participation in our “Disciples Class” confirmation program, by a few percent per year. We also aim to create an annual mission trip within Texas, and we would aim to increase participation in this program to a number roughly similar to that of our overseas youth mission trips – perhaps some 40-50 – within 4-5 years.
More generally, we are stating the measurable goals of increasing total membership by approximately 2-3 percent per year, increasing average weekend attendance by 3-5 percent per year, and increasing our budget by approximately 5-6 percent per year.
9/17/06 Cullum barely mentioned Mission and Outreach in his Strategic Plan presentation. Are we clear that Mission and Outreach is the bottom line of all we do as the Church?
Cullum Clark We agree that mission / outreach is at the very heart of what we’re about as a parish church, that it is central to our mission of building God’s kingdom. If I only briefly mentioned it, please note that the same could be said across all of our ministry areas, given very limited time. I encourage our parishioners to read the mission / outreach section of our Strategic Plan report, which states a number of specific goals and actions prominently. The Mission / Outreach Committee, currently headed by George Coleman and previously chaired by Dana Juett, as well as our Deacon and Mission / Outreach Director The Rev. Anna Neitzel have worked very hard on the Strategic Plan for this all-important ministry. They as well as I would be delighted to discuss these plans with anyone who is interested.
9/17/06 During the Strategic Planning listening sessions, parishioners expressed interest in creating a program that regularly brings great professional musicians to Saint Michael’s to perform sacred music in a concert setting. We already have great musicians here. “Bringing in,” do you mean adding those who are already here? Also, we would like concerts by our own excellent choir as well.
Howard Templin As a choir member, as well as a Vestry member, I will try to answer this question. There are a series of upgrades to services that are going to occur every month, where we have professional musicians to come in to augment the choir. In the past, due to funding restrictions and reduced stewardship, we just haven’t had the money to put on these concerts. They cost money. And so, what it comes down to, if stewardship increases and funding increases, then you will see these concerts come back.
It is also an opportunity for some specific gifts for this area.
9/17/06 What is an easy way to get a copy of the Strategic Plan?
Cullum Clark A copy of the Strategic Plan Book has been mailed to our entire mailing list Still we have about 900 copies sitting around the church. If you didn’t receive a copy, go to the church office and pick up a copy.
Ministries
1/17/06 What mission trips are planned for the 8th grade youth group? Are there any? Where can I find what activities are planned for the 8th grade youth group?
Amy Meaux
Assoc. Rector for
Youth Ministry We are in the process of planning a 7th and 8th grade pilgrimage to the Gulf Coast in August. Details are forthcoming. As part of the strategic plan, we hope to have a local mission trip and national pilgrimage for 7th and 8th grade every year. It is expected these will be small trips (20 students and 5 chaperones).
You can find the calendar for all youth ministry events on the website under youth ministry, in our office and on our bulletin board in the ambulatory. And, you can always call our office. Lastly, if you’d like to receive the calendar and fliers by mail, please make sure we have your current mailing address, e-mail and phone number.
1/17/06 Are you planning a Youth Ministry ski trip, including parents and Clergy?
Amy Meaux
Assoc. Rector for
Youth Ministry We continue to attempt to plan a skip trip for Senior High (9th-12th grade) (that includes our Associate Rector for Youth Ministry, The Rev. Amy Meaux, not parents) and consistently do not have enough people committed. However, it is our plan to try again next Christmas/New Years or Spring Break.
1/17/06 What is the church/Vestry doing to improve Youth Ministry?
Amy Meaux
Assoc. Rector for
Youth Ministry The church and Vestry are engaged in several ways to improve youth ministry. We have already hired three full time staff members. In addition, we are seeking at least two more youth ministers. Over the last year, a group of lay people have diligently been working on the Strategic Plan for youth ministry. This plan includes staff hires, improving the meeting space, ways of communication, volunteer education and recruitment and general quality of the program. If you’d like to see the Strategic Plan, it is in the Youth Ministry office and will soon be posted on the website.
9/17/06 Since the couples ministry was dissolved, what organization has taken over serving this viable sector of Saint Michael’s members?
David Martin To my knowledge, no one has taken on this ministry. This is not the only un-served ministry in our parish, and your Vestry is trying to deal with the question of how we organize to take on new ministries as we grow. One of the first steps in this process is the emergence of a "champion" for the cause.
9/17/06 Has Bishop Stanton been told that we do not choose to be part of the “network”?
David Martin The Bishop has been told that we do not want to be a part of a network diocese that separates itself from the Episcopal Church. We continue to believe that the network per se is not an issue for Saint Michael.
9/17/06 What is going to happen with the couples class that Chip used to teach?
David Martin We are really working very hard at trying to put together a series of adult education programs that will not replace what Chip can only do in Chip’s way, but try and provide alternatives to that. And some of that is planned and some of that is still out in front of us. Any comments you would like to make to Shelley?
9/17/06 I understand Hill Riddle has a love of teaching. Will he be teaching a Sunday 10:00 a.m. class?
Hill Riddle The answer is yes.
9/17/06 Why is Cathie Looney not teaching anymore? Has she left Saint Michael?
David Martin The best answer to that is, because we are in mid-stream in discussions with Cathie, is that she is finding herself in a position where she wants to spend more time with her family. We are trying to see if we can’t find an arrangement that benefits both Cathie and Saint Michael’s in some sort of part time relationship as we go forward, but it is not a settled issue at this point.
9/17/06 I am very interested in your plans for our Youth Ministry. It seems as though as soon as our teens are confirmed, there is nothing to keep these teens involved. What are your specific plans to correct this?
Missy Boone This is a real problem. There are a couple of issues. We are gong to have a format for the Sunday school classes which is part of the curriculum that Cullum talked about. It will be the kind of curriculum that will be defined for each grade and is a progressive curriculum. Presently, there are not enough rooms to put them in. Right now, we only have two rooms for the entire youth ministry program. As to the second point, we are in the process of adding more youth ministers. We are now at four. We are going to drop down by one, but we are going to go back to four. The more staff we have the more we will attract these children to more of these events. Hopefully, with the better turnouts and better solutions, we will keep our teens more involved.
Cullum Clark I would like to just add additional points. One thing we really heard, and heard a lot about, during the listening sessions from a lot of parents of teenagers, is that some of the areas in which church life really connects to teenagers is through meaningful outreach opportunities. Teenagers want to feel like they are doing something meaningful. We are very dramatically stepping up what we are doing on that front, both in terms of the foreign mission trips we do and things closer to home. Another is through music. We definitely hear again and again that teenagers want to be around cooler music that may yet have some religious content to it and are giving a great deal of thought to how to do more of that here.
David Martin I can’t pass up the opportunity to do what I know CA is itching to do, and that is to say that finishing off of the $12 million capital campaign has a lot to do with our ability to pay off our mortgage on the office building and begin to get some space for expansion, particularly for the youth of the this parish.
Miscellaneous
5/14/06 Can you address the rumors of Saint Michael’s starting an elementary school, supposedly to be built on the recently acquired property?
David Martin It’s a rumor. We do not have definitive plans for any of those pieces of property at the moment other than getting ourselves positioned for future expansion for this parish. We do certainly have some very pressing needs which we hope to resolve by using some parts of that property. Specifically, expansion of our various youth programs at this parish where we’re just plain busting at the seams. Mother’s Day Out is busting at the seams. With respect to the school, as I think all of you are aware, there is a rolling three-year agreement that we have with ESD. Either party can give notice to the other party but there is a three-year notice period required and that contract keeps renewing itself on an annual basis. To date, neither party has given notice to the other party about any activities with respect to ESD vacating their premises here at Saint Michael’s property.
9/17/06 How do we heal the damage done by Anschutz’s bad decisions?
David Martin Since I don't accept the premise of the question, I will answer it a bit differently. The answer to any change in Rector is pretty much the same: we need a period of healing to deal with the loss of the former Rector and we need a period of preparation for the new Rector to come. One of the main roles that Hill Riddle has to fill is to guide us in this process over the next few months.
9/17/06 We say we have 7,000 parishioners, but we have far fewer attending our services. Why is there such a difference? Is our method of keeping membership accurate, and if so, what is this method?”
Sharon Alexander If you look at the statistics, nearly every Church has the same attendance issue when you have a lot of members. We actually do a better job than most of cleaning our rolls of inactive members. Many deletions come from information gathered in the stewardship calls. People will just say, “I am going to some other place now.” But yes, we actually have many bonafide members who are entitled to vote in the elections at the parish meeting, but who do not regularly attend. That is one of the issues that the strategic plan and other initiatives are trying to address by getting people more involved and actually coming here. We have two ways of counting attendance and we do both of those each Sunday to make sure that we are accurate with our numbers. We are also pretty accurate on the number of people on the rolls. It is really a matter of inviting your friends to come back and start worshiping with us again. Tell them that they are missing something special when they miss Hill’s sermons.
Cullum Clark We looked at a lot of success, not only here, but at other churches in the area when preparing the strategic plan. While the concept of accurate church membership accounting is a challenge in all churches, I just wanted to throw out 2 statistics. First, our average weekly attendance, as a percentage of the official head count at approximately 35 or 36%, is almost exactly in line with that which is officially recorded statistics of essentially every other very large church, Episcopal or otherwise in the Park Cities/Preston Hollow area. We did study those. Another statistic is that Holy Week attendance at somewhat over 7,000 this last year, which certainly includes some redundancy, is broadly indicative of the maximum number attendees you can get to show up. That is not that different from the unofficial count.
Rector Search
5/14/06 Outline the process for the Rector search.
Rusty Smith The search committee was put together approximately late February. We have a tentative schedule which has the search committee bringing a candidate to the Vestry in August or September of 2007. Our next procedure is to put together a questionnaire for the parish asking what you want in a Rector. It’s going to be several pages long, asking you to tell us what you need. We will then put together a profile that will occur in late or middle September. We will get the answers and put together a profile of the parish. We will then send that profile to the bishop who will send it on to ECUSA and we will receive candidates from both the bishop and ECUSA. In the meantime, we will be receiving candidates from the parish. We will hand out forms for you fill out if you know someone you think would do a good job here. We’d like to have their name, address, and the best way to get in touch with them. Then during the spring, we hope to have that list of candidates, start breaking them down, talking to many of them, and eliminate many of them. The committee will hear several speak and then make a presentation to the Vestry.
5/14/06 Are there any restrictions on considering some of our own ministers for Rector?
Rusty Smith The Bishop, not canon law, has his own set of rules and regulations in the diocese. If there is anybody on the staff of a church that wants to be considered as the Rector of that parish, then they are to leave the parish during the period of that search.
5/14/06 What can we do to get Father Chip made our permanent Rector?
David Martin The Vestry perceives that it has two principle responsibilities facing us right now. The first of those is finding the right long-term solution for Saint Michael’s; the best solution we could possible provide. The second of those responsibilities is to ensure that we have the best leadership in the interim for this parish. The Vestry has charged the search committee with the responsibility of meeting that first challenge: finding the best long-term solution for Saint Michael’s. The Vestry feels very fortunate in being able to reach agreement with Father Chip to become the interim priest in charge of Saint Michael’s. In that capacity, the Vestry, Chip and the bishop have all concurred that it is in the best interest of all involved, that he not be an active candidate for the Rector.
5/14/06 Does the Vestry make the final decision on the Rector or does the parish? Does the Bishop have any input?
Sharon
Alexander It is the job of the Search Committee to bring the candidate to the Vestry and the Canons provide that the Vestry makes the decision. According to our bylaws, it takes a 2/3 vote of the Vestry to issue a call. By virtue of being the leader of the Diocese and our working with the Diocese on the search process, the Bishop does have input. Canonically, within 30 days after the Vestry makes a call, the Bishop can raise an objection to the person the Vestry decided to call, and the Vestry then must meet and consider the objection, but it is not required to go with the Bishop’s recommendation. (See Canon 18 of the Diocese of Dallas). Practically, however, this is a collaborative process between the parish and the Diocese and likely the Vestry will vote on a candidate that has already met the approval of the Bishop. The Bishop and Canon Lambert have both expressed that they do not plan to interfere with or micromanage the process - their role is that of assistance.
5/14/06 Do the names from the bishop and ECUSA represent people who have already indicated their availability for a move?
Rusty Smith In several cases it is. They may know people who deserve to go on to more responsibility. For instance, a bishop in another diocese may recommend one of their priests who are in a small parish but he thinks can take over a parish like Saint Michael’s, they will recommend them. From ECUSA, what you have are a lot of folks who are looking for a job. The bishop will also recommend the people that he knows throughout other diocese.
5/14/06 What is the salary range for the new Rector?
Rusty Smith We will be competitive.
9/17/06 Are you going to use our strategic plan as a tool to find our new Rector?
Nancy Solana Of course we will. The strategic plan adopted by the Vestry is an important statement of who we are, and we will use it with the candidates. We will have a profile of the parish written after we have your responses to the Parish Profile Questionnaire. Our profile will be not only a comprehensive document about the parish and its preferences for the future, but it will also include other information. The strategic plan will certainly be one of the things that we will be sending to all candidates. And speaking of candidates, we would greatly appreciate your help with identifying good Rector prospects for the committee to consider. I urge you to take a look at the kiosk in the lanai. Pick up a nomination form. Think of someone that you know – perhaps a good friend in another city who raves about his or her Episcopal church. We won’t use your name, but we will go after the gifted priests you help us identify.
9/17/06 Once the Rector search has been narrowed to several candidates, will the committee consider having members at large who represent small groups of parishioners, such as Mothers Day Out parents and young children, Sunday school teachers, outreach and Jubilee give some input?
Nancy Solana We are listening to input all of the time. We’ve sent out a questionnaire for various groups in the parish to complete. We want these groups to tell us about the qualities they want in a new Rector to help their ministries flourish. Rusty Smith, co-chair of the Rector Search Committee, has indicated his gracious willingness to meet with any group to talk about the Search. So call Rusty - his number is in the directory. He is ready to listen and talk to you. Fill out the group questionnaire or set up a meeting. The thing to do is to start giving your input now.
(Note: These answers are current as of October 9, 2006. Please re-visit the SMAA website for future updates.)