New Inter-Parish Council Meeting Summary available

Hello, Friends, 

The the first e-communication from the Inter-Parish Council (IPC) is now available .

We are committed to keeping you fully informed about each step the IPC takes, as we move forward together to create a unified, blended church -- a new worshipping community, uniting us as a spiritual family that incorporates the very best of our individual and mutual histories and traditions in faith.

Here, on a regular basis, we will be sharing our meeting summaries and progress. Please feel free to connect with any of the members of the IPC -- personally or by email -- to share your ideas and concerns.

In the interest of releasing information about the Inter-Parish Council's meetings as quickly as possible, we will be issuing post-meeting summaries rather than complete minutes -- although they too will be posted and available to all, once they are approved by the Council.
 

The Summary for the July 15th IPC meeting is:

• Met Sunday 15 July at Calvary 

• Appointed Dick Healy temporary chair (60 days) and Chuck Orphanos scribe 

• Appointed Naming Subcommittee consisting of Fran Weil (chair), Linda Coddens,
     and Phyllis Harris, and charged them to develop a plan to select a name as soon
     as possible

• Approved Mission Statement (see below):
 

     Mission of the Inter-Parish Council
 

The mission of the Inter-Parish Council (IPC) is to accomplish the merger of Calvary Episcopal Church, Danvers, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Peabody, into a viable Episcopal church serving Peabody, Danvers, and surrounding communities. To the extent feasible, the IPC will attempt to preserve traditions of and property deemed “meaningful” by the merging congregations.  The IPC will consolidate operations at a single location, dispose of excess property, resolve start-up staffing, coordinate with the Diocese of Massachusetts, keep
parishioners informed about its actions, and document its decisions. The IPC will act with the authority of the Vestries of the merging churches until officials of the new church are elected.

• Scheduled next 3 meetings:
 

     Sunday, July 22, at Calvary, at 10:15 a.m.
 

     Wednesday, August 1, at 6 p.m. at St. Paul's
 

     Sunday, August 5 at Calvary, at 10:15 a.m.

• Tentative agenda for July 22 meeting:    

    Minutes review
    Ground rules
    Subcommittee reports
    Discussion about alternates
    How to proceed on property 

For those who do not have access to email, we will also be disseminating all information as hard copy, to be posted in Peabody and Danvers so that everyone has access, and so that all of us can remain committed and involved in this exciting new faith journey upon which we have now, officially, embarked.

God's Peace and love to all our bothers and sisters.

--The IPC

If you are interested in receiving IPC communications, please email us at interparishcouncil@gmail.com. Please put "add me to the mailing list" in the subject line. 

 

Inter-Parish Council Update
July 6, 2012

Hello, friends: the Inter-Parish Council will be getting together for the first time on Saturday, July 14, at 1 p.m., for a pot-luck brunch. The idea is to have everyone come together for the first time in a relaxing and casual setting -- with spouses and significant others, since they will be ceding their time with their loved ones as the Council gets going -- so we can get to know each other. We will begin to formulate a mission statement and operating ground rules at that time and also set up the time and place of our first official meeting.

Please keep watching this blog space for updates as they happen.

The Inter-Parish Council is Now Complete

Hello everyone: 


This morning, St. Paul's announced its selection of members to the Inter-Parish Council.

The five are listed below. The new group of 10 is currently arranging to meet together, for brunch or supper, with their spouses and significant others, so we can get to know each other in a relaxed, informal setting.

At that gathering, we will be setting the time and place for the first official meeting of the IPC. More as it happens.

The five members from Peabody are:

Phyllis Harris (Finance Committee)
pharris@madico.com
  
Jan Briggs
janbriggs75@verizon.net

 Gerry Gaetjens
majorgps8@gmail.com

Phyllis Harris (Finance Committee)
pharris@madico.com

Jennifer Neil (Vestry)
libralimited@aol.com

Chuck Orphanos (Warden)
orphanosc@comcast.net

The Latest News About Our Coming Together

Unanimous YES! vote by Calvary to merge with St. Paul's.

On Sunday, June 17, 2012, the people of Calvary Episcopal Church voted unanimously to merge with Saint Paul’s. This special meeting of the parish was attended by more than 50 members.

The Vestry has selected five members to serve on the Inter-Parish Council.
Calvary's representatives will be:
Paul French (Warden) 
pbfrench@verizon.net

Bill Hooper (Treasurer)


Linda Coddens
lindacoddens@verizon.net

Dick Healy
rdhealy@verizon.net

Fran Weil
fweil@marketingcollab.com


Saint Paul's Vestry recommended merger to its parish and in an all-parish vote, that took place on Saturday, June 23, the vote to merge carried by a substantial majority, with 27 voting yes, 2 voting no, and 1 abstaining.

Currently, the St. Paul's Vestry is selecting five members to serve the Inter-Parish Council. The names of those individuals are expected to be announced on Friday, June 29.

More information will be posted here as it happens.

Photo: Calvary Vestry voting unanimously in favor of a merger with St. Paul's.

About June 10th historic vote by the Vestry
to recommend merger with St. Paul's:

from Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas


On Sunday, June 10, the Vestry of Calvary Episcopal Church voted unanimously to recommend a merger with Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Peabody, MA.

Before taking a vote, the Vestry reviewed the conditions of the buildings, the financial health of the parishes, and the diocese's expectations for the future of the Brazilian ministry in Peabody. The two motions are included below.

As members of the Danvers parish, congregants have an opportunity to vote on this recommendation at a special parish meeting this Sunday, June 17, after the 9:00 am service. Parishioners are encouraged to take part in this momentous decision and help choose the best future for our parish. If you have questions or concerns, please speak to any member of the Vestry.


Motion #1: Recommend merger for parish approvalWhereas certain members of the Vestry; certain members of a Sub-Committee appointed by the Vestry and other Members of Calvary Church have for more than one year engaged in a discernment with the Vestry and Members of St. Paul’s Church, Peabody, MA to determine the level of interest and the feasibility of merging Calvary Church and St. Paul’s Church into one new Church at a location not yet decided and Whereas the Vestry of Calvary Church has repeatedly assured the Members of Calvary Church that the Vestry would cede its elected authority to the general membership in matters regarding an approval or rejection of a merger with St. Paul’s Church The Vestry hereby votes to merge the Parish of Calvary Episcopal Church, Danvers with the Parish of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Peabody subject to approval by a majority vote of the Parish at a Parish Meeting on 17 June 2012.  If the Parish does not approve the merger by 1 July, 2012, this motion is null and void.

Motion #2: Grant authority to Inter-Parish CouncilThe Vestry hereby approves the formation of an Inter-Parish Council to oversee the merger of the parishes of Calvary and St. Paul’s, Peabody.  This council will have the authority to decide and act on all matters relating to the proposed merger including, but not limited to, site selection, naming, schedule of activities, asset distribution and staff selection as if said actions/ decisions were made by formal Vestry vote of Calvary Church, and will hold this authority until the merged parish enacts by-laws and elects a Vestry. This granting of authority will be null and void unless the merger is approved by Parish Meeting by 1 July 2012.

If parishioners are interested in being considered for service on the Inter-Parish Council:

The Vestry will appoint four members to serve on the Inter-Parish Council. We invite all members of the parish to consider serving on the Council.

This work will be challenging and rewarding, and will require a significant time commitment over the next year. The Council will be at the center of the parish’s life in this important time, since it will have the authority to make all decisions regarding the merger and the responsibility to communicate clearly and frequently to both congregations. Council meetings will be a time for listening to the Holy Spirit and truly coming to know and respect our brothers and sisters from Saint Paul’s. Its members will take faithful care of the rich heritage, the lively community, and the future hopes of both our parishes as they become one.

If parishioners would like to offer themselves to be considered for the Inter-Parish Council, please speak up at the all-parish meeting this Sunday, or let Rev. Thea know by the end of the day on Sunday, June 17.

Grateful thanks to Bishop Tom Shaw for joining the Peabody and Danvers parishes for a wonderful afternoon of affirming discussion about the possibilities of merger. Here are some photographs.

Thoughts About Sunday's Meeting

June 4, 2012

Good Day to my Sisters and Brothers at St. Paul’s and Calvary Church.  You may not be aware of the fact that I am a Biblical Scholar and I’m familiar with both Old and New Testaments.  Yessir!  I know that St. Joseph built the Arc and Noah lived in Nazareth.  For scholars like myself, the church wisely invented “The Sermon” which allows our Ministers who are just a bit more qualified to offer insight and guidance based upon that Sunday’s lessons and readings.  Doesn’t it seem fitting that the recent Lessons and Gospel deal with a group of people who were frightened by the prospect of change and uncertain about the future?  Aren’t we similarly challenged?  Doesn’t it seem fitting that those same Lessons and Gospels tell us the group was visited by the Holy Spirit in the forms of fire and wind to open their minds and hearts so they could understand and be courageous about the challenges they faced?  The past few days have been quite wind blown and I’m told there was a spiritually moving incident at St. Paul’s Saturday into Sunday with the sanctuary candle possibly having burned much longer than expected.  Yesterday afternoon at the “Merger Meeting” chaired by Bishop Shaw held at Calvary Church, I had the distinct feeling that we were visited by the Holy Spirit to allay our fears; to give each the courage to take the next step in the merger process and for all to claim this news as good to those who were unable to attend the meeting.

The biblical group burst forth with courage, excitement and energy to bring the Good News to the entire world.  We are asked by God to be courageous, excited and to bring all of our energies to bear in working towards merging our Parishes – two cities -  into one new Church with Ministries in both communities with special concern for our Brazilian Brothers and Sisters.  Our challenge seems to pale by comparison to that faced by the Apostles some 2,000 years ago!  Having met many from St. Paul’s over the past few months and witnessing their commitment and energy level, I am very excited about the future and am absolutely certain the merger is God’s will for our Churches.

Bishop Shaw and other Diocesan Representatives have made it clear there is no handbook to guide us through the merger.  We have taken an idea, created a groundswell, sought help where needed and have indicated that we wish to proceed on our own but also retain the option to ask for the Bishop’s help as the need arises.  Bishop Shaw also commented that proactive activities such as this merger which can lead to an expansion of Ministries into the two communities are looked upon very favorably by the Diocese when (financial) decisions are made which directly impact the proactive Parish.

A big challenge? – You bet!  Problems and details to address?  Absolutely!  Do we have the expertise?  Without a doubt – we’re going to write some part of the handbook!  Ladies and gentlemen, if you truly believe that this merger is God’s will for our Churches, there is no way possible that we cannot succeed!  The Vestry of Calvary Church is to vote next Sunday whether to favorably (or unfavorably) recommend to the Church Family of Calvary to merge with St. Paul’s.  I intend to vote YES!

What is your vote?

Bill Hooper

Calvary Church