• We have engaged a new bookkeeper, in light of Susan's recent resignation. Alicia Sanoian will join us later this month.

• The nominating committee was appointed to identify a slate of candidates for two vestry seats that will become vacant when Jackie Frey and Elizabeth McCorkle complete their three-year terms. The committee members are Jackie Frey, Elizabeth McCorkle, and Keely Clifford. The election will be held at our Annual Meeting on February 2, 2025.

• Jackie Pierce, chair of the Celtic Music Ministry provided an update on this thriving program.  The Celtic jam groups are growing, and the concert series brings many community members to our campus. Jackie has a terrific team of volunteers who host the concerts and offer refreshments. With donations and concert proceeds, the ministry is self-supporting.

• The Currents of Love stewardship campaign is on track, and members have been asked to finish submitting pledges by November 3rd.  Over 60% of pledges received so far have been an increased amount from the prior year.

• The Vestry discussed the frequency of the ministry reports that leaders are asked to submit each month. Many leaders don't have updates that often. The Vestry agreed to change the frequency to quarterly. Of course, ministry leads can bring issues to the Vestry as they come up.

• The investiture of presiding bishop-elect Sean Rowe is coming up on November 2nd. The Diocesan Convention will be held Nov 9th.  On Nov 10th after service, a summary will be shared with the parish, including a recording of the bishop's address.

Robert Daunt shared a Ministry Spotlight on Buildings and Grounds committee led by Donna Daunt. Some of the significant projects completed in recent years include:

• Replaced roof on Clay Hall.

• Painted the Church

• Replaced the main water supplies

• Loose and damaged siding was reattached, primed, caulked, and painted

Given our historic campus, there are more large projects on the list to tackle such as painting Clay Hall.

Kathy Stoner led a team including Roni Portillo and Penny Portillo to apply for a Diocesan grant in the Property and Education categories; we expect to hear back around the time of the Diocesan Convention on November 9th.

Pastor Kristine marked her 5-year anniversary at St. Mary's! She became rector here on 9/29/19.

Pastor Kristine shared that she recently met two new pastors in PG churches, the Rev. Jennifer Goto from First Methodist and the Rev. Elaine Schoepf from the Christian Church of PG. 

Ellen Jahn and Ray Ramirez shared plans for upcoming stewardship season. A kickoff event is scheduled for October 6th after worship.

Ann Pettit was invited to provide an update on the Leslie Garden. She provided an overview of the garden and the options for memorializing loved ones.  With the departure of the Wittrocks, we need one or more new committee members for the Leslie Garden. Contact Ann if you would like to learn more about this rewarding ministry. 

Karin Forno was invited to provide a Ministry Spotlight on the Altar Guild this month. Karin shared some of the many tasks performed by the Altar Guild in preparing the sanctuary for worship services. Doing this work can be a spiritual practice. Altar Guild could use about four more volunteers, so if anyone would like to know more about this role, please contact Karin.

The state of California requires all employers to have a Workplace Violence Prevention plan by 7/1/24. The vestry reviewed a draft and approved it. 

Roni shared that a contract was signed with a contractor, SilCon, to begin the Labyrinth Garden project. The project timeline is being developed. The project manager at St. Mary's is Andrea Noble.

Ellen Jahn and Ray Ramirez volunteered to lead the Fall stewardship campaign.

For the Labyrinth Garden project, the contract is expected to be signed soon with a contractor.

Don Fennell and Rosemarie Axton were invited to share joys and concerns re: I-HELP. All is going well in the men's and women's programs. Don and Rosemarie both talked about what a gift it is to offer hospitality by sharing a meal and conversation and invite anyone who is interested to come and see for themselves, simply by showing up for dinner and/or preparing some food.

Jean Blondeau was invited to the Vestry meeting to discuss the idea of a Congregational Care ministry for which he and senior warden, Roni Portillo, have identified a need. The Vestry was supportive of the idea of matching volunteers with those who might need a periodic phone call, a ride to the doctor, meals after a medical crisis, and/or referrals to local resources. Jean will develop a survey to assess the needs of parishioners and the ways parishioners might be able to assist. Jean is willing to be the coordinator for this ministry and he suggests a backup coordinator would be a good idea as well.

This year, the Vestry will be inviting leads from many of our ministries to attend a Vestry meeting to provide an update and share joys and/or concerns. For May 1, Sarah Schramm attended to talk about Christian Social Concerns. She described the three programs: food pantry, emergency financial assistance, and The Store Next Door. She noted about 60 people volunteer for CSC programs. While CSC normally orders canned goods at a discount from the Food Bank of Monterey, the food bank has not offered sufficient supply recently and it has been especially important to receive donations from parishioners of canned goods and/or monetary donations.

On March 22-23, the Vestry met for its annual retreat. On Friday evening, Roni Portillo talked about the role of the vestry and discussed group norms. On Saturday morning, Pastor Kristine facilitated a discussion of the joys and challenges for St. Mary's in the past, present and future. Our treasurer, Kathy Stoner, presented an overview of church accounts and finances. The retreat agenda also incorporated evening prayer, morning prayer and sharing delicious food together.

In the business meeting portion of the retreat, Andrea Noble presented an update on the labyrinth garden. She explained that a soils engineer advised that the sinkhole appears to be isolated, and it should be able to be mitigated as a beginning phase of the Labyrinth Garden project. Andrea is preparing the plans to send to potential landscape contractors, requesting bids in April.

The vestry reviewed group norms and set the dates for the Vestry Retreat in March and the monthly meetings. The regular meetings will be held on the 4th Wednesday of the month 5:30-7pm.

In the January 17th Vestry meeting, the highlights were:

• Approved Operating Budget for 2024

• Approved Capital Budget for 2024

• Appointed Kathy Stoner as Treasurer