| ATTENDEES: | Scott Bryden, Marilyn Dean, Jimmy Ogunshakin and Andrew Torbet (chair) |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Andy & Tammy Fleming |
| APOLOGIES: | none |
The meeting began at 7:15pm and opened with a prayer.
| Topic | Action | |
| 1. | Approval of Previous Minutes | |
| The Minutes from 27th April were agreed and duly signed by Jimmy Ogunshakin, who acted as chair for that particular meeting. It was noted that the meeting arranged for the 2nd July 2009 had been postponed to the present one with everyone's agreement. | ||
| 2. | Matters Arising from the Minutes- not elsewhere covered on the agenda | |
| Missions contribution: AT confirmed that the support for Kolkatta has been sent and received. The Shepherds had agreed to assist Ben Brady to the sum of £400 (from the UK portion) to go on a Sabbatical but although Ben has gone no claim has yet been received. The possibility of using the remainder support the Glasgow church was discussed but a formal request has yet to be received. | ||
| It was also noted that the Special Missions Contribution for 2009 is to be taken up between now and the end of September and should therefore be mentioned in the Sunday Bulletins. | MD | |
| Red to Black: Both AT and MD feel that this is a worthwhile activity but that they cannot give any time to it until the forthcoming staff member relieves their administration duties. | ||
| 3. | Shepherds Items | |
| SB gave a verbal summary of the Church Holiday at Smallwood Manor. A final financial report should be possible by the next meeting. The Staff at Smallwood were pleased with the way we conducted ourselves and have invited us to come again. | SB | |
| No other issues were raised. | ||
| 4. | Finances | |
| Monthly spreadsheet 2009 complete to May. The spreadsheet for June is imminent and will be sent by email. | MD | |
| Individual quarterly budgets will be issued by AT | AT | |
| It was decided not to invest any of the charity's funds either with HOPEWorldwide or elsewhere at this time as funds would be locked out for up to 5 years. The portion still with Stewardship will remain there although the huge drop in monthly interest was noted. AT is looking into the possibility of a bond, which we could draw from in an emergency. | AT | |
| It was agreed that AT should pursue online banking. It was noted that banking transactions for MCOC had now reached a point where more up-to-date information was required to better run the church. Existing authorisation forms would be maintained. | AT | |
| 5. | Employment of Staff | |
| Employment of an admin assistant: JO confirmed that although there was one enquiry there were no further applicants from the advert to our sister churches. MD prepared a draft interview document, which was approved with minor amendments. JO agreed to forward copies of the applicants' papers (4 from B'ham, 3 from Leics) to all the other Trustees by the end of the week. | JO | |
| AF reported that 2 Interns, Naomi Hill and David Mobbs had been appointed and arrived on the morning of the meeting. They both will be here for 2 months and have come with the full support and commendation of their respective church leaderships. AF requested their letter of appointment be approved by JO who informed the meeting that he had seen it and approved it. MD had already made a start in collecting the appropriate forms and information for the payroll company. AT handed the CRB application forms to AF to distribute to NH and DM. | MD,AT | |
| AF reported some possible progress of another ministry couple that may become self-funding in the Birmingham area. | ||
| SB reported that the Staff Appraisal for David Sandström had been completed before he left. The final paperwork is in hand. MD reported that the Staff Appraisal for TF would be completed by 14th July. There is yet to be progress for AF's appraisal due to the volume of work and commitments at this time of year. It was therefore resolved that the routine Staff Appraisals should fall in the month of September in the future. SB will chair the Appraisal group for AF. | SB | |
| 6. | Legal Matters | |
| JO presented a note on the process and reported that the documents for registering MCoC with the UK Border Agency had been sent off on 6 June. AF pointed out that the Sponsoring Licence would be unlikely to arrive before the Fleming's Visas expire on 17th July. This would not allow time for him to renew their visas with the Home Office, which would make it necessary for the Fleming family to leave the country on Saturday for an unknown period of time and in the middle of their UK commitments to the HOPE Youth Corps. The impact upon other commitments to the Nordic and Russian churches would be reported upon in due time. JO apologised for his delay in sending off the documents, which the Trustees had originally agreed should be done for the beginning of April. The backlog in the UKBA office (currently processing applications sent in on 20th May) is compounding the delay. JO agreed to pursue such emergency measures as could be taken. All other Trustees added their heartfelt apologies to AF and the Fleming family. It was agreed that all necessary expenditure arising from this situation would be reimbursed. |
JO | |
| 7. | Any Other Business | |
| The 2009 ILC is in Denver. The Shepherds will decide who from the Leadership of Birmingham and or Leicester should go this year. Registration is currently open. | ||
| 8. | Date of Next Meeting | |
| The next Trustees Meeting will be held on 21st September 2009 (subsequently changed to 12 Oct). |
Marilyn Dean
For Church Secretary