Present: Gilda Bonnemere, Dorothy VanderWerf, Janet Macgregor-Williams, Bruce Tischler, Patricia Pastas,  Steve Huston.

 

Opening Prayer was given by Gilda Bonnemere.

 

 

The Council would like to meet with the conveners of the roundtables at it’s next meeting to gather information as to how they are doing. 

 

Steve talked about “Group Cares: Work Camps” and the opportunity to host a work camp. “Group” runs the program. They sleep at a local school. The work includes renovation projects like: ramps, porches, painting, etc. A group of 350 did 48 renovations in Port Jervis. They arrive on a Sunday and leave on a Sat. Typical day: breakfast, brief program, out to worksite, midmorning, snack and bible study on site, work, lunch, work, return to base, evening program. Wed. is a free day. Friday evening is a closing program. Group divides them into teams, not limited to the groups that they came from. 

Sponsoring involves: finding the houses to renovate (through an application process), find equipment (i. e. 120 ladders), find a school for accommodations. Group negotiates with the school for the contract, cafeteria staff, etc. Sponsoring community comes up with $20,000 for supplies. Group supplies $9,000. They were able to fund it with a HUD Community Development Block Grant. Hospitality, churches provide support and hospitality each night.

The event tends to be theologically neutral or in the middle. They recognize that they come from different backgrounds. 

Ramsey could serve as the co-sponsoring agency, we could spend 2013 raising the funds and then sign the contract so that we could actually host the work camp in 2015.

Strategy for going forward: 

Present: Gilda Bonnemere, Dorothy VanderWerf, Janet Macgregor-Williams, Patricia Pastas, Bruce Tischler.

 

Absent: David Peng, Gareth Icenogle.

 

Opening Prayer was given by Gilda Bonnemere.

 

Report from Bruce about what is going on in the Presbytery.

 

Patterson council is interested in doing training for Deacons and Elders and is looking for some funding support to do this in June.

There is a possibility of seeing this as a draft and then running a Presbytery elder and deacons training in the late fall or winter. This could be offered in different regions of the presbytery.    Local church could handle refreshments, registration, arrangements and presenters rotate from location to location. Look at a way to include the Korean congregation. Gilda will serve as co-ordinator for putting this together. Other possible locations: Bergen county, Hudson county, Upper Passaic county.