Heard it at Council: April 2025

By Kate Silfen, Church Historian | April 8, 2025 Council Meeting Report

Old South Council members were grateful to gather on the evening of April 8, 2025. After John opened with a word of prayer, Treasurer Donna Maston gave us an update on the church’s finances. She reported that the previous week had been rocky for our investments due to volatile stock market performance. Our utility bills have also gotten more expensive. But Donna was glad to note that our first quarter was quite strong due to the prepayment of yearly pledges, so our financial picture remains stable. We have completed the transition to QuickBooks, and this will make our accounting operations much less cumbersome. 

Maren Batalden provided an update on the work of the By-Laws Task Force. The Task Force has been tasked to think about our lay leadership. Members of the Taks Force sense that our three governing bodies need to be working more collaboratively towards a common mission. Similarly, they would like greater collaboration among committees, especially those with overlapping missions. Maren said the Task Force also wants to build a stronger, more porous relationship between the various committees and the wider church membership. In May, members of the three governing bodies will participate in a mini retreat to discuss all these issues. 

John had excellent news to share. On Sunday, March 30th, Old South enjoyed its highest worship attendance since 2018. He was also pleased to report that due to a recent generous bequest, we are now in a position to fund a full-time position with the Taylor Fellowship. John praised the work of the Mary Norton Society, whose work made this possible. 

Hillary Mull gave a brief update on the work of the Christians in Formation Committee. The committee hopes to form more small groups and invite more people to connect over Zoom during the Sunday community hour. She also issued an invitation for both Council members and the wider church to help plan next year’s All-Church Retreat. The Reverend Ashley Popperson closed the brief Council meeting with a prayer that God be within us, among us, and between us in a world so in need of love.