Summary Minutes for the Board of Stewards
August 11th, 2026 Meeting
6 pm in the Fellowship Hall
In person attendance: Joe Tarpley, Erin Brady, Dessa Boyton, Donna Galloway, Sharon Blythe, Patty Olbrantz, Celeste Tolbert, Bill Hansen, Les Swick, Ed Garrison, Aaron Davis
Not able to attend: Stephanie Knapp and Aaron Byrd. On Zoom: no one.
The August 11, 2026 BOS meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm. Quorum present.
Joe led us in thoughtful meditation about seasons, some seasons are lush and green, and others not. But no matter the season, God’s unwavering presence is with each of us.
The June minutes were read and brought up for approval. Les made a motion to approve, Celeste seconded the motion and all were in favor of approval.
Reviewed list of Action Items:
- The decision regarding the election of the SUMC lay leader needs to be kept at the Board of Stewards and Pastor level. The Lay Leader position cannot be delegated to the Nominations committee.
Action: Erin will make sure this is accurately portrayed in the guiding documents.
- Board of Stewards organization chart – Erin will work with Jennifer on this item.
- Direct Deposit – Finance and SPRC confirm that the process for paying employees through direct deposit is underway but not yet finalized.
- Leadership Meeting – it was discussed and agreed upon that ALL LEADERSHIP within SUMC will be encouraged to attend a Leadership meeting, tentatively to be held at Biltmore Park clubhouse on January 9, 2027. More communication regarding this meeting will be sent out in future months.
- Guiding Principles – some updates were made real time during the August 11 BOS working meeting, but Erin has asked all BOS members to review and annotate any changes/comments before August 22.
- Celeste asked and it was agreed upon that the Pastor’s goals need to be included in the Guiding Principles document.
September Town Hall prep – The topics are status of the Capital Campaign, upcoming Stewardship season, staff changes, a reminder that it’s not too late to sign up for a group (carryover from Launch Sunday Sept 13), and as always, a time for Question and Answer.
Reconciling ministries update: Brenda VenHuisen and Kellie Finley-Call (representing the All Are Welcome team) attended tonight’s meeting to participate in a space for open dialog, questions, and answers. From that space came a request from the BOS that All Are Welcome group consider the questions raised from the congregation to help better understand the RMN purpose and process. In addition, a request was made to consider the preliminary steps and timelines mentioned in the Reconciling Ministries Network video titled Reconciling Process Overview. This discussion ended for the evening, with everyone having more to contemplate and accomplish.
Working Team updates –
- COM (Council on Ministries) – Celeste highlighted the need for additional volunteers to assist with Sunday morning worship services (9 and 11), as well as in the SUMC church office. CHOW is being rebranded as “Wednesday Night Supper” and will include some positive menu changes. LAUNCH SUNDAY is scheduled for September 13.
- Finance – Bill presented the finances and budget.
- Trustees – Les reviewed the Capital Renewal & Replacement list, updating us on status of each line item. He also announced the termination of the Solid Waste Pick up contract with Republic Services and commencement of a solid waste pick up contract with Green Mountain Waste Management. The Green Mountain container will be placed on August 13th, and pickups will occur every other Wednesday.
- SPR – Sharon introduced Jason Gilmer, hired as the SUMC Communications and Marketing team member. Jason is already making exciting and eye-catching changes to SUMCs website, social media presence, audio/visual presentations, and newsletters.
- Preschool Update – Ed informed the Board that all the Around the Son preschool classes (2s, 3s, and 4s) have been filled. Enrollment stands at 49.
The regular session concluded at 7:50. The Board entered Executive Session following a 5-minute break.
Executive Session adjourned at 8:31 pm
Minutes recorded by Dessa Boynton, substitute for Aaron Byrd.
