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CIRMC Popular Report - Council Meeting May 29, 2021

CAYMAN ISLANDS REGIONAL MISSION COUNCIL

HIGHLIGHTS FROM COUNCIL MEETING HELD MAY 29, 2021

A regular meeting of the Cayman Islands Regional Mission Council was held via Zoom on Saturday, May 29, 2021, with nineteen Delegates in attendance, representing the nine Congregations in attendance. The Moderator, the Rt. Rev. Gary Harriott, and the General Secretary, the Rev. Norbert Stephens also attended the meeting. The Rev. Louis Sully led the Council in a Reflection based on Psalm 20. He intimated that the Children of Israel showed complete reverence, confidence, and dependence on God to lead them in one of the most difficult times in their history.
The Chair of Council warmly welcomed all and in particular, he congratulated the Rt. Rev. Gary Harriott in his ascent to the office of Moderator.
The General Secretary presented the May 2021 Synod Remit, and much discussion was held regarding the matrix of Worship, Witness, Work, and Evangelism which will guide all three levels i.e. the Congregations, Councils, and Synod of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands in fulfilling the nine Resolutions and eight Mission Priorities that were approved at the 42nd Synod, held virtually from April 11-18, 2021.
The following are the specific actions and decisions arising from the Council Meeting:

1. The Council received a request from the Girls’ Brigade Cayman Islands to name the Prospect Youth Centre, the Olive Miller Youth Centre. After deliberation and based on the recommendation from the Council Executive, the members voted to name the building which houses the Hall and Dormitories, the Olive Miller Memorial Building. This request and the Council’s approval will be forwarded to the relevant Synodical Committee for final approval.

2. The ministry at the John Gray Memorial Church will continue under the leadership of the RDGS and Rev. Louis Sully until Rev. Donovan Myers returns to full service at the end of summer.

3. The Rev Rohan Forrester will continue as the Interim Minister in the East End/ Gun Bay Charge and Lay Pastor Ormond Williams will also remain in the context until a new ministry direction is discerned.

4. Arising from the Synod’s Resolution and Mission Priorities Congregations are required to continue to engage in the following ministry and missional activities:
                               
a.  Worship
 Continue to engage in life-giving worship
 Evangelism
 Congregational life (assess worship and leadership needs, review age-specific ministries, evangelism, maximize training opportunities
 Discipleship

b. Witness
 Community outreach ministries
 Peace initiatives
 Food security
 Education (support for students who need assistance in the area of eLearning

c. Work
 Maximize training opportunities
 Use technology to maximize ministry efficiency
 Recruitment for ministry
 Assessing technology needs
 Assessing data needs/gaps

5. Arising from the Synod Resolutions and Mission Priorities, Council is being tasked with the following:

 a.Worship
 Technology Team - assessment, networking, and training for worship and nurture
 Ensuring availability of Discipleship Resources

b. Witness
 Land use - identifying locations for leases, development
 Peace initiatives
 Education

c.  Work
 Assessment and realignment of Congregations and Charges
 Assessment of leadership and resource needs
The work at the Council level will be undertaken by the Mission Action Teams and a Special Taskforce chaired by Dr. E. Elizabeth McLaughlin, which will carry out the assessment and alignment of the Congregations and Charges.

6. A concern was raised regarding the attendance of persons to Council Meetings and this will be addressed through the Office of the RDGS and the Ministers in the Charge.

7. Council expressed thanks to a Member who covered the cost of the Devotional Books that were given to the Candidates in the Cayman Islands 2021 General Election. The books were given to the thirty-two Candidates who attended the Worship Service at the Elmslie Memorial Church on March 20, 2021. To date, all other Candidates have received their books.

8. The Mission Action Teams reported on the plans and activities for the months of May to September 2021. These include the following:

 Children and Youth Summer Camps
Children’s Camp July 18-23 (Sun.-Fri.)
Teen’s Camp July 25-30 (Sun.-Fri.) 

 Evangelism  
Back to Church Sunday- September 12 (Further discussion will be held on the concept and format.

 Discipleship- Work to be done in conjunction with the Synod’s Discipleship Taskforce

 Mission – Membership of the MAT and the scope of work is being developed

 Leadership – The MAT will work in conjunction with the Council’s Taskforce

9. Financial Report (given by Mr. Ronnie Dunn, FINCOR)

 RSM 2020 Review Report has been received and approved by Council
 There is a recommendation that the Council/CUCC do a valuation of all properties. The last valuation exercise was done in 2016/2017
 The NPO 2020 Return was filed on May 12, 2021, and was approved on May 28, 2021. – The document can be viewed on the Cayman Business Portal – under  United Church NPO 203
 1st Quarter 2021 Financial Report was presented by FINCOR. The Council ended the quarter with a net surplus of KYD 15,300.00. This report was approved by Council.

10. All Charges and Congregations gave updates on the Ministry and Mission activities. The Moderator and General Secretary engaged in the discussions arising from these updates. It was noted that the Elmslie Memorial Church will be celebrating 175 years of ministry in 2022 and plans are being made to celebrate this milestone. Confirmations and Baptism of New Members were reported by Savannah United, South Sound United and Elmslie Memorial. John Gray Memorial will have Candidates classes in the month of June. Ministry to Seniors, Youth and Children as well as Pantry and Soup Kitchen ministries were also reported.

The next meeting of Council will be on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at the William Pouchie Memorial Church at 9:00 am.

Posted by: Administrator Thursday Jun 03, 2021 09:40
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