the-brotherhood-of-st-andrew-151047

St. Andrew’s Cross July 2026

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:38:27 GMT

July 2026

Lead Like Andrew | July 22, 2026

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 19:44:52 GMT

July 22, 2026

Executive Board Meeting Summary – July 21, 2026

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:18:20 GMT

Brotherhood of St. Andrew Executive Board Meeting

July 21, 2026 Summary

Our executive board met on July 21, 2026, to discuss and vote on pending agenda items.

A quorum was not present, and no voting action was possible. A formal approval vote on the minutes will take place at the next executive board meeting. However, an unofficial Zoom-generated summary pending that formal action is shared below:

New Chapter Prospects and Updates

Tom Welch announced that three new prospective chapters have expressed interest in joining in the past 24 hours, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Bronx, New York, and Carlsbad, California. The group discussed a prayer request from Dick Hooper.

Condolence Letters and Technical Issues

The meeting began with a discussion sending condolence letters to brothers who have lost loved ones, with Tom Welch noting he handles these personally and suggesting a shared resource for addresses would be helpful. The meeting experienced significant technical difficulties with audio and screen sharing issues, particularly for Charles Craven and others, before finally getting the agenda displayed and calling the meeting to order.

Board Quorum and Participation Challenges

The board discussed challenges with achieving quorum for votes, particularly regarding the Special Cross Edition review which only received votes from 13 members. Jack Hanstein pointed out that 13 votes doesn't constitute a quorum, and the group debated how to handle non-responsive board members. The board agreed to implement a process for removing non-participating members and will establish a task force for the Special Cross Edition project, with the first phase scheduled for completion by November 1st. Tom Hester suggested improving meeting attendance by providing consistent advance notice and maintaining regular meeting times and locations.

Governor's Commission and Headquarters Relocation

The meeting covered updates on the Governor's Commission work on combined bylaws, with Jack reporting that the commission is meeting twice monthly and discussing board composition, aiming for a 13-person board to make quorum easier to achieve. Roy Benevides then presented a detailed proposal for potentially relocating the headquarters to St. James Commons in Chicago, citing benefits like meeting space, visibility, and historical connection to the Brotherhood. Jack raised concerns about hidden costs and lack of storage space at the potential new location, prompting Roy to agree to address these issues by developing a letter of intent with the dean to clarify costs and storage solutions before making a final decision.

Office Relocation Decision Analysis

The group discussed the potential move of their office from Louisville to Chicago, with Jim Cutshall presenting a detailed spreadsheet analysis using a plus delta decision-making tool that evaluated various factors including costs, usage frequency, and impact levels. Jim's analysis showed that staying in Louisville would be more cost-effective than moving to Chicago, particularly considering the higher cost of living and potential staffing challenges. Billy Harrison clarified that while the current office manager would continue handling operations remotely, they would maintain a presence in the current location with occasional meetings and Tom' Welch’s visits, and storage needs were not expected to be problematic with current space and potential digitization efforts.

Church Relocation Discussion

Billy Harrison reported positive discussions with the Diocese of Kentucky about potentially relocating to a church with a chapel, noting the emotional and spiritual benefits of returning to their organizational roots. The board discussed the financial implications, with Billy indicating the arrangement would likely be economically neutral, while Dick Hoopr emphasized the strong emotional appeal of returning to their historical homeland. Tom Hester suggested considering a 120-month contract to secure the arrangement and recommended contacting the church archives before moving any records.

Chicago Location Move Discussion

The meeting focused on discussing a potential move to a Chicago location, with participants expressing both support and concerns. Tom Hester suggested archiving historical records at the new location, which received positive feedback from others like Dick Hooper and Jeffrey Butcher. Jeffrey raised concerns about leadership succession and the need to recruit and train new people before focusing on archiving tasks. Tom Welch highlighted the potential for using the Chicago facility for training new chapter officers and suggested negotiating discounted hotel rates for such events.

Office Location Discussion Meeting

The group discussed potential office locations in Chicago and Louisville, with Roy Benavides presenting advantages of the Chicago location including access to large meeting spaces and transportation hubs. Jim Cutshall expressed concerns about new officers being able to afford travel to distant locations, questioning whether either city would be practical for regular meetings. Jack Hanstein advised asking about hidden costs when negotiating with the Cathedral of St. James, while Tom Hester suggested applying similar cost considerations to both potential locations.

Office Move and Strategic Planning

The meeting focused on two main topics: a potential office move to St. James Cathedral and strategic planning. The board voted to proceed with negotiations regarding a possible move to the Cathedral, with Dick Hooper making the motion and receiving consensus support from the majority of attendees. Regarding strategic planning, Jeffrey Butcher expressed concerns about the lack of engagement with field members and emphasized the need for a comprehensive 3-5-7 year vision, while Jack Hanstein noted that getting consensus from the board has been challenging. The group agreed to start planning for strategic planning sessions in late spring 2027, with budget allocation to be determined.

Lead Like Andrew | July 8, 2026

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 19:15:01 GMT

July 8, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross June 2026

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 15:13:51 GMT

June 2026

Lead Like Andrew | June 24, 2026

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 20:05:37 GMT

June 24, 2026

Executive Board Meeting Summary – June 16, 2026

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:13:38 GMT

Brotherhood of St. Andrew Executive Board Meeting

June 16, 2026 Summary

Our executive board met on June 16, 2026, to discuss and vote on pending agenda items.

Key Outcomes

The board reviewed a potential headquarters relocation from Louisville, KY to St. James Commons (the cathedral where the Brotherhood was born in 1883) in Chicago, IL, but deferred any decision pending a formal side-by-side cost comparison with the current Louisville lease renewal proposal. The current lease in Louisville expires in November. Financial performance is strong, with revenues $30K ahead of budget through five months. Strategic planning and audit requirements were flagged as long-overdue priorities.

Decisions Made

No quorum for personnel/contract vote; Roy will conduct the vote via email.
Special meeting to be scheduled solely for HQ relocation decision, separate from regular board meetings.
Finance Committee will select and engage an independent auditor for 2024 and 2025 audits.
2027 Triennial confirmed at St. James Commons, Chicago, June 16–19, 2027.

HQ Relocation: Chicago vs. Louisville

Chicago option: St. James Commons, a 5-story building adjacent to the Cathedral; includes a large meeting room (200+ capacity), kitchen, breakout rooms, retreat floor with 13–14 beds, fully wired.
Louisville option: Current landlord offering 3-, 5-, and 10-year lease terms; building undergoing full renovation as a special events venue.
Key concerns raised:
Personnel costs ~$10K/year higher for an executive director in Chicago vs. Louisville.
Need for a second on-site employee if the current office employee works remotely.
Current lease expires November 30; prior building instability (bankruptcy, 5 ownership changes in six years) drove the search.
Moving costs would be a minimum of $4,000.
Points in favor of Chicago: Episcopal-aligned landlord reduces commercial volatility risk; historically significant site (first Brotherhood formed at St. James); Seabury Seminary already a tenant; dean actively recruiting Episcopal nonprofits at break-even rates.
Billy H.'s note: Chicago costs observed to be comparable to or less than those in Louisville and Atlanta.

Pending Confirmation

Side-by-side cost comparison (Chicago vs. Louisville): Tom Welch to coordinate with Billy H., Jeff B., and Roy B.
The Cathedral/diocese must be notified of serious intent to negotiate before the November 30 deadline.
Foundation audit scope and funding to be determined by the Foundation Committee. The fiduciary for the Foundation, State Street Global, meets all requirements of needed independent audits already. The expenditure by the Brotherhood would be redundant.
Veterans Ministry fundraising revenue (~$4,500 raised via raffle) and grant expenses need to be located and correctly classified in QuickBooks.

Financial Highlights (YTD through 5 months)

Total revenue: $109,629 — $30K over budget (driven by upfront dues payments).
Total expenses: $70,000 — $8K under budget.
Current surplus: $30K vs. $8K budgeted at this point.
Cash on hand: $39K checking + $7K savings = $46K total.
Full-year projection: Revenue ~$196K vs. $189K budgeted; expenses ~$168K vs. $189K budgeted — on track.
Issue: Duplication errors resolved; minor reclassification of restricted/life member donations still needed.

Strategic Planning

The last strategic plan was actively used with assigned goals, timelines, and accountability scorecards; progress stalled after COVID.
Consensus: A refresh is needed, but should involve younger members (40s–50s) and external facilitation, not solely the current board.
Billy H.'s suggestion: Delay formal strategic planning until after new officers are elected in June 2026.
A seminary consultant (VTS Center for Lifelong Learning) was identified as a potential facilitator.

Action Items

Tom Welch + Billy H. + Jeff B. + Roy B.: Produce side-by-side HQ cost comparison (Chicago vs. Louisville)
Roy B.: Send Tom Welch's contract vote to the board via email (no quorum present)
Roy B. / Finance Committee: Engage auditor for 2024–2025 audits
Foundation Chair: Convene the foundation board to arrange and fund the foundation audit
Darron K.: Locate and reclassify Veterans Ministry raffle revenue (~$4,500) and confirm grant expenses in QuickBooks
Roy B. / Dick H.: Schedule special board meeting (within 30–60 days) focused solely on HQ relocation decision
Tom Martin: Share National Episcopal Church grant opportunities with Jeff B. and Todd Wells

Lead Like Andrew | June 10, 2026

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:46:08 GMT

June 10, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | May 27, 2026

Wed, 27 May 2026 19:20:50 GMT

May 27, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross May 2026

Fri, 15 May 2026 19:11:54 GMT

May 2026

Lead Like Andrew | May 13, 2026

Wed, 13 May 2026 19:42:23 GMT

May 13, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | April 29, 2026

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:26:53 GMT

April 29, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross April 2026

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:47:56 GMT

April 2026

Lead Like Andrew | April 15, 2026

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:56:15 GMT

April 15, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | April 1, 2026

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 19:10:00 GMT

April 1, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross March 2026

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:08:55 GMT

March 2026

Lead Like Andrew | March 18, 2026

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 19:22:10 GMT

March 18, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | March 4, 2026

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:48:28 GMT

March 4, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross February 2026

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:29:18 GMT

February 2026

Lead Like Andrew | February 18, 2026

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 20:17:28 GMT

February 18, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | February 4, 2026

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:15:02 GMT

February 4, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | January 21, 2026

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 20:32:23 GMT

January 21, 2026

St. Andrew’s Cross January 2026

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:11:05 GMT

January 2026

Lead Like Andrew | January 7, 2026

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 20:14:00 GMT

January 7, 2026

Lead Like Andrew | December 25, 2025

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 19:19:22 GMT

December 25, 2025

St. Andrew’s Cross December 2025

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 19:09:24 GMT

December 2025

Lead Like Andrew | December 10, 2025

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 20:17:10 GMT

December 10, 2025

Lead Like Andrew | November 26, 2025

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:33:48 GMT

November 26, 2025

St. Andrew’s Cross November 2025

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 14:19:03 GMT

November 2025

Lead Like Andrew | November 12, 2025

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:28:42 GMT

November 12, 2025

Lead Like Andrew | October 29, 2025

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 15:13:38 GMT

October 29, 2025

St. Andrew’s Cross October 2025

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:51:56 GMT

October 2025

Lead Like Andrew | October 15, 2025

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:14:00 GMT

October 15, 2025

Lead Like Andrew | October 1, 2025

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 16:39:40 GMT

October 1, 2025

Lead Like Andrew | September 17 2025

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 16:41:05 GMT

September 17, 2025

St. Andrew’s Cross September 2025

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 16:30:18 GMT

September 2025

Lead Like Andrew | September 3, 2025

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:42:41 GMT

September 3, 2025

St. Andrew’s Cross August 2025

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:22:41 GMT

August 2025

Financial Report — October 2022

duda@neonone.com — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 04:58:20 GMT

National Brotherhood Executive Board Meeting – October 2020

duda@neonone.com — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 04:37:41 GMT

Conference Call Minutes

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 – 1:00p.m. EST

PRESENT: Jeff Butcher (President), Thomas Welch (Executive Director), Jack Hanstein, (Vice President), Charles Craven (Secretary), Patrick Parham (Treasurer), Ed Bartle, Roy Benavides, Larry Biddle, Ed Davis, Ken Dick, Billy Harrison, Dick Hooper, Conrad Jones, Andrew Joyce, Tom Martin, Richard Medlock, Ed Milbrada, Keith Purser, Richard Williams, Michelle Gelock

ABSENT: Bishop Paul Lambert (Chaplain), Roland Flowers, Everett Price, Waring Webb, Kathy Copas, Jess Shelton

Jeff Butcher called the meeting to order at 1:04pm; Ed Bartle led with prayer.

Jeff then opened a roundtable for all Board members to share current worship practices in their areas while struggling with coronavirus: continuing virtual worship where virus totals are still high, and limited re-opening where possible. He also invited all Board members to submit names of all in need of prayer.

–Ed Davis, Huntsville,Texas—The Board rejoiced that Ed and his wife have recovered from COVID. Ed gave a grim report on prison ministry because of the virus, which has been shut down with families of incarcerated unable to visit since March 13. Over 200 inmates in the Texas Prison System and 56 correction officers have died from Covid.

–Ed Bartle, Province IV VP Central & North Florida: A Central Florida church has 45 men interested in forming a new chapter. Tom Martin visited a recent meeting.

–Charles Craven, Knoxville, TN: St. John’s Cathedral is continuing in-person services with about 70 attending. A successful outdoor service has been held at local Lakeshore Park on all warm-weather Sundays, ending for the winter last Sunday. Knoxville coronavirus rates have recently expanded.

–Roy Benavides, Province VII: Diocese of Rio Grande is Zooming most services, as COVID spikes are continuing in cases, hospitalizations, and death-rates in El Plaso and Lincoln County.

–Tom Martin: Atlanta diocese remains strict, allowing only outdoor services with 50 or less. Zoom thankfully enables virtual Sunday worship as well as local BStA chapter Bible studies.

–Billy Harrison, Province IV: Almost all Florida dioceses participated in a recent Oct. 18 Zoom meeting. Billy and Tom Martin will call to check up on chapters not Zooming in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A December 6 Zoom meeting will plan a providence-wide retreat to be held in early 2021.

–Richard Williams, Province II: Recent successful controls on COVID have enabled many churches to re-open. You-tube continues at his church. Many meetings continue virtually. A Convention meeting will be held on November 7. A special St. Andrew’s Day service is planned. The Queens Assembly will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a special service on December 13 at 4pm—hopefully in-person but otherwise on Zoom and YouTube.

–Jack Hanstain, Province VIII—Diocese of Arizona may have to move from Phase 2 back to Phase 1 because of rising virus numbers. Most churches are holding Zoom meetings and YouTube services. Brotherhood continues to hold Saturday morning Zoom Bible studies with about 15 loyal participants. Sacramento churches also continue Zoom meetings.

–Dick Hooper, Florida—They are hoping chapter meetings can revert from virtual back to in-person meetings in November, though recent spikes will probably cause more closings than openings.

–Ken Dick, 1st VP Field Operations and Middle TN—His church recently began adding in-person meetings to continuing Zoom. But they had to shut back down when parishioner came down with Covid. He virtually attends a Southern California church that offers a regular service with music, though with no congregation present. Tennessee Bishop John Bauerschmidt recently addressed his congregation.

–Ed Milbrada, Province V Southern Ohio: A search has begun to replace their Bishop, who just announced retirement. Ohio continues to be red-zone on the virus: Diocese is not allowing in-person services. A Province 5 members-at-large Zoom gathering is set for Nov 4.

–Conrad Jones, Province III, Virginia: Conrad is currently searching for new parish home; visiting various churches shows great differences in worship styles. Diocese of Virginia is presently allowing no in-person services until further notice. He attended a Zoom chapter meeting at St. Stephen’s in Culpepper, VA early this morning; Tom Welch will visit there during Thanksgiving week. Pennsylvania Brotherhood chapter is celebrating their 90th year. Province By-laws are being reworked following a September meeting.

–Patrick Parham, Houston: His church held its first in-person service since the pandemic began, with distancing requirements, which included a Baptism.

Jeff requested prayers for Kentucky Diocesan coordinator Josh Wainright, who suffered a heart attack and now faces surgery. Prayers were also requested for the devastating fires out West, especially in the Colorado Rockies. Also for new Deacon Bob Dinell, recently injured from a ladder-fall. Jack requested prayer for Brother and retired Navy Seal Bob Slavel, recently sustaining an injury that required leg-amputation. Further prayers were requested for peace from the ongoing protests.

MINUTES: With motion and second, Minutes were accepted as printed.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Per Patrick Parham: T Rowe Price account is now $70,472. Total assets $69,617. Total Ministry Pledge income: $125,948 (as opposed to 117,926 this time last year). Program operating expenses are $15,999, which is $27,885 less than this time last year (probably due to COVID). Foundation investment total is now just under one million: ($975,511). Net operating income: $75,030 as of end of September. Considering the past quarter was our toughest, we have made it through. (For Patrick’s complete 7-page report, see his email: “BOSA October Performance Reports – (10-31-2020)”) sent Nov 16, 2020, 2:53 PM.)

— Finance Committee went over the budget at a recent meeting, tweaking it to be more realistic as we look to next year.

–Amazon website protocol-needs were mentioned.

–A plan with Kroger is available in four states – Michelle will help in determining how we use this.

Richard Williams moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report; Dick Hooper seconded; “Aye’s” were unanimous.

OLD BUSINESS

Racial Reconciliation Task Force Update—Jack Hanstein and Dick Hooper. In their weekly meetings they are working towards trust that promotes fuller conversation. Consensus is developing—trust will take time. Membership is evenly divided between white and people of color. Seven of eight Provinces are represented.

Nominating Committee—still in progress; will resolve over the next few days.

Strategic Plan Update—Tom Martin’s recent report on training and feedback is included in this month’s edition of The Cross.

Communications Committee Test Run (Ken Dick, Tom Welch)—Tom stated that the test run was almost complete. Postcards were recently sent; Jeff commended them as unusually attractive and creative. Rather than hiring people to do this job, we need to let brothers make phone calls as a community-building effort. Brothers receiving the calls were unvaryingly grateful, and we are learning a lot about their chapters. It will take 700 man-hours to go through the entire database. Dividing that among 20 brothers makes the job do-able. Tom Martin offered to participate.

Ken announced a Province Presidents’ Meeting on November 10 at 5pm to spread out the calls among provinces and dioceses “so one person is not doing 1,000 names.”

Roy Benavides stated that Gary Allman, who recently resigned, will be in the loop to offer advice.

NEW BUSINESS:

–Master Zoom Conference Call Schedule –was sent out recently and received, per Jeff. With these Province meetings we will be talking to the entire membership once a month for the first time. Jeff is making sure ACNA is included.

–New Members Orientation will be on December 2 at 8:00pm. Jack will cover the Constitution; Jeff will cover history. Michelle and Jessica will cover the web page. A swearing-in ceremony for all new members will follow. One week later our newest chapter from Papillion, Nebraska—“the youngest chapter we’ve ever had”– will be installed on the same evening as the Province VI meeting.

–Roy Benavides and the ACNA in South Carolina are both planning virtual retreats.

–Dick Hooper recommended a virtual presentation on Ministry Pledges to promote better understanding and hopefully pledge income. Duly noted, per Jeff.

–per Roy: We plan to restore our social media sharing via daily Facebook , Instagram and Twitter.

–Convention info: commercials, Podcasts—Tom Welch declined to address those at this time.

Tom then gave the following additions to his report: (See Tom’s report at end of Minutes.)

+++He attended the Province 5 meeting on Saturday.

+++Yesterday he was with all Dallas assembly officers.

+++On membership numbers to date vs. last year: Last year we had 225 new members; this year 211.

+++We are asking for birth year on new member applications to define trends and “hot spots” in areas of our ministries among different age groups. A primary interest among younger Brothers, half of whom grow up without a father figure, is discipleship and mentoring.

+++From phone calls with those born after 1980, Tom learned that they lump racial reconciliation and restorative justice together as synonymous.

+++Bishops who are making themselves available on calls with Tom include Bishop Sutton in Maryland, Bishop Ian Marcum of VTS, Carl Wright of National Cathedral. Tom will meet with them the week before Thanksgiving around November 16, and bids our prayers for meaningful communication.

–Jeff emphasized a continuing need for a Junior Board Representative—a junior Brotherhood Board member. He invited nominations.

–Jeff deferred the following Agenda items to a later meeting:

“Fund Development Rollout,” “New Appointments: VP MAL/Membership Chair,” “Feast of St. Andrew Day,” and “DMML/Project XII.”

–Province Presidents’ Reports: Most were made at the round-table that began the meeting.

+++Province VII: Roy Benavides made the following three announcements:

1. A virtual retreat led by Tom Martin is scheduled for November 19-21.

2. Also: the day before the retreat on November 18, St. John’s in Tulsa is having a mentorship Zoom session with The Rev. Matt Marina, the priest who led on Mentorship at our Austin convention.

3. Calls are being made to members-at-large and to Diocesan coordinators to list chapter meeting dates, Zoom meeting sessions, and updates on their directors. This information will be forwarded to the National staff for record-keeping.

Because of a confusing meeting announcement, Andrew Joyce and Larry Biddle joined the meeting late. Jeff assured them that the confusion was not their fault, and invited their submissions:

–Larry announced a retreat led by Bishop Lawrence on October 31 for all Carolinas chapters. It will be both live and virtual.

–Andrew has received an email reply from his contact in Japan. He expects “hard numbers” for Brotherhood chapters and members in Japan today. They will be included in his article for the November issue of The Cross: “The Brotherhood of St. Andrew in Japan.” He is also in regular contact with the Philippines. Rough estimate for Brotherhood members in the Philippines (despite lack of Internet) is around 3,500—most likely more.

Jeff will be out of the office November 11-19 – Jack Hanstein will be in charge during this time.

Next Meeting: Due to Thanksgiving week, the originally scheduled November 24 meeting is moved to Tuesday, December 1, at 1:00 PM Eastern time.

Fr. Bartle offered a closing prayer.

Meeting adjourned 2:15pm.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Below is Tom Welch’s report:

Executive Director Board Report

November 2020

Office Matters
We continue to come in under budget for staff and admin. expense. Telephone traffic from the field is low aside from board members. All staff has remained healthy this year.
New Members for 2020 will likely result in a modest net growth of membership. I continue to call and welcome every new member when their applications come in. 216 this year, so far.
December CROSS edition (print) is ready to go to the printer now. Digital release on 12/15.
Ministry Pledge update (hopefully) at the Board Meeting.
Conventions
General Convention & DoK postponed until July, 2022.
Thus far I only know of one national convention that may be held in-person next year; and even that might change.
Brotherhood Triennial Convention
Poll the field via CC about holding virtual vs. in-person convention in Baltimore?
BOARD ACTION ITEMS. I need a decision from the full Board in December on whether to hold our convention combination virtual and in-person or completely virtual…or not at all in June.
National Council Chairman Dick Hooper (emcee for a triennial) and I had multiple conversations about convention pre-pandemic. We developed the schedule and secured speakers months ago. We should follow his lead in these conversations about convention.
If we go virtual with convention, we will have to write a $7, 837.50 check to the hotel and lose our $5,000 deposit. I had already had affirmation from the hotel that so long as we moved our booking rather than cancel the booking completely, they would work with us. (In fact, I met with the Sales Director in-person on the 19th in Baltimore.)
The present 2021 budget proposal provides no money for the new Board Orientation/Strategic Planning meeting. Action item, my formal request to budget for this meeting using our $5,000 deposit with the hotel and generate another $7,837.50 through food, beverage, a/v and housing expenses.
Ideally and practically, we should hold the meeting in Louisville, BUT, if we hold the new Board Orientation in Baltimore late in Q2 or early in Q3 we could potentially reduce or eliminate our losses.
Another consideration would be to concurrently hold Board orientation AND a multi-Province Summit for one or more of the workshop topics. The Board should be mindful that discipleship/mentoring continues to be far and away the highest interest level among seven ministries throughout our demographics. Holding new board orientation in Baltimore AND workshop topics for the field in general would allow for an in-person summit with a virtual option for workshop attendees.
Whether or not we hold a summit I am requesting the Finance Committee and the Board budget for an in-person new board orientation for 2021. RE: II C 2 c above
I should have alternative date options from the Royal Sonesta by 12/1 and if I do will share during our Board Meeting. Once I know what direction NCC Hooper will lead us he and I can again develop the new convention budget and agenda in short order.
ELECTION of Officers and Board Members
Please refer to the website to carefully review your Constitution and Bylaws regarding elections.
In short, we were already preparing to handle the entire election process via mail prior to the planned triennial being in-person, not al all, a combination of virtual/in-person or fully virtual.
Should the Board elect to go virtual this summer with convention or, by presidential decree (with input from the Board), suspend the triennial convention one year, elections could be held twelve months later. That means all in office now would remain through next year. If they opt out of another year, then the national president would fill those vacancies.
Prov. Pres. elections are conducted outside of Nat. Office.
The Board has multiple decisions to make in December throughout Section 1.C.
Executive Director Meetings
Multiple chapter zoom meetings and one in-person (Christ Church in Bowling Green).
Diplomatic run to DC/BWI the week before Thanksgiving.
Meetings the week of 11/16 with Bill Campbell of ECF, +Sutton (Dio MD), +Goff (Dio VA), +Markham (VTS Dean) and Rev. Kim Coleman (UBE President). Rescheduled meetings with +Carl Wright (assumed next National Chaplain) and Dean Randy Hollerith of National Cathedral. I also met with +Seage (DioMS) on 11/24.
Each of the meetings followed the same format/outline for discussion. All of the individuals appreciated the extra effort it took to have real “face time.” Things were accomplished through this channel that just aren’t happening over a zoom venue.
Some of the content to these discussions I must hold in pastoral confidence. The crux of these visits was to provide updates on our ministry and provide relationship building depth that can only happen during in-person encounters. Each of the meetings involved prayer.
The briefings summary
We have an interest from Bill Campbell at ECF (Episcopal Church Foundation) to help underwrite efforts in the space of racial reconciliation. They appreciate our ministry and our fiduciary trust placed in them.
Bishop Susan Goff (Dio VA and Conrad’s bishop) would like to include video snippets about us and our sub ministries on her diocesan website. DC Jim Carlock joined me for this zoom meeting and truly led most of the conversation/report to Bishop Susan. He did a great job with it.
Rev. Kim Coleman opened us with prayer. We met in the National Office of the UBE on the campus of Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. As I watched her read the article in the October CROSS about racial rec. efforts and Sacred Ground, things truly took off. She would like to work with us next year in the workshop space to, in her words, “show the church corporate how we (BStA & UBE) can grow in relationship and be an example for all.” I must tell you this was a transformational meeting where I believe both of us felt the Wind of the Holy Spirit fill the room about halfway through our meeting. She wants to talk with her board members at the UBE, as I do our Board, and for the two of us to talk again in mid-January. (Perhaps we can join with them in Baltimore late in Q2 or Q3). I had hoped to have 45 minutes with her. It was 110 minutes, by far my longest meeting that week. This was my 5th personal one-on-one visit with her since June. If you would, take a few minutes to listen to her Thanksgiving Message, paying note about their national conference in 2021 as well as an effort taking place in Louisville, Kentucky.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwKjdvMMGGXFnjjftkGxVwDSwpg

Bishop Ian Markham (Dean of VTS) wants me to visit with him again late next year to discuss plans for a real presence at VTS in 2022. We had a good 45 minutes with one another. He was extremely interested in the “serving millennials” workshop we hosted the week earlier. The remark that Matt Marino+ made about “that age group loves to belong to a group and hates to join an institution or organization” prompted some further discussion. He asked for a copy of the workshop.
Bishop Eugene Sutton, Racial Rec. Advisor, among other things, wanted to know if we were still coming to Baltimore in June and if we still planned to have Mr. Rowan as a keynote. While all my meetings included prayers from these clergy members, this one included a laying on of hands over me with prayers for me personally and that of our ministry. I am humbled every time I am with this man. This was my 2nd visit in his office.
+Brian Seage, Bishop Advisor for Recovery As you may recall, this is my “home” bishop (I lived in MS from ’73-‘16). He was pleased to get this update, not surprised we hadn’t received “good press” from news outlets about our expanded work with racial rec since September and interested in seeing the video on Serving Millennials. Time with this bishop is always like visiting with family.

Executive Board Agendas

November/December 2021

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew

December 7th, 2021 8PM EDT

Brotherhood of St. Andrew

Executive Board

Agenda

Presiding: Conrad Jones, BStA President

Meeting Host/Moderator: Roy Benavides, Sr. VP Administration

Join Zoom Meeting

Prayer:
Opening Comments: President Conrad Jones
Approval of October minutes: Charles Craven
Finance Report, October: Patrick Parham
Old Business
Membership renewals/update: Tom Welch
ACR redesign Update: Tom Martin
New Business
New Province VII president Chris Matthews
Strategic Partnerships: Gary Allman/Tom Welch
Board Commitment: President Conrad Jones
Communications Committee ( Cross, Newsletter, Social Media, website) – VP Gary Allman lead
Field Operations Committee (training and chapter/member development) – VP Tom Martin lead
Program Development Committee (7 ministries) – VP Keith Purser lead
Finance Committee (Budgets/Reporting) – Treasurer Patrick Parham lead
Fund Development (Planned Giving and Foundation Fund)- VP John Blossom lead
Membership Growth initiatives – Executive Director Tom Welch lead
Database integrity (Neon functionality and member contacts) – Sr. VP Roy Benavides lead
Fund Raising – President Emeritus Jeff Butcher lead
Cross Distribution: Tom Welch
2022 Budget Final Vote: Charles Craven & Conrad Jones
Strategic Priorities: Conrad Jones & Roy Benavides
GROWING membership and chapters
BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION
DOING our ministry and mission work
EXPANDING MINISTRY OUTREACH
COMMUNICATING more with our base
STRUCTURING FOR SUCCESS

Approval of Ex. Director’s Employment 2022 (executive session)
Executive Director Report: Tom Welch
Field Operations: Tom Martin – 1st VP Field Ops
Planned Giving: 1st VP Rev. John Blossom
Program Development: Keith Purser – 1st VP Program Development
Chapter Reps and Member at Large – Lyn Reavis
Prayer Requests:
XIV. Closing Comments and Prayer:

Next meeting January 25th, 2022, 8pm EST Time

St. Andrew’s Cross June 2025

duda@neonone.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 18:50:59 GMT