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Tres Dias Secretariat Meeting Torrington, Connecticut Saturday, October 27th- Sunday Oct 28th, 2007 |
The 97th meeting was
called to order in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at 9:46a.m.
by President- Bruce Cato. Parliamentarian- Bill Boyd.
The meeting opened with prayer.
Present at Roll call
were:
Bruce Cato, Pam Belknap, Jim Bailey, Paul Weis, Judith Herren, Don
VanLandingham, Jeff Mehl,
Paul Markowitz, Eric Borman, Bill Boyd, Wilson Burton, Carolyn Davis, Harry
Davis, Faye Gilbreath,
Ned Heffington, Jane Henderson, Valerie Mehl, Robert Myers, Jeanne Norwood,
Adele Smith,
Richard Thornhill, John McKinney- Secretariat Executive.
Announcement: Paula Boyd (present) is the replacement for Tim Real on the Secretariat.
Absent: Theresa Dau, John Green, Douglas Pitt, Janet Biggers, Paul Dau.
Janet Biggers has missed a second meeting. Procedure will be followed in regards to the absentee rules.
Julie Bohl states an advocate may appeal on Janet’s behalf.
Handout of Reports: Community Highlights/ Minutes of July 29th meeting/ Treasury Report
Minutes: The minutes were read and several typographical errors were found.
Secretariat approved of the minutes with corrections.
Financial Report – 10:12a.m. Don
VanLandingham gave an overall review of the handout of the report that
was
given to the members.
Merve LeMasurier posed a
question regarding the amount needed to replace the inventory. A figure of
$4000.00 plus was spent on supplies.
Discussion was opened on the cutting back of the amount of money that is charged to the communities.
Jim Bailey had a question
on the reconciliation of checks and drafts verses the record of expenditures.
He had
made a comparison from July through September and wondered if the
expenditures were actual or allocated.
Paul Weis gave the clarification when he
explained that one check can sometimes cover several expenses.
Motion by Wilson Burton. Accept the Treasurer’s Report
2nd by Eric Borman. Vote passed
The meeting continues with some
discussion about struggling communities that have a low level of sponsorship.
Some communities such as London and Moscow have had to cancel their fall weekend
due to lack of funds
from low attendance.
Community issues and assignments Jeff Mehl of Mid-Hudson presents:
Mid-Hudson
assigned a committee to look over the
revisions that were made in the pilgrims guide. Discussion
was presented on the
following matters.
1. The Lord’s
Prayer: The guide uses the word trespasses. The committee researched the word
trespasses.
It was discovered to have limited use in one translation. A majority use of the
word translates as debt/debtor.
2. There was a
question on the accepted translation of the Bible for our use. Bill Boyd states
that the King James
version is the established and official translation of the
Bible for Tres Dias Incorporated. The King James of
1611 was recommended because it is used by the Boy Scouts of America and it is
the Bible of the Anglican
Church.
3. And Another issue
was the way the 10 commandments were listed in the Pilgrims guide. It was
stated that
different denominations used various numbering orders of the
commandments.
4. Jeff also raised the question of the emblem of a cross over the word “Son”.
5. Another potential
issue was the Prayer that begins – “Let your Holy angel be over me”. There was
some
concern that this may be viewed as denominational.
The pilgrims guide is not an
essential; however, the Policy committee called for these issues to be
considered since
the reprint of the revised guide was done without official
presentation and discussion from the committee members.
The point of this issue is that the guide should be worded in such a way so as not have a denominational bent.
Bruce Cato reviews a
couple of minor concerns from the Community Highlights reports and then calls
for old and
new business.
Discussion: Faye Gilbreath
opens with a request for solidification of a vote on the electronic use of
material from
the Tres Dias manual.
A request for a resolution was made for availability through a CD disc and online use.
It was noted that the Secretariat
had initially voted down electronic use due to the copyright and duplication.
The majority throughout the discussion were in favor of electronic
availability.
11:15a.m. - Bruce Cato
called for committee meetings and requested that the respective committees
review and
discuss the use of electronic availability of some of the T.D.
manual material.
He further stated that the Executive committee is in process of redefining “Active Member”.
A recommendation was made to look
into the possibility of a 10% tithe on Tres Dias funds. The revenue could
be
used as an ongoing resource that would be available to help struggling
communities.
Cuba was used as a test
case in the expenditures of funds on behalf of a foreign community. The
budget for Cuba
was examined through the recording of donations and
expenditures on a spread sheet. Due to the examination of
the received and
spent finances the program was well received and considered a successful
venture. Letters, posters
and testimonies were presented from Cuba that
confirmed further proof of a successful foreign venture. Bruce asked
for the policies and the procedures committees to look further into the Cuba Venture.
The information may prove
helpful in establishing other foreign communities.
Richard Thornhill
encourages the secretariat in foreign missions to help train the new
Pescadores. He reminds
the Secretariat that several partial scholarship funds
are available for any secretariat member of TD that is willing
to work as a
team member in another country.
11:25a.m. Recessed the Secretariat meeting. The separate committee meetings began.
Lunch Break at 1:00pm and committee meetings continued afterwards.
_____________________________________________________________________
Reconvened: 4:32p.m. The Secretariat meeting is called back to order by Bruce Cato.
Judi LeMasurier, chair for the secretariat meeting, gives a greeting and a warm welcome to all attendees.
Committee Presentations:
Executive Committee: Pam Belknap presents.
Pam moves that Julie Bohl and
Darla Meyer be added as voting members of the executive committee. They were
accepted.
The Executive Committee proposed
a new method of community assessment. A handout was given with example
figures.
No motion was called for since the proposal was issued for secretariat
consideration.
The purpose of a new method of
assessment is to give communities a simplified form of accountability. The new
proposal would also simplify the voting structure allotted to each community.
In addition the new method lends
support to honest and fair reporting.
Questions from the floor ensued
along with the following concerns: What effect would this have on International
communities? Would this method increase burden upon smaller communities? Will
the new method affect the by-laws?
Several examples from old and new
revenue and how the vote is affected were presented by Julie Bohl.
The
presented examples were complete with affected monetary figures as well as
recalculated votes. The examples
presented offered a fair monetary comparison
between small and larger communities.
Those present were encouraged to
review and consider all facts, on the new assessment method, in order to
prepare
for a future vote on the proposal.
Services Committee Presentation- Paul Markowitz presenting.
A call for approval is given for Patrick Provost-Smith to be moved to voting status. He is accepted.
Paul Markowitz explains that
their committee has reviewed the possibility of the electronic availability of
some
of the material from the Tres Dias manual. They plan to submit their
review for a vote.
The Pilgrims’ Guide issues would be submitted to the Blue Ribbon Committee.
Data
Base: The committee was asked to look into
developing a database template for sale by the services
committee in July of
2006, Ned Heffington and Doug Pitt are currently using the Excel program and
wonder
if it is an acceptable solution. Bruce explained that it would be wisdom
to consider using more current tools for
keeping information in a true Database
format such as Access. Robert and Marcy Meyers will be consulted by
the
Services Committee on this matte.
Submission of articles: The
Services Committee wants to answer questions about International service.
A
request was made for a submission of articles from each committee with a turn
in dead line date of
January 1st, 2008.
A change of name came forth. Curiosity kit will now be called “Start up Packet”.
The original start up kit will now be called the “New Community Support Packet.”
The plan from the Membership
committee is to create a “Starting Community Support Packet”. The idea is
to
give direction once a new community gets started. This packet would lend
structure to help new communities
and those that support them. The committee
plans to add new material to the packet.
Paul Weis states that the new community in Western Kentucky was chartered.
In addition, 25 communities
are due to renew their charter. Each year the membership committee will send a
letter to all communities that are up for renewed charters. They will also
notify the unchartered communities in
order to build the framework for
chartering new communities.
Administration Committee: Jim Bailey presenting.
Cindy Mentz is the Chair Person for the Elections Committee.
Charles Ligon, Brenda Aldridge,
Stephen Decillis and Pat Maynard are recommended for voting members.
They are
accepted.
The Restoration
Church of God is the chosen host church for the July Assembly meeting in North
Atlanta.
(Roswell, Georgia) The fall secretariat meeting is scheduled for
Portland Maine and the spring 2009 meeting
will be sponsored by the Music City
community in Tennessee.
One of the Korean Tres Dias
Communities has extended an invitation to hold a secretariat meeting in Korea.
Our Secretariat is looking at the feasibility of a 2011 meeting in Korea. A
current fare quote of $1400.00 was
given by Faye Gilbreath. It was recommended
to look into the possibility of chartering a plane. A video conference
was also
recommended by someone; however, another person recommended personal contact.
This may prove
to be more acceptable in regards to honoring the invitation of
that particular culture.
It was further stated that when
the President of the
secretariat went to Korea once in the past that the visit helped to
adhere the existing communities.
In July 2007 a Regional
Secretariat was formed to help this particular foreign community remain
cohesive as a group.
Terry Gilbreath, who went as a secretariat
representative to Korea, explained that Koreans are authority minded people.
They want to be granted the authority to charter others. The fact that they
have been holding weekends for years
without a charter presents a problem. The
secretariat should lend support that would grow the Korean communities
in the
area of having the authority to charter. A document is in process to allow this
to come about.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Valerie Mehl, chair for
the July 2007 Assembly, gave a wonderful presentation on the hosting
experience.
She heartily commended the spirit of the volunteers that
helped to host the July assembly. Valerie gave an over view
of the potential
problems and how to avoid them. For example anyone responsible for the airport
transportation
should have the cell phone information of the people they are
transporting.
Valerie recommended early
registration as well as promoting staying in a hotel room in lieu of a home stay.
She also recommended scripture to be placed on all printed material.
From a financial aspect, there was an accumulated amount of money left over that was turned into a scholarship fund.
Last of all Valerie gave a
resounding thanks to Julie Bohl who was a great help by lending full support
throughout
the entire process.
Bruce announced the end of orders
for Saturday and states that the meeting will reconvene in the morning at
the
Quality Inn.
The agenda for the 28th of October was reviewed and accepted.
Closing Prayer: Chuck Allen
Meeting Recessed at 5:50p.m.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sunday, October 28th, the meeting reconvened at 8:45a.m. at the Quality Inn.
Reconvene Meeting:
Bruce Cato called the meeting back to order. Bill Boyd -Parliamentarian.
Present were:
Bruce Cato, Bill Boyd,
Paula Boyd, Judith Herren, Paul Weis, Jim Bailey, Jeff Mehl, Valerie Mehl, Pam
Belknap,
Paul Markowitz, Harry Davis, Faye Gilbreath, Don VanLandingham, Wilson
Burton, Jane Henderson, Adele Smith,
Carolyn Davis, Eric Borman, Jeanne
Norwood, Ned Heffington, Richard Thornhill, Robert Myers,
John
McKinney-Secretariat Executive
Absent: John Green, Theresa Dau, Janet Biggers, Douglas Pitt, Paul Dau
Handout of Reports:
Treasury Report - From Treasury: Don VanLandingham gave an in-depth oral report of the Treasury status.
Motion byWilson Burton Call to approve the Treasurer’s report.
2nd by Eric Borman. Vote passed.
Committee’s
Reporting: Policy Committee - Executive Committee - Services
Committee
It was noted that an Observer
does not police a weekend. The observer is on a weekend only to observe.
On a
foreign weekend an observer will serve as a team member. The policy committee
is also working on
a procedure manual and will need each committee to turn in a
policy and procedure report for data purposes.
The deadline for the report is
January 1,
2008.
The motion was accepted and passed by a show of hands.
Tres Dias Fund: – Harry Davis brought some clarity on the status of NCF and challenges from Share the Blessing Fund.
The overview regarding this fund is as follows:
1. NCF does not charge for their services.
2.
All non-USA grants go through Givers Trust. (Givers Trust is a subsidiary of
NCF.) There is a processing
charge that ranges between 4% and12% and the charge is assessed according to the
country and the size
of the grant. In the past, the minimum amount of a grant to be processed was $5,000.00
– that amount has
now increased to a $15,000.00 minimum.
The Benefits of continuing to use NCF:
NCF has great insight for organizing appeals and a marvelous ability to help with fund raising.
NCF is
experienced in managing complex giving, such as; stocks, real property,
businesses, and other assets
that are not cash.
They are also unparalleled in helping individuals maximize the effectiveness of their gifts from a tax standpoint.
The various issues’ at hand on the Pilgrims guide was tabled.
Paul Markowitz submits the
following motion. To put the TD team guide on a CD Rom to be made available to
all of the
communities.
The CD Rom would have the following files;
1. The complete manual.
2. All outlines, purposes, and commentaries.
3. The Essentials.
A special copyright notice would
be included in each file giving established and emerging communities’
permission
to reproduce copies and restricting all other production.
A call to question came
forth on the vote for the right to electronically distribute the Tres
Dias Manual files.
The vote passed by a show of hands. There was one
abstention.
The services committee will make a decision on the dollar amount to charge for each CD.
A warm welcome to the Tres Dias
Secretariat was extended for the upcoming Secretariat meeting In Texas.
The
meeting is scheduled for Athens, Texas,March of 2008.
Jim Bailey brings a reminder that
Officer Terms are expiring and he encouraged those present to speak with their
respective communities about getting involved through representation.
Bruce Cato opens the floor for
discussion on the new proposal for a change in the current method of community
assessment and accounting. The purpose of the change is to acquire a better
method of accounting.
Don VanLandingham will prepare a spread sheet for the secretariat to model an example of the proposal.
10:05a.m.: Bruce Cato calls for the meeting to close.
Benediction: Chuck Allen
Meeting closed: 10:08 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Herren
Judith Herren / TDI Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Committee Reports submitted
Executive Committee Report 10/27/07
The meeting was opened with prayer at 11:45a.m.
Present: Pam Belknap, Don VanLandingham, Bill Boyd, Julie Bohl, Darla Meyer, Judith Herren
Absent: Theresa Dau
A committee vote was unanimous to add Julie Bohl and Darla Meyer as voting members.
In building an agenda the executive committee sought to discuss and resolve the following.
1. To define, “Active Member” of a local Secretariat
2. To find a better method of assessment of communities and votes allotted to each community.
3.
Discussion of the assets on hand, the cash
balance and how to invest or spend the cash balance of accumulated
reserves.
4. Review the concept of a tithe? Should a percentage go to the Tres Dias fund?
5. Study and discuss the viability of NCF.
Bill Boyd gave an overview of the last budget complete with interest, margin on sales, and accumulated reserves.
Recessed: Lunch
Reconvene
The Executive committee came back
to order, after lunch, with a discussion for the resolution of the allocation
methods.
Don VanLandingham opened up
discussion on the amount of reserve cash. He recommended that we open an
endowment fund in the amount of $25,000.00 in order to avoid hoarding money.
The secretariat could use the
earnings from this fund to help struggling
communities or for some other charitable purpose.
This would ultimately go to proxy
vote because it calls for a change in the budget. The proposed name for said
fund could be as follows; Tres Dias Inc. Endowment Fund.
The committee will bring the following motion before the secretariat:
"The Executive
committee moves that a Tres Dias, Inc. endowment fund be created by moving
$25,000.00
from the current Certificates of Deposit. Earnings from said fund
will be transferred to the general fund. The use
of the earnings shall be
designated annually by the secretariat."
Assessment and voting
allocation: After studying the current
means of assessment and voting allocation, the
executive committee submits the
following method for consideration.
A.
In lieu of using active Pescadores as the
basis for community assessment, we recommend using the number
of
candidates of the preceding year as a basis.
B. To remain revenue
neutral, relative to the Tres Dias Inc. budget, we propose a flat rate
plus a per candidate
assessment. In other words we propose a flat rate
community assessment, plus a per candidate assessment.
C. Consider the per community flat rate of $150.00 and a
per candidate assessment of one dollar. (A handout
was constructed showing an
example of the proposed formula for a new method of assessment. A
Community
with 100 Candidates would pay $150.00 flat rate assessment and @
$1.00 per Candidate equaling $100.00,
totaling $250.00. A Community with
100 Candidates would have 3 votes total, 2 based on (100/50 = 2)
+ 1 for the
Community.
D. This
proposal, if approved by the Secretariat, would require a change in the
By-Laws. The basis of "N"
would change from the number of
active Pescadores to the number of Candidates (in the preceding year.)
Initially, we would propose N = 50.
The Executive Committee asks all
Committee Chairs to create and approve their FY 2008 budget as the first
item
of business on the Saturday of the 2008 March Secretariat.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Membership Committee Minutes
October 27, 2007
Present: Paul Weis, Carolyn Davis, Faye
Gilbreath, Jane Henderson, Adele Smith, Richard Thornhill, Suzanne
Heffington,
Linda VanLandingham, Doug Jenkins, Barbara Truetle, George Truetle, Terry
Gilbreath, Chuck Allen,
Sheryl Allen.
Observers: Lorraine Hufnagel, Judy Ligon
Absent: John Green, Mike Holmes,
Meeting opened in prayer.
The minutes were read from the last meeting in Poughkeepsie
, NY. George Truetle moved that the minutes be
accepted, Faye Gilbreath
seconded the motion. The motion carried.
New Business:
The Tres Dias fund management committee was formed recently,
and there is to be a representative from the
Membership Committee as a part of that
committee. Faye Gilbreath had been appointed to that committee,
but she
has stepped down. We now need to fill that position with another
qualified person. The committee
has agreed to recommend Chuck Allen
Faye Gilbreath motioned that Lorraine Hufnagel be considered
to be a voting member of the Membership
Committee. Richard Thornhill seconded. Motion carried.
Richard Thornhill motioned that Judy Ligon be considered to
be a voting member of the Membership
Committee. Chuck Allen seconded the
motion. Motion carried.
Northern Ireland presented material requesting to be
chartered. Paul reviewed some of the legal document
that is unique to the
country of Ireland. At this time, they have not presented sufficient
documents to be chartered.
Emerging Communities:
Vancouver Island, BC; Ottawa, Canada; Foothills, GA; Greater
Orlando; Minnesota; Sabine Creek, TX;
Carolina Seaside; Peru; Costa Rica,
Ireland, Havana, Cuba; Lima Peru; Montego Bay, St. Petersburg,
Russia; Albany,
NY.
Inquires: Portland, OR, Gonzales, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Idaho; Washington State
Paul spent some time talking about new communities that are
beginning to form, seeds that are being planted,
and the ripple effect of
upstart communities. We have several Spanish speaking communities
already, and
several possibilities on the horizon where seeds are being
planted. He also recapped some of the history of
the Korean communities
and the efforts of the Membership Committee to stay in touch with them, perhaps
with a regional area board to keep those communities under the International
Tres Dias organization.
Discussed the Curiosity Kit and Start-up Kit (which is a
“get ready to charter kit”) are supposed to have
been created in place.
The actual Start up kit which prepares communities to have by-law, Policies and
Procedures, how to apply for a 501 3c, Essentials Training, what you need to
have in place for chartering
with Tres Dias International has not yet been
created.
Paul would like to see guidelines or a check list for start up communities.
Western Kentucky Tres Dias applied to be chartered.
Paul said he received all the necessary documents
and everything is in
order. Adele moved that we charter WKTD. Jane Henderson
seconded. Motion carried.
Western KY is now a chartered Tres Dias
community.
Paul asked Terry Gilbreath to download the sample by-laws
from the tresdias.org website and add the
paragraph (section 6 of the existing TDI by-laws) referring to Christian lifestyle, and then send the updated
document to John McKinney to be posted online.
Some of the expenses of the Membership committee have been
transportation for training in various locations.
Also, we have paid for
some international folks to come to the states for Tres Dias experience and
training.
Paul said he has sent a letter to all the communities
regarding charter and simply keeping a line of communication
open. He
believes this annual contact is more useful than simply contacting communities
when it is time to
re-charter. As a part of this letter, he can re-state
the need for the community to schedule and give an Essentials
training with a TDI certified Essentials Trainer.
Another new component for TDI certified Essentials trainers
would be to fill out a feedback form after giving
an Essentials training.
This would be used to verify that the community has been trained, but also will
give
the Membership Committee valuable feedback regarding the workshop.
Paul hopes to have templates ready for future Membership
Committees. He would like to see a sub committee
for start up support to
assist communities in sponsoring new communities. This would be an
on-going support
in addition to the documents in a start up kit.
Paul currently has a data spread sheet for all the
communities, listing when they last chartered, and when they
last had a TDI
Essentials Training. He may consider adding a section for communities who
are sponsoring
a new community.
Old Business:
The committee brainstormed the items for the curiosity and start up kits.
Richard made a motion that we re-name the “Curiosity Kit” to
“Start Up Packet” and the original “Start Up Kit”
to “New Community Support
Packet Faye Gilbreath seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Sheryl Allen motioned that we include the Emerging Community
Agreement in the Start Up Packet.
George Truetle seconded the
motion. Motion carried.
COMPONENTS FOR THE KITS:
“Start-Up Packet” (formerly “Curiosity Kit”)
“New Community Support Packet” (formerly “Start Up Kit”) tentative contents:
13. Inventory
4. Support the community for 2-4 years.
Faye Gilbreath motioned that we adjourn. Richard
Thornhill seconded the motion. Faye closed our meeting
in prayer.
Policy Committee Report - October 27, 2007 -Torrington, CT
A meeting of the Policy Committee was called to order by
Chairman Jeff Mehl with prayer at 11:30 am at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in
Torrington, CT.
ATTENDANCE:
Ø VOTING MEMBERS PRESENT:
o A. Charles Allen (stephenson@intrastar.net)
o Wilson Burton (huntandfish@comcast.net)
o Harry Davis (hed_vmi@alltel.net)
o Jeff Mehl (jeff@jmehl.com)
o Marcy Meyers (mctd2003@aol.com)
o Robert Meyers (mctd2003@aol.com)
o Dave Routzon (daver@bcs100.com)
Ø OBSERVERS PRESENT:
o Peter Brown (pbrown654@sbcglobal.net)
o Sue Loveland (sueloved40@hotmail.com)
o Jeff Mentz (jeffcin@frontiernet.net)
o Ernst Schirmer (no email address)
Ø ABSENT:
o Mary Bailey (mbailey@admin.fsu.edu)
o Paul Dau (pauldau2u@aol.com)
o Bob Decker (jbdecker2@yahoo.com)
o Denver Henderson (denver49@juno.com)
MINUTES OF THE PRIOR MEETING: The minutes of the
July, 2007 meeting in Mid Hudson were
previously submitted to all committee
members via email for review prior to this meeting. The minutes were
accepted as written. (Motion by Dave Routzon, seconded by Harry Davis).
REQUESTS FOR COMMITTEE VOTING STATUS: Sue Loveland requested voting status.
BAPTISMS ON WEEKENDS: Although not on the
agenda for discussion by Policy Committee,
President Bruce Cato came and
addressed the issue of Baptism on weekends. The Spiritual Director
should encourage candidates to return to their own church for Baptism.
This issue will not be entertained
for discussion at any International
Secretariat Meeting.
EDELWEISS COPYRIGHT ISSUE: Jeff reported that
President Bruce Cato forwarded information
indicating that the blessings sung
to the tune of Edelweiss, practiced by some communities at mealtimes,
is a
copyright violation. In response, Jeff sent a memo to all voting Policy
Committees for consensus.
That memo was then sent to all community
chairmen/presidents, delegates and Secretariat members dated
September 20, 2007
instructing them to immediately cease this practice.
- A copy of the memo is attached.
Discussions ensued in which it was noted that some community
Presidents have indicated they do not feel
it is a violation. In
addition, Robert Myers began a discussion on CCLI and what it does and does not
cover; noting that when a license is no longer valid, the materials with that CCLI number must be destroyed.
This may have implications for
Tres Dias since TDI used to have a CCLI number and those music books
may still
be in circulation.
Jeff noted that, in hindsight, this issue should have
been initially referred to the Executive Committee since it
deals with legal
issues which are outside of the purview of the Policy Committee. As such,
a recommendation
will be made to refer any further action or follow-up to the
Executive Committee.
GUIDELINES FOR OBSERVERS
Dave read the document he has prepared in follow-up to the
July meeting. It was noted that this document
will be a
guideline/recommendation and not a policy or requirement. The communities
will be encouraged to
develop their own policies, with this document simply
being a tool to help that process.
The committee recessed for lunch with prayer at 12:30 pm and reconvened at 1:30 pm.
There was a lengthy conversation
about the topic of pescadores going to other communities to observe
weekends
for the purpose of observing the non-Essential dynamics that make each
community’s program
unique. Everyone agreed it is a good program with
positive benefits to both the sending and receiving
communities.
Questions and comments included issues such as:
- Is anyone “in charge” of this program?
- How is TDI made aware of struggling domestic communities?
- Is an observer from a strong community sent to a struggling community?
- How do we communicate these needs?
- Should this information be on the International Website?
- Communication is the key!
Wilson read a variation of Dave’s document he created
concerning “cross-pollination” in Tres Dias,
attempting to combine
international team service with domestic observing in the same document.
In some ways both documents are similar and in some ways they are very
different.
It was pointed out that this now expands the scope beyond
our original intent. In an effort to focus
the conversation, Jeff
requested a vote to determine if we should attempt to combine both programs
into one document, or to create two separate documents addressing each
issue. The vote was 3-3
with the Chair casting the deciding vote in favor
of two documents. Dave volunteered to review Wilson’s
draft, wordsmith
both documents, and attempt to obtain consensus via email with the goal of
having a
final document available for the March meeting.
Robert and Marcy Myers reported on their progress, noting
that they now need further direction as this
will be a multi-step process:
They noted the database of Secretariat minutes is complete
from 1990 through the end of 2006 and
that they now need further direction;
noting that this will require multiple steps to full completion:
STEP 1)
DATABASE OF SECRETARIAT MINUTES FOR USE BY THE SECRETARY:
This will be
complete as of the March meeting. At that time, the database
will be provided to the Secretary with
instructions on how to use it to search
for required information. There will be sufficient search criteria
that
the Secretary will now be able to quickly locate past motions in minutes.
A hard copy will also be
made available to the Secretary.
STEP 2)
POLICY/PROCEDURE COMPONENT FOR
USE BY THE COMMUNITIES: This will be
a resource for the communities to
use to determine policies and procedures that are not directly
addressed by the
Constitution, By-Laws or Essentials. To this end, they will need input
from all
committee Chairs listing the policies and procedures represented in
each committee. These will
need to be issues that are not readily
available in the Constitution, By-Laws, or Essentials. Some
examples
include, but are certainly not limited to:
a. MEMBERSHIP:
i. How does a community go about the process of chartering, or
ii. How many years is training certification valid for? (2 years, 5 years, etc).
b. ADMINISTRATION:
i. What are the current officers terms?
ii. If
a community wants representation on the Secretariat, how would they go about
nominating a candidate?
c. EXECUTIVE:
i. How is “N” determined?
d. SERVICES:
i. What documents are available digitally?
If this information is provided
by January 1st, Robert feels this portion of the project can also be
completed by the March meeting.
STEP 3)
PROTOCOLS FOR CONTINUATION:
Once they hand off the program, some questions will need to
be addressed; likely beyond the purview
of the Policy Committee:
1) Who will be
responsible to update the information as new motions are passed and policies or
procedures are changed?
a. Robert and Marcy offered to take temporary responsibility until protocols are established.
b. What about keeping the hard copy updated? Who?
2) How will the Secretary be provided with updated material prior to each meeting?
a. A web based
database is one solution, but the facilities we use for meetings may or may
not
have readily available internet access.
b. Updated CD prior to each meeting? By who?
3) How will communities be able to access the policy and procedure information?
a. The website is the obvious answer;
b. Who will have access to update the info?
c. Will login security be required?
d. Is our current website capable of hosting such a searchable database?
Mid Hudson formally raised a concern to Secretariat
concerning the revised Pilgrim’s Guide. It was noted
that an email was
sent to all Secretariat Members late in July with a request that they review
the revisions
and report back with any concerns. There was no “return by”
date, so the assumption was made that it
would be discussed at this meeting.
It was later learned that the revised document has already been sent
to the
printer.
The concerns were based on possible violations of Article
2.2.2 of the Essentials which state, in part:
“…All Tres Dias
organizations shall stress those things which the Christian denominations have
in
common and respect those things that are different…”
The concerns included:
- Use
of the term “trespasses” in the Lord’s Prayer with the statement that this was
a traditional
rendering. Mid Hudson’s concern was that different
denominations use other terms, such as
debt/debtor or sins.
- Numbering
of the 10 commandments as included in the revision is based on the system used
by
Catholics and Lutherans; not by the majority of Protestant denominations.
- The
preamble to the morning and evening prayers include a small cross placed
after the term “Son”
as a superscript. Mid Hudson’s concern was this icon
could cause confusion and may be a
denominational preference.
- The
first paragraph of the preamble contains the sentence “Let your holy angel
be with me, that
the evil foe may have no power over me.” This was
found to be taken directly out of the Lutheran
catechism.
One other issue was identified: The address of Tres Dias
International was transcribed incorrectly. Instead of
20 Slate Hill
Drive, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603, the address was written as 20 Slate Hill Road,
Poughkeepsie, NY
12602.
The primary concern facing this committee is whether or not
Mid Hudson was correct in their assessment that
the 4 issues above are, indeed,
violations of the Essentials. It was agreed that:
1) Although the
Pilgrim’s Guide is a non-Essential, any material it contains must be consistent
with the
Essentials, and
2) If it were simply
a disagreement over wording, it would not be sufficient to take Secretariat
time
to address, but violations of the Essentials are always worthy of our
time.
As such, the decision before the committee is simply to
determine whether or not they are violations of
the Essentials. Our
findings will be presented to Secretariat for their action if indicated.
Prior to beginning the discussions, President Bruce Cato
entered the room to advise that Services
Committee will be making the recommendation
to stop the printing, if possible, and to remove the
revisions that raised the
concern. Further discussion was tabled at that time.
MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES:
Although outside the purview of the Policy Committee, the
following two items came up during the
discussions and were deemed appropriate
to present to the Secretariat:
1)
If not already in place, there should be a tool to publish available
positions; whether domestic
communities willing to accept observers or foreign
communities in need of team members.
The recommendation was made that the
TD website would be a good forum for this.
2) If a community is
struggling with low attendance, finances, etc, how can TDI be made aware of it
and respond appropriately?
The formal meeting was adjourned at 3:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey T. Mehl
Jeffrey T. Mehl
Policy Committee Chair
________________________________________________________________________
Tres Dias, Inc.
PO Box 635
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 Phone: 845-384-6451
DATE: September 20, 2007
TO: All Chartered Tres Dias Communities, Delegates and Secretariat Members
FROM: Jeff Mehl; Chairman, Policy Committee (PolicyChair@tresdias.org)
RE: Blessings to the tune to “Edelweiss” is a violation of copyright laws
__________________________________________________________________________
Tres Dias, Inc (TDI) is aware
that many Tres Dias communities have developed a non-Essential tradition of
singing
“Blessings” and “Thanks” before and after meals to the tune of the
Rodgers & Hammerstein song “Edelweiss.”
TDI has just learned that this
practice is a copyright violation and the copyright holder, Williamson Music,
has gone on record as threatening to file lawsuits against anyone, including
churches, who use the melody
without permission. They have, in fact,
denied permission to religious groups when requested. It is
important to
note that the CCLI license, which most Tres Dias communities utilize, only
permits the use
of the melody with the actual words of the song. Thus,
using the melody without the actual words is not
covered by CCLI and is
therefore a copyright violation.
As it is the practice of TDI to
abide all applicable laws, all communities are hereby directed to immediately
discontinue the practice of using the melody of Edelweiss without the actual
words for any reason whatsoever
during any Tres Dias functions.
We also ask that any sponsoring communities advise their non-chartered communities of this policy.
We realize that the practice of
singing “Blessings” and “Thanks” for meals has become an important and
loved
tradition and will be missed by those communities who utilize the
practice. However, as it is not
an Essential, it is outside the realm of TDI to develop a replacement. Communities are free to develop
their own
alternatives as long as they are not in violation of any applicable copyright
laws. For instance,
a community might want to consider having the rector
approach team members and candidates to say
the blessings prior to and/or
following meals. This is used by many communities in lieu of singing
Edelweiss
and serves as an additional means of including candidates in the
activities of the weekend.
The following websites are offered
to serve as background and a starting point for anyone desiring to
research
this decision:
- http://www.upperroom.org/chrysalis/article/edelweiss.asp
- http://www.gbod.org/worship/music/articles.asp?act=reader&item_id=1764&loc_id=17,19
Thank you for your attention.
Jeff Mehl - Policy Chairman
________________________________________________________________________________
Services Committee Report – 10-27-2007
The meeting opened with prayer.
Attendance:
Present: Paul Markowitz, Eric Borman, Ned Heffington, Mike Acevedo,
Judy Borman, Rosie Miloscia, Don Bohl, Mary Hill.
Absent: Douglas Pitt, Dan Conely, Ben Seal (non- voting mem.)
Patrick Provost- Smith was voted in as a member with voting status.
Discussion: Services had a thorough discussion on the contents of the CD ROM
1. What is the history of the decision?
2. Discussed ways to help communities not hinder them.
3. Proposal completed and submitted.
A decision was made to return the project involving the pilgrims guides back to the
Blue Ribbon Committee. It was suggested that all future printing be stopped until
decisions were made and corrections were decided upon. Future printing could be done
with any revised information.
4. Data base project is on hold
until further discussion of formats. Use of Access as opposed to
Excel will be
proposed.
Don Bohl and Rosie Miloscia are
responsible to oversee the International
Newsletter.
Various members will contribute the written articles.
Newsletter Layout and article submission dates:
Submission of articles by December 1st
First layout complete by December 15th
Publish to website January 2nd.
Meeting closed in prayer.