St. Mark’s Vestry Meeting Minutes
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Interim Rector: *The Rev. Jean Vargo
Wardens: *Jim Rudd — Sr. Warden *Tony Rubino — Jr. Warden
Vestry:
Jan. 2027 Term Exp.: *Claudia Hurd *Gary Welch
Jan. 2028 Term Exp.: *Faggio Nocero-Sargent Katherine Wagner
Jan. 2029 Term Exp.: *Pam Kulhanek René Meadors
Recorder: *Dave Reuter
Treasurer: Don Nancarrow
Guests:
[* = indicates attendance]
NOTES: Copies of all materials passed out to Vestry members after the meeting will be kept on file on the church’s computer and are available for review. The Senior Warden is in his second-year term and the Junior Warden is in his second-year term. Both are permitted up to three one-year consecutive terms.
Be the Church! Live the Gospel!
2025/2026 Meetings: Feb 22, Mar 15, Apr 19, May 17, Jun 25, Aug 23, Oct 7, Oct 25, Nov 22, Dec 27, Jan 24
Opening Prayers / Rev. Jean Vargo: Rev. Jean called the meeting to order at 11:58 AM with prayer.
Review Agenda / All: Jim added Nominating Committee, Lifetime Service Award, and Bookkeeper/Parish Assistant to the agenda.
Approval of Minutes of October 7, 2026 / Dave Reuter: The October 7, 2026 Vestry Meeting Minutes were first distributed to the Vestry for their edits on October 14. The edited Minutes were then distributed to the parish on October 20, 2026. A motion was made and seconded to approve the October 7 Vestry Meeting Minutes as distributed to the parish. As there was no further discussion a vote was taken and the motion passed by voice vote unopposed.
Treasurer’s Report / Don Nancarrow – Reports submitted in writing: In Don’s absence, Gary reminded the Vestry that Don sent them his September Report via email, which is shown below. Rev Jean added at this time that we have a new temporary bookkeeper as we look for a new one. Kendall Rubino will be fulfilling that role. She is busy making sure St. Mark’s is meeting all of its financial commitments on time.
SEPTEMBER was a deficit month, by $2,704. The biggest factor was Pledge receipts were $3,403 low.
Total Revenue of $7,148 was $4,726 below the one-month budget rate of $11,874. Operating Revenue of $6,488 was $4,542 low, with Pledge at $3,403 low. A few pledgers have paid ahead and aren’t donating now. Non-Operating Revenue of $660 was $184 low.
Total Expenses of $9,852 were $2,460 low, per budget. Operating Expenses of $8,342 were $3,461 low, mostly the $2,482 low to Staff as Hannah had not paid herself. This is being made up in October. Music was $1,044 high, all for Supply organists, while Property & Maintenance was $1,405 low. Mission Share was not paid again but is being caught up with a triple payment in October. Non-Operating Expenses were $1,001 high, all an erroneous second payment of $1,510 of Day of Change donated funds to the Food Pantry.
YTD: The net after nine months was deficit by $3,959 and this was $21 worse than the budget deficit of $3,937. The main factors here were Pledge at $5,285 high was outweighed by Insurance at $5,702 high and Supply Organist at $3,650 high. NOTE: The insurance premium actually paid was $4,092 less due to two blocked payments not removable from account but his is balanced by entries in Other Restricted Gifts income.
Total Revenues of $111,364 were $4,496 above the nine-month rate. Operating Revenue of $103,499 was $4,229 high above the nine-month rate, with Pledge at $5,285 high and Other Restricted Gifts at $2,987 high. Non-Operating Revenue of $7,865 was $267 high with Capital Funds $1,031 high.
Total Expenses of $115,322 were $4,518 above that budget rate. Operating Expenses of $107,938 were $1,716 high with Property & Maintenance $8,597 high but Staff $5,579 low. Non-OPS Expenses of $7,384 increased to $2,802 high.
DoN
A motion was then made and seconded to approve the October 7, 2026 Treasurer’s Report. As there was no further discussion a vote was taken and passed by voice vote unopposed.
Interim Rector / Rev Jean Vargo: Rev Jean noted there are several things going on right now. We are in negotiations with St. Paul’s and at the same time very casually (i.e. non-officially) looking into other potential partnerships, namely with either Christ Church, Xenia or St. Christopher’s, Fairborn. We are waiting on responses from Katherine who is going to make the first contacts. Xenia has a priest that is now only working 3/4 time and that would probably end up as a simple contract negotiation (no search required). With St. Christopher’s, they currently have a long term priest-in chargeand it is more likely a call for a new priest would be required that would dictate a formal call including a full parish profile, etc. Then Rev Jean noted that she has only received suggestions for Search Committee members from one person on the Vestry. She would like each Vestry member to send in at least one name. Also, everyone was reminded that you cannot be on both Vestry and Search Committee. Reminder: If you text Rev Jean, make sure to include your name in the text! We are doing well in Outreach, but there has been no word on how well the community outside of St. Mark’s identifies with us. Pam asked the pastor at Hope4Riverside and the conclusion was that the other parishes still do no know St. Mark’s. We are often mistaken for a Catholic church. Jim noted that at a meeting at Seville, we were recognized as the church with the Care Closet. Very positive! They are also pleased with our mentoring program there. It’s important for our Parish Profile that we are recognized in our own neighborhood. We also need to establish how we are going to change for long-term survival. We still have the option to be a lay-led church and survive with supply clergy and Morning Prayer services. However, this may not be the most viable and vibrant solution for us. Dates: Joint Christmas Party with St. Paul’s: We prefer December 9. If that does not work for St. Paul’s, then December 2 will be the date which they can make. It will be held at 6:00 pm and potluck only. Eastmont Methodist Church, run by Pastor Tim Forbess, which is about one-third the size of St. Mark’s with a very small budget of $40,000 has decided to utilize its one acre grounds for something very worthwhile in the community. They want to build six new apartments which would house women or men of domestic abuse. They are also proposing to use their Fellowship Hall for therapy sessions, social services, etc. St. Paul’s invited Pastor Tim and their entire congregation to worship on Sunday, December 6, and attend a Potluck there to learn more about the project. Pastor Tim has a lot of experience as a fundraiser for the Methodist Church and he has already raised $3.1 million of the $4M towards the project! They break ground for the project in April 2027. St. Mark’s is being invited to attend the service and/or Potluck as well. We can still have Morning Prayer here unless Rev Jean can find another priest to fill in. The consensus was that St. Mark’s should send at least a couple representatives to attend the meeting at St. Paul’s and bring the information back to the parish. Regarding Christmas Eve schedules, it will be the same one we had last year as it was voted on this past March.
Senior Warden / Jim Rudd – Report submitted in writing: Jim noted that the only thing he wanted to emphasize was that the Stewardship Committee now has 14 firm pledges (47%) with a goal of 30. The amount pledged so far is $86,480 (75%) with a goal of $115,000. We got one new pledge with zero dropped so far.
Junior Warden / Tony Rubino – Report submitted in writing: Tony added he had nothing to add at this time beyond his written report submission.
Outreach / Jim Rudd and René Meadors – Report submitted in writing: Jim and seven of the volunteers met at Seville School. Bottom line is that we are going to concentrate on mentoring the students. The first step is to apply and then volunteers go through a background check followed by training in November. After that, the volunteer is paired up with a student. There are at least five of the volunteers who can begin to participate right away. We have adopted Seville School so we’ll also look into the needs of the students’ families as well that may include a Christmas Project. Pam noted that there is an organization that keeps track of families that are receiving donations from other organizations so that they are not receiving more than their fair share. St. Paul’s also requested that we don’t do a Christmas Project as large as the one we did last year as it was a real struggle in the end for the size of groups that we are. Seville School will give us details and options so we get the right gifts to the child in most need.
Christian Education / Faggio Nocero-Sargent: Faggio reported that Sunday School is going well.
Parish Life / Pam Kulhanek and Claudia Hurd – Report submitted in writing: Claudia reported that we recently had a Games Night (Thanks to the Walch Family) and we celebrated Deacon George’s ordination to the deaconate. On Sunday November 15 we will honor our new organist, Karen Bocko. Regarding gifts for the Staff, we have typically done gift cards at Christmas. There is money in the budget for this.
Communications / Katherine Wagner – Report submitted in writing: In Katherine’s absence there was no Communications additional content to report beyond her report submission.
Finance / Gary Welch – Report submitted in writing: Gary questioned if we had any update on the DSO grant for our roof rework. Jim will work on getting the next step from the Diocese.
Facilities / Katherine Wagner – Report submitted in writing: Tony reported that he is still waiting on a date from Apple Custom Homes when they can remove the fence and remaining playground equipment. Jim will see if he can get a firm date from them. Tony thanked Dave and Chuck Kulhanek for trimming the rest of the large spruce trees in the side yard. The hedge needs trimming again.
Old Business / All: No Old Business to report.
New Business / All:
- Riverside Family Co-op / Pam Kulhanek: Riverside Family Co-op is the group that meets in our parking lot every Saturday afternoon. In the beginning they made donations of cash and/or canned goods for the St. Paul UMC Food Pantry; however they haven’t done either in quite some time.. Pam noted that according to our insurance regulations (see below.), this group is making money for themselves which is not accounted for directly through St. Mark’s. As a result, we could lose our non-profit status. So the consensus was that we need to inform them that they will have to find a different place to Between Tony, Jim, Pam, and Katherine, this will be taken care of and the contact person will be notified. The grass cutters can set up the large cones at the parking lot entrances to deter any access.
- Hope4Riverside / Pam Kulhanek: We are hosting Hope4Riverside’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 17, which involves around twenty to thirty people. The meeting typically lasts from 11:30 AM to about 1:00 PM. Mark’s supplies the lunch but as that was not budgeted for, we will sort that out before the meeting.
- Landscaping / Pam Kulhanek: Pam had previously sent out two different quotes to the Vestry to finalize landscaping of our courtyard and the areas behind the canopy on the front side of the two buildings with no responses received. (See below.) Currently, these areas are overrun by weeds and dead bushes. Pam asked everyone if we were really serious about getting the church’s yard cleaned up to make our property look like we are alive and well. She offered to get additional quotes, but from past experiences of working with The Landscaping Man LLC, she was very confident there is no other place which would do an excellent job for the price being quoted, especially when compared to other local landscaping companies such as Diehl’s or Knollwood. There are also people willing to donate to this project. Tony made a motion, which was seconded by Jim, to accept the proposals shown below from The Landscaping Man LLC to upgrade our property to a maximum of $5,000. Selection of specific plants can be decided with the vendor after the funds are secured. As there was no additional discussion, a vote was taken and the motion carried unopposed by voice vote.
- DSO Safety Training / Katherine Wagner: Jim reported on Katherine’s behalf that DSO Safety Training is Friday, December 4 at 4:00-8:00 PM at All Saints Episcopal Church, New Albany, OH. (See You’re Invited: Safety Training for Threshold Ministers – Diocese of Southern Ohio for more details.) It is geared towards clergy, ministers, ushers, greeters, staff, etc. It deals with training, safety, and security in churches. Attendance is strictly voluntary. Katherine thought it might be a good idea for a few of us to attend this training session. It covers items such as when to lock doors, what to do if there is an active shooter, situational awareness such as proximity of a tornado and more.
- Nominating Committee / Jim Rudd: Jim noted that our By-Laws require that we select the Chair of the Nominating Committee this month, who can then select the members. Typically, the Chair is a Vestry Member whose term has expired. However, that person is not prohibited from running again. Gary and Claudia are leaving the Vestry this year. Rev Jean reminded everyone that persons on Vestry cannot be on the Search Committee for a new Rector. Gary agreed to take on this role as the new Chair of the Nominating Committee. On a side note it was suggested that retired priest, Jack Koepke, would make an excellent Chair of the Search Committee as he is now a member of St. Mark’s. However, Rev Jean will check with the Bishop to see if there are other restrictions.
- Lifetime Service Award / Jim Rudd: Jim noted that we normally select this person or persons at our November meeting. He will send out a list of previous winners to the Vestry to remind them to think of a good candidate for this year. The Annual Meeting this year will be Sunday January 31, 2027.
- Bookkeeper/Parish Assistant / Tony Rubino: Tony sent Rev Jean the name of a potential candidate, Kate Stevenson. Kate was hired at St. Mark’s as a Bookkeeper before when Rev Cricket was here, but left when she took a fulltime position at Sinclair College. Rev Jean will contact her in the near future to see if she is still interested in working for us as Bookkeeper and Parish Assistant, as we are only interested in a person willing to do both jobs. If she is not interested, then Tony will create a detailed job description and have Dave post it to our website. Tony will then send the link to his connection at Ditto who will add it to their job hunting website. Furthermore, Tony has the contacts for runners-up number one and two from our previous search that he can talk to and discuss any interest now in employment with St. Mark’s.
Closing Prayer / Rev Jean Vargo: Rev Jean closed with a prayer.
Adjournment / Rev. Jean Vargo: The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 pm.
Next Meeting: Sunday, November 22, 2026, following the Sunday Worship Service.
Respectfully Submitted,
David F. Reuter
Vestry Recorder
Submitted Written Reports for October 7, 2026
SEPTEMBER was a deficit month, by $2,704. The biggest factor was Pledge receipts were $3,403 low.
Total Revenue of $7,148 was $4,726 below the one-month budget rate of $11,874. Operating Revenue of $6,488 was $4,542 low, with Pledge at $3,403 low. A few pledgers have paid ahead and aren’t donating now. Non-Operating Revenue of $660 was $184 low.
Total Expenses of $9,852 were $2,460 low, per budget. Operating Expenses of $8,342 were $3,461 low, mostly the $2,482 low to Staff as Hannah had not paid herself. This is being made up in October. Music was $1,044 high, all for Supply organists, while Property & Maintenance was $1,405 low. Mission Share was not paid again but is being caught up with a triple payment in October. Non-Operating Expenses were $1,001 high, all an erroneous second payment of $1,510 of Day of Change donated funds to the Food Pantry.
YTD: The net after nine months was deficit by $3,959 and this was $21 worse than the budget deficit of $3,937. The main factors here were Pledge at $5,285 high was outweighed by Insurance at $5,702 high and Supply Organist at $3,650 high. NOTE: The insurance premium actually paid was $4,092 less due to two blocked payments not removable from account but his is balanced by entries in Other Restricted Gifts income.
Total Revenues of $111,364 were $4,496 above the nine-month rate. Operating Revenue of $103,499 was $4,229 high above the nine-month rate, with Pledge at $5,285 high and Other Restricted Gifts at $2,987 high. Non-Operating Revenue of $7,865 was $267 high with Capital Funds $1,031 high.
Total Expenses of $115,322 were $4,518 above that budget rate. Operating Expenses of $107,938 were $1,716 high with Property & Maintenance $8,597 high but Staff $5,579 low. Non-OPS Expenses of $7,384 increased to $2,802 high.
DoN
Senior Warden Report/Jim Rudd
Rev. Jean, Tony and I met with Hannah Summers on October 15. This was our regular monthly meeting to discuss any issues that Vestry has with her performance as Parish Assistant and Bookkeeper. The Vestry decided at its last Vestry meeting that many recurring issues as well as new ones existed with Hannah’s performance during her 15 months with us. The decision was made to terminate Hannah’s employment with St. Mark’s. We gave Hannah much grace during her 15 months with us, perhaps too much. However, we would much rather have given her too much grace rather than not enough. The meeting was conducted in a very respectful and professional manner by all parties involved. We said goodbye to Hannah and wished her the best as she moves forward in her career. It was a sad but necessary meeting.
I attended two DSO Zoom meetings this month. The DSO Pre-Convention meeting was held on October 6. The primary focus was on the resolutions, budget, and candidates for leadership positions. I also attended the Wardens Zoom meeting on October 14. The focus of that meeting was on annual parish meetings and the suggested content of those meetings. The meeting was conducted by Rev. Derrick Fetz. This was the last DSO Wardens Zoom meeting for 2026. The meetings throughout the year were very focused and informative.
The goal status of the 2027 stewardship campaign as of October 20, 2026 is as follows:
|
|
Goal |
Total |
% of Goal |
|
Number of Pledges |
30 |
14 |
47 |
|
Amount Pledged |
$115,000 |
$86,480 |
75 |
Stewardship Sunday is scheduled for November 8, 2026 when all pledge cards will be gathered and presented as a special offering during worship service on that day.
Junior Warden’s Report: 11 Sept – 20 Oct 2026
No change for waiting on a scheduled date from Apple Custom Homes for phase two of Community Building repairs, which includes repairs on Chain Link fence removal, Down spout, water faucet and removal of playground items.
Waiting to hear from DSO grant proposal contact in order to schedule our roofer – Maxim Roofing. Received updated quote from Maxum in preparation of DSO green light.
Attended online Pre-Convention meeting, presentation included Bio’s from most candidates running for Lay or Clergy open positions and review of proposed resolutions.
As most of you probably already know, the church made a very difficult decision to part ways with our church office administrator/bookkeeper – Hannah Summers last week in a very heart felt meeting.
v/r,
Tony Rubino
Outreach Report/Jim Rudd & Rene Meadors
Children: CARE House – Our parish collected contributions (e.g., bottled water, healthy snacks, stuffed animals, gift cards, and money) on CARE House Sunday (October 4).
Hunger: St. Paul’s UMC Food Pantry – Our parish collected contributions (e.g., nonperishable food items and money) on Hunger Sunday (October 18).
Community: Hope4Riverside: A meeting was held on October 15 at Saville Elementary School to discuss the topic of mentoring/tutoring/pen pals. The attendees for Saville Elementary School were Stephanie O’Dell-Vlahas (Principal), Arturo Hernandez, and Maura Whisenhunt. The attendees for St. Mark’s were Jim Rudd, Judy Rudd, Janet Reuter, Claudia Hurd, Libby Nicholson, Don Nancarrow, Jenna Walch, and Rev. Jean Vargo. It was decided we would initially focus on mentoring and potentially expand to tutoring and pen pals later. The first steps for St. Mark’s participants are to undergo background checks and receive mentoring training from the Miami Valley Leadership Foundation (MVLF). We will work with Shannon Todd, Director of MVLF to accomplish this. We will also explore extending our participation with Saville Elementary School satisfying student and family needs with Maura and participating in a Christmas project with Arturo. The meeting was very fruitful and encouraging.
Parish Life Report for October 25, 2026
Friday October 8th, 2026 TJ and Jenna Watch sponsored a Game Night. TJ explained a game called Flip It and Norma Peachy hosted 5 Crowns card game. Jenna and TJ supplied pizza and drinks for the evening.
Sunday October 18, 2026 Deacon George’s 25th Anniversary was celebrated during Worship Service and Coffee Hour. He shared a wonderful memory of his work with children at Hospice Camp and the pillow project that was done with Ginny Tuxhorn and St Mark’s.
Respectfully submitted,
Claudia Hurd
Communications Report
October 25 2026
Website (stmarksdayton.org):
- We are working with Julie Murray, DSO Canon for Community Engagement, to update the website; Dave’s already made some impressive changes!
Social Media: PLEASE COMMENT/SHARE/LIKE to spread the word!!
- Facebook (St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Dayton): In the last 28 days, our content has been viewed over 8200 times, an increase of 28% over the last month; there were 331 interactions with both followers and non-followers, 379 visits, and seven new followers. Our most popular post was on Oct 18 when we posted photos from Deacon George’s 25th Ordination Anniversary Celebration; this had almost 1000 views in 24 hours! In addition to the Sunday videos, we posted community service events with information about the League of Women Voters and the upcoming elections, acknowledgments of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and various other civil holidays, and October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We also provided daily reflections and prayers from a variety of sources, and shared content from TEC and the DSO. We never post on any topics that don’t have DSO/TEC approval.
- Instagram (stmarksdayton): We have 75 followers and have posted over 1600 times since joining IG. Our content currently duplicates our FB content, as we have no one dedicated to maintaining this account. There is room for improvement with this account.
Lion’s Tale
- Edited by Katherine Wagner and proofread by Elizabeth Wagner-Weber and Jenna Walch, this online newsletter is published on Saturday mornings. It contains the upcoming ministry and reading schedules, parish calendar and announcements, content from the Diocese and national church, online contact information for the various liturgical sources we use, and options for other online worship services from the DSO and National Cathedral. Topic suggestions and announcements are welcome; the deadline for submissions is close of business the Thursday prior to Saturday publication.
Worship Bulletin
- As of Oct 15, Microsoft Publisher is no longer available, so we’re learning new methods for the Sunday bulletin. Emily Joyce, Director of Communications at Christ Episcopal Church – Dayton, has created and shared a template in Microsoft Word which we’re currently adapting for our parish. Ongoing discussions of format and content continue.
Signage
- The island sign was updated for the change in service time, and will be temporarily changed for the Nov. 15 joint service at St Paul’s.
- The former “Procter Adventures” bulletin board outside the office will be updated with Christmas Project information as soon as that is available.
Change in service time
- This was publicized in The Lion’s Tale, with a special edition on Oct 7/8; the bulletin insert; the island sign; the website; the Facebook page; and bulletin board fliers.
Respectfully submitted,
Katherine Wagner
Facilities Report
October 25, 2026
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
- On Oct 7, we found a water shut-off notice from Montgomery County due to the delinquent annual inspection of our backflow preventer. Many thanks to Don Nancarrow for scheduling Pester Plumbing to make the inspection, and to Tony Rubino for contacting the County and convincing them NOT to shut off the water.
- On Oct 18, Dave Reuter turned the boiler on.
- Don has been working on the ‘guest growth’ in the parking lot and window wells.
- Gary Welch received an updated price quote from Maxim Roofing, resulting in an increase of almost $4500 over their initial quote. The B&G team will review the scope of work to determine what needs to be done and how we can manage the remaining funds (over and above the $50,000 grant provided by the DSO)
- We’re having issues with interior doors being left open and/or unlocked. This is a reminder to ALL key holders that doors MUST be locked when you leave the property, unless someone else is there and is responsible for the space. Please get into the habit of checking all the doors when you leave the property, even if you weren’t in specific areas – you don’t have to go upstairs, but at least check the first floor doors in the CB and hallway outside the Sacristy and Joe Z room.
- We’re continuing to have issues with “squatters” using the playhouse to store personal items, piling items on the ‘back porch’ of the CB, and using candles and other flames on the CB front steps. I threw away a LOT of food items, blankets, and trash from the back, and left a sign stating that nothing was to be left on St Mark’s property and that everything would be thrown out. I put that same sign on the playhouse with the NLT date of Friday, Oct 23: Mike Wagner and Gary offered to toss everything, so we gave these “squatters” fair warning.
RENTERS
- While going through the St Mark’s email, I found a new point of contact for one of the large 12-step groups. Rather than waiting until the beginning of 2027, I plan to contact the renters for any contact or information updates.
- Jenna Walch has agreed to be the parish liaison to Neighborhood Bridges so that issues can be resolved before they become a problem.
- The issues with Riverside Family Co-op continue. Their FB page, Riverside Family Co-Op | Facebook , looks like St Mark’s is sponsoring them, and since they have an open invitation to MLM vendors and other for-profits, this might be in violation of DSO and state rules. Don has contacted our insurance agent about coverage. See the attached from the Church Insurance Agency regarding use of property.
Respectfully submitted,
Katherine Wagner
Financial Reports
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