DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH
Oregon City, Oregon
The Special Parish Assembly of December 4, 2005
According to the Constitution and the By-Laws of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, a Special Parish Assembly was convoked for the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit Romanian Orthodox Church in Oregon City, Oregon (address above) for Sunday, December 4, 2005, at about 2:00 pm., at the end of the Divine Liturgy.
According the stated procedure, on Sunday December 4, 2005, at the end of the Divine Liturgy and the light luncheon that followed, Very Rev. Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse, the appointed president, started the Special Parish Assembly with the invocation prayer “ O, Heavenly King ”.
The following members to be seated at the head table are:
-Very Rev. Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse
-The Parish Priest, Fr. Vasile Muntean
-The Secretary of the Parish Council, Diana Zogas (secretary ex-officio)
-The President of the Parish Council, Ioan Tilvan (teller)
-The President of the Women's Auxiliary, Ana Tilvan (teller)
The Secretary proceeds with the reading of the official letters from the Episcopate—one which appoints Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse to preside this General Assembly, the other is
the approval of the proposed agenda regarding the financial status of the church.
Both letters were certified by the tellers Ioan and Ana Tilvan.
The Secretary made the roll-call, verified and approved by the Episcopate. 42 members are present of the membership list of 66 total.
A time frame of one hour and a half is suggested by Mr. Ioan Scumpu. Mrs. Lucia Carroll endorses this proposal, yet with some extension if necessary.
As an introduction, Fr. Vasile Muntean presents a short history of our church starting with the land purchasing, pouring the foundation in January 2000, the hardship of obtaining a loan, and the final approval for building occupancy in 2003. Fr. Vasile reminds us that this is the second attempt of collecting funds for paying the mortgage. The first attempt was made one year ago. He then thanks everybody who participated with the financial and spiritual support for this church.
Next, Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse clarified the meeting agenda, which was proposed by the Parish Council and approved by the Episcopate.
Discussions start with the first proposal which reads: To find 24 people willing to pledge
a donation of $2000/year for the duration of 12 years.
• Mr. Mike Nedelcu comments that most of the people cannot commit themselves for such a long period, it is not a safe proposal and for the duration of 12 years the interest will double the loan.
• Mr. Radu Ghionea supports the idea of finding the 24 individuals.
• Ms. Ileana Dejeu proposes to have both issues from the agenda connected and discussed together.
Therefore, Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse reads the second option on the agenda : To find 100 people willing to make a donation of $3400 one time only, being awarded the title of “Ctitor” (Founder).
Fr. Constantin Alecse enumerates the benefits of being a “Ctitor”.
• Mr.Dan Lupuleasa proposes that the third item on the agenda--”discussions”--be added to the first two, hoping that somebody might come up with even a better idea .
• Mrs. Lucia Carroll proposes that this year 100 people donate $2000, which is tax deductible, then next year they can donate the balance of $1400 with a due date at the end of March.
• Mr. Secasiu calls our attention to the fact that we have only 66 members, not the 100 we need.
• Mrs. Ileana Jewell proposes to find first the 24 people with the $2000 and then the ones with the $3400.
• Mr.Radu Cotenescu suggests to find a more relaxed way for this fund raising. For example, 50 people to pay $1000 for this year so we can pay the Bank $50,000, then to repeat this every year for 6-7 years until the mortgage is payed off.
• Mrs. Ana Tilvan mentions that this idea was tried before and it did not work. She reminds us of the list where 32 people pledged but only 5 people kept their promise.
• Mrs. Domnica Alexandru mentions that even though she is not a member of this Church, she is concerned for its survival. She understands that the three guarantors are under extreme stress and that they need to be helped, but the option of selling the property is a sacrilege. Ms. Alexandru offers to help with a donation but with a condition: for the Episcopate to present her with a written decision that this church will never be sold. Also, she wants to know if this church can become a Monastery.
• Mr. Mike Nedelcu sustains the idea that those who can ought to participate now with the $3400 and the rest ought to donate as much as they can.
• Mr. Ion Tilvan reminds us that timing is critical because the longer it takes, the more money we lose paying the interest of $2100 every month. He suggests to proceed right now with a list of pledges.
• Mrs. Sinziana Nicolescu informs us that a receipt will be released at the time of the donation.
• Mrs. Lidia Scumpu asks us to be rational and realize the fact that we don't have 100 people.
• Mr. Liviu Vlaic supports the option of having as many members as possible donate the $3400 and then meet again at the end of March to decide the next step.
• Mrs. Dianne W. talks about the importance of the Eucharist and the goal everybody has to have in finding “the pearl “. She praises highly the services of Fr. V. Muntean.
• Mr. Ioan Tilvan supports the proposition of raising as many funds possible and then covering the balance with private loans with no interest.
At this point, two people (Constantin Pelin and Ileana Dejeu) ask permission to leave the meeting because of emergencies.
Very Rev. Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse resumes the Assembly's motion as follows: finding the 100 people to donate the $3400 by the end of March/2006, and then have 6-10 benefactors lend the church the balance needed to pay off the bank.
Suggestion was made and the assembly agreed that the “benefactors' volunteers” offers be drawn in a “Church-Benefactors” agreement, spelling clearly the “terms and conditions” of such donations (interest free for at least 25 years) to pay the $ 350,000.00 bank loan on or before March 30, 2005.
• Mr. Radu Ghionea sustains the motion.
The motion is discussed:
• Mr. Dan Persa seconds the motion 100%.
• Mr. Marian Alexandru mentions that we have to be flexible and accept any amount of donations.
The motion is voted on with the following results (counted by the presiding officer, V. Rev. Fr. Constantin Alecse, and specially appointed teller, Ms. Domnica Alexander):
36 (thirty six) votes - in favor
01 (one) vote - against
05 (five) votes - abstains
• Mr. Dan Lupuleasa thanks Dianne W. (the convert) for her meaningful words. He would like all the donations to be deposited in the bank ASAP and the receipts to be given right away to the donors.
• Mr. Radu Ghionea would like to know what is the church's balance on the checking.
• Mr.Sandu Turian informs that the balance is $14,000.
Thanking the parish priest for all his (and his family's) sacrifices, the parishioners, the generous donors, and all the participants to this special parish assembly, the Very Rev. Fr. Dean Constantin Alecse, dean, and assembly presiding officer, declared the Special Parish Assembly closed and concluded with the “It is truly …” prayer.
Very Rev. Fr. Constantin Alecse, Dean and Assembly Presiding Officer
Ms. Diana Zogas, Assembly's Secretary
Given at: Oregon City, Oregon, Today: December 4, 2005
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