May, 2026

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Church Council Report

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​Easter service was the usual success, despite the weather.  We were forced to 
have the sunrise service indoors.  We did have over 30 people attend that  
service and enjoy the pancake breakfast in town hall, following the service.  
Thanks to the men who prepared the meal including Charlie Paulin, Denzel 
Hankinson, Tom Hankinson, Ralph Tiner and Paul Jacobs.  The 10:00 service 
was also well attended. 
In April, the Council met after the April 26 service – it was a beautiful sunny day 
and eventually reached the high 60s.  Topics we discussed are summarized be
low. 
Grounds Maintenance.  Planned work on the church grounds has been completed.

The work included brush clearing along Montague Road, cleaning up the 
Emerson Garden, relocating dredged aquatic vegetation away from the water
front of our Lake Lot, and removal of the decrepit dock.  While the brush  
clearing looks great, there are a number of stumps that should be ground-down; 
this will be addressed in the near future.  The Council will also be looking into 
ways to add some more seasonal color to the church grounds; we’ll be looking 
into options to add more perennial flowers.  For starters, the Council approved 
adding a flowering short tree or shrub to the top of the Emerson Garden.  This 
tree will be a tribute tree in honor of the Wilsons: Fred who served as our pastor 
from 1994 to 2004, while Betty was a core member of the Church Choir for over 
20 years. 
Church and Dixon House Maintenance. We have noticed that some of the pews 
in the church have paint peeling.  It may be time to get all the pews painted, so 
we’ll be seeking bids for doing that.  There may be a need to do some additional 
work at the Dixon House; we’ll look into that in the near future.  In addition, the 
lightning rod ground wire is broken and we’ll need to get that fixed.  We’ll have 
our local painter examine the exterior of the church to see if there are any  
places that need attention. 
Survey of Church Property.  After our meeting, a few council members tried to 
find boundary markers along Montague Road and none could be found. The 
Council therefore plans to have a formal survey of the church property, especially

along the southside of the church and the boundary of the King Lot so we 
have clear demarcations of our lands. Neighboring property owners will be notified

prior to any survey work.   

Local Outreach.  The Council continued discussions on possible outreach efforts.  If 
anyone has some suggestions, we’d be pleased to hear them; contact Council Chair at 
ralphtiner83@gmail.com. 
Miscellaneous.  While not discussed in this meeting we continue to encourage at
tendees to consider joining the church as members.  The benefits of membership in
clude being able to vote on issues influencing the direction of the church and to partici
pate on various committees, including the Church Council among others (see annual 
report for details – posted online).  If interested in becoming a member, please contact 
our pastor, Lee Barstow.  This can be done after service or by email 
(leebarstow@gmail.com). 
Finally, the Council is there to serve you so if you have any questions or comments 
about the Church, please feel free to contact us.  Our contact information is posted on 
the bulletin board at the back of the church. 

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Respectfully for the Council, 
Ralph Tiner, Council Chair 
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