The October 24 through 27 meeting of Executive Council was held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Since this was the first meeting of the Triennium, the Council devoted a significant portion of its time to orientation of new members to the Church Center staff, to the work of the Council, and to allowing members of the Council to become acquainted with each other. Table Groups and Bible Study Groups facilitated interaction among Council members and staff.  The meeting time was structured with worship, prayer and Bible study as well as attendance at Holy Communion Parish in Lake Geneva, on Sunday morning. 

During our official business we elected The Rev. Brian Prior and Mr. Del Glover as at-large members of the Executive Committee of Executive Council.  We approved the nomination of Kurt DelBene to the ERD board, and elected Kurt Barnes as the Chief Financial Officer for DMFS. 

We heard a report on the need for renovation of the 815 Second Avenue church center building.  The goal of the renovations would be to remodel the lower floors of the building to best utilize that space for the national offices and to make two of the upper floors available for leasing to an outside agency.  Income from the leased floors would help to offset building expenses. 

In response to concern expressed by both Council members and those in the church at large, we voted for adequate but simple and cost effective meals and lodging for our meetings this triennium.  We resolved to utilize e-mail and web-based services for communication among the Council members and staff as much as possible. 

We affirmed that young adults and youth are the fist priority for mission and budget allocations for this triennium, and plan to consider a detailed plan for expanding and developing ministries for them at our February meeting. 

We instructed the treasurer to file shareholder resolutions with companies in the DFMS investment portfolio recommended by the Council’s committee on Social Responsibility in Investments.  These shareholder resolutions concern access to health care in developing countries especially regarding HIV/AIDS drugs; responsibility of the primary company for wages and working conditions of workers employed by sub-contracting companies; issues of corporate governance such as board diversity, staggered board terms, and executive compensation; global warming; protecting human rights; and violence and the militarization of society. 

We reaffirmed our commitment to anti-racism training and will have training at our June 2004 meeting.  We also composed a letter to the church from the Council stating our commitment as a Council to the mission of the Church and commended Frank Griswold, our Presiding Bishop for his leadership. 

Our next Council meeting is February 9 through 12, in Tampa, Florida. 

Submitted by Sherry Denton