At the special congregational meeting on Sunday, January 13th, the congregation of Fauntleroy Church voted to renew the call to Rev. David Kratz to serve as  Fauntleroy’s Senior Minister. The result of the paper ballot vote was 97 for and 1 against.

On January 15th Pastor Kratz began his 23rd year as senior pastor of Fauntleroy Church.

Pastor Kratz outlined several goals for the coming term:

• Continuous creation of a covenantal community,
• Completion of the remodeling project by the summer of 2009,
• Developing a strategic approach to the crisis of homelessness that fits Fauntleroy,
• Develop in conjunction with other groups (including the YMCA) the facility as a family life center,
• Increase membership to 440,
• Transition from taking on responsibilities to sharing institutional memory, and
• Increase his emphasis on pastoral care.

Easement Approved

The other action taken at the meeting was the congregation's approval in principle of an easement with the Seattle Parks Department. The easement permits the use of part of our property to complete the walkway through and around Fauntleroy Park.

The Parks Department will replace a bridge over Forest Court Creek, improve what we call the fire lane (a gravel roadway), plant a barrier between the Memorial Garden and the pathway (with our input on the selection of plants) and stripe the parking lot for a 5 to 7 foot wide pedestrian pathway.

Marylou Whiteford from the Parks Department spoke and answered questions at the meeting. There are still some details to be completed, but unless there are major concerns the easement vote is final. The hand vote was unanimous in favor of granting the easement.

You can check with Bob Code, the chair of Facilities, or Moderator Steve Sundquist if you have questions.