December meeting notes

Present: Chrissy, Katy, Ron, Caroline, Kathy, Laura M

Shared recent emails from Alex.

• Dec 1 email – Thanks for the birthday wishes for Victor Hugo. At Shalom, there is a new project for families to raise chickens. Also working in the community to get access to water. At Shekina, the pilot program for the community center is doing very well with 90 participants in a variety of arts and crafts classes. Alex is teaching a painting class.
• Dec 7 email – Alex reported that 7 leaders from the San Lorenzo community (which was devastated during the volcano eruption last year) were arrested and are being held in Santa Ana prison. One of the women is a good friend of the Shalom congregation. Alex said that a delegation had visited them in the prison and there are many injustices and human rights violations. They want the international community to know about the situation. Another topic was that the place Shalom has rented this year has been bought by the Mormons, so Shalom has to leave. Alex would like to use CBC funds to prepay rent on a new location for 2007.
• Laura offered to do complete Spanish – English translations. Caroline will add the translated reports to the new mission group blog and post on the CBC bulletin board. Should also be summarized in the CBC newsletter.

Discussed possible actions to follow up re: San Lorenzo and human rights violations.

• Named several contacts that we could make – Stan Slade, Amnesty International, Tara at SHARE, Stan Hastey at Alliance of Baptists. Best to find out what is happening before we make contacts with our congress.
• Laura will do the translation of Alex’s report and send to Ron and Caroline. (Ron will email the spanish to Laura.)
• Ron will send email to Alex to let him know that we are doing follow up action.
• Ron will talk with Tara to see if SHARE is aware and has any contacts to use in advocacy on this situation, both in El Salvador and in US.
• Good opportunity to involve Alliance / Stan Hastey, too, since there is the mission grant connection with Alex and Ruth. Ron will send info to Stan and will talk with Tara about connecting with Stan.
• Agreed to designate the $666 in Special Appeals that is the 3^rd 2005 Alliance grant payment to be used for this situation. Maybe there are demonstrations being organized? Maybe the San Lorenzo community and/or prisoners families need financial support? Caroline will request immediate fund transfer through Norm. Ron will let Alex/Ruth know that we are sending those funds.

Phone call to Ruth and Alex

• Would like to make a phone call to talk with them about the San Lorenzo situation etc. Need to find out if Ken B-P would be available next Saturday. Caroline will purchase a phone card with remaining mission group funds.

End of year finances – We’re in great shape! Copies of Caroline's complete report are available on request. Highlights of our finances:

• Orantes Fund -- Looks like it will be fully funded or just very slightly short of the $12,000 goal for 2006! We will not need to make any significant transfer of CBC outreach budget funds into the Orantes Fund. Gifts / pledges to the 2006 Orantes Fund come from these sources:

9 CBC Salvador Partners Mission Group households (2 of these were new)
4 CBC households not affiliated w/ mission group
10 non-CBC households (including contribution from Shane / the simple way)

• Shekina / Shalom funds in Outreach – We recommend that the funds be sent prior to year-end, divided equally between the two congregations. Caroline will send email to Outreach for approval and then will work with Norm to do a wire transfer. We have about $3500 for each congregation after making adjustments for small disbursements for designated purposes earlier in the year.

• In Special Appeals account, we will continue to hold $644 for Ruth’s ticket to Cuba. Other funds to be sent in December include $1000 from the 2006 Alliance Mission Grant and about $900 in special contributions from CBC individuals designated for the Shekina land purchase.

• Alliance Grant (held in Special Appeals) We will ask Ruth and Alex to decide on a project for the use of the Alliance $1000 grant funds we have thus far received for the 2006 grant. Will inform the Alliance of the project decision.

• Mission Group funds have been used to reimburse expenses re: Shekina delegation in March, expenses re: Orantes Fund appeal mailing, and for advocacy funds during the March 2006 elections in El Salvador. Remain funds will be used for a phone card.

Orantes Fund 2006 thank yous and 2007 pledge appeal

• We are sending handwritten thank you notes to contributors who are not part of the mission group or are from outside CBC. Each of us agreed to write three of those notes. Notecards and names distributed.
• Will work on designing a 2007 appeal. Ron will see if Marcia has any photos from her visit with the San Lorenzo community in Dec 2006.

Taped interviews about early CBC delegations to El Salvador

• The youth delegation members made a videotape of Katy F-N, Jeff K-C, and Kathleen B telling about their early delegations to El Salvador. Thanks to Jeff for his video equipment!
• Need to think about how to use the DVD.

End of the year fiesta invitation!

• Come for very casual dinner get-together on Thursday, Dec 28^th, from 6pm – 9pm at Caroline’s house. Invitation is for mission group members and the previous youth delegation and the current youth delegation. Tara Carr from SHARE will be our guest, too.