Welcome to Rectortown UMC

The Straw Poll resulted in a positive vote at 68.57%; We had set a threshold of 58% in order to move on and this surpassed our set threshold by 10%.  

Following is the breakdown of the results for your information if you are interested:

35 Votes were registered in total:

• 28 people voted online
• 7 people voted in person or via telephone

Of those votes provided today:

• 24 voted YES
• 11 voted NO

Of those voting:

• 29 were professing members of RUMC
• 1 was a non member that DID attend regularly
• 5 were non members who do NOT attend regularly

If you have any questions or want further information on this breakdown, please let me know.  I will provide screen shots of the survey for Admin Council and am happy to provide to anyone who would request them.

The next step is for me to notify the DS of these results and to provide the Trustees names and contact numbers and then for the Trustees to continue with the required information to send on to the District. 

Thank you all for your prayerful discernment and for taking time to participate in this very important vote regarding the congregation and the Church.  

I'm here if you have any questions.

Blessings,
Kris

Following the last day of discernment, March 13, we will have a Straw Poll of the congregation on the issue of disaffiliation. The on line Straw Poll is now closed.

What is the Straw Poll?

The Straw Poll is the requirement next step in the disaffiliation process for our Church family.  It is simply how it sounds - a basic YES or NO poll to gauge the overall feeling and wants of our congregants on the issue. We will provide this poll regarding going forward with the next steps in the process to anyone on our email list or who attends church.  You do not have to be a professing member to participate in the straw poll.    

Can I vote on this issue?

Yes - and you should.  Anyone who attends our Church (be they professing members or not) may vote at this point in the process.  The poll will provide a spot for you to mark if you are a professing member, not a member, etc.  This will be different than the final vote which will only allow professing members on our membership rolls to vote on the final decision. 

How can I vote?

We will issue the poll in an online format.  You may only vote one time.  We will issue an electronic Survey Monkey poll on Tuesday, March 14th.  The online poll will be open from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.  If you do not have access to the online poll you may come by the Church office from 9:30 - 12:00 noon on March 14th and cast a hard copy ballot or you may call the office during those same hours on March 14th to register your vote by phone.  All of these formats will have the same single question and same options of YES or NO. 

How do I provide my response?
If you have access to email and a computer, you will simply click the link below and vote.

If you do not have access to a computer you can call the Church office to submit a voice vote.

If you want to vote in person, you can do so from 9:30 - Noon at the Church office.

When and how will votes be counted?

Due to time sensitivity, it will be critical for us to have a vote on March 14th.  We will count all the votes on the evening of March 14th. We cannot accept votes prior to the end of the discernment period of March 13th. We need to make this a short window in order to give our Trustees enough time to complete the work needed to be done by April 6th.  

We will review the cards and ensure no one has voted more than once and we will do a simple count of the YES and NO votes

We will then determine if the requisite percentage required - 58% (a percentage set by our Administrative Council) has been reached to continue the work on disaffiliation. If we reach that percentage, then the Trustees will work through the tight deadline to reach the April 6th paperwork deadline for submission to the District for review and signature.  

As a professing member currently on the rolls of Rectortown UMC, once I vote, can I change my mind on disaffiliation?

This straw poll is simply a general vote of all attending congregants on exploring further to allow our Trustees and others to begin work on gathering information for the process.  There will be a second vote at a later date that will be the FINAL guiding vote on the issue. That vote will only be participated in by professing members on the roll of the Rectortown United Methodist Church.  That vote will be at a called Church Conference, overseen by our DS.  So voting YES at this time does not mean that your vote cannot be changed later as we proceed through the process. 

Blessings, Kris