Update from the Leadership Council
Culpeper Baptist Child Development Center transition to Brynmor at Culpeper Baptist
During the past 14 months, the Leadership Council has worked on opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the Culpeper Baptist Child Development Center (CDC). At the March church business meeting, the Leadership Council proposed that the church authorize the Council to negotiate an agreement with Brynmor Early Childhood Education to become the operator of the Child Development Center. The proposal was approved and included a lease for CDC spaces between Brynmor and Culpeper Baptist as well as Brynmor’s assumption of operations at Culpeper Baptist on August 4, 2025. This transition is moving along extremely well with Brynmor retaining most of the existing staff. As members of the Brynmor team, the employees will be offered greater benefits than in the past.
Those that attended the July 22nd worship service were introduced to Rhian Allvin, the founder and CEO of Brynmor. She reported great transition progress, confirmed enrollment has been established to all existing enrolled families and they are now signing up wait-list families. Rhian emphasized that Brynmor’s goals and mission aligns with Culpeper’s 75-year mission and values for early childhood education and development.
Sanctuary Cracks
We have discovered multiple cracks in the sanctuary walls (not visible in the sanctuary). Two structural engineers have assessed the cracks, and they do not believe they are structural. We are currently monitoring this problem to determine the best course of action and expect to know more by Fall.
Groundskeeping at the church
We are grateful to Anthony Aylor for providing lawncare services to our church for over 25 years! Earlier this year Maranatha approached us about providing lawncare to the church for free as an “in kind” payment for the use of the buildings (they also pay CBC a monthly amount for use of the building). They have been doing this with volunteers from their congregation.
Summer Worship Schedule
During July, the Leadership Council will review our worship schedule to make decisions about the Fall. Please let us know of any feedback you may have.
Jerry Morris, Chair John Rogers Margaret Williams
Sally Napier Susanne Dorsey Bob McCall
Lou Price, Finance Committee Phil Sturm, Personnel Committee
Dan Carlton
Personnel Update:
Lindsay Dean had her baby girl July 3 and will be on Maternity leave for 9 weeks. The first four weeks will be paid via 3 weeks accrued sick and vacation pay and one week of paid maternity leave approved by the Personnel Committee.
Melody Friedrichs will be our interim Worship Leader during Lindsay’s absence. Melody was a former worship leader at CBC several years ago before getting married and relocating. She and her husband recently moved back to Culpeper. Melody has served as a temporary worship leader since her return and handles some administrative work for the church.
Jim Griscavage has been hired as the Church Administrator effective October 1. Jim’s role will be to oversee and manage all aspects of the church except those involving the pastoral work and mission. This includes human resources, business and finance, building maintenance, benevolent ministry and support staff. He will work closely with Dan and will report directly to the Leadership Council. Jim is a recent retiree from the FAA and has more than 40 years’ experience in increasingly responsible engineering and administrative capacities. Before October, Jim is volunteering in his new role and becoming familiar with his responsibilities, taking some vacation, and catching up on projects at home. The Church Administrator function was recommended by the Leadership Council 2 years ago.
Rebecca Schwier has resigned as Choir Director. She continues to volunteer periodically at The Culpeper as the pianist for the weekly live service conducted by CBC.
Chris Rogers has resigned as Young Adults-Assistant Director. Currently we have no plans to fill that position.
Youth Leader Search
We continue to search for a combined CBC Youth Minister/FCA Area Representative. After searching with the CBC /FCA staff efforts for more than a year, we contracted with a search firm in March, Ministry Architects, to identify and screen candidates. Although Ministry Architects has produced more prospects than our in-house search, the position remains unfilled. We continue to receive weekly updates. There is, we believe, significant potential to increase our youth ministry, and this position is a key link.
Tom Heilman, Chair Betty Katt Brian Jones
Lynn Gore Phil Sturm Melanie Edwards