St. Andrews Lutheran Church Council
Dec. 19, 2013, 6:30 pm
2013 Council Members present included Linda Seaverson, Cindy Russell, Don Behning, Don Boyle, Sharon Anderson, Gene Pollmann, DJ Parsons, Pauline Miller and Pastor Beth.
2014 Council Members present included Daryle Vegge and Pete Korshing
Linda called the meeting to order and opened with devotions and prayer. She thanked the outgoing council members for their service. (Don Boyle, Don Behning, and Gene Pollmann).
Minutes from the Nov. council meeting were approved. (Pollmann/Behning)
Pastor’s Report
P. Beth reported that there have been several funerals recently and that we should all be mindful of the grieving process and the affects on our church community.
She also shared an article that has been circulating titled ”Many Congregations are stuck in an overly churched culture.” She posed the question, “How are we reaching out in ways that are recognizable to an unchurched culture?”
Pastor Beth also handed out the book “SimpleChurch”, asking each council member to read it by the next council meeting with the intention that it should help us focus on our upcoming facilities discussion.
Director of Faith Life Report
Both the Advent workshop on 11/24 and the Christmas Program on 12/15 were well received by the congregation. Many people involved with both events. I would like to get more folks involved in planning the Advent celebration next year. I have wonderful helpers for the Christmas program and feel it went better as a result.
I have been working with the Nominating Task Team to fill out the committees. We still have not found chairs for all the committees and continue to work on this. Chairs are still needed for Education, Family & Youth and Worship & Arts. We are getting closer with Outreach. Our next step will be to approach members about serving on committees. We hope to complete these tasks before the congregational meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
Don reported that the operating budget deficit as of the end of Nov. is $15,625. One half of our ELCA and local benevolences for the year have not been paid. Contributions for the month of Dec. so far are up.
Old Business
Preliminary Budget in January:
S & F will be finalizing the budget after the end of the year so that the best income projection for 2014 is available. Council will hold a meeting Jan. 9 to discuss the budget and vote on it. It will be ready for the Congregational Meeting on Jan. 26.
Facilities Assessment update:
The Facilities Assessment Task team: Linda reported that the team has met twice in December. The first meeting involved discussion of the Vision Focus results in regard to facilities and the second meeting involved discussion of possible plans for the facilities in response to the previous discussion. The ideas will be put together and the team will meet again in early January. Overall progress is going well. Team includes Linda Seaverson (President) , Loraine Burke (Civil Engineer) , Brian Kerr(Property Chair), Bill Koening ( past Property Chair), Dave Krumm ( Past Property Chair).
New Business
Newsletter changes:
P. Beth reported that we will be streamlining the newsletter. We will be asked to refer to the website and bulletin announcements for detailed information on upcoming events.
Clothing Collection Box
A request was made by Kris Parsons to locate a used clothing bin on church property. Council has requested more information before a vote.
Election of Executive Committee:
2013 Officers reported on their duties.
It was decided to postpone the election until the Jan. 9th meeting to give Council members time to prayerfully consider the positions. The 2013 Executive Committee recommends VP be a first year term member to prepare for President the following year and be available as past president the third year.
It was decided we will vote on which new council members will hold the (3) 3- year terms and which one will hold the 2- year term at our next meeting.Council member/ Committee liaison assignments will be made at the Jan. council mtg. Council members were asked to remind their committee chairs that their committee annual reports are due Dec. 31.
Council Budget Meeting 1/9 at 6:30
Next Council Meeting: 1/16 at 6:30.
P. Beth led us in a closing prayer.
Meeting adjourned 8:15PM.
Respectfully submitted, Cindy Russell, Secretary