Present: Pastor Chad Brekke, Mike Isenberg, Nate Boucher, Rachel Henderson, Patti VanLiew, Ann Maczuga, Cathy Krogstad, Pam Eliason 

Absent: Pastor Natalia Terfa 

Call to Order: Mike called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm 

Opening Devotion: Pastor Chad led us in devotions/prayer. 

Adoption of the Agenda: Rachel made a motion to adopt the agenda. Cathy seconded the motion. Motion carries. 

Approval of Previous Minutes: The minutes for our December’s meeting were approved electronically by council. Our annual meeting was held in January. 

EXECUTIVE TEAM REPORTS: 

President and Vice President’s Report- none 

Treasurer’s Report – January 2024 

Budget	Prior Year
MONTH	Actual	Budget	Favorable/	Actual	Favorable/
General/Building Fund:	Jan-24	Jan-24	(Unfavorable)	Jan-23	(Unfavorable)
Offerings/Receipts	35,790	44,561	(8,770)	45,647	(9,857)
Expenses	(68,804)	(57,128)	(11,676)	(64,853)	(3,951)
Net Gain/(Loss)	($33,014)	($12,568)	($20,446)	($19,206)	($13,808)

Budget	Prior Year
YEAR TO DATE	Actual	Budget	Favorable/	Actual	Favorable/
General/Building Fund:	Jan-24	Jan-24	(Unfavorable)	Jan-23	(Unfavorable)
Offerings/Receipts	35,790	45,647	(9,857)	45,647	(9,857)
Expenses	(68,804)	(57,128)	(11,676)	(64,853)	(3,951)
Net Gain/(Loss)	($33,014)	($11,481)	($21,533)	($19,206)	($13,808)

Notable January Activity: 

• For the month of January, receipts were lower than expenses. Offering was lower than budget, other income* was higher than budget. . . The general/building fund activity for the month was a gain of $35,790. This is favorable/unfavorable to the budget by $8,770, and unfavorable to prior year by $9,857. 
• Overall, expenses are unfavorable to budget and favorable to prior year for the month. Expenses are higher than expected by $11,676. ▪ We made a switch to a new insurance carrier, which will save us money on annual premiums, however, part of the expenses this month includes payment of 2-month premiums to get established. 

*other income includes: Interest, Thrivent Choice Dollars, Misc, Memorials, Building Use 

• For January year to date Being the first month of the year, there are no trends to track yet. 

• Council will continue to track spending and finance trends closely throughout the coming months to keep us on track with budgeted spending. 

~Submitted by Rachel Henderson, Treasurer 

Pastoral Report- 

Pastor Chad’s Report February 2024 

We are nearly two months into the latest staffing reductions, and we seem to have settled into an efficient and sustainable operation. There is no doubt that expectations related to the availability of various ministry and office staff will need to take the new flexing schedules in mind. The days of “Just stopping in” to the office and expecting to be able to meet with a particular staff member have evolved into the need to double-check and perhaps make an appointment. 

All that said, all our staff are doing a great job keeping things running while balancing working remotely and on-site. 

Lent began with a meaningful Ash Wednesday service which introduced our theme of “shalom” where various members will tell ordinary stories of seeking (and sometimes failing to find) wholeness, in areas of our lives that have often been broken or made to be distant from each other. We will take each broken piece, hold it up, look at it, and place it back together, weaving what was broken into something whole, the way God has always intended us to be. 

Plans for the next Vision Trip to Africa are all in place. There will be nine people on the trip which will be June 20-July 2, 2024. The Africa Fund at PoP recently received a donation of $50K in support of our ministry and outreach partnerships in Tanzania. 

The Minneapolis area Synod Assembly will be May 2-4. A major agenda item for this assembly will be electing a new bishop. Voting members from any synod congregation can submit names for nomination and these potential candidates are offered via local conferences for consideration. It is an honor to be considered for this role and Pastor Natalia’s name was among those submitted along with 14 others as of last Tuesday. 

~Pastor Chad 

Ministry Team Reports: 

Community Life – none 

Congregational Care – none 

Outreach – Ann Maczuga 

The Outreach Team is hosting the Caritas Vocal Ensemble Benefit Concert on Saturday, March 2 at 2PM. Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. Proceeds will benefit Avenues for Youth. The team asks that Parish Council Members attend if they possibly can, along with promoting the 

event as much as possible. Posters and tabletop promotions are in the Welcome Center about the concert and how to order tickets. 

The ministry for Hearts and Hands for Jamaica are leaving for their mission trip. They will leave Tuesday, February 27th. There are 2 individuals going for 1 week and 6 of us going for 2 weeks. We will continue to volunteer with our partners: West Haven Orphanage, Faith Chapel and Lethe Infant School. I will be posting updates while we are in Jamaica on FB under “Hearts and Hands for Jamaica”. Please encourage the parish to check out the updates. 

Park Brook is having their 2024 Winter Fun-Land on 2/23/24. They sent an email to any volunteers that would be interested. Looks like it’s 4:00-7:30. Need most help for set up and clean up. If interested or know anyone who might be, here is the link: 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A054DAEA82DA0F49-47825405-2024#

Avenues for Youth is having a gala/fundraising on April 11th and the Ministry here at PoP is continuing to be a sponsor. Anyone wanting to donate toward the cause, there is an envelope in the church office that was left for Paul Halvorson. 

No reports from CEAP, LSS Refugee Services, or Highway Cleanup. 

Care Team Report –The quilters were very happy with their sale. 

Property Team – none 

Sunday Morning Experience – none 

Staff Reports: 

CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRY FEBRUARY 2024- Katie 

After a “slower” month in January, we have definitely kicked things up a notch in February. 

CURRENT UPDATES 

• As we entered Lent, the Middle School Ministry switched to a Mentoring focus where our young people pair with a caring adult in their lives. Each week after Lent Worship they talk through a series of questions that help them dive deeper into our theme of Shalom/Wholeness 

• Childrens Ministry continues with their Sunday morning meeting times, and we have started to see an increase in numbers again, as well as visitors on a regular basis. I appreciate that we have created a space where our young people feel welcome. 
• High School Ministry has also continued with their Sunday night gatherings, but we took February 11th off because of the Super Bowl. Many of our regular participants mentioned they had parties to attend. 
• All three age groups also had individual events: A Parents Night Out for Childrens Ministry, Game night for Middle School Ministry and Lock-In for High School Ministry. Both the Middle School and High School Event saw a lot of guests, which is always fun to see, and the Parents Night Out is something we will be doing again as it was well received by the parents and young people. 
• We just kicked off our “COINS FOR LENT” drive which is the same premise as our Jingle Jangle Coin Drive. A portion of the money will go to CEAP’s MN Food Share, and the rest will stay here. 

UPCOMING AND ONGOING PROJECTS/UPDATES 

Summer Ministry Opportunities for all ages were rolled out at the beginning of February. 

• WAPO Registration has been open since January 15th, and our numbers are currently a little lower than previous years, but I expect that number to go up. 
• Summer Day Camp Dates/Schedule/Themes are set for 2024. We are going with the theme of “Just Live It”, and we will spend our time looking at the life that God wants us to live and see how we can reflect God in everything we do. 
• Summer Opportunities for Middle School and High School (in addition to WAPO) are still in the works and will be rolled out ASAP. 

Plant Sale 

• The Plant Sale which is our biggest CYF Fundraiser (well, really our ONLY fundraiser) will kick-off on Wednesday, February 28th and go through the entire month of March. Forms and money are DUE back to Church by Sunday, March 31st. 
• Participants earn 40% of what they sell, and plants arrive on Mother’s Day Weekend 

I am continuing to work with our Rental Groups to make sure that they are keeping their spaces neat and organized as well as using only the spaces they are paying for. This will give us a clearer picture of the spaces we have available. Part of this is also cleaning up Prince of Peace storage spaces. BIG thanks to the team who cleaned the kitchen. As we work towards purchasing a freezer, more organization/rearranging may need to happen which will only clean things up even more. 

~Katie 

Media & Tech – none 

Music – none 

Unfinished Business: none 

New Business: 

Council discussed having a Little Free Revivery Box to make Narcan accessible for Opioid overdose installed on the outside of Prince of Peace. We will further research the benefits, safeguards, and liability of this non-profit service. 

Ann brought the need for signage for PoP’s kitchen. We all need to be aware of the dishwashing/sanitizer not heating to the proper 175-180 degrees and want to make sure Coffee servers safely sanitize cups and dishes for our congregation. 

Congratulations to Pastor Natalia for being nominated as a candidate for Minneapolis area Synod Bishop. 

Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 7:00 pm via Zoom 

Adjournment: Ann made a motion to adjourn. Nate seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm