Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

Council Meeting

April 22, 2014

 

Present:   Pastor Chad Brekke, Intern Pastor Natalia Terfa, Bill Fredrick, Sue Johnson Melissa Johnson, Julia Sevald, Morgan Holle, Erik Hasse, Rachel Henderson, Richard Habstritt, Tim Marker

Absent:  Georgia Larson

Guest: Senior Patrol Leader, Jeremiah

 

Call to Order:  President Bill Fredrick called the meeting to order.

 

Devotions: Sue Johnson led us in devotions.

 

Adoption of Agenda: A motion was made by Morgan Holle and seconded by Erik Hasse to adopt the Council agenda.  Motion approved.

 

Approval of Previous Minutes:  A motion was made by Julia Sevald and seconded by Erik Hasse to approve the minutes from the March 18, 2014 Council meeting as written.  Motion approved.

 

Guest Report: Boy Scout Update: There are campouts planned, as well as advancement. They are focused on getting the new scouts orientated: there are 15 new scouts, which makes a total of 32 scouts. They are hoping to paint the dumpster and add gravel under the canoe this spring.

 

Sue asked them to consider helping with the Highway Cleanup on May 18th.

 

Reports of Officers:

Treasurer’s Report:

 

Notable March activity:

·         March receipts were greater than expenses.  The general/building fund activity for the month was a gain of $2,393.  This is slightly favorable to budget for the month and unfavorable to prior year.  The unfavorability to prior year is due to the timing of Easter where last year Easter was in March. 

·         Total March offerings & receipts were right on budget and unfavorable to prior year due to Easter timing.  Expenses are on budget and to favorable to prior year by $4,715 for the month.

·         Year to date we are still sitting in a positive position vs. the budget and prior year.  We are $20,707 favorable to budget and $28,212 favorable to prior year.  This is partially due to a change in the way we are accounting for our mortgage payment in order to more closely align with the Thrivent statement.  This favorability should continue throughout the year.

·         The general fund cash balance available for use remains healthy at $34,067 for the year.

·         There were no designated funds with significant activity for March.

 

We had a discussion about whether we can we send envelopes to Simply Giving families/individuals for the church services that do not fall on Sundays (Lent, Good Friday, Christmas, etc…). We agreed that this would be a good idea; Julia will follow up with this.

 

A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Richard Habstritt and seconded by Tim Marker. Motion approved.

 

President’s Report:

Property Committee Report:

Rick Soule has determined the following about our lights in the sanctuary:
The lights were designed to have 250 watts on all lights that shine down and 150 watts for those that shine towards the ceiling.
 Based on the wattage we will have use 17 and 28 watt LED’s.
The retro fit for the sconce lights were to have 9 watts but that will have to be reconsidered since the old wattage was also 250 watts. 
The 5 large halogen are also 250 watts. Those also get dimmed but Premier didn’t think they did so that is a concern for dimming since that is also a retro fit lamp. The 2 that shine on the stain glass window are the same but they don’t get dimmed. 
He is also checking to see if our dimming system will handle the type of LED bulbs we will be using. Roger is having Premier Lighting gives us the brand and the type/model we would use. We can then see if Electronic Theatric Controls of Middleton, WI has tested those types to see they would work in our dimmer system.
We found the original dimming control panel and can be re-installed. ETC indicated there has to be 100-watt load on each dimmer. We may have to look at how things are currently wired to verify if there will be 100 watts with LED lights. 
 

Roger ordered the material for the pews. They made an error on the estimate for cost. They quoted $75 for labor but it should have $75 per pew. He got them to come down to $55 per pew. There is another pew that is starting to tear so he is going to have 3 pews repaired. The material will cost $178.25 and the labor will be $165 so the total cost will be 343.25. The pews were removed for repair after the Easter services.
 

The committee also decided to trim up the 3 evergreen trees and removed the evergreen bushes underneath the cross on the southeast corner of sanctuary. 
  

Vice-President’s Report: 

Disbursement Requests:

A capital disbursement of $225 to pay for a portion of the cost of a security system at the back door of the Church.
 

A motion to approve the current disbursement requests was made by Julia Sevald and seconded Erik Hasse. Motion approved.

 

A benevolence disbursement of $300 for a Women Of Faith and Love brunch on May 10, 2014.
 

A motion to deny the disbursement request was made by Erik Hasse and seconded by Rachel Henderson. Motion approved. (They have money in their funds to use for this purpose. Sue has contacted them to let them know.)

 

Secretary’s Report:  No Report.

 

Pastoral Reports: 

Pastor Chad’s Report:

·         The church has moved through the season of Lent toward the celebration of Easter.  In one sense, we are pulled forward from one liturgical season to the next as if on autopilot. Christmas follows Advent, Easter follows Lent, etc., etc.  From a leadership perspective, however, the liturgical seasons are rich opportunities to engage the worshipping community in a shared experience of growing deeper in faith and understanding.

·         Through careful thematic planning lead by our staff, the Lenten season has been an engaging journey as mid-week and Sunday worship connected life and faith in meaningful ways. In other words, we are doing church “on purpose” and not simply going through the motions. Nowhere is this more evident than during Holy Week. Easter Sunday worship will be a particularly profound experience for those who entered the story with us during the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services.

·         Chad points all this out in this report because POP is beginning to turn a corner and it will be important to identify how this is happening. Churches can experience growth for lots of reasons. They can pursue flashy production value worship to attract the masses. They can declare opposition to one group or another to attract those of like mind. They may rally around the charismatic, larger than life personality of a particular leader. 

·         POP is not turning a corner for any of these reasons. Everywhere we look we see people becoming increasingly engaged with the scriptures. We see people doing life together in small groups. We see growth in giving and serving.  All of this growth is flowing from our time together in worship.  We should give thanks for this and invite others to experience what God is up to at POP.

 

Intern Pastor Natalia’s Report:

GroupLife is starting up again this week.
Natalia talked about the possibility of groups changing so people have the chance to meet new people and grow this small group experience.
 

Council Reports

Each ministry team is to submit a written report each month.  These will be attached to the official minutes.  Highlights will be included in these minutes.

 

Executive Team:  No Report.

 

Spiritual Growth: No Report.

 

Sunday Morning Experience:  

At their last meeting, they discussed what the plan was going to be going forward for volunteer appreciation.
Julia reminded them that volunteer recognition was cut from the budget. Sunday Morning Experience has money in their designated funds if they would like to continue with their Ice Cream Social where they talk about what’s working and areas to improve the Sunday Morning Experience Team.
 

Congregational Care:

The prayer committee had a meeting on April 12th.
We are in need of more people on the Befriender’s and Visitation teams. We are very blessed to have the people who are presently on the team and can’t thank them enough.
There were 12 people at the meeting that will be trained to be the core of this committee. These 12 people will invite others to be a part of this group as needs arise.
 

Outreach:

We had a regular Outreach Meeting on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 with seven of the eight members attending. Also William Fredrick, Council President was in attendance. Here a list upcoming events and projects the Committee is working on.
1.      On Thursday, April 24, 2014 we will serve a meal to the students and parents of Park Brook Elementary prior to the 4th – 6th Grade Choir Concert.  Erik Hasse of the council is trying to get all food donated by Cub.  There will be bingo after the meal and before the concert. Lynell Keller donated the prizes.

2.      On Monday, April 28, 2014, we will help serve a free meal at Lutheran Church of the Master Church in Brooklyn Center. This is part of the Loaves and Fishes program.  We do this every month.  We are considering adding a second monthly commitment, which will be discussed further at our next meeting. Bev Alseben is coordinating this.

At the meal in March, we fed 140 people with 9 volunteers from Prince of Peace.
3.       On Friday, May 2, 2014, we will also prepare and serve a meal at River of Life Church in North Minneapolis. We do this every other month, which is coordinated by Jack and Elaine Zimmer.

4.      At our last meeting, we discussed the Summer Reading program, which was developed by Jan Ficken of our community and funded by District#279 Foundation. Sally Onstad, with assistance from Sandy Noard, is taking the lead for this program. The first step is asking the congregation to donate new or used books for the Book Mobile which will be going to parks and apartments this summer.

5.      We continue to watch very closely the Homeless Youth Program that is being championed by Brooklyn Area Ministerial Alliance and Brooklyn Avenues. We are considering a concert as a possible fundraiser to be presented to both of these groups. A planning meeting is slated for Friday, April 25, 2014 to discuss further. We are also hoping to have representation at the next meeting. This is being head up by Bev Alseben.

6.      On Sunday, May 18, 2014, we will have our clean up Highway #81 Day.  This year this will be called “JEANS and JUNK”. This year the congregation will be encourage to wear jeans to church and help with the clean up after the service, which they are attending. Sue Johnson is coordinating this project with the assistance of Richard Habstritt.

7.       I am working with Sue Fodstad and the Cancer Group on some special events with the Hope Lodge. We are considering three service events in 2014. I met with them couple weeks ago and will discuss with both the Cancer Group and the Outreach Committee on the direction which we should take.

8.      Mission Jamaica had 20 members from Prince of Peace.

Mission Jamaica 2014

 

 

 

Community Life: 

We are set for Game Night on May 2nd  at 7:00.  We will have snacks and games of all kinds.  I will be asking for volunteers to be “game guru’s” and run a table of their favorite game.  We will include cards, board games and Wii activities-something for everyone.  We will also be asking and welcoming people to bring friends to enjoy the fellowship! 
 

Modern Worship Arts:No Report.

 

Children and Family Ministry:

Current Programming Updates
Sunday School is into the last month for the 2013-14 School Year

Looking at ways to get more congregation members (not just parents) involved in Sunday School
Will continue to work on a 6-year rotation of stories for 1st-6th grade, and continue to tweak the 3-year rotation that is currently in place for PreK-K.
May 18th (last day of Sunday School) will have a different look this year
Registration will be in the Welcome Center all three Sundays in May.
CEAP Food Drive/Competition brought in 345 items of food.  Sunday School offering from February/March also went to CEAP
DIGGIN In had 12-15 kids a week.  It was fun to talk to them about the different changes we encounter
POP Tots continues to meet
Wonderful turnout from Families – including new families every time we gather
Mix of free-play, snack, activity, discussion amongst parents

We will meet again in May, probably take the summer off (maybe meet once or twice) and then start up again in September or October

Meets the first Saturday of the month – for all children not old enough for Sunday School
POPpers events have continued – FMSC in April was a great mix of POPpers and Families: Last event is our Mystery Event
POPS Camp Registration is underway and will continue through May 18th

Offering three weeks this Summer

Looking at Dr. Seuss stories in combination with Bible Stories, under the Theme of CALLED to CARE

o   Our Nursery Assistant positions have been filled by TWO members of the Congregation.

§  Heather is very excited to have a bigger team, and both women seem excited as well. Melissa Schmidt and Teri Hansen joined the team at the end of March.

o   
19 5th Graders received their First Communion.  We continue to get positive comments with having it on Maundy Thursday


o   Kids Choir Showcase/Art Gallery will be on Sunday, April 27th starting at 4 pm.  There will be a potluck after the Showcase

 

Looking Ahead
Continuing to work on POPS Camp Curriculum – I am writing my own this year and I am super excited about what it might look like
Working on the Summer Schedule to plan Sunday Morning DIG and Wednesday Activity Table
Plant Sale (YOUTH Fundraiser) will happen on Mothers Day Weekend
 

Youth and Family Ministry:

Another fantastic season of mentoring (Lent) has concluded.  I am very pleased with the group of mentors our 7th graders have.  And thanks to all of you that have mentored!
“Envelopes for Tanzania” was a great success.  Thank you all so much for contributing!
 Revolution continues through the end of May
You are invited to Axis Spring Term!
Parents/adults will meet in the CLC for their sessions:
April 23rd: “Our Supporting Faith Circles” with Lyle Griner (www.everydayllc.org). This session will give you an intentional mindset & specific skills to model and mentor faith in an everyday way.
April 30th: “Parent-to-Parent” a time for parents to share life & support one another by sharing questions, struggles, stories,   &  successes.
o   Kids will attend a session of their choice:

§  April 23rd:

o   A. Being a Christian in high school & opportunities at POP after Axis

o   B. Easter & Resurrection with Pr. Chad

§  April 30th:

o   A. Faith & Sports with Asics professional runner, Heather Kampf

o   B. Stump the Pastors with Pr. Chad & Natalia

Axis will end for the season on May 7th. Parents are leading the planning for a party.
 

Unfinished Business:  None

 

New Business: None

 

Action Items:

Julia will check into seeing if we can get envelopes out to Simply Giving members for the services that do not fall on Sundays.
Please put May 18th on your calendar. Richard would like to see Council participation in the Highway Cleanup Sunday. Wear jeans to church… help clean up the highway after the service!
 

A motion was made by Sue Johnson and seconded by Richard Habstritt to adjourn the meeting.  Motion approved.  Meeting adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa Johnson

Secretary