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Council minutes for Jan. 10, 2017

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Draft minutes 

Present: Janine Bessemer, Jacy Boldebuck, Rita Elver (council nominee), Ryan Estrella, Sarah Fritz, Josh Gormley, Pastor Phil Haslanger, Gary Johnson, Jan Klawitter, John Van Overbeke and Damon Smith

Absent: Orion Jetzer and Rebecca Malke

Pastor Phil opened the meeting with a prayer.

The Minutes for the December, 2016, meeting were moved for approval by Sarah, which was seconded by Damon and passed.

The year-end Financial Report was presented by John, who updated that all figures moved toward budgeted expectations by the end of December, and 2016 concluded with favorable totals in both income and expenses. John also spoke about balances in the various funds, specifying that there will be about $10,000 available in the Endowment Fund and $4,580 available in the Giving Locally Fund for use in 2017. A detailed financial report will be presented to the congregation at the annual meeting. Josh moved to approve the financial report, with was seconded by Janine and passed.

The trustees’ proposed budget for 2017 was presented by Gary Johnson, which also listed the budgeted and actual totals for income and expenses for 2016. Gary explained the trustees’ rationale for developing the (balanced) budget for the coming year, as well as the difficulty predicting income and expenses in the context of our pastoral search. Gary said one of the more significant changes in the 2017 budget is that only four months of salary for the parish nurse position was included, reflecting the time of Mary’s retirement. If the Council and new pastor want to hire someone to take on those duties, they will be able to draw money from our reserve funds for this year. Gary will be presenting the budget proposal to the congregation at the annual meeting. Damon moved to recommend this proposed budget for 2017 to the congregation, which was seconded by Jan and passed.

The Pastor’s Report was presented by Pastor Phil, who shared with council a detailed summary of centennial celebration plans. There is work being done in the categories of video, music, art, history notes, stewardship, centennial fund, and the June 4th worship service. Other plans being discussed include a tour of the old church building, a cornerstone display, a photo book of current members and friends, an opportunity for kids to donate to a local organization, and an updated history booklet.

Phil also passed out a chart detailing attendance and activity of the congregation in the past several years.

Old Business:

We discussed the upcoming changes in the council of Josh and Damon leaving. The nominating committee (consisting of Jacy Boldebuck, Haddie Oebser, Bonnie VanOverbeke and Pastor Phil) are recommending Rita Elver and Sue Webb for approval by the congregation to serve on the council.  In addition, the congregation will be asked to approve Janine Bessemer and Jan Klawitter to serve on council for another term. Janine volunteered to take the minutes for the annual meeting.

New Business:

Pastor Phil reported that he is proposing an update to the current personnel policy about the benefit of health insurance. He would like to replace “pastoral staff” with “pastors and lay staff members who work at least 20 hours per week” as eligible recipients of health, dental or vision insurance coverage. Jan moved to accept this update to the personnel policy, which was seconded by Sarah and passed.

The Committee Reports were given:

Faith Development: Rebecca is on vacation in India during the month of January. Prior to her departure she set all teachers up with instructions for accessing the curriculum, online, and she arranged for coverage for Children’s Time during the services. She also designated Kaitlin Young and Sarah Fritz to be resources for questions about the nursery and Sunday school.

Special Events: The annual chili cook-off is scheduled for February 12th.

Membership: This committee plans to meet next on January 17th.

Outreach:  Jan reported that the congregation donated $600 in gift cards for Open Doors for Refugees. Coats and winter accessories will be collected this coming Sunday (January 15th) for the jail ministry, and on Jan. 22 will have a loose plate collection for the Good Neighbors Essentials Pantry.

Worship: This committee plans to meet in the near future.

Building and Grounds: No report.

Sarah moved to adjourn.

Minutes submitted by Sarah Fritz

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