MUCC COUNCIL MEETING
March 12, 2019
Present: Pastor Kris Gorton, Anna Bast, Dean Baumgardner, Sarah Fritz, Kelly Jetzer, John Rosch and Sue Webb
Absent: Jacy Boldebuck, Ryan Estrella and Rebecca Malke
Guest: Tony Young
Pastor Kris opened the meeting with a prayer.
The minutes from the February, 2019, meeting were moved for approval by Dean (after two minor corrections), which was seconded by John and passed.
Ongoing Business:
- The assignment of ministry teams to existing committees (for the purposes of council liaison representation and organizational clarity) was discussed, and the following assignments were made:
- Care Team: Membership Committee
- Personnel Committee: Trustees
- Tech Team: Building and Grounds Committee
It was also concluded that the Pastoral Relations Team, which is suggested to rotate members out after two years and include a member of council, will be free-standing. The Communication Team, which will manage communication within the church and outwardly to the public, might be assigned to the Membership Committee (pending committee agreement).
- The Faith Development Committee response to Ben Wealti’s proposals of a Puppy Party and Waffle Church was discussed. The committee consensus about the Puppy Party was that, from a logistical and liability standpoint, it is not recommended to proceed with such an activity. The suggestions for Waffle Church include scheduling this event during the summer and encouraging adults (especially those who haven’t yet taught Sunday School but might be interested) and confirmation students to help out.
- Ideas for 2019 Goals for Council are:
- Promotion of increased involvement and idea-sharing by members and friends of MUCC in committees and on teams
- Clarification of ways to continue/ expand outreach efforts without the use of special offering requests
- Creation of a Disaster Recovery Plan
- Discussion and voting on church building (carpet) and parking lot improvements
- Facilitation of the formation of a youth group
New Business:
During Dean’s meeting with two representatives from Church Mutual 2/18/19 it was recommended that Memorial UCC develops a Disaster Recovery Plan for such purposes as clarifying where we would worship and how we would maintain internal communications if our building were ever rendered unusable. A sample plan was shared, and Dean and Anna have agreed to review this and report back to council about what they suggest for adapting such a plan to meet our needs.
Trustees’ Report:
Dean shared that we currently have a $3, 000 deficit through the end of February, which is not atypical for this time of year. Church Mutual recommended that the documented value of our building be increased from $1.5 million to $3.1 million, for insurance purposes. Finally, the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund is currently low (if not depleted), so the trustees recommend that Pastor Kris make an appeal to the congregation for donations to this fund in the near future.
Committee Reports:
Worship: John reported that Cindy (Rosch) has scheduled liturgists for the remainder of the year and is working to complete the scheduling of ushers. Sanctuary plans for Easter have been discussed. John Hilliard will be organizing the placement of flags for Memorial Day weekend, and the committee will likely be promoting the distribution of produce bags as Earth Day approaches.
Stewardship: Sue reported that this committee will be meeting soon to discuss the Faith and Service Award for 2019.
Special Events: Kelly reported that Jackie Neidhart and Bill Jetzer will be organizing the Easter Breakfast. May 3rd will be the date for Evening of Music. Tony Young spoke of his plan to provide St. Patrick’s Day fellowship treats this Sunday, with the hope that he will be assisted with the clean-up process.
Outreach: No report
Membership: No report
Building and Grounds: Dean reported that a video inventory of church building contents will be conducted (by Bill Jetzer and Steve Gorton), as recommended by Church Mutual. Recycling stickers and additional bins have been added. To address the ongoing issue of contaminated items being placed in these bins there will be an effort to clarify what is/not appropriate to recycle. Spring clean-up will be May 18th. The sprinkler system above the music room needs to be updated via the replacement of pipes. Dean moved that council approve an amount not to exceed $5,000 to be designated for this purpose, which was seconded by John and passed.
Faith Development Report:
Sarah summarized Rebecca’s notes from the 2/23/19 gathering for Sunday School teachers at Tuvalu. At this gathering the topics of a parenting group and a class for women (about reclaiming the female side of God) were discussed. The popular Holy Moly curriculum for Sunday School will likely be continued for the next 1-2 years. VBS will continue pairing older children (“mentors”) with younger ones, possibly with increased adult supervision to facilitate this. Family/ intergenerational gatherings (such as thematic church potlucks) are well-received and will continue, with the possible addition of a camping event in the church backyard (in either early June or early September). Finally, the OWL (Our Whole Lives) curriculum for children and/ or teens will likely be starting up in the next year or two if there are enough people interested in participating in this.
Pastor’s Report:
Pastor Kris shared updates about:
- Ash Wednesday: Ashes to Go (on that very cold day) was visited by two people in the morning and 13 people in the afternoon (10 of whom were not affiliated with our church). The Ash Wednesday service was attended by 25 people, and the posting of the video on Facebook was viewed by 79 people.
- The mindfulness group (to last 5 weeks) and the John Dominic Crossan group (to last 4 weeks) will both start tomorrow (3/13)
- The UCC General Synod in Milwaukee will be 6/21-25. Pastors Kris Gorton and Karen Wells will be joined by Sue Webb and Bonnie Van Overbeke at this event. Volunteers are given a discount on registration fees and are greatly needed. There is a possibility that those attending from our church will join with other UCC attendees in the area and travel by bus.
John moved to adjourn.
Minutes submitted by Sarah Fritz