The HOP Church Council met on Tues. May 14th, 2013 at 7:00pm. Pastor Dan led the council in devotions that included scripture from Luke’s gospel. He also shared with council some excerpts from Growing Together, a moving quote from a former archbishop; Oscar Romero and a quote from Christian author, Corrie ten Boom “Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.” He asked us to ponder “what is God calling us to do?”
Treasurer, Scott H, reported on our monthly financials. Scott reported that April was not a good month financially. Our cash flow is such that we have to hold some of our monthly bills. After discussing this at length, council decided that President Mike N. will address the congregation at the June 2nd church service and communicate that we are operating month to month. He will also put an article in the June Breadcaster to further communicate with the members about our financial situation. The Stewardship team is meeting next week and will discuss a Summer giving campaign to address our financial situation.
Pastor’s Report – (written report) Pastor Dan reported that in April there was one funeral and a baptism of an adult that was very moving for many people that attended. We welcomed five new members and have an additional five that have expressed interest in joining. We have 16 members in need of regular visits and two who are nearing end of life issues. We are in need of helping more of our members with care through visitation. Our new intern is Elizabeth C.. “Bitta” will begin mid July. Corey and Caroline will be finishing up just before Bitta begins.
Pastor reflected on our financial situation which continues to be tenuous but only because our regular offering is lagging behind our budget.
Ministry Reports:
*HOP Preschool – Jan S. said the Public schools are going to offer free preschool. There is concern whether our HOP preschool will have a lower amount of students registered for the Fall because of this.
*Christian Ed – Pastor said this group is working with Corey on the upcoming VBS program and planning Sunday School for the Fall.
*HOP Community Festival (formerly known as the buffalo roast) – Pastor mentioned that Jenny B. is our Oakdale Parade coordinator.
*Property – Dave B. said they plan to take all of the rock off of the roof to find the leak. He will also be taking a look at the roof over the musician’s corner of the sanctuary. He is also looking for several people interested in mowing.
*Women of Hope – Jan S. also said the knitters are looking for storage for the abundance of yarn they have received. They will check with Worship & Music about getting the closet in the musician’s room.
*Youth – Nita reported that those that attended the recent Youth retreat weekend seemed to return with a deeper sense of their Faith, and that the Youth Service day at HOP on Sunday on May12th was a big hit.
Unfinished business:
Follow up on Ministry Board – President Mike N. reported the recent M.B. meeting was long overdue (weather delayed our original meeting date). It was apparent that we need to do a better job at communicating with one another about how this new Ministry Board works and who reports to whom. There is a second meeting Tuesday ,May 28th.
The following persons have been identified as point of contact for their ministry:
Deb S. – Women of Hope
Jan S. – Preschool
Jacky H. – Worship and Music
Ginny J. – Christian Ed. (specifically Sunday school)
Maren N. – Service Ministry
Dave B. – Property
Bev B. – HOP Community Festival
New business:
Community Festival Proceeds – Council approved for the proceeds of the Community Festival to be split between HOP in house needs and Lutheran Social Service needs for the East Metro. It was suggested they also apply soon for the Thrivent Matching funds.
Summer Brunch schedule – President Mike N. said we typically have two summer brunches, one in June and one in July. One will be the Volunteer appreciation pot luck on June 2, we are looking for a group/Ministry that would like to sponsor the July brunch.
Volunteer Appreciation Pot Luck (Sunday June 2) – We will have a Pot Luck meal after our church service on June 2nd to celebrate our great volunteers at HOP. Council members will bring a main dish and there will be a sign up at the welcome center for church members to bring salads or deserts.
Additional items:
Maternity time off for our new intern- Bitta C. (our new intern) is going to start work at HOP on July 17th (2 weeks earlier than originally planned). She is having a baby sometime in September. Council approved to allow her to use 2 weeks paid time off, 2 weeks unpaid time off and 2 weeks of vacation with an option of 1 extra week of unpaid time off for her Maternity leave.
Follow up on designated gift for Corey and Caroline – Council approved that we open up to the congregation that anyone that would like to contribute toward a sending gift for Corey and Caroline, can turn in their monetary gift to the office. Jill will keep track of the dollars turned in for the sending gifts so we can ensure the correct amounts are issued and HOP will add to this amount if anything less than five hundred dollars each is received.
Request for an evening service – Jan S. said she paid a home visit to a HOP member and the family said they would like to see an evening service added at HOP as they are unable to attend on Sundays. Mike N. asked that we put this on our agenda for next month’s council meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:23pm with a closing devotion from Jan S.