July 7, 2009 Church Coucnil Minutes

Present: Diane Scheffler, Sandy Hokinson, Mary Jo Kruse, Andrea Richman (left at 8:05 pm), Lennis Howrey, Loren Johnson, Barb Meiners, Marv Poppen, Dave Schreier, Pastor Sherer

Absent: Steve Hall, Dale Proctor, Liz Schoon

Guests:Ministry Asst. Collmann

1. Opening & Devotions

Scheffler called the regular meeting to order at 7:04 pm in Fellowship Hall. Devotions given by Poppen.

2. Agenda

Motion by Howrey; second by Hokinson to approve agenda as amended to add the 30^th ordination celebration and grant under new business. All ayes. Motion carried.

3. Minutes

Motion by Poppen; second by Johnson to approve minutes from the last meeting as amended. All ayes. Motion carried.

4. No Non-Committee Action Items

5. Committees & Organizations [no report for the following committees: Worship, Music & Arts; Parish Education; Social Concerns; Stewardship; Evangelism & Outreach; Finance/Admin; Personnel; Memorial/Archives; Endowment]

A. Buildings & Grounds—Howrey reported on the following…

i. The locksmith has been called and waiting for work to be completed on the SE door.

ii. No decisions have been made on the type of trees to plant at the parsonage

iii. Dave George contacted Howrey to let him know the streets around the church will be worked on, so we were asked about refinishing the parking in front of the church. Discussion was held. Howrey will get a bid before any decisions are made.

B. Cemetery—Howrey reported some trees were removed from the cemetery; Poppen reported the north side of the shed still needs to be painted

6. Parochial Report Motion by Kruse; second by Meiners to approve monthly Parochial Report and change church records to show the following [no marriages, transferred ins or transferred outs]:

Deaths— Delores Oberhelman

Baptisms—Ashton Harvey Neumann

All ayes. Motion carried.

7. Pastor’s Report

A. Pastor Sherer reported letters were mailed to 9^th Grade confirmation students. The letter showed each individual’s progress against the 3-year confirmation requirements. Based on the requirements and the progress, there is concern that some students may not be ready to confess their faith in October.

i. If confirmation students are behind in sermon notes, there is a way for students to make up the sermon notes.

B. Paster Sherer also reported, starting in the fall, Sunday School will be Nursery through 7^th grade.

8. Ministry Assistant’s Report M. Collmann reported she visited with Olan Mills about doing a church directory. Discussion was held. Council decided to wait for 1 more year before doing another directory. M. Collmann went on to report there were twelve blood donors during June blood drive.

9. Treasurer’s Report see written report. Kruse reported on the following…

Loan Balance à $4,929.87; Checking Balance à negative $1,745.76

A. The older office copy machine is not working. Before any action is taken, Pastor Sherer will check with Randy Egli to see what it would take to repair the old copier.

B. An audit of the church records was completed by Ann Schlapkohl, John Jacobs, and Mel Renken. Everything was in order.

C. Simply Giving will have a minimum fee, per transaction, starting on January 1, 2010.

Motion by schreier; second by Meiners to approve the treasurer’s report. All ayes. Motion carried.

10. Old Business

A. 30^th Anniversary Celebration of Ordination for Pastor Stephen Sherer

i. In honor of the event the Assistant Bishop, Danette Johns, will be preaching on August 9, 2009.

ii. We will celebrate with a potluck picnic, after worship, on August 9 at the swimming pool park. We will ask for donations during Sunday worships before the celebration potluck. The donated money will be used to purchase hamburgers and hotdogs.

iii. Pastor Sherer plans to kick-off the Heifer International project to coincide with the celebration.

B. Dishwasher for Church kitchen – Pastor recommended purchasing the new Hobart dishwasher for $5,600. Designated dishwasher money raised to date will buy the dishwasher, cabinetry, plumbing, and electricity for the project.

11. New business

A. Grant Information – Eileen Junkman has looked into making our church an historical site; which would allow us to apply for a grant to help pay for the planned tuckpointing and window projects. Motion by Poppen; second by Howrey that Eileen, with the assistance of Laura Horan, be given permission to formulate a grant request for monies that can be used for tuckpointing and windows; we further empower her to investigate our church building as an historical site. Discussion followed. Eileen will report back to council on the above criteria before any actions are taken. All ayes. Motion carried.

12. Final Comments – Pastor plans to set a date of August 16 or September 13, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, as “Equipping the Saints” – this day will be our congregation Lay Leadership meeting.

13. Closing Devotions given by Poppen. Motion by Johnson; second by Howrey to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:09 pm.

Respectfully submitted by,

Andrea Richman, Secretary & Mary Jo Kruse, Acting Secretary

May 5, 2009 Church Council Minutes

Present: Diane Scheffler, Sandy Hokinson, Andrea Richman, Lennis Howrey, Loren Johnson, Marv Poppen, Dale Proctor, Liz Schoon, Dave Schreier, Pastor Sherer, Mary Jo Kruse

Absent; Steve Hall, Barb Meiners

Guests: Ministry Asst. Collmann

1. Opening & Devotions

Scheffler called the regular meeting to order at 7:03 pm in Fellowship Hall. Devotions given by L. Johnson.

2. Agenda

Motion by Proctor; second by L. Johnson to approve agenda as printed. All ayes. Motion carried.

3. Minutes

Motion by Poppen; second by Schoon to approve minutes from the April council meeting as printed. All ayes. Motion carried.

4. No Non-Committee Action Items

5. Committees & Organizations [no report for the following committees: Stewardship, Evangelism & Outreach, Finance & Admin, Memorial & Archives]

A. Worship, Music, & Arts—Discussion held around the summer worship schedule; we will look to the June newsletter for summer worship schedule, with the summer 9AM worship time to begin on June 1.

B. Parish Education—Schoon reported the garage sale raised $650 to be used toward VBS. As another way to raise funds for VBS, a purse and jewelry party is being planned for June.

C. Social Concerns—Discussion held around the “Greater Crater Days” food stand. The concession stand is operated on a rotational basis with other congregations in the community. Since we ran the stand last year, we will not have it again this year; it will be run by the Methodists this year.

D. Buildings & Grounds—

i. Howrey reported on the Tuckpointing contracts and gathered the correct signatures.

ii. Pastor Sherer reported on the dishwasher project. Preliminary research indicates we may be able to save money on the dishwashing unit. Pastor Sherer will continue to look into the project.

iii. Howrey went on to report the east door of the church, going to the basement, will be fixed and they will begin looking into trees for the parsonage.

iv. Discussion held about the doors and windows on the church building; they will be tended to during a day set aside as a spring, or summer, church workday.

E. Personnel—Proctor reported the new custodian, Dean Kaufman, has started. Pam has been helping out a great deal; we want to thank her for her past service and all the help in training the new person.

F. Cemetery—Poppen reported on lots for sale in the cemetery by Terry & Janet Sigland; Poppen went on to report he took ‘inventory’ at the cemetery and a workday is needed. A “workday” date will set at the June council meeting.

6. Endowment Committee—The committee approved a request of funding for the confirmation retreat, to help pay for materials and resources.

7. Parochial Report Motion by Howrey; second by Kruse to approve monthly Parochial Report as corrected to change “Michelle Lee Harper” to “Heuser” and change church records to show the following [no deaths, marriages, no transferred ins]:

Baptisms— Michelle Lee Heuser, Alix Kay Bjorklund, Bradley Joseph Mrla, Landon Joseph Mrla, Kyleigh Ann Weske

Transferred Outs— Jeffrey Zehr

All ayes. Motion carried.

8. Pastor’s Report Pastor Sherer reported the classroom portion of the confirmation year has been completed. The confirmation retreat is a required portion of the confirmation year, so those who did not attend received a “work-packet” that needed to be completed. Pastor Sherer asked two council members to help monitor proctor confirmation tests [tests were proctored the Wednesday night after council meeting was held]. Dale Proctor and Sandy Hokinson offered to help.

9. Ministry Assistant’s Report M. Collmann reported the congregations in Manson raised $5203 for the CROP walk in 2008. For 2009, $2,793.25 was raised. The Golden Shoe goes to the church that has the highest increase in percentage of giving and Augustana was awarded the Golden Shoe.

10. Treasurer’s Report see written report

Loan Balance à $2,554.87; Checking Balance à (neg.$4,788.82)

Kruse reported we had to borrow $1,500 on Monday, May 4, 2009 bringing the loan balance at the time of the council meeting to $4,054.87. Kruse went on to report around the funds designated for the tuckpointing project.

Motion by Hokinson; second by Schoon to approve the treasurer’s report. All ayes. Motion carried.

11. No Old Business

12. No New business

13. Final Comments –Bryan Simmons, Wartburg Seminary student, did a very nice job in leading worship and preaching on May 3. at the service worship.

14. Closing Devotions read by congregation. Motion by Kruse; second by Proctor to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:10 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Andrea Richman, Secretary

April, 2009, Church Council Minutes

Present: Diane All members

Guest: Ministry Asst. Collmann

1. Opening & Devotions—Scheffler called the monthly council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Devotions given by Kruse.

2. Agenda—Motion by Hall; second by Hokinson to approve agenda as printed. All ayes. Motion carried.

3. Minutes—Motion by Schoon; second by Hall to approve minutes from the last meeting as amended to show Marv Poppen as absent. All ayes. Motion carried.

4. No Non-Committee Action Items

5. Committees & Organizations [no report for the following committees: Worship, Music & Arts, Stewardship, Evangelism & Outreach, Finance/Administration, Memorial & Archives, and Endowment]

A. Parish Education—Schoon reported plans for a church rummage sale on May 2^nd and funds will go toward Vacation Bible School and funding Okoboji instruction at VBS this summer. If questions about the rummage sale, call LeAnn Darr, 469-3459.

B. Buildings & Grounds

i. Tuckpointing – Howrey reported he had submitted the contract for the west side of the church. Discussion held about completing all tuckpointing vs. just one side of the church at a time. The cost for the original structure of the church is $25,454. Motion by Poppen; second by Hall to pursue completing the tuckpointing for the original structure of the church and the bell tower. All ayes. Motion carried.

ii. Dishwasher – Pastor explained to the council on the proposed location of the dishwasher in the kitchen. Motion by Kruse; second by Meiners to move forward with buying and installing a dishwasher, noting that there should be no more paper plates and paper products used for events. Discussion held about the motion and funds, noting that the money in the dishwasher fund has been donated and designated specifically for buying and installing a dishwasher. Friendly amendment by Kruse; Meiners accepted the amendment to include a building & materials review by Pastor Sherer and Howrey to arrive at a more exact cost assessment to ensure the designated funds will cover the dishwasher project. 12 ayes and 1 abstention.

iii. Elevator – Howrey reported on maintenance performed on the elevator again. Council members were showed how to open the elevator. Ask Mary Jo Kruse how many tries it took her to open the elevator.

iv. Discussion held about the corner on the south side of the church where the garden will be placed, some prep work needs to be done before planting.

C. Social Concerns—Proctor reported Cynthia informed him some files were lost on her computer when computers were switched. Discussion held and the files are not retrievable.

D. Personnel—Proctor reported Pam has resigned from her custodial duties (not worship assistant duties) Pam is willing to perform custodial duties until April 15^th. Proctor went on to report he has received several applications for the position. Discussion held to guide the personnel committee on holding interviews, wages, and a three-month probationary period.

i. Cynthia will be gone for her daughter’s wedding from April 22^nd through April 27^th. Steve Hall volunteered to cover the phone for those 4 work days in the office, April 22, 23, 24, and 27. Cynthia planned ahead and moved the newsletter deadline up to April 13, with plans to print on April 21.

E. Cemetery—Hokinson reported she will soon be calling on people for help with mowing the cemetery

6. Parochial Report Motion by Howrey; second by Poppen to approve monthly Parochial Report and change church records to show the following [no marriages, baptisms, transferred ins, transferred outs]:

Deaths—Nancy Sturgis

All ayes. Motion carried.

7. Pastor’s Report Pastor Sherer shared a thank you note expressing their gratitude for the continued outreach, thoughts & prayers. Pastor asked council to pray for our confirmation classes. Our congregation, and many others, are experiencing lower attendance to worship from confirmation aged kids.

A. The Confirmation retreat is scheduled for April 24-25 and Pastor asked council members to help with the retreat.

B. Pastor may have other commitments during the synod assembly in May in helping with Jan’s continued care. Reservations were made for our attending delegates, Lynn and Mary Jo Meier.

C. Pastor reported on the parsonage back-porch awning project and planning to finish it this spring/summer.

D. Pastor reported Mary Collmann met with 12 members of the candidacy committee in Storm Lake. She was approved to be called by the church ELCA as an Associate In Ministry (AIM). Associates In Ministry need to meet the rigors of academia applied to the position. At the end of the journey, candidates are required to complete a written assessment and participate in an approval interview. Congratulations Mary!

8. Ministry Assistant’s Report: M. Collmann reported on the Crop Walk on April 19^th.

9. Treasurer’s Report see written report

Loan Balance: $3,099.87; Checking Balance: negative $2,760.22

Kruse reported on our Outreach missions. There is a congregation in Sioux City where a $75 stipend is sent each quarter and the congregation is closing. Motion by Hokinson; second by Schoon to re-designate the funds to “Lutheran Services in Iowa: The Disaster Response Family Grant Fund” All ayes. Motion carried. Motion by Hall; second by Schoon to approve the treasurer’s report. All ayes. Motion carried.

10. Old Business

A. WIS Convention Delegates—Lynn and Mary Jo Meier will be attending on behalf of our congregation.

B. Celebration of Pastor’s 30^th anniversary of Ordination—(August 12, 1979); Hokinson will follow up to see how we can celebrate with Pastor Sherer and his family.

C. Volunteer for Flood Relief—topic tabled until May meeting

11. No New Business

12. No Final Comments

13. Closing Devotions sung by council. Motion by Hall; second by Meiners to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:23 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Andrea Richman, Secretary

March 7, 2009 Church Council Minutes

PresentàDiane Scheffler, Mary Jo Kruse, Andrea Richman, Lennis Howrey, Loren Johnson, Barb Meiners, Marv Poppen, Dale Proctor, Pastor Sherer

AbsentàSandy Hokinson, Steve Hall, Liz Schoon, Dave Schreier

GuestsàMinistry Asst. Collmann

1. Opening & Devotions—Scheffler called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Devotions given by Scheffler.

2. Agenda—Motion by Kruse; second by Howrey to approve agenda as printed. All ayes. Motion carried.

3. Minutes—Motion by Proctor; second by Meiners to approve minutes from the February meeting as amended to correct the spelling of ‘alter’ to ‘Altar’ in section 5.C.ii. All ayes. Motion carried.

4. Non-Committee Action Items

· Annual Meeting—A Parish Ed committee report was shared and will be added to the Spring Congregation meeting booklet.

· Discussion held that Liz Schoon’s name was not listed in the Annual Meeting booklet so will need to be mentioned.

5. Committees & Organizations [no report for the following committees: Worship, Music & Arts, Social Concerns, Personnel, Finance/Admin, Stewardship, Memorial/Archives, Cemetery]

· Parish Education—see written report. Their agenda items included finalizing plans for Celebration Sunday, choosing Vacation Bible School (VBS) curriculum, recruiting VBS staff and director, and to finalize plans for Graduate Recognition Sunday.

· Buildings & Grounds—

· Discussion held about the key policy and everything seems to be going well.

· Howrey reported on the kitchen updates and dishwasher quotes. Howrey will ask Vara and Norma to attend the next council meeting to help council develop a clear understanding of how to proceed with the project.

· Howrey reported on the Tuckpointing quotes. Discussion held on presenting the information at the Spring Congregation Meeting on March 8^th, 2009. Howrey will draft a message for the congregation.

· Howrey reported the shelves in the food pantry are fixed.

· Evangelism & Outreach—Johnson reported he plans to have a committee meeting on Sunday, 3/8/09.

· Endowment Committee—Discussion held about a letter received from Wartburg regarding Bryan Simmons. Pastor will place a phone call to discuss the letter.

6. Parochial Report Motion by Kruse; second by Meiners to approve monthly Parochial Report and change church records to show the following [no deaths, marriages, transferred ins]:

Baptisms—Luke Ryan Simmons

Transferred Outs—Jenna Marie Elridge and daughter, Madison Marie Stork; Lori and Christina Schreier: Andy, Jaclyn, Riley, and Reese Ettinger

All ayes. Motion carried.

7. Pastor’s Report Council entered closed session at 8:05 pm. Closed session ended at 8:42 pm. Pastor reported on the learning materials the 9^th grade confirmation students will be using during lent. Pastor, again, wanted to express his deep gratitude and thanks for all the prayers. Teasingly, council reminded Pastor about his 5-minute sermon.

8. Ministry Assistant’s Report M. Collmann reported the following:

· Blood drive Monday, March 9^th

· Lenton lunches start on March 4^th

· Crop Walk is planned for April 19^th—The Golden Shoe goes to the congregation who shows the greatest percentage increase of giving, based on membership, from the previous year. The Crop walk fundraiser will include asking members to bring in unmatched socks, and have kids fill socks with coins.

9. Treasurer’s Report see written report

Loan Balance à $1,884.87; Checking Balance à negative $2,015.34

9. Kruse reported the reason Christmas offering from year 2008, shows in 2009 budget, is because church books are closed on Dec. 25^th. Kruse reported. Discussion held about other line items on the treasurer’s report.

10. Motion by Proctor; second by Johnson to approve the treasurer’s report. All ayes. Motion carried.

11. Old Business

· Annual Meeting – see non-committee action items.

· Delegates for WIS Convention in May—discussion held about Karen Rix being able to attend. Another delegate will be asked for during the spring congregation meeting.

· Audit committee—Kruse reported Mel Renken, Ann Schlapkohl, and John Jacobs accepted the audit committee duties, but would not be able to complete an audit before Martch 8th, for the Spring Congregation meeting.

11. No New Business

12. Final Comments—Scheffler reported on the upcoming 30^th Anniversary of Pastor’s ordination. On a separate note, Kruse noted an idea of having a church sale to distribute the remaining anniversary mugs, cookbooks and sun catchers.

13. Closing Devotions given by Scheffler. Motion by Howrey; second by Proctor to adjourn. All ayes. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:27 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Andrea Richman, Secretary