Lord of the Lakes Council Meeting Notes June 10, 2020
Members Present: Pastor Kevin Heffernan, Wayne Ludkey, Jeff Jahnke, Jan Olson, Gail Gardner, Sarah Miller, John Penza, John Macho, Amy Penza and Kristen Bjornstad.
Devotion: All shared something positive that’s happened since we last met [2 weeks ago].
Opening Prayer: PK
Meeting Minutes: Jan Olson made a motion to approve the minutes from 5/27/20. Wayne Ludkey seconded. Approved
Time and Talents: One time and talents form will be mailed to each member (multiple forms to families), so that each individual can fill them out. Amy asked when they will be sent out. Jeff is hoping to get everything to Jill by Monday (6/15). He will have a final draft for the next council meeting (6/16). He will look over the changes Wayne sent via email as well. Wayne suggested that members can either mail the forms back in or drop them off at a church service.
REOPENING DISCUSSION
3 phase reopening plan being discussed…
Phase I
* Parking lot service (Worship on Wheels/”WOW”)
* FM Transmitter is here. Wayne and Pastor Kevin set it up today. Wayne said that it was awesome! Wayne drove around the parking lot and had great reception (station being used is 105.5).
* 6/7/2020 start date (have FB updated and have Jill get the message out too)
-8:00 am & 10:00 am services
-Need people to park cars and help set up
-park cars perpendicular to current spaces so that everyone will face the front of the building
– Need someone to coordinate teams to get the everything set up
* No communion for first parking lot service (Jan ordered and kits and they will arrive after 6/7)
– Kits arrived early. We had communion.
* Continue sending YouTube messages, but will want to look into doing the live stream option. Sarah can help with this.
* Jody/music will be from sanctuary
* Pastor Kevin, Jody and Amy may need a radio to follow along with service
* email bulletin to congregation (put electronic giving info at bottom of bulletin)
* offering basket/box at exit (as cars exit the parking lot)
Worship on Wheels (WOW) Review: Overall consensus was that it went well. Wayne said that parking was good and Amy liked that there was time between services to see/visit with others. Jan added that attendance was good (about 140 people). John P. noted that he was able to hear the transmission almost all the way to Cty Hwy M. Wayne said he would check to see how much power is being put out. Jeff said there was some static over by the lights, so we should maybe avoid parking people in those spots. Wayne also added that people seemed to like honking their car horns.
Jeff said that we need to come up with a system to be able to make sure anyone arriving late is able to get the communion kit.
Pastor Kevin asked John M. if he needs help. He said that if we could get 2 people to help with second service and to do take-down. John P. said that he can handle second service and that youth can hold up the signs.
John M. asked what time Pastor Kevin wants to do set-up. Pastor Kevin replied that approximately 7:00 a.m. works.
Kristen asked how it went for Jody. Pastor Kevin said that she was happy with how it went. John P. noted that the music portions of the service were louder (and clearer) than those speaking outside.
Jeff asked if we should promote a lawn chair section. Kristen thought that people could just put them by their cars if desired.
Wayne asked if Gail knew how much the church received in loose offerings. Gail was not sure yet. Jeff confirmed that the counters did come back.
John P. said people were asking why we’re not inside the church yet (as some others are). Jan responded that for the most part we were following the ELCA guidelines and Kristen added that this is all new to us and that we’re trying to figure out what’s best for our church as new information is coming out. Pastor Kevin asked if anyone knew if St. Paul’s is singing on Sundays (as they are having services inside the church). Sarah asked someone she knows who attends there and they have a limited number of vocalists and recommend that the congregation sing softly or meditate on the hymns.
Phase II
* Mobile hand sanitizer dispensers are due to arrive around July 15th.
* Bring people back inside the building
-sanctuary set up for 64 people with spacing between family groups
-ushers may need to manage seating
-additional people may be seated in the gathering area if needed
* Stick with 8:00 am & 10:00 am service times
-if service size remains about the same as WOW, we should be able to accommodate inside
-sanctuary is set up for 64 (with family grouping and social distancing considerations)
* Outside service?
* Communion
-individual kits vs table set up with wafers and individual cups
-continue with individual kits for the next couple of months
* Take reservations?
* Limit number of people per service?
* Need some new teams
-sanitation team
-communion team
-use new, updated time and talents forms to determine team members
* Aim for 7/5 start date
* Prefer masks be worn
* No children up front for children’s message
A letter will be composed and sent out to the congregation before we come back inside, so that they know what to expect. Pastor Kevin is concerned about feeling restricted during worship (example: wearing masks and/or not singing).
Phase III (“New Normal”)
* Aim for 8/2 start date
* Individual plastic cups for communion?
-work out details
* Offering
-no passing of plate
-will people still give if plate is in back of church?
-plate/basket on a stick/pole?
* When/how to bring back sharing of peace and holding hands across the aisle
* Visitor/attendance log?
-have a card/slip of paper to drop in offering plate for any prayer requests
* Hold consistently regular outside service
Jeff wants us to think about the adjustments we will be making and which are temporary and which we will keep in place…
ADJUSTMENTS
Now (list adjustment) Future (keep or remove)
Phase II—switch to bulletin on video Keep (no more paper waste)
Individual communion kits Remove (switch to individual cup
instead of chalice)
YouTube communication Keep for now. Possibly do a
seasonal YouTube message once weekly message is removed.
YOUTH
Amy is concerned about having youth indoors if things like weather make it difficult to hold activities outside. She is concerned about having time to clean/sanitize after the youth groups is done meeting. Council suggested having the kids in youth group assist in the cleaning by taking the last 10 or 15 minutes of their meeting time to sanitize the gathering area. Amy asked what they should use to clean. Pastor Kevin said that cleaning supplies will be left (bleach solution/Lysol wipes etc.). Youth should sanitize door handles and touch surfaces. All agreed that this was a good plan.
OTHER BUSINESS
Guidelines for Building Use: Jeff sent an email out to all council members which contained an example of operating procedures [during Covid-19] that Jill gave him. Jeff and Jill will draft something, specific to LOL, for groups using the building (capping number of people, mask preference, etc.)
Busy Hands: Pastor Kevin addressed the Busy Hands group wanting to get back together and discussed concerns since they may be a more vulnerable group. Jeff thought that there should be a statement made (ex: “with heightened concern over Covid-19, use good judgement and also sanitize when done”). Basically have any groups coming in follow the guidelines for building use by groups that is being put together (including council). Busy hands, however, may want to meet a different day of the week while JuBriCoSa is using the building.
Bible Study: Pastor Kevin is starting Bible study up again next week. Jeff added that it will be OK to have small groups start meeting again, but they need to be aware of the new guidelines.
Winneconne School District Survey: Jeff handed out copies of the WSD survey to parents about concerns sending kids back to school. Most parents responded that they are planning to send their kids back to school with the current information available. Amy said that at the youth team meeting, parents said that their kids have been “hanging out” with other kids for about a month already. This socialization is important for the kids’ mental well-being. Jeff added that at LOL, we are part of the community and, yes, we are concerned about protecting the vulnerable, but we need to do what the community wants. Other churches in the area will probably look to see what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Amy stressed how important mental health is. Kristen said that we just need to be smart about it, and we are. John M. added that we just need to take it slow and give people options.
John Penza made a motion to adjourn. Gail Gardner seconded.
Closing Prayer – Pastor Kevin
Next Meeting: 6/16/2020 at 6:30 p.m. (at this meeting we need to decide if we will meet again before we start Phase II)