Lord of the Lakes Council Meeting Notes January 21, 2020
Members Present: Pastor Kevin Heffernan, John Penza, Wayne Ludkey, Gail Gardner, Jeff Jahnke, David Wein, Sarah Miller and Kristen Bjornstad.
Absent: Jan Olson (Florida) and Geoff Hendren
Devotion: Wayne Ludkey (“Worry”)
Devotion next month: Kristen Bjornstad (Pastor Kevin—March; Jeff Jahnke—April)
Opening Prayer: Wayne Ludkey
Team Reports
- Pastor’s Report & Worship Committee: See attached report.
- Buildings & Grounds: See attached B & G meeting minutes.
- Youth: See attached Team Reports file. Jeff Jahnke suggested getting Amy a debit card to use for making Mission Trip payments. Pastor Kevin added that the advantage to using a credit card for mission trip payments (as opposed to check/debit card) is that there is than an extra month to get the funds in and paid out. Gail noted that sometimes the funds in the checking account are not always available in the amount she may need, so the credit card would probably be a better option due to the delay. Pastor will check with Doris on his credit card limit and have the office check on any other available credit cards (Gail, Jill etc.)
Jeff wants to make sure that there is appropriate signage for the Easter breakfast, so that everyone attending knows that the free-will offering will be going to the Youth.
- Fellowship and Life: Follow-up in the near future.
- We Care: Pastor updated council that the We Care team met last week. They had a good meeting and are still gaining traction. Wayne suggested making the congregation more aware of this team as they would love to hear more about this team and find out what’s going on. Pastor Kevin said he would talk to Drew Jaeger about discussing more with the congregation.
- Social Media: See attached Team Reports file. Lent & Ash Wednesday information is set to roll out on February 1st. David asked if information about the youth is getting put up on FB. Sarah said that youth team, music and Sunday school information is being posted. Anything that needs to be posted just needs to be forwarded to her. Sarah also noted that very few people are visiting the LOL website.
- Stewardship: Wayne said that [in regards to the stewardship campaign] many of the people left, that we are calling, are not responding because they don’t want to make the commitment. Jill is adding a note to the quarterly statements that will inform members how much they pledged and where their giving is at. We are hoping to get pledges from 85-87% (up from the current 82%). We are very blessed as some of the pledges are very generous.
Treasurers Report/Financial Report
The Operating Budget Total Net Gain YTD as of December 2019 FYE $15,260
The Operating Budget Total Net Gain for Month of December 2019 $15,997
Total Cash in Operating Checking Account as of December 31, 2019 is $52,949.30
Total Cash in Special Events Checking Account as of December 31, 2019 is $10,233.85 (this includes the $7,500.00 in Holding)
Operating Budget Explanation:
Our YTD income for Church Operations is lower than budgeted by ($1,875). Our Regular Envelope/Vanco/Credit Card giving is higher than budgeted by $1,971, our Loose Offering is lower than budget by ($9).
We received Scrip proceeds as of December 2019 $3,000 of our Fiscal Year.
Our total expenses are below budget.
Summary
We did budget for a ($14,924) Deficit YTD and our Actual Gain YTD is $15,260
Gail added that she did not hear if any large gifts were given at the end of the year (2019). Wayne noted that some people give their normal/yearly offering in one lump sum at Christmas. Kristen remarked that since December is now the end of the fiscal year that may be a concern. Gail said that paying at the end of the year affects the cash flow throughout the rest of the year. Jeff wants to make sure that the church’s monthly needs and get discussed at the annual meeting as well as when the cash flow crunch is. Pastor Kevin agreed that the seasonal needs of the church need to be addressed at the annual meeting.
Jeff wants to make sure that a discussion of where any gain/surplus funds for the year are going (example: what amount is going to debt reduction, furnace fund, etc.) gets added to the agenda for the annual meeting.
Gail said that we are currently looking at a deficit for next year. We need to be careful with “setting money aside” for a specific purpose so that we don’t run into a cash flow issue.
Sarah noted that this is the year for the big church fundraiser and a lot of that money goes to debt reduction. Gail said that general giving then seems to go down when this occurs.
Jeff Jahnke made a motion that up to $4000.00 of the $15,260 surplus (as of December 2019 FYE) goes to debt reduction. Wayne Ludkey seconded. Approved. *Put on agenda for annual meeting.
Jeff also stated that the congregation should be made aware that the mortgage is under one million dollars. They should know how much was paid down this year—close to $50,000 (Gail noted that $28,000 of the principal was paid down in 9 months).
Jeff also asked Gail to have Doris put the brokerage account on the financial report in the future.
Budget
Council members received the proposed Lord of the Lakes Operating Projected Budget – 2020.
Jeff would like the congregation to know that the money that the youth raises for the mission trip is not included anywhere in our budget, but they should also know how much the trip costs and how much the youth raises.
Income: Gail is removing “youth”. This was for a youth offering that was given/logged in the past.
Personnel: Gail noted that the maintenance staff item is only with a 3% increase. Jeff told Gail to talk to Betts to make sure this item is listed correctly.
Office Expenses: The “Percentage for Stewardship Drive” is a percentage to be paid to the ELCA (10% of increase in giving after the Stewardship Drive). Wayne said that this can be paid once per year or pay-as-you-go. Jeff said we should pay as we go. Wayne suggested paying quarterly.
Youth Expense: It should be noted that these funds can always be used if we are short for the mission trip. Jeff suggested that when the youth team does off-site activities that each person attending pay a small, nominal fee ($2 or $3) to help offset some of the cost.
Pastor Wages & Benefits: Jeff suggested having the benefits itemized so that the congregation knows what is included (insurance, etc.).
Intern: Gail said that the amount is prorated since $20,000 is for an entire year, but the intern wouldn’t start until August. She was also questioning the amount budgeted for housing. Pastor Kevin said that we will need to work with the ELCA/lottery program to determine what amount LOL will contribute, so we won’t have an exact number for the budget at this time. Jeff suggested $1000.00/month for housing. Wayne suggested $1200.00 (to include utilities). Amount of housing will vary depending on if the intern is single, married, has a family etc. Council members agreed on a $1200.00/month budget for housing. Jeff suggested changing the term from “Intern” to “Seminary Student”. All agreed.
Jeff made a motion to approve the proposed budget with the changes discussed above. John Penza seconded. Approved. Gail will email council members the final budget with the revisions and we will do an email vote for final approval.
Old Business
Council Nominees—Jeff has made contact with several of the names submitted. Some have opted out and he will follow up with the others. We need one new member and one alternate.
Constitution update—*Put on the agenda in March to get notices out in April for congregation vote in May to finalize.
New Business
Congregational meeting, budget approval, council vote—date for annual meeting set for 2/23/2020 after second service.
Chamber of Commerce—Sarah included the information emailed to her from Becky Atkinson from the Winneconne Chamber of Commerce in the Social Media Team update. The cost is $100.00 per year to participate. This could further promote LOL in the community. David Wein made a motion to join the Winneconne Chamber of Commerce for a year. Sarah Miller seconded. Approved. Wayne suggested getting a list of the meeting dates/times and having someone attend them. Sarah will contact Jill to get that taken care of.
SCRIP—there is a lot of work put into this program. This program is promoted on Facebook and in the newsletter. Jeff said that council will be reviewing the SCRIP program moving forward (awareness, volunteer participation, ways to increase revenue from the program etc.). *Put on the agenda for the next meeting.
Wayne Ludkey made a motion to adjourn. John Penza seconded. Approved
Closing Prayer: Pastor Kevin
Next Meeting: 2/18/2020
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