Lord of the Lakes Council Meeting Notes November 17, 2020
Members Present: Pastor Kevin Heffernan, Wayne Ludkey, Jeff Jahnke, Jan Olson, Sarah Miller, John Penza, Gail Gardner, John Macho, David Wein and Kristen Bjornstad
Opening Prayer: Pastor Kevin
Devotion: Pastor Kevin—1 Peter
Devotion for December—John Macho
Devotion for January—Wayne Ludkey
David Wein made a motion to approve the October 2020 Council Meeting Minutes. Jan Olson seconded. Approved.
Pastor’s Report: *See Attached Report. In addition, Pastor Kevin noted that there are things that usually help with the mental health challenges, but they just can’t be done right now (face-to-face, meetings, conferences).
Buildings and Grounds: Did not really meet this month, but the Roof repair/replacement was done and three furnaces were replaced. Instructions are needed on how to run the new furnaces.
Youth: There are currently 30+ kids signed up for the mission trip. John Penza added that the youth service is coming up on 12/6/2020. Every other week (during Sunday school time) the youth group is working with the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. David questioned whether or not the youth mission trip would actually be able to happen next year. John said that Amy is working with YouthWorks. If the trip needs to be cancelled, they will get a full refund. They are going to South Dakota this year. John also noted that Amy’s last day working at the hospital will be 12/18. Then, being the youth director will be her only job.
We Care: Pastor Kevin said that he is hoping to do a conference when people can get together again. Phone calls have been re-started to check in on members to see how they are doing.
Social Media: *See attached Team Report document. Sarah added that 9 people streamed the church service live and many have viewed since. She asked if others are interested in doing the live streaming weekly. Maybe the youth could assist? Sarah is looking into getting equipment which will stream better than a phone.
Pastor commented that we will need an exit plan to discontinue the streaming once the pandemic ends. Otherwise we run the risk of people not coming back into the building. Wayne said that we should make it “good” but not “good enough” so that people don’t get the full experience if they’re not here. David noted that this will play into what becomes the “new normal” once we move into the next phase.
Sarah questioned a website contract renewal that just went through as a three year renewal. She was surprised by this. Jeff thinks that it may have just been a renewal of the domain name. Sarah will look into it. Jeff and Pastor Kevin that we should move ahead with having someone else (local and from the congregation) work on the website.
Treasurer Report:
Lord of the Lakes Council Meeting Financial Notes – November 17, 2020
The Operating Budget Total Net Surplus YTD as of October 2020 $23,166
The Operating Budget Total Net Surplus for Month of October 2020 $5,982
Total Cash in Operating Checking Account as of October 31, 2020 is $104,482.00 [before furnace and roof payments]
Total Cash in Special Events Checking Account as of October 31, 2020 is $51,708.97 (this includes the $29,500.00 in Holding)
Total in Fortifi Investment Account as of September, 2020 is $20,487.95
Operating Budget Explanation:
Our YTD income for Church Operations is lower than budgeted by ($3,859). Our Regular Envelope/Vanco/Credit Card giving is lower than budgeted by ($2,353), our Loose Offering is lower than budget by ($3,164).
We received Scrip proceeds as of October 2020 $3,600 of our Fiscal Year. [This is higher than normal]
Summary
We did budget for a ($16,276) Deficit YTD and our Actual Surplus YTD is $23,166
Jan Olson made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. John Penza seconded. Approved.
We are doing well with expenses and Jeff added that the budget proposal passed at the meeting (enough people present for a quorum).
Stewardship: Wayne said that credit card and text giving are going very well. The Celebrate Generosity mailing went out. This is a reminder for those who maybe hadn’t thought about giving to LOL that way before (Endowment/Estate Planning).
Wayne discussed that he is now on the Vanco marketing list. They have an example of “giving modules” on their list. Pastor Kevin said that in the past there have been issues with categories for designated funds. Sometimes it takes away from general giving. He said we could try it with just a few things. Wayne said that he would check with other churches that are using it to see how it works for them.
OLD BUSINESS
Reopening: Jeff said we will continue just as we are. Jan asked if we should continue taking temperatures because they never (or rarely) register above 97 degrees. Decided that we will continue.
Constitution: Jan is working on updates post meeting. She will email Jeff and they’ll get it out to the congregation with a cover letter.
Employee Handbook: David is still working on this. Jan and Jeff said that David should keep Dana Hartel in mind for assistance.
NEW BUSINESS
Christmas Eve Services: Pastor Kevin suggested 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 [shorter] services. He is planning extra services to try to keep the numbers down. Wayne asked if we could take reservations, but Pastor Kevin felt that this might be tricky. Pastor Kevin added that the service on December 25th will be normal as this one usually has lower attendance anyway.
Sarah offered to send out a survey to the congregation to find out which service they would most likely attend (if any). John Penza suggested services at 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00. Pastor Kevin said he would prefer the 4 services or perhaps 2:00, 4:00 or 6:00. Kristen said to Sarah that we should ask [in the survey] “if you are still planning to attend, when would you most likely come?”
Wayne brought up the fact that some may feel cheated with a shorter service, so maybe we could do 3 services of the normal length (maybe 3:00, 4:30 and 6:00).
Jeff confirmed that Sarah should send out the Christmas Eve service email/survey to try and get answers from the congregation about their preferences.
Jeff also added that this is the time of year we usually put out a staff gift request.
Raise the Roof Campaign: Jeff commented that he doesn’t like to keep asking the congregation for more money, so do we want to do a campaign to ask for money for the roof. David said that he’s not thrilled about giving money for something that’s already been done and paid for. If we were asking for money to save for the next three furnace replacements, he would be more likely to give.
Wayne suggested that B & G put something out that says something like, “Thanks everyone! Due to giving we were able to replace the roof and furnaces. We also had the rainy day fund…”
David added that it helps when you have a specific line item need/upcoming expense, you can ask for funds as you are “looking to the future.”
Jill’s Resignation: Jeff said that there have been several applicants for Jill’s position. He has enlisted David and Wayne to assist with application reviews/interviews. Pastor Kevin and Geoff Hendren are also on the hiring committee. Jeff also sent Meredith Jaeger an email about being on the hiring committee.
Jeff will be scheduling interviews very soon.
John Penza made a motion to adjourn. Gail Gardner seconded.
Closing Prayer – Pastor Kevin
Next Meeting: 12/15/2020 at 6:30 p.m.