Presentation of Minutes

June 14, 2013

The regular meeting of the Congregation Council of Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ardmore, Pennsylvania, was held on Thursday, June 14, 2013, at 7:15 pm in the Meeting Room.

CALL TO ORDER

William Henderson called the meeting to order at 7:15 pm.

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Present were: Senior Pastor Harry W. McDowell, Joy Baxter, William Henderson, Stuart Krissinger, Robert Penne, Mark Pierce, Helene Roth, and Andrew Vickrey. Laura Bickert Ciarlello, Andrew Horn, George Koerner, Jason Sack and R. J. Weldon were absent.

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DEVOTIONS

Pastor McDowell led the devotions reminding Council that strategic planning can be found in the Bible and that Moses could be considered one of the first strategic planners. Moses had a God-given plan and from the plan, the load was spread among many. A reading from Joshua 6 showed Council that Joshua, a protégé of Moses, was able to demonstrate how God worked through him to meet the needs of the people.

PRESENTATION OF THE MINUTES

Helene Roth presented minutes of the regular meeting of the Congregation Council on May 8, 2013. She moved –

That these minutes be approved as presented.

Seconded, and on vote taken, the minutes were approved as presented.

REPORTS

Senior Pastor: Pastor McDowell submitted a written report, copy attached.

Pastor Skip McDowell thanked everyone on the Worship and Music committee for their hard work on the Talent Show.

Pastor Skip McDowell also reported that he was asked to serve on the board of Directors of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and he has accepted. The board meets twice a year in April and October. Council offered their congratulations and support to Pastor Skip for his appointment.

Administration: There was no written report.

Treasurer: The report of cash flow through May, copy attached, had been circulated in advance of the meeting. Andy Horn was absent.

Financial Secretary: Reports for May were not available prior to the meeting. R.J. Weldon was absent.

Finance Committee: The Finance committee met on June 11, 2013 and submitted a report, copy attached.

Items of discussion included funding for a new computer for Andy Heller, for a second Pastor and for the Al Bahadly family. George Koerner was absent.

Stewardship Committee: The Stewardship committee did not meet in May but Jason Sack submitted a report

There were two ongoing items: the summer 2013 contribution appeal letter to the congregation andthe task force plan to host small group dinners to promote stewardship and giving. Council discussed ELCA programs that may benefit the Stewardship committee’s endeavors. Jason Sack was absent.

Cemetery Committee: There was no committee meeting and no written report.

Mark Pierce reported that the driveway replacement was completed the week of May 13th. It was mentioned that several members had complained to the office that they were unable to visit their loved ones graves on Mother's Day because the gates were locked. It was recommended that in future, the Cemetery committee consider posting signs that would guide visitors to alternate entrances.

Helene Roth requested a personal email for Mark Pierce, the Council representative for the Cemetery committee, so that confidential information could be sent to him. He reported that he does not have an email address. It was recommended that confidential information should be printed out by Millie and placed in Mark's mailbox.

Joy Baxter reported that the Evangelism committee is investigating new signage to be placed in the Cemetery for church events. She also requested that Dave Curry repaint the gold letters on the St. Paul's Cemetery sign.

Christian Education Committee: There was no committee meeting and no written report.

Stuart Krissinger reported that Vacation Bible School would begin June 24th. Claudia Muller and Melissa Gale are the VBS coordinators and have reported that they would like more adult volunteers. To date, 50 children from the congregation have signed up for VBS. Bill Henderson suggested handing out gift bags to non-St. Paul's families. Helene Roth offered to assemble them and they will include information about worship times and programs at St. Paul's, daily devotional material and a St. Paul's mug.

Stuart Krissinger also reported that Sunday School would resume in September after Rally Day on September 8.

Evangelism Committee: The committee met on May 21, 2013 and Joy Baxter submitted a written report, copy attached.

The Evangelism committee will distribute "Blessings for your Ministry" bookmarks on Sunday, June 17th to all St. Paul's members who participate in various ministries at St. Paul's.

Joy Baxter reported on several summer programs at St. Paul's to reach out to the members of St. Paul's and the community. The Evangelism committee plans to be present at the South Ardmore Park running races as well as sponsor summer fun events for Families with Young Children. She reported that thirty-seven people attended the June 10, 2013 "bubble" fun event.

Joy reported that the Ministry Fair would be held on Rally Day, September 8th and that each committee should plan on having information about their committee available for the congregation on that day.

Joy also suggested that a new name be considered for the "medium kids" group. Past names like SPLAT (St Paul's Lutheran Aware Teens) and SPY (St. Paul's Youth) were mentioned. Stuart Krissinger will take it back to the Christian Education committee.

Staff Personnel Committee: There was no committee meeting and no written report. Bob Penne was absent.

Social Ministry Committee: The social ministry committee met on June 6, 2013 and Laura Bickert Ciarlello submitted a written report, copy attached.

The committee's focus at this time is working with the Al Bahadly family. The family has come very far since arriving from Iraq in November. Hussein has a part-time job in Ardmore, has passed his driver's test and has a driver's license; the two older children are flourishing in school (Mohammed has been getting A's and B's while Manar is an A student); the family can navigate the public transit system in Philadelphia; they are becoming more fluent in English (Hanan, the mother, and Ali, the youngest, have a ways to go); and they have traveled to medical and dental appointments alone. They are becoming more self-sufficient but they still need assistance from St. Paul's, especially financially.

In order to help the family meet expenses for the next 7 months, the committee has submitted an action item requesting $7000.00 from the Unrestricted Memorials and Gifts fund for expenses incurred by the Al Bahadly family.

Council discussed the family's needs and agreed that continued financial support of the Al Bahadly family was warranted but cautioned that the Social Ministry committee should consider fund-raising activities and personal appeals to the congregation for future expenses.

The motion was then made to Council to approve transfer of $7000.00 from the Unrestricted Memorials and Gifts to the suspense account for the Al Bahadly family.

The motion was seconded, and on vote taken, approved as presented.

Technology Committee: The committee met on May 28 and Andrew Vickrey submitted a written report, copy attached.

Andrew reported on the development of the St. Paul's website. Several firms submitted proposals for the website and the Muntz Designs' offer was the frontrunner at this time. The quote was for $799.00. A launch date of September 1, 2013 is anticipated.

Worship and Music Committee: The committee did not meet since the last Council meeting. Helene Roth submitted a written report, copy attached.

Helene reported on the June 2, 2013 Talent Show, Silent Auction, and Ice Cream Social. The Talent Show raised $1030.00 and the Silent auction raised about $3300.00. All who attended enjoyed the Talent show and agreed that the Ice Cream Social was a big hit.

Bill Henderson addressed the possibility of holding only one worship service on Sunday throughout the year, not just during the summer. He felt that it was nice for everyone to worship together and that it was exciting to see the church filled with people. Helene will take it to her committee at the September Worship and Music committee meeting.

Property Committee:Although the committee had no formal meeting, Bill Henderson submitted a written report, copy attached.

Bill reported that the bell tower leaks during a heavy rain and that plans are underway to repair it. The wiring in the sanctuary was temporarily fixed by rerouting the wiring at a cost of about $800.00. The underlying problem is the wiring is about fifty years old and cannot handle modern technology of the sanctuary. Council members brought the possibility of trimming the large tree in front of the church to improve the curb appeal of St. Paul's. Bill offered to look into it.

All committee reports presented were approved.

OUTSTANDING BUSINESS

None, which had not otherwise been addressed earlier in the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS/CORRESPONDENCE

• Council agreed to skip the July Council meeting and will meet next on Wednesday, August 7 so as not to conflict with the Augsburg Fortress Hymn Sing on Thursday, August 8, 2013.

• The Pastoral Resources Team met on May 22, 2013 to review the goals outlined in the Strategic Planning process, the results from the survey and Pastor Skip McDowell's Vision for Ministry documents. The team drafted a report summarizing their efforts (copy attached) and offered a recommendation to Council to move forward in the process to call a second pastor.

Council discussed the steps necessary to begin the process and the following was suggested:

1. Get approval and direction from the synod; this will also include direction for a financial pay package – Pastor McDowell will contact the synod
2. Create a job description for the Associate Pastor - A joint effort with Staff Personnel and the Pastoral Resources Team to include Bob Penne, Bill Henderson, Helene Roth and Pastor Skip McDowell
3. Create a financial plan to determine the means to pay for this position – Finance and Stewardship committees
4. Get Congregational approval – Pastor McDowell & Bill Henderson

• The Effective Engagement and Attendance Task force reported that there has been a 25% decrease in attendance in the last five years from 2006 to 2013. It was mentioned that Pastor Julie left in September of 2006.

• Council members were encouraged to wear the "St. Paul's is Revolutionary" T-shirts for Rally Day on Sunday, September 9, 2013.

NEXT COUNCIL MEETING

Wednesday, August 7, 2013 at 7:15 pm in the Meeting Room.

CLOSING PRAYER AND ADJOURNMENT

With no further business to come before the Council, a motion was duly made and seconded for adjournment. On vote taken, the motion carried, and the meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm. and closed with the Lord's Prayer

Helene Roth, Secretary

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