Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

COMMITTEES

Alterguild
Communications Committee
Education Committee
Evangelism Committee
Fellowship Committee
Finance Committee
Mission Endowment Fund Committee
Mutual Ministry
Property Committee
Social Ministry
Stewardship Committee
Worship and Music Committee
Youth Committee

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, ELCA Council Minutes Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Present: Pastor Karl Divine-Koch, Pastor Rebecca Clouse, Jerry Aldeman, Terry Anderson, Doug Busch, Cheryl Cruise, Jodi Deike, Kelley Donham, Cathy Goddard, Melissa Karr, Connie McRoberts, David Panther, Bob Spenner, Jr., Jim Wiese, and Barbara Zinn

Absent: None

President Bob Spenner opened the meeting at 7:00 pm. Dave Panther gave devotions and provided refreshments. Kelley Donham moved to approve the minutes as corrected, Terry Anderson second.

New Business: Pastor Rob Dotzel has requested that the LCM service at 5:30 on Thursdays be moved to 7pm. It was determined that the 7pm time slot would fit with students' schedule better. Cathy Goddard made the motion to approve the use of the nave/narthex on Thursdays at 7 pm, Dave Panther second the motion.

Old Business: .Kathy Gerking explained that the call to Pam Larabee-Zierath for Youth Director for Gloria Dei should be presented to the congregation as a resolution at the annual meeting. Acceptance by the congregation would move the Synod to make the call on behalf of both Iowa LCM and Gloria Dei. Pastor Clouse has prepared the document for extension of her interim call and the call will be completed following the Congregational meeting in January 2007.

Pastor Evaluations - Both Evaluations have been completed. The pastors have established office hours and visitations are on the rise at this time. Ross Helgevold and Richard Madden are up next for evaluations

Nominating Committee for 2007 Council - The Committee includes Dave Panther and Pastor Divine-Koch. The committee will meets tomorrow December 6, 2006. Dave Panther and Terry Anderson have elected to extend their terms.

North Corridor Update - The Corridor group will be having open meetings for the public on December 12 and 14 from 6:30 to 7:30 to determine interest in the area. The meeting was published the North Liberty and Solon papers.

Reports - Pastor Divine-Koch reports that the Eucharistic Ministers program is being well received and going well. Paul and Dianne Werger are also Eucharistic Ministers. They were not included in the previous minutes. My apologies for this oversight. He has received notice that the Bev Bartos estate of $15,000 has been designated for handicap accessibility in the church. Our membership has grown by 30 to 40 new people this year.

Pastor Clouse was happy to share pictures of the parents with young children get together on December 4th. There were 10 families in attendance, 7 were new, 5 have infants. They shared a meal, fun conversation and a community service project. They look forward to the next get together. Pastor Clouse provided a report from LCM Pastor Rob Dotzel on the 'Faith and Twenty/Thirty -Something Group'. The group has met three times. A total of 25 people have attended at least once. Meetings are held twice monthly on Sundays at 6:00 pm. The group is made up of post-undergraduate, unmarried young adults from Gloria Dei, LCM, Zion, Christ the King and some are unchurched. There are always plenty of food and lots of enthusiastic conversation. They have discussed issues related to being single (book entitled Quirkyalone), the importance of friendships (Urban Tribes), and personal faith development (Twentysomething). At the last meeting the group discussed ways in which the church does and does not challenge us to take risks as people of faith, and how young adults can become a community of mutual support and accountability within the church to help one another live faith more boldly. The group has decided to include worship as part of our gatherings using resources such as Taize and Holden Evening Prayer. Some of the group members are taking part in the LCM Winter Break Mission Trip in January to visit Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston/Chicago, IL. Reba Place is an intentional Christian community founded by a group of (then) post-college young adults in 1957.

Treasurer Doug Busch provided financial reports. He borrowed $20,000 from the church's line of credit and paid $29,900 Benevolence and Stand for Africa. There was a bill for property research for the Kelly properties for $1495 that was also paid. We can anticipate an increase in pledge fulfillment as well as more bills for December. Totals for October for envelopes and Simply giving were $35,401.00, total contributions were $51,184.10. Totals for November for envelopes and Simply Giving were $27,942.00, total contributions were $30,574.65. October contributions included a large offering for World Hunger and Offerings for the purchase of the new Hymnals.

Mutual Ministries did not meet in November. The next meeting is scheduled for December 7.

Committee Reports - Communications - Jodi Deike provided minutes from their November 28 meeting. Member profiles were assigned to committee members for upcoming newsletters. The E-newsletter is receiving positive feedback. 'View from the Pew' will be printed and laminated for the December worship services. The new ELW hymnals will have a plastic pocket to hold “View from the Pew”, the size may have to be changed to accommodate. Evangelical posters are in the works. The triangular kiosk will provide space to committees as required, no committee requires a permanent presence, all are willing to share the space with whichever committee activity takes priority. DVIP ad - the DVIP has asked Gloria Dei to purchase an ad to support their annual Souper Bowl of Caring event. This event is completely different from the ELCA Souper Bowl of Caring. Ross will research the costs and speak with Bruce Marner, a Thrivent Representative, about co-sponsoring such an ad. If we are unable to purchase an ad with Thrivent, we will do a news release regardless. Next meeting is scheduled for January 30, 2007 at 7pm, no December meeting.

Education - The committee met on November 14. Cathy Divine-Koch reported that the Adult Forum is going well. Melissa will contact IC Hospice to see if a speaker could attend a session. Sunday School classes are going well. The director for the Christmas program has been chosen. Practices the Wednesday and Saturday before the December 17th presentation is scheduled. The new computers were well received and used at the recent lock-in. Now a secure cabinet or location needs to be found. Vacation Church School plans are under way. The committee is looking for a family friendly time for VCS, evenings vs. days, whole days vs. half days, and/or joining efforts with another church. The discussion will continue at the next meeting. Cradle Roll - Pam gave an explanation of the materials being sent out to new parents who have their child enrolled. They are sequential and focus on the whole family. It will be a good introduction to Christian education for the family unit. The next meeting will be January 9, 2007, including snacks and the Adult Forum sub-committee has been asked to join them.

Evangelism - Cheryl Cruise reports that weekly 'visitor spotting' continues as well as, weekly cookies to first time in town visitors, weekly visitor spotter e-mail, participation in the November 9 new member class. They hosted the new member reception on November 19. Rearrange the Lounge area, November 7 taping for funeral service and weekly taping of services. Doug Busch commended Cheryl for her outstanding work on this committee. Her spirit and energy on this project is inspiring.

Fellowship -Dave Panther reports that a wine and cheese and board games night is scheduled for Friday December 8th. We are encouraged to attend. Finance Committee - The draft of the 2007 budget was covered in a discussion following committee reports, see below.

Property Committee- Terry Anderson reports that the furnace is not functioning properly, the repair service will be contacted. Completed or Near Completion of Projects are as follows: - Broken lock on an upstairs cabinet, plan to switch lock with another cabinet. -Several of the minor repair issues were completed.
-Swen Larson will be providing the snow removal this winter.
-Richard Madden's parking space sign has been replaced with a Church Van Parking sign.
-Kitchen sink has a water sprayer that needs repair.
-Book card files have been unbolted, as requested.
Spring projects are as follows:
-A plan for painting the stripes on the rear parking lot is being worked on with Val.
-Church and additional property landscaping.
-Spring cleaning and fence painting.
Discussion and research continues on the replacement of the front outdoor entry lights. Preliminary research indicates that $450-$550 will cover the cost of each light. Installation costs would be in addition to that amount. The Aldeman Family has offered memorial funds to cover the costs associated with the replacement of these lights.

Social Ministry Committee - The DVIP and Angel Tree projects are progressing as scheduled. Cassie's Mittens is now running independently as the 'Choir Moms' are involved. The Social committee will help as needed.

Stewardship - Jim Wiese reports that the preliminary numbers for the stewardship campaign look good There is still a group of 40, that had previously pledged, that have not returned pledge cards yet. We encourage everyone to return those cards as this information is vital to budget planning. Discussion followed concerning the issue of moving the stewardship campaign earlier in the year to allow more time and better information for preparation of the church budget in the future. There were 131 pledge cards received, thus far, for 2007 totaling $305,270.00. Final numbers, after extensive follow-up through March 2006, were 152 pledges for a total of $305,550.00 in pledges.

Worship and Music Committee - Barb Zinn reports that next Sunday (12/10) will be Lessons & Carols, the following Sunday (12/17) will be the Children’s Program between services and special music by the Wittenberg Steamroller, also the last day of the Lutheran Course.

Youth Ministries - Connie McRoberts reports that the youth will be caroling on December 20. The lock - in November was a success. 2007 Budget Discussion of the 2007 Budget began with a general discussion about balanced budgets versus unbalanced budgets. It was agreed that the Church Council has never wanted to present an unbalanced budget and does not now. It was suggested that the fall Stewardship Campaign be held earlier in the year, to allow budget preparation based on completed pledges. Last year the campaign and receipt of pledges continued into March of 2006. An alternative would be to present it throughout the year. This would help us all see and understand the needs of our church. A fully staffed Gloria Dei will help ensure the continued success and growth of programs to meet the needs of our congregation. Therefore the elimination of a pastoral position to create a balanced budget is not considered a viable option. Pastors Clouse and Divine-Koch left the room while the Council addressed budgeting for Church Staff. There was discussion about whether the Pastoral Assistant position was still needed. It was previously needed to help Pastor Clouse meet the needs of Education and Youth Ministries. Since we now have a Program Associate (Pam LA) to work in this area the need for the Pastoral Assistant is questionable. The Council asked Pastor Divine-Koch and Pastor Clouse for their opinions. It was generally agreed by the Council that this position could be absorbed by parents and Pastor Clouse. Pastor Divine-Koch indicated that Pam LZ is overloaded already and could not be expected to do more. The Council decided to table the issue until next meeting. Someone will talk to Pam LZ about her view on this issue. The Indoor Sexton position was also discussed. There have been some issues in this area and after considerable discussion it was decided not to increase the salary of the Indoor Sexton for 2007. Jodi Deike moved to hold the salary of the Indoor Sexton at $19,047.00 and the Security Lock up at $4614.00 for the 2007 budget. Melissa Karr seconded the motion. The council approved unanimously. The Council continued through the budget line by line discussing areas of question and possible reduction in spending. Kathy Goddard will prepare a revised 2007 Budget for the January Council Meeting for further review.

The next Council meeting will be January 2 at 7 pm. The Executive Committee will meet Tuesday, December 26 at 5:30 pm.

Meeting adjourned at 9:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Connie McRoberts, secretary

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