St. Paul Lutheran Church
Council Meeting Minutes
November 20, 2006

Present: Pr. Eastman, Jim Baumgardner, Charlie Boone, Carlo D’Agostino, Mark Demich, Kevin Dixon, Patty Fess, Ann Holmstrom, Lisa Jackson, Gayle Meskimen, Bob Miller, Nick Poulos
Visitors: Terry Kohn, Susan Mullinger, Matt Sons

Kevin Dixon called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Devotions: Mark Demich

Treasurer’s Report

Ann Holmstrom presented the October financials. We had additional income in October and expenses continue to be down largely due to unpaid salaries. Currently we have a $91,000 surplus. Mark Demich moved to accept the financial report, Bob Miller seconded and the motion passed.

Approve Agenda

It was suggested to amend the agenda by combining the approval of the Congregational Mission Profile with the update on the Associate Pastor Position and to have both items be first on the agenda. Mark Demich moved to approve the agenda as amended. Nick Poulos seconded and the motion passed.

Report from the Call Committee

Susan Mullinger and Terry Kohn were present from the Call Committee to answer any concerns Council may have about the Congregational Mission Profile. The Call Committee will meet with Bishop Landahl on Tuesday, November 21st to review the call process and to present the Congregational Mission Profile. There were some concerns and corrections for the Profile. Bob Miller pointed out under section 19, listing primary businesses in the community, that Service Master has left Wheaton. He felt the skill level we are seeking in Administration should be assigned a number three priority instead of a two. He also thought the priority of Teaching Children could go from a number 5 to a number 4. These changes were agreed upon. Terry Kohn suggested the need for another senior adult member on the Call Committee. Pr. Eastman suggested a Call Committee member from the twenty-year old demographic.

Mark Demich moved that the Congregational Mission Profile be approved as amended. Charlie Boone seconded and the motion passed.

Nick Poulos moved to approve a new member to the call committee to be ratified later. Carlo D’Agostino seconded and the motion passed.

Approve October Minutes

There was a correction for number 5 under the Action Items. The minutes should read, “Charlie Boone moved to adopt the call process from the Synod, to be used for reference purposes only.” The underlined words have been added. Jim Baumgardner moved to approve the October Minutes as amended and Mark Demich seconded. The minutes were approved.

Sr. Pastor Report

Pastor Eastman recommended three books on leadership available for the Council to check out from the library. The books are, Healthy Congregations, How Your Church Family Works, and Discerning Your Congregation’s Future. Pastor gave a presentation to the Council on how Housing Allowances are determined for clergy. Pastor then gave a brief account of her recent trip to Hamburg, Germany where she, along with others, met with the Synod leaders from that country. The churches there are very large with memberships of 6,000 but with only 60 members worshipping on Sundays. The congregations share similar challenges such as working with an immigrant population, teaching language classes in the church, and working with those who came to country on a work Visa and have stayed for many years. One difference that occurs is that they have is no culture of stewardship within the congregations. There are ministries occurring in Germany we can learn from and Pastor feels the clarity of the same Holy Spirit stirring in the Church.

Reports and Information

1. We have no names from the Synod as candidates for the Interim Associate Pastor Position.

2. Gayle Meskimen presented an update from ESGC. Under section 2 in the procedures to be followed for compliance, line 2.2.3 was added, “The pastor attempts to resolve issue with the Ministry Board.” This adds one more step to the resolution before an issue would be brought to the Executive Committee. The ESGC will likely go to an annual training as well as an individual training of members using an identical packet of training materials. Personal information is to be placed by the member being trained into an envelope to be sealed and the sealed envelope will be delivered to the pastor. The envelope will be kept in a locked cabinet. There was a discussion of what part of the ESGC Policy was approved at the July 24th meeting. It was decided the minutes were to be located to clarify what was approved. Bob Miller proposed to revisit the Policy in January.

3. Matt Sons presented the proposal of St. Paul chartering a Cub Scout Pack for the Council’s consideration. There would be the need for a St. Paul member to be the Charter Representative for the Pack. There would be a concern of building space and availability for the Pack to meet. Matt will get a copy of the Charter and check into scheduling and meeting space availability and report back to the Council.

4. Charlie Boone gave a review of the 2007 budget and requested that all budget revisions be in by Sunday, December 10th.

5. There was discussion on how to educate the congregation about the Strategic Plan. Mark Demich and Bob Miller suggested informal venues to present the plan to the congregation. There was a suggestion that we might present the plan first to the Mininistry Teams. It was recommended to go to the congregation with a broad view of the Strategic Plan at the Congregational Meeting in January and at that time let the congregation know we will be meeting with the Ministry Teams. Perhaps there will be a potluck dinner for the presentation to the Teams before the Council Retreat in February.

Action Items

1. Bob Miller reported from the Property Committee that the flooding problem had hopefully been corrected at the cost of $7,052 to date. Property is looking into a back-up plan for the newly installed sump pump. The damaged carpet will be replaced soon either with tile or carpet depending on the room. He then presented information on purchase and lease requests from the Property committee. Charlie Boone moved to; authorize the installation of a security/access system not exceed $8000, authorize the purchase of a Pitney-Bowes FD40 Classic Folder for a purchase price of $3,595 plus $600/year maintenance and authorize the lease of a Pitney-Bowes DM 100 Digital Mailing System at $54/mo+ postage. Patty Fess seconded and the motion was approved.

Board Celebrations or Concerns

1. Pr. Eastman was encouraged by a woman who recently has been attending St. Paul in regards to how welcome the woman feels as she has been greeted and spoken to on every visit.
2. Jim Baumgardner distributed “One New Thing” forms for liaisons to bring to their Ministry Teams, hopefully to be completed by a Team member.

Adjournment

As there was no further business it was moved and seconded to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Patty Fess, Congregational Secretary


Dates
January 21, 2007-Congregational Meeting
February 24, 2007-Council Retreat