LEAD readiness survey
LEAD, an acronym for Living Every day as Disciples, is an organization that provides resources and coaching for ELCA congregations. Their website puts it this way: Empowering Christian Leaders – Transforming Faith Communities – Influencing the World -- Coaching, Consulting & Resources
I first became aware of LEAD during my 2015 interim in Minnesota, because the SE Minnesota Synod had partnered with them to bring leadership assistance and support to synod congregations. This may be a helpful organization to partner with for this interim time and beyond. I filled out a form on the LEAD website asking for more information about a process that they offer called "Tune In" and received this response:
Dear Pastor Mark, Thank you for your inquiry about the Tune In Process. Times of transition, as St. John's is currently experiencing, can open up opportunities for reflection and new direction. Congregations in the Gulf Coast Synod often use this time to go through a modified version of the Tune In Process as they develop their Ministry Site Profiles. But, as I'm sure you can imagine, this process will not be right for all congregations during a stressful period. You and your staff, council, or other ministry team leaders may want to take (a) brief quiz designed to help you think about whether now is a good time to enter into a LEAD Process.
So my thought is this: Let's each take the quiz, which you can find here. It's 15 yes or no questions, and your score will be the total of your "yes" answers. When you finish the quiz, email me your score. I will create an average score and report back to you the results. This in no way obligates us to anything -- it will only help to determine if this is a possibility. If you want to learn more about LEAD, you can go to their website at WaytoLead.org.
Special Meeting Regarding Parking Lot
Don't forget the special meeting this Sunday, August 5, immediately following worship, to vote on a proposal and funding for repair of the church parking lot. I met with Ken on Thursday afternoon to discuss the specifics of the meeting, and together we drew up a resolution and ballot which presents the bid from the contractor, and our proposal for which congregational funds will be used to cover the cost. The proposal is to accept the bid from Precision Paving in Milan for overlay, patching and striping for a total bid of $47,450, and to fund the project using the Parking lot fund, and Undesignated Memorial Funds. Shaun will be checking the exact totals we have in each, and these are the numbers that will appear in the resolution that will be presented to the congregation at the meeting. A draft of the resolution and ballot can be viewed here. As I said, the numbers in the two funds we will be using will be ascertained by Shaun and entered by him in the final copy of the resolution.
One additional bid was submitted for a second sealer coat and striping for next year for about $4,700. We chose not include this cost in the resolution, as there will be at least two more congregational meetings before the time that this work would be done, and the congregation can decide at either of those meetings whether to proceed with the next phase of this project.
It should further be noted that the St. John's Constitution disallows absentee voting, or voting by proxy. Only those voting members present at the meeting can vote.
Special meeting of Council before Congregational Meeting
There will be a special meeting of Council at 9:45am on Sunday, August 5, at which time you will be briefed on the proposal that will be voted on at the Special Meeting following worship.
Phone System
I have been informed that the recorded voice on the phone that plays when no one is present to answer the phone is that of Pastor Julie. Of course this is an indication that the recorded message needs to be updated. Terri has a box full of manuals and CD's that supposedly relate to the operation of the phone system. I have not net delved into that collection of documents and paraphernalia to determine how the recorded message can be updated. I have been told that this system is very old and is no longer supported by the manufacturer. Also, I have noted that I have a message on the phone in my office, and have used the password provided for me on a slip of paper, which does not work. Other than that, the phones work fine.
Computer system
In addition to the phone system, the computer system at St. John's is out of date,. My computer uses Windows 8, and Terri's computer is still using Windows 7, when the current standard is Windows 10. A network connection between Terri's computer and the pastor's office computer is present, however it requires a username and password, for which I have not yet found a working combination of the two.
Pastor Scott to cover while I'm out of state
Just a reminder that I'm taking three vacation days next week to accompany daughter Sarah on her move to Logan, Utah, where she will begin a PhD program at Utah State University in mathematical ecology. We will leave early on Monday morning, August 6, and I will fly back to Ohio from Salt Lake City on Thursday afternoon, arriving late Thursday evening. Pastor Scott will cover for me if there are any emergencies. His phone number is in the email that directed you to this update.
Synod eNews
The August edition of synod eNews can be seen here. One of the items is in regard to a Safety Plan: "The Christian Education Network of the ELCA presents 'How to Create a safety Plan for Your Church' at Zoar Lutheran Church, Perrysburg, OH,Sep 22, 2018 10:00 AM." Topics include:
- Transportation Issues for all ages, including seniors
- Training and Drills
- Active Shooter Lock-down
- Screening Volunteers Who Work with Children For more information, see the flyer regarding this event here.
Visits at the Willows
On Thursday I visited St. John's members who reside at the Willows, so it was good to meet those folks. Pr. Katie Suggitt will be leading monthly worship there, with Jan LaBonte providing accompaniment. I will fill in for Pr. Katie in September, as she is unavailable at that time. I also stopped to visit someone who had indicated on her connection card that she didn't know if she was a member or not, thinking that her husband had transferred their membership years ago from Zion, Republic. No transfer documents could be found in our office, so I simply encouraged this person to keep on attending, and that we would consider her a member. This may take a vote by council -- I will have to check the Constitution on this.
Searching the Blog
One of the advantages of doing these interim updates in a blog format is that it provides not only a single collection point for these updates, but also one that can be searched. In the upper left corner of the blog page, there is a search box. Simply enter the word that you're looking for, and all the blog entries which contain that term will be displayed in the current page. Then you can use Ctrl F to find the exact place(s) on the page where that word is found.
Committee Meetings
I attended Stewardship and Education Committee meetings Thursday evening. Both committees are continuing their planning for fall activities. Stewardship reviewed further the Time and Talent Sheets, and in Education Sunday School and Confirmation were the primary items on the agenda.
Continuing Transition to Breeze
Terri and I are learning a bit more each day about Breeze. One of the next steps is to create User Accounts, which means that you will be able to log in to Breeze to view and edit your own information, and to view your contribution record. Want to be sure that your contribution has been received and assigned to the fund of your choice? Now you can do that. Once Terri finishes transferring all current contributions from Revelations to Breeze, I will have Breeze send you an email, which will invite you to create your personal account.
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