Interim Update for September 7, 2018

Here a meeting, there a meeting

There were lots of meetings this week, all good, all necessary, and all substantive. This week's update will primarily focus on what happened in those meetings. In all this, I am reminded of the many members of St. John's who give of their time and talents to advance the mission of the congregation. So kudos and thanks to all who go the extra mile, and then sometimes even further.

Executive Committee meets with St. Peter Norwalk rep

Exec Committee met Wednesday morning, and our guest was Ed McClendon, a member of St. Peter in Norwalk. I had invited Ed, as I knew from my time at St. Peter that he has been, for a number of years, on the board for the congregation's Endowment Trust Fund.

The Endowment Trust fund was formed in the late 1980's, and was established with a gift of $96 thousand dollars, and to which other members have contributed and left bequests in the following years up until the present. The goal of the Endowment Trust is to invest the assests of the fund in such a way that regular distributions could be made to benefit ministries in the synod, wider church, and community, and to add at least 4% to the principal of the fund to keep the value of the fund's principal above the rate of inflation.

One of the unique things about the Endowment board at St. Peter is that it is made up of members who are experienced in investments, including Ed, who has been an insurance and investments professional for 35 years. This board has made all the invesment decisions regarding the Fund's assets, which have mostly been in mutual funds. Ed pointed out that if St. John's does not have persons with that kind of experience who would be willing to serve on such a board, that the task could be assigned to a professional money management firm, who would then charge a percentage fee for their services.

Ed brought along financial reports for the Fund for the past several years, which indicated that in 2017, the Fund disbursed over $35,000 in gifts to various ministries, including our synod ministries (LSS, Genacross, Luther Home of Mercy), and many others, including Habitat for Humanity. I will plan to include a scan of those reports in a future update.

Ed's input, along with information that Shaun had gathered from Zion in Waterville, which has a much larger endowment fund, has helped the Executive Team to at least begin to formulate a plan for managing the large bequest that the congregation has received.

First days of Preschool

I got a taste of life around St. John's when Preschool is in session, as the building is abuzz with activity. There were a few tears on Wednesday, the first day, but it didn't take long for the kids and teachers to settle in together. First full week starts Monday. Blessings on our Preschool staff, kids and parents.

Confirmation Orientation Meeting

A meeting of Confirmation youth (7th and 8th grades) and parents to orient them to the coming Confirmation program year was held Wednesday evening, and all the youth exptected to participate were present and accounted for. Heather reviewed the basics of the program as had been discussed by the Education Team and presented at last month's Council meeting. Youth seemed relieved that the Faith Paper aspect of the program will be a bit more relaxed this year. Cindy Mira presented and reviewed the lesson schedule, which included both Sundays and Wednesdays. Richelle L. will tag team with Cindy for Sunday sessions.

A Covenant was included in the information booklet, which indicated the expectations of the program (e.g. worship attendance, acolyting, 2 sermon notes per month), and which was signed by youth and parents and given to me.

One of the options in the covenant was to attend four days of Catechism Camp at Camp Luther (on Lake Erie near Conneaut) June 4-7, 2019. Five youth indicated an interest in attending this camp. Adults from the congregaton who would accompany youth would be Cindy M. and I, and perhaps another mom. The cost is $150/person (youth and adult).

What this means for me is that I will begin attending planning meetings for this camp, as a group of pastors and lay leaders have planned and led this camp for a number of years. The first meeting of this group is Thursday, September 20, 10 am in Findlay. This group includes the creative genius of Pastors Ken Pollitz (New Creation, Ottawa) and Amy Little (Trinity, Monroeville), and several others. I am looking forward to rejoining this group, as my work as interim has put me on hiatus for the last four years.

Cindy will be the primary leader for the Wednesday night sessions, and I and other adults will play supportive roles. Cindy and I agreed that I would lead sessions prior to busier times for her at school, such as leadup to concerts. We also will be pairing confirmation youth with a congregational adult mentor for times of conversation at appointed times (usually after Sunday worship or midweek worship during Lent).

Worship Team Meeting notes

I met with the worship team on Thursday afternoon, and we had a lot to talk about. Here are some of our items of disussion:

• We are planning a 60th anniversary celebration to honor Marlene as our organist. Still in the planning stage, but we want this to be, and it will be, a very special Sunday, which will include a congregational meal following the service.
• For All Saints Sunday, we will adjust the candle lighting ceremony in such a way that family members can honor St. John's members who have died during the past year, as well as any other family member or friend who they would like to honor by lighting a candle during the Prayers of Intercession.
• Yes, we will do three Advent worship services on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm. Exact format and content TBD. Confirmation youth will attend.
• Choir will sing for first time (hopefully) on September 23.
• Beginning this Sunday, we will begin using Setting 3 of ELW, and we will use a more complete celebration of Holy Communion at the Sunday service, including the Great Thanksgiving, Proper Preface, Holy Holy Holy, and Thanksgiving at the Table (sometimes referred to as the Eucharistic Prayer).

Stewardship Team

I met with the Stewardship Team on Thursday at 6 pm, which was a working session as we planned out in more detail our stewardship emphasis for this year, which has the theme "Keep it Simple." We are planning a four Sunday emphasis beginning in late October, and concluding with receiving Commitment Cards on Congregational Meeting Sunday, November 18. We are hoping to recruit several members to do temple talks one or more of those Sundays.

Education Team

I met with the Education Team beginning at 7 pm on Thursday. Here are some of the items that we discussed:

• Finalized our plans for Rally Day this Sunday. This will include a potluck luncheon after worship. Main course will be provided. Bring a salad or dessert to share. Didn't sign up? Come anyway. There will be plenty for all.
• I have been working with the grade lists for our classes, entering grade levels into Breeze, and using Breeze to print class lists and attendance sheets. Our new Church Management System will allow us to keep all this data in one place, including attendance records.
• Christmas Program will be December 16 during worship. Worship elements will be adjusted to allow at least 20 minutes for the Sunday School children to bring their message.
• I let the Team know that the Eastern District confirmation youth will meet with Bishop Beaudoin tentatively on Wednesday, November 28 at 7pm. The Education Team will provide snacks. This is something that has been done for a number of years, and St. John's is centrally located so becomes the favored location.
• We will hold off on plans for First Communion instruction until the spring.
• The Education Team would like to provide a subsidy to both youth and adults attending camp this summer from existing designated funds. This, along with possible fund raisers will help take the edge off the cost of attending camp. As mentioned above, the cost is $150 per person, youth and adult. I suggest that the congregation also reimburse gas costs for those providing transportation.
• Heather and Shaun are planning a first Youth Group meeting for September 23, from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
• Cathy O. is willing to do acolyte training again.
• Nancy and Joyce will do Bible intro for 3rd graders prior to their Bible presentations, which is scheduled for Sunday, October 14.

Looking ahead

Don't forget to include the following items in your plans:

• Our teen-week study of the book "Healthy Churches Faithful Pastors" will begin next Sunday, September 16, at 9:00 am. For those unable to attend on Sunday moprning, a repeat session will be held on Thursdays at 10:00 am beginning September 20.
• A Council Workshop will be held Saturday, October 13, from 9:00 am until 12:30 pm. This workshop will allow me to share information in greater depth regarding the interim process.
• Fall Gathering with Bishop Daniel for us will be Tuesday, October 23 at 6:30 pm. For more info, go here.