Interim Update for December 21, 2018

Saga of the Safe

There are more details about this story than I care to share in this space. I'll just say that we called on Betschman Security to give us some help with opening the safe and make additional keys for the lock box. Ron, the owner, came on Monday for an initial inspection, and returned on Tuesday with the necessary tools to thoroughly service the safe's moving parts. Yes, it is very particular, and must be handled with kid gloves, as all applied motion incurs wear and tear on the parts. He provided detailed instructions on the combination and exactly how many turns each way are required for opening. Ron also delivered the extra keys for the lockbox. These will be distributed to office staff and Counting Crew Chiefs. Overall, this should improve security in the office.

Something I forgot to bring up at Council

I mentioned in my December 7 Update that I had met with Rob Johnson and that we had agreed on doing the first of the Healthy Congregations workshops in late January or early February on a Saturday morning from 9am - 1pm, and that we would decide on a date at our December meeting. This slipped off my radar screen, and so apologize for that. I'm wondering if we could shoot for Saturday, February 2. Let me know if that date does not work for you. I know any date could be a problem for one or more of our group, but we want the date to be available for as many as possible.

Updated date for Church Directory Photography

I received a phone call from Lyndon from United Church Directories, who was our presenter at Council. He wants to change the date from Tuesday, April 23, to Monday, April 22, which is Easter Monday. I am not encouraged by either date. How many of our families are available on one evening on a weekday, and even if they could come how many would?

Birthday party for Jesus

On Wednesday (x1) and Thursday (x2) I experienced my first St. John's Preschool Birthday for Jesus. Everything was organized beautifully with various stations and activities spread throughout the church. Finally everyone gathered in the sanctuary, and that's where I got to do my part. I dressed up as a shepherd and told the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. The shepherd's father, The Innkeeper, will bring the message on Christmas Eve.

Advent service and Confirmation

Our third and final midweek Advent Service was on Wednesday evening. Thanks to Marlene for accompanying on the organ, Lisa G. for playing her flute, and to Jan L. for leading on the Holden Evening Service. I contributed to the accompaniment on the guitar. Following the service, confirmation kids met and we delivered one more Christmas tree to another of our shut-ins.

Kristen's first week

Kristen completed her first full week as our Office Manager. There's still lots to learn. In addition to Christmas Eve bulletins, we have been working on Saturday and Sunday bulletins. She got the Council Meeting packets ready for Thursday night's meeting. She's working now on the January newsletter. With Shaun also in the office (except Wednesday), he has been able to orient her to a number of items, including taking her to the bank to sign signature cards, and getting her name on various online accounts such as Quill (office supplies) and Vanco (online giving).

Terri home from hospital

Terri continues her recovery at home. We're hoping to see her again in church soon. Keep her in your prayers.

Orchard Villa /Bellevue Care Center

I went to OV and BCC a week early, as the usual day (4th Tuesday) falls on Christmas Day. Our usual members were present, with the exception of Vera B. She must have been out visiting.

Home visit with Holy Communion

I received a phone call from Clara R. (age 95, bless her heart) requesting that I bring her communion, which I did. Had a good visit, and learned that she is sister-in-law to my former member members in Norwalk. So that gave us things to talk about. She's very sharp, but has not been getting out as much lately. I have put her on the shut-in list for future visits. Clara lives next door to Charles and Nancy K, who do lots to look out for Clara. I stopped to visit them also while in the neighborhood, as I hadn't seen them recently

Police came calling on Thursday

We had a surprise visit from two officers from the Bellevue Police Department on Thursday. They responded to a panic button call from St. John's. First they called Jan TerVeen, as that's the phone number they had on file. Imagine his surprise. He directed them to the church. The best we could guess is that Kristen accidentally pressed the button, which is located under the desk and above the computer CPU. No arrests were made, and mostly we had a good laugh as well as an education about the panic button, which I had no idea even existed.

Copy machine misbehaving

As we were running Sunday and Christmas Eve bulletins, Kristen and I noticed that some of the copies were coming out wrinkled. We called the service tech, who arrived in the afternoon and replaced some moving parts, and is now working better. I'm guessing that this is part of the service contract for the machine, so there will be

STEW-About It

In the December Update I provided info about Pr. Kent Wilson's congregational stewardship newsletter called "STEW-About It," and provided links to the first three issues. He has published issue #4, and you can view it here.

QR Code and URL for Online Giving

Breeze, our church management system software, includes an online giving portal, when used by members, automatically receives and deposits their gifts, and enters them in their contribution records. I have created a QR code for the online giving portal, which I have printed in the Christmas Eve bulletin, and plan to make a regular feature of weekend bulletins. If you haven't checked out our online giving portal yet, you can do so by clicking here.

Al-Anon Meeting

Shaun and I met with Lynn from Al-Anon today to talk about space for their Friday night meeting. They have a cabinet to store their stuff, and we agreed that it would fit downstairs in the hallway to the youth room, and they would be willing to retrieve their meeting items (coffee pot, literature, etc.) from that location, and meet in the lounge. They are no longer comfortable at the Episcopal Church, as they are the only ones in the building. They would feel much more comfortable meeting at St. John's as AA is already there. And yes, they would make a small monthly contribution to the church for their use of the space.

Theresa returning as Janitor

Theresa will be returning as janitor. He has had some health issues, but is feeling better now and wants to return to active duty. She met with exec this week to review expectations. Plans include creating a new list of duties. Expected work hours will be 20/week, and also a plan for Denise to continue to do backup duties when necessary. Hope this works. St. John's is a big building to keep clean.

Interim Update for December 14, 2018

Are we being Hospitable?

Good question. Most congregations think of themselves as good practitioners of hospitality. But there's always room for improvement. Breeze, our online church management software, provides helpful ministry hints. You can find some here.

Christmas Message from Bishop Eaton

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares her 2018 Christmas message. "We are free to greet this holy season knowing that Christ’s cradle defeats the grave. Life and healing and hope come to us in the child in the manger." You can view Bishop Eaton's message here.

Advent Worship

The second of our Advent worship services was held Wednesday evening. We are using Holden Evening Prayer, and our messages center around the them "Light in the Darkness." This week's them was "In the Darkness of Suffering, There Is the Light of Life" and was a reflection on John 1:1-18. Next week our third and final theme will be "In The Darkness of Oppression, There Is the Light of Salvation," a reflection on the firs verses of the Christmas Gospel, Luke 2:1-7.

Confirmation youth go caroling and deliver Christmas trees

Last Wednesday, confirmation youth decorated some miniature Christmas trees, and this Wednesday they delivered them to some of our home-bound members. We combined the tree delivery with some Christmas caroling, which is always well received and appreciated. This was done following Advent worship. Prior to worship at 6:30, youth and mentors had their second mentoring session.

Welcome Kristen!

We have a new Office Manager! Her name is Kristin Rhineberger, and although she is a Bellevue native, she currently lives in Norwalk. The Executive Team interviewed her on Monday morning, the third person to interview for the position. After the interview the ET voted unanimously to offer the position to Kristen. Her first day in the office was Thursday, and her hours will be 8am to 3pm, Monday through Friday, with an hour off over the lunch hour.

Kristen's first days

So far, Kristen has worked two days, and I have spent a fair amount of time showing her what I know about the St. John's office, which revolves mostly around computer based things like Google Docs, Sundays and Seasons, Dropbox, and Breeze. She successfully entered last weekend's offering into Breeze, and today I assigned her to do Saturday's bulletin while I worked on the Sunday version. We will be moving the bulletin from Publisher to Word, as Kristen is more familiar with that program. If you are available during Kristen's hours, be sure to stop in and welcome her and introduce yourself!

Safe is very safe

I have to say that the St. John's safe is very safe. So safe, in fact, that not even St. John's members are able to open it. Terri has been the key opener of the safe, and knows the combination and special skills it takes to get the beast open. But with her current unavailability, we SJ office peeps are scratching our heads, Dave Herman came in today, and had it open once, but was unable to repeat the process using the known or assumed combination and required numbers of turns left and right. We did get out what we needed to when it was open, but currently this case is more shut than it is open. Stay tuned for the next episode of "As the Safe Combination Knob Turns."

Interim Pastors Meeting

On Thursday afternoon I traveled to Synod Office for our monthly Interim Pastors meeting -- which was our first meeting since October, as the November meeting was called because of icy road conditions. Our normal meeting date is the third Thursday, but this month we met a week earlier to avoid the Christmas rush next week. Our next meeting is scheduled for January 17, 2019.

Terri in Hospital

Most of you know that Terri has been in the hospital since Tuesday. She will likely be there into and possibly through the weekend. Keep her in your prayers..

New Monitors in the office

The computer monitors in the church office were quite small by today's standards, and were also a bit on the dim side. I noticed a good sale at Staples, and so I purchased 3 24" LED monitors, one for Kristen, one for Shaun, and one for the pastor's office. One monitor was donated, and the congregation purchased the other two for $130 each for a total expense of $260, which will be a budgeted office expense. The office is still in need of some upgrades, primarily in operating systems (Windows 10) and network connectivity.

Willows Visits

On Wednesday I visited our members at The Willows - our centenarians Ruth and Hazel, and also Beth, Betty and Carol. After visiting Beth, as I was walking down the hall I noticed a familiar name by one of the rooms. Norma V. is now at The Willows, so I stopped to visit. This was my first visit with Norma. I got the impression that she arrived only recently, and don't know if this is a rehab stay for her, or if she will be there long term. Either way, I put her on my Willows list.

Shepherd's Fund

I received a request from one of the preschool teachers, who learned that one of her kid's households was experiencing some financial difficulty with a recent job change, and was looking at a utility shutoff. Through the Shepherd's Fund, we helped this family avoid the looming shutoff. We certainly hope that better days are ahead for this family.

What Are Your Passions?

Bishop Daniel asks this question in his weekly email message. You can read his message in its entirety here.

Interim Update for December 7, 2018

Greetings all -- it's been a busy week -- lots to report, so here goes.

Decorate the Church for Christmas

I already sent out an email about this, but adding it here, too. A group is gathering Saturday morning, December 8, to decorate the church for Christmas. If you're available and willing to help out, see you there!

Synod eNews for December 6

You can get caught up on Synod news here.

Daniel's weekly email message

"Dear Friends in Christ, I am excited to share with you that 2019 will be the Year of Scripture in the Northwestern Ohio Synod. What follows is a quick outline of Coming Attractions." You can read Daniel's message here.

Meeting with Pr. Rob Johnson re: Healthy Congregations

Last week I contacted Pr. Rob Johnson from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and a member of our synod's Congregational Resource Team, to arrange a conversation about our plans to participate in up to three Healthy Congregations workshop during 2019. Pr. Rob offered to come to St. John's, so I accpeted his offer, and he came and some some time with us on Thursday afternoon. Shaun was in the office, so he joined the conversation. We shared info for Pr. Rob to give him some perspective on St. John's, and he offered some recommendations regarding the Healthy Congregations workshops. He suggested that we do the initial workshop, and then make further plans from there. We agreed that late January or early February could work for both of us. We'd be looking at a four-hour workshop, from say, 9-1 on a Saturday. Let's choose a Saturday at our next Council meeting.

Terri out sick

Terri has been under the weather this past week, and has been able to spend only limited time in the office. We're getting things done, but wow, it's tough when she's not there. Prayers coming for you to feel and get better soon!

Interview process for new Office Manager

The Executive Team has interviewed two candidates sent to us by WeStaff in Norwalk. A third candidate will be interviewed on Monday, and then Exec will make a decision, so that person can spend some time with Terri for training and orientation. One of the advantages of going through WeStaff is that all candidates are already background checked and otherwise vetted for suitability for the job.

Stewardship meeting

Stewardship Team met Thursday, and the main agenda was tallying Commitment Cards from the recently completed Stewardship Program, "Keep it Simple." So far, over $100,000 of annual financial commitment has been offered for supporting ministry at St. John's in 2019. Team members will offer an oral report during announcements at Saturday and Sunday services. The Team also has been working at organizing the time and talent sheets, and getting copies to Teams, giving them people to call for activities they have indicated an interest in or willingness to serve in.

Speaking of Stewardship, let's all "Stew-About-It!"

Rev. Kent Wilson is on the Synod Staff as Director of Leadership Development for Congregational Vitality. He has been providing guidance and resources in the area of Stewardship, including a new series of newsletters he calls "STEW-About-It." Here are the first three issues, which have some challenging and interesting things to do and say about Stewardship in our congregations:

• Issue 1
• Issue 2
• Issue 3

Education meeting

Education Team met Thursday evening. There was lots to cover, including an update on the Christmas program by the Sunday School kids, which will be on December 16 during morning worship. Also discussed possible curriculum/program for next summer VBS. First Communion instruction will be planned for spring -- March or April

Advent services

The first of three mid-week Advent services was held Wednesday night in the chapel. Our theme is "Light in the Darkness." Next week the message will be: "In the Darkness of Suffering, There Is the Light of Life," a reflection on John 1:1-18. The order of worship is Holden Evening Prayer, and features Lisa Gittenger on the flute -- thanks, it's beautiful!

Confirmation Update

During Advent, Confirmation youth are attending the Advent services, and meeting afterwards for a shortened class period. On Wednesday, youth built 11 mini-Christmas trees, which will be distributed to shut-ins after worship on Sunday. Next week, the second meeting of youth with their mentors will be held beginning at 6:30 pm, and then all will attend Advent worship.

A New Picture Directory?

One the the lifelines for me as an interim is an "as up-to-date-as-possible" picture directory. It is indespensable in putting names and faces together. The last directory was created in 2012, and is now quite out of date. Lyndon Loewen, representing Universal Church Directories of Mansfield, stopped at the office to drop off some promotional material. I invited him to make a (very) brief presentation at the beginning of Council next week

Healthy Churches Faithful Pastors

Our Sunday/Thursday Adult Forum has been reviewing the book "Healthy Churches Faithful Pastors." Our most recent discussion has been on expectations regarding how the congregation supports the pastor, which includes the pasto's compensation package. I have spent some time talking about how a pastor's finances differs from others, and how a compensation package is arrived at. At this Sunday's session, we will put together a complete compensation package for a hypothetical pastoral candidate.