meeting minutes - st.paul’s evangelical lutheran...
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2016-04-14 Council Meeting Minutes
Meeting MinutesThe April Council Meeting of the Congregation Council of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ardmore, Pennsylvania was held on Thursday, April 14 at 7:15 pm in the Meeting Room.
CALL TO ORDERDon Parman called the meeting to order at 7:15pm. Council member attendance is captured in the table below:
Name Committee Chair Council Role Present AbsentBickert Ciarlello, Laura Social Ministry XClouse, Kevin Education XDeLomba, Paul Staff Personnel XDry, Daniel Property XErtner, Robert Financial Secretary XFreestone, Patrick Technology Secretary XHammarberg,Carol Stewardship Vice-President XHorn, Andrew Treasurer XMartin, Linda Worship and Music XNorquist, Josephine Evangelism XParman, Don Finance President XPierce, Louise Cemetery X
Also present were: Senior Pastor Harry W. McDowell II Associate Pastor Laura Tancredi Dan Gale Bob Penne Joy Baxter
DEVOTIONSPastor McDowell led devotions by reading a letter Martin Luther wrote to a man that asked him to explain the seal showing Luther’s Cross.
SPECIAL REPORTAs part of the strategic planning exercise performed several years ago, three teams were formed at St. Paul’s. One of these teams was focused on increasing attendance. Joy Baxter, Bob Penne, and Dan Gale were a part of this team and attended the meeting. These team members presented a report on attendance over time at St. Paul’s and provided thoughts about what to do going forward as a result of the numbers.
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Recommended actions in the report include:
1. Use of a new spreadsheet for consistent and correct reporting2. Call a council vote to change the attendance counting methodology3. Request for council to determine which numbers to use for staffing decisions4. Communicate change(s) to the congregation
After the presentation, some discussion occurred on how to best measure the level of church activity. There were several suggestions to capture Sunday school attendance.
Some additional questions that were posed by the group:
What other measures can help to paint the picture. What measures can define a vibrant, active church?
The complete report is available in the Appendix for complete review.
PRESENTATION OF MINUTESPaul DeLomba presented minutes from the council meeting on March 10, 2016. Based upon the feedback from the group prior to this meeting, there was one edit. Paul then finalized the minutes and circulated them again. MOTION: Paul made the motion to approve and council approved the minutes.
COMMITTEE REPORTSCommittee Report
Pastor (McDowell) Pastor Skip indicated that the Lent and Easter were wonderful this year, as well as the first communion. See Appendix for the full report.
Pastor (Tancredi) Pastor Laura stated that 7 youth would be going to the synod’s helping hands activities on Saturday. She also discussed the plan for St. Paul’s gardens. The current strategy is to pay ½ price and do the fall planting this year (in August). This will provide the installation and one planting. Next year, we would be ready for all three plantings. There was discussion on whether or not the beds could be visible from a road, but given the size of the beds the group thought this might be difficult. See Appendix for the full report.
Administration Several topics were discussed during the administrative report:
Committee membership – Don stated that the names on the lists look very familiar. The group thought that we should consider ways to attract newer and younger members to join committees.
There was discussion on what to do with the information provided by the Increasing Attendance and Engagement team in
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the special report.o The group agreed that we should report to ELCA
accurately. Skip raised a concern that this will show a large drop in 2016 and will need to be explained to the congregation.
o Paul stated that attending service is much more meaningful when there are larger numbers.
o Don stated that attendance numbers are a single perspective in the overall picture of St. Paul’s.
o There was general agreement to start collecting Sunday school attendance again. The council thought that instituting this next September with the new school year would be a good idea. St. Paul’s would need to decide how to present and report these numbers.
o MOTION: Don made a motion to change the way that attendance is captured from (sum of average + Christmas)/13 to how it is described in the ELCA instructions. This was seconded and approved by council.
Social Ministry See AppendixTechnology See AppendixWorship & Music There is a leak over the organ area. The repair for this will likely come out
of the property budget but the location is concerning for the organ. The issue has been temporarily address by shims and has occurred several times in the past 10 years. Plaster in the pipes would be a major issue. See Appendix for the full report.
Property See Appendix for the full report.Stewardship Fundraising and engagement were the focus of the most recent meeting.
See Appendix for the full report.Cemetery Everything is quiet except for issues with a few oak trees being attacked
by a specific fungus. The money to remove these may need to come out of the perpetual care fund. See Appendix for the full report.
Christian Education The education committee is considering a movie series over the summer. The committee no longer has Richard Linderman as a resource for activities, but David Miller is now onboard and considering a class in comparative religion. See Appendix for the full report.
Evangelism See Appendix for the full report.Finance There were a couple of questions for the finance committee:
Why do we have a negative balance in general payroll? - The negative balance accounts for the removal of unrestricted
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memorial and cemetery gifts. Why is the balance negative at the beginning of the year if we do
deficit funding? – We operate on a cash basis and not accrual basis. Therefore, the deficit is removed after the congregation approves the cash transfer in February.
There were a few additional notes: All building on blessings money has been transferred to the
Vanguard account. We ran at a profit in the first quarter. This was helped by an early
Easter. The committee is working on a dashboard for easy consumption
by the congregation.
See Appendix for the full report.
Staff Personnel No Report
NEW BUSINESS/CORRESPONDENCEIn regards to objective setting for this year, Don asked that committees think about what that means for their group. He also indicated that the biggest objective for council in the coming year will be leading the congregation through the pastoral transition.
OUTSTANDING BUSINESSThere were several topics covered in the outstanding business segment:
The facility use and protection of children policies:o A discussion needs to occur with Don Legried about the insurance/risk
implications of both policieso Council needs to make sure that all parties involved in the youth program are
aware of the policies Ministry Assessment Profile (MAP)
o The MAP is coming up in Mayo This is a service the Synod is making available to churches
Synod pays for more than ½ of the cost 9th graders and up can participate
Pastor Skip’s Celebrationo Pastor McDowell was asked to leave the meeting. A discussion ensured
regarding his celebration. Council Meeting Schedule
o MOTION: Don moved that the regular schedule for council meetings be the second Thursday of the month. This was seconded and approved by council.
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NEXT COUNCIL MEETINGThe next council meeting will be held on May 12th at 7:15pm in the second floor meeting room.
ADJOURNMENT AND PRAYERMOTION: Don moved for the adjournment of the meeting. This was seconded and approved by council. The meeting was closed with Pastor Laura leading the Lord’s Prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick G. Freestone
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Appendix2016-04-14 Council Meeting Minutes.........................................................................................................1
Meeting Minutes.........................................................................................................................................1
CALL TO ORDER.......................................................................................................................................1
DEVOTIONS..............................................................................................................................................1
SPECIAL REPORT......................................................................................................................................1
PRESENTATION OF MINUTES...................................................................................................................2
COMMITTEE REPORTS.............................................................................................................................2
NEW BUSINESS/CORRESPONDENCE........................................................................................................4
OUTSTANDING BUSINESS........................................................................................................................4
NEXT COUNCIL MEETING.........................................................................................................................5
ADJOURNMENT AND PRAYER..................................................................................................................5
Appendix.....................................................................................................................................................6
SPECIAL REPORT ON ENGAGEMENT AND ATTENDANCE.........................................................................7
PASTORAL REPORT................................................................................................................................18
SOCIAL MINISTRY...................................................................................................................................20
TECHNOLOGY........................................................................................................................................23
WORSHIP & MUSIC................................................................................................................................24
PROPERTY..............................................................................................................................................27
STEWARDHIP.........................................................................................................................................29
CEMETARY.............................................................................................................................................31
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.........................................................................................................................32
EVANGELISM.........................................................................................................................................34
FINANCE................................................................................................................................................35
INVESTMENT REPORT............................................................................................................................37
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SPECIAL REPORT ON ENGAGEMENT AND ATTENDANCE
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PASTORAL REPORTPastoral Report – April 14, 2016
Pr. Harry W. McDowell, II
March 2016
Meetings, classes, sessions, special events: 6
Visits: 4
Hospital: 1
Baptism: Jack Vettori on 3/13
Attendance: Average Sunday Attendance
March 2016- 207 March 2015- 158
Church Activities
3/6/16- Bibles were presented to First Graders
3/13/16- First Holy Communion Class
3/19/16- Families with Young Children breakfast with the Easter Bunny- 54 attended
4/3/16- Students received First Holy Communion at the 10:30 service
Upcoming Activities
4/17/16- Families with Young Children outing at South Ardmore Park
4/21/16- Synod Council will meet at St. Paul’s
5/15/15- Confirmation at the 10:30 service
Lent – Easter 2016
I thought Lent and Easter this year was one of the most powerful experiences ever for me. For our Lenten series we used the theme “Light in Deepest Night.” The series traced the concept of light in scripture. The first four Wednesdays featured guest preachers, as usual. Then on March 16, the choirs brought the message based on the cantata “Light in Deepest Night,” by Aaron David Miller.
I want to thank Andy Heller and all the choirs and musicians who led our Easter Worship on March 27. Again, it was so powerful! They really made Easter Morning an “Alleluia Time!”
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VBS 2016
We are gearing up for Vacation Bible School which will run June 27 through July 1. The theme this year is “Hometown Nazareth” which traces Jesus’ life as a boy growing up in his hometown.
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SOCIAL MINISTRYSocial Ministry Minutes
Thursday, April 7, 2016
DevotionLaura shared a portion of Pastor Laura’s Pastor’s Letter about Christians being Easter people in a Good Friday world.
Review of: - Souper Bowl of Caring Collection – need to check on final numbers with Carisa/Judi
- Ministry Fair 2/28o A member requested assistance with rides to doctor’s appointments, etc. from
other members: We will put out a call to the congregation to find out if anyone is interested in serving in this way on an occasional basis and find out how they would prefer to be contacted. We will then decide how to provide or store this information. We will not facilitate or serve as the “middle man” for this, however.
o Interest for community garden – yay!
o A member mentioned the Midsummer’s Nights Runs in South Ardmore Park (5:30 – 7:30pm) and passing out AFF trays: Will pass the idea on to Evangelism to see if they’d like to have a table to provide information about St. Paul’s – could certainly provide info. about AFF trays, but didn’t want to hand out the supplies if people weren’t interested or understanding our purpose there.
June 9 July 14 August 11
- “Chick March,” God’s Global Barnyard results: $715 raised (collected from Sunday School children, congregation, with help from an anonymous donor); Due to the large amount collected, we will be purchasing more than just chicks; we will decide what animals to purchase and will let the congregation know.
- Everlasting Arms deliveries for Easter: Lisa noted that this ministry is continuing positively and the members receiving deliveries and visits really appreciate them. She will write an article for the Chimes to re-introduce this, as many may not know what it is.
- AFF updates: Another ministry going well and serving our immediate community. The Friends’ Central school is regularly coming to cook twice a year and we also had a girl scout troop this year do the same, along with several dedicated families contributing meals to the freezer.
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Upcoming programs:- Baby Manna – April/May
o Collect through the week past Mother’s Day (May 15th)o Introduce and hand out small bottles on April 17th ; Lisa will speak with the
Sunday School children on Sunday and provide bottles and flyers to them, as well as hand them out after the first service to any members who would like to collect them.
o Does someone want to take the lead; Beth is printing labels and flyers and will submit Chimes article; Laura asked the pastors to announce this week at church and Carisa to include in the Tidings for Sunday mornings.
- Community Garden - ASAPo Pastor Laura has some updated informationo Triskeles: company that HolyTrinity used to get started. They have a Food for All
program (http://triskelesprograms.org/community/#foodforall) that helps community groups put together gardens, as long as a certain percentage of the produce goes to food banks or other distribution centers.
o Start-up cost for 3 raised beds was about $2,000, but that the company also puts you in touch with places that give grants for this type of project. They set up sprinklers, so they only have once a week weeding/harvesting crews that spend about an hour per week, and they’ve donated over 900 pounds of produce to the Narberth Food Pantry.
o The organization likes to install 6 beds at a time, and the cost is $5100 for the installation, and some assistance maintaining throughout the year; but we’re hoping to be able to install 3 beds this year and 3 beds next year partly to off-set the cost and also to allow us to get adjusted to maintaining the garden. We are waiting to hear from the organization about next steps and more details. We received notice from an anonymous donor who is willing to contribute whatever funds are necessary to make this happen.
- IHN Volunteerso Information Session (similar to what we did for Cooking/Serving) to highlight this
ministry?o When?o Fits with our “year of hunger” theme in combination with homelessness and could
simultaneously highlight Ardmore Food Pantry
Miscellaneous- Letter to cooks and servers
o Went out in mid-February, seems to have been well-received, working toward a bit more of a stream-lined process
o- Al Bahadily donation/fund –
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o At Denette’s last statement, we should have a balance of $2264.85, but Judi only notes us having a balance of $375, with an additional $750 of donations coming in from Advent, giving us $1,141.05; the committee noted some concern regarding the misunderstanding of how this money was attributed and the discrepancies between different record keeping; there seems to be key deposits and deductions missing from the records we received from Judi in relation to the records Denette kept during the same time period.
o Discussed a few options at last meeting: providing money to LIRS to help pay back the loan for them to get to the US (if they haven’t paid back already); provide money to Joe Betz and his church to disseminate as needed; provide money directly to family; we have decided we will take a portion of the funds that we have to purchase and send ACME giftcards and write a letter directly to Hanan in hopes of hearing back from the family since we don’t really know what might be needed. We have also decided to donate the remainder of the money to LIRS to pay the remaining balance of their travel costs to the U.S. and other needs they may have.
o Short response from Hamza, noting that ACME giftcards would be helpful, but no other information
- 2016 Goals for Council:o “Year of Hunger” – Social Ministry seeks to bring greater awareness of the
issue of hunger in our local, regional, national, and global communities. We will spend 2016 focusing on different ways members can contribute to combatting the issue of hunger:
Ardmore Food Pantry – Local focus (Feb) God’s Global Barnyard – Global focus (Mar) Baby Manna – Regional focus (Apr/May) Community Garden – Local focus (summer) STOP Hunger Now – National focus (September – Rally Day) Fall/Winter Service Project
Next meeting: May 2, 3, 4??? - Laura out of town on May 5, which is first Thursday in May - We will likely need to meet regarding the community garden and next steps- Please let Laura know what date is preferred
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TECHNOLOGYSt. Paul’s Technology Committee Report – March, 2016
Members: Patrick Freestone, Andrew Vickrey
Meeting: Unfortunately, no meeting occurred in March due to constraints for the two active members of the committee.
Upcoming Plans: In April and early May, the committee will work to document how to make updates to the website and train Carisa and Pastor Laura on this activity to help ensure that the website content is as current as possible.
Additional upcoming goals include:
Documenting the technology environment to help manage its ongoing operations and better identify risks and opportunities.
Centralizing church account information (e.g. cloud accounts used by the tech committee).
Revisiting the Shepherd Staff setup and identifying ways we can minimize the risk of how we're handling the data in those tools.
Figuring out the process for managing St. Paul's PayPal account.
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WORSHIP & MUSIC
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PROPERTYProperty Committee Minutes
JAN/FEB/MAR 2016
No formal meeting was held. It was a relatively quiet time for property.
WORK COMPLETED/UPDATE ON PROJECTS
Brinkman: Brinkman Roofing completed annual maintenance of roof. They focused on the roof area located above the left hand side of the sanctuary approximately 6 pews back from the front of seating area. They replaced tiles there, a few above the entrance area and caulked along the windows outside of the third floor door at parapet. They did not find any other active area of water damage. The gutters were also cleaned out at the church.
Paper/Cleaning Supplies- Paper and cleaning supplies were purchased at BJ’s and should last until Aug/September of 2016.
Aqua PA- Back flow testing of water valves was completed at year-end 2015.
Klenzoid- Soft water system was installed at year-end 2015. Water from the steam boiler was tested in January and showed some improvement. Rust is still present in the water and will continue to be present as the pipes in the sanctuary are old and internally rusting along with the rusting pipes in the steam boiler. The steam traps will be cleaned this summer when the boiler system is shut down for the season.
Large Farmhouse_ Conley Plumbing replaced two P-traps and the faucet in the kitchen of the house. They were rusted out and beginning to leak. The large tree near the driveway of the house should be removed. The crouch of the tree is split and Glen Riggs indicated that he would remove it.
Landscaping- The beds at the church property were edged and mulched prior to Easter. The bulbs of daffodils and hyacinths were in full bloom for Easter.
NEW/ONGOING PROJECTS
WIndow Well Covers- Dave purchased materials to make window well covers for along the back of the church. The covers will help redirect any overflow of water off the rooftop during severe storms.
Parsonage- Quotes for the master bath demo and redo need to be obtained.
Large Farmhouse- Front porch project needs to be completed. Committee will determine when to take on the project.
Barb Henderson
Property Committee
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April 11, 2016
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STEWARDHIP
Minutes of April 13, 2016 Stewardship Committee Meeting
Attendees: Pastor McDowell, Jason Sack, Don Parman, David Wilson, Carol Hammarberg & Bill Henderson, Co-Chairs
Pastor McDowell opened with Prayer and Carol welcomed everyone to the meeting.
First off, we went around the room for a round table discussion on Stewardship Ideas for 2016+. They were:
1. Stewardship should be interrelated with Evangelism in many ways. Example: following up with new members one year after joining to take their pulse on activities in the church.
2. Let’s not “Lead with money” for Stewardship this year
3. Not enough people are engage in activities at St. Paul’s
4. Are we in good enough financial situation this year that we can avoid discussions around money
5. What is important to our membership?
6. Stewardship should be a year round effort
7. Begin monthly temple talks from members (all demographics) about their engagement in the church
8. Engage members, allow their stories to be told, explain our mission and the money should flow
9. Reach out to those not currently engaged in activities but are regular attendees. Cross reference envelope list with scheduler list
The financial DASHBOARD was circulated and it was recommended that this be given to the congregation quarterly via the Chimes and Bulletin.
We will be holding cottage meetings at members’ houses. Purpose of these meetings will be purely social in nature with no agenda except perhaps a short Bible lesson.
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Follow up needs to occur with new members and the volunteer forms they filled out.
Discussion will continue about how to approach our fall stewardship campaign for 2017.
Bill & Carol
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CEMETARYAll is as usual, we have had a few funerals this month. Our main concern right now is some trees that will need to be taken down. They are large and old and will be costly, so we’re discussing what is to be done. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks,Louise
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CHRISTIAN EDUCATIONChristian Education Committee
Meeting date: April 6, 2016
In attendance: Joy Baxter, Kevin Clouse, David Miller, Claudia Muller, Hazel Pelletreau, and Pastor Laura Tancredi
We started off planning for celebrating Pam McDowell. (The rest of this section is omitted for the council report, as Pastor Skip will be reading it. If council members wish to read the details, send me an e-mail and I will forward the full minutes to you.)
We then discussed the upcoming “Comparative Religion” event that Religion 101 is presenting. We have decided to shoot for the fall for this event. We plan on having leaders from a Jewish congregation, a Muslim congregation, a Hindu congregation, and a Mormon congregation, come and speak on four separate nights, followed by discussion each night.
Pastor Laura discussed plans to start a movie series in the summer. We would show three movies, one each in the months of June, July, and August, followed by discussion. The list of possible movies she has generated thus far includes: Romero, Babette’s Feast, Luther, Lars and the Real Girl, and Chocolat.
We also discussed the upcoming Vacation Bible School. This year’s theme is Hometown Nazareth. It will be the week of June 27. Save the Date’s will be going out soon. We plan on having the children collect money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand this year. We plan on looking for volunteers soon, as they will have to get clearances.
We briefly discussed plans for an Adult Catechism class that will be taking place next year, in honor of the anniversary of Martin Luther.
Families with Young Children recently hosted a game night. Joy expressed that this was a really fun event, and they will definitely be repeating this event in the future. They also had their Easter Bunny event. This event attracted some members who had not been to St. Paul’s in a while, and while they were here they inquired about Sunday school. This event also brought in one non-member family from the community.
Pub Theology held their second event recently. We will hold a Temple Talk in the near future to bring more awareness to these events.
St. Paul’s Youth generated seven sign-ups for the upcoming youth service event. SPY Jr. will be hosting an ice skating event on April 24.
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We finished off the meeting discussing what our small groups have been up to. Evening Christian Fellowship is continuing their series on “Making Sense of the Cross”. We All Have Questions have been discussing what happens after the resurrection. And, the Women’s Bible Study group has been discussing worship practices, talking about why we do what we do.
We closed with the Lord’s Prayer
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EVANGELISMEvangelism Committee March Update
Below are activities that occurred in March:
Church logo/branding
The work on the log/branding activities is ongoing and the group reviewed and provided comments back to the consultants on the first round of proposed logos
The group has representation from Evangelism, Social Ministry, Worship and Music, Christian Ed, and Pastor Laura
Once the logo is finalized, it will be used on visitor mugs, among other things, that need to be re-ordered
MAP Survey:
In May, the MAP (Missional Assessment Profile) survey will be deployed. An article was posted in the April Chimes and weekly announcements will
be made to the congregation Everybody is encouraged to make this a priority
Outreach:
Holy week activities were advertised in the City Suburban News (see ads below), the Main Line Times and the Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood patches. Children’s events are advertised on Mommypoppins.com
Sandwich board, banners and inside bulletin board are all kept up-to-update
Parish Activities – Once again the congregation contributed to a great Easter reception. Thank you to Stephenie for arranging. Discussions have taken place to supplement the regular coffee provided each week with Fair Trade Coffee. We will evaluate the possibility of adding this to the regular coffee hour.
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FINANCE Finance Committee Minutes
April 12, 2016
Attending: Gail Feustel, Bill Frey, Bill Henderson, Don Parman
1. Review of March receipts and expenses
Financially St. Paul’s has had a strong first quarter with contributions above budget and prior year comparative numbers. Weekly offerings are running ahead of budget and contributions for February and March were strengthened by an early Easter and Lenten offerings significantly higher than budget. Expenses are modestly favorable to budget.
2. Treasurer update
Although he could not attend the meeting, Andy Horn circulated his Treasurer’s report for council in advance of the meeting. In his absence questions in respect of the report were deferred.
3. Mortgage update
Don Parman discussed the terms of the mortgage with representatives of the Mission Fund (the mortgagee). The original principal amount of the note was $999,000 in 2003. The principal is amortized over 20 years with an interest rate adjustment every five years. The rate was last adjusted November 1, 2015 when the rate dropped from 5.00% to 3.875% and the monthly payment amount was decreased from $5,618.00 to $5357.28. The outstanding principal is currently $461,035. Assuming continuing monthly payments the loan will be in repaid in full in September 2024.
4. Finance reports to Congregation Council – dashboard
Again Andy circulated a draft dashboard in advance of the meeting. The committee found the format attractive and suggests that a quarterly finance dashboard be developed for the congregation for publication in The Chimes. For council reporting purposes, the committee will consider which metrics are most useful to council the sense that year-to-year and year-to-date data may be more useful than five year trends.
5. Building on Blessings update
Those individuals with open pledges for the Building on Blessing campaign will be sent letters encouraging them to complete their pledges by contributing the balance either as a weekly offering or as a contribution to the Endowment Fund.
6. Contribution to Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod capital campaign
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Don described synod’s capital campaign and the incremental support to congregations and the community to be funded through the amounts raised. The committee welcomed the idea of further presentations on the campaign by synod representatives first to council and later this fall to the full congregation.
7. Any other business
Bill Henderson provided first quarter investment summaries for the endowment and perpetual care funds and the Building on Blessings balance, including the Vanguard statement overviews for each. Copies are attached.
The committee discussed the procedures and process around authorization and payment of expenses and asked that committee chairs be reminded of that chairs are to approve all expenses to be charged to their committee accounts and that those preparing and signing checks be mindful of the requirement for two signatures for checks above $7,500.
The committee also discussed instances that have been raised of discrepancies between the finance office’s record of contribution and expense related to suspense accounts and records maintained by those involved with the specific activities. It was agreed that the finance office records must be the official record, subject to verification of any correcting information that might be provided.
Don is considering convening one or more committee meetings as open meetings following a Sunday service with all interested congregants invited to attend.
8. Closing prayer
Next meeting – Tuesday, May 10 at 7:30 pm in the Finance Room.
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INVESTMENT REPORT
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