The HOP Church Council met Tues. June 11th, 2013 at 7pm.
Treasurer, Scott H. reported on our monthly financials.
Scott reported that May was not a good month financially. Our
cash flow is such that we had to borrow from some of our
designated funds to pay some of our monthly bills. After
discussing this at length, council decided that if we do not have
a better month financially in June, then we will have to hold a
congregational meeting to discuss budget cuts.
Pastor’s Report – Pastor Dan reported that starting June 19th
he will begin family visits where he meets with HOP families to
get to know each other more deeply. He plans to meet with 40
families over the summer, and will continue until he has met
with everyone.
Pastor said there is a group working on mission renewal at
HOP and they are reading “Unbinding the Gospel.” He would
like others in the congregation to read this book also.
He has been elected “Dean” of the East Central Conference of
the St Paul Synod. He begins his duties in June and will be
organizing 5 events for clergy in conference over the next year.
He has been asked by the Bishop to represent the St Paul
Synod at the ELCA National Assembly in Pittsburg on August
12-17, and he plans to attend.
Pastor continues to reflect on our financial situation, it is still
tenuous but only because our regular offering is lagging and
we have not met our challenge factor…this puts us behind in
our budget.
Ministry Reports:
*HOP Preschool – They are preparing for the upcoming
Garage sale and working on Fall enrollment.
*Christian Ed – This group is in the process of reorganizing
and redefining itself. There is ongoing discussion on how to
revitalize this mission group.
Pastor said there are 21 children in VBS and this program
is going great! A BIG thank you to the aprox. 20 planners,
teachers, and helpers of the VBS program! Thank you to all
who donated items or $$ too!
*HOP Community Festival (formerly known as the buffalo
roast) – Pastor mentioned that he is hearing wonderful things
about this event and its organizers!
*Outreach – no report
*Property – Dave B. submitted a written report and Pastor
went over the details to ensure council understood the bids
from the roofing company that Dave got.
The leak in Pastor’s office turned out to be mainly from a hole
in the rubber membrane in the roof right over his desk. It has
been caulked and hopefully no more leaks there!
*Service Ministry – Projects: Blankets plus over the next
2weeks, next school tools
*Stewardship – upcoming meeting to discuss financial
campaigns
*Women of Hope – no report
*Worship & Music – they are pondering 3 requests; 1- that
they host a thank you gathering for all involved in HOP music
programs, 2- that they encourage music groups at HOP to
perform at a local nursing home this summer, 3- that they think
about sound and video needs for worship and recommend
ideas to stewardship and property committees.
*Youth – no report
Unfinished business:
Follow up on “Ministry Board” – The 2 new committees that
are being formed are the Intern Committee (Pam H. as
Chair) and Capital Campaign committee.
Pastor will be talking with potential committee members to
secure each committee is in place to begin its work very soon.
He may enlist some council members to assist with this
process.
New business:
Summer Brunch schedule – Pastor Dan has talked with the
Intern Committee chair and this group will be coordinating the
July 21 Pot luck. This will be the first Sunday that our new
intern Bitta, is here. There will be a sign up at the welcome
center. Thank you to Bev B. for creating a Pot luck check
off list which will be available in the kitchen, this is so the
coordinating group can check off what needs to be done from
start to finish during the Pot luck to ensure a smooth process.
Vice President Appointment and approval – Council
approved a motion to appoint Audrey O. as Vice President on
the Executive board. Audrey volunteered for this position
when she heard there was a vacancy. Thank you Audrey!
Interests in an evening service – the Worship & Music
ministries are putting together a worship survey for all
members to fill out and return. (8-10 members have requested
an evening worship service)
Preschool changes – The preschool financial situation is
tenuous also. It was unable to pay Jody her final check of the
school year due no funds. There are 9 students signed up for
this fall. We need 12 to pay for Jody and an aide, or 20 to pay
for Jody and April. With the public schools offering free
preschool, it is becoming more difficult to get enough students
enrolled in our program to keep it running. We do not want to
see this program go away! The preschool ministry group will
try to expand its advertising. (Oakdale Parade, link on the
HOP website for registration, put it on Bank in NSP, It was
suggested to try a mailing to advertise, to check with other
preschools in our area that don’t have a preschool program, to
encourage HOP members to let the community know about
our Preschool program by word of mouth, and to make a short
video and put on the HOP website. Council would like Jody to
speak to the congregation about the preschool situation.
Additional items:
Follow up on Corey and Caroline sending services – Caroline’s
will be June 30th, there will be cake following the service and a
presentation of thank yous and gifts. Corey’s will be July 14th,there will also be cake following the service and a presentation of thank yous and gifts. Council would like to thank both of them for their amazing service and contributions during their time at HOP! We will miss you both!
Pastor Dan led the council in closing devotions that included
scripture from Acts Chapter 9. He also shared with council
some excerpts from “Reclaiming the E word” (Evangelism). He
continues to ask us to ponder “what is God calling us to do?”
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm with a closing devotion
from Pastor Dan.