Leadership Council Minutes

7/24/23

Members Present: Rick Allison, Anne Atzinger, Valerie Blessing, Phil Brewer, Jeff Buck, Kathy Heistand, Audrey Miller, John Thompson, Mike Womack, and Jeff Wright

1. The opening prayer was given by Mike Womack.

2. Pastor’s Report – Included in status report.

3. A Status Report on the three initiatives identified during consultation was shared. Update on the 90-day progress: Communication – Clara Sjoquist shared a printed summary. The email and newsletter metrics were noted. The Stewardship campaign prototype was shared. The theme is planting seeds.

IT – Cindy Rinehuts recruited an IT consultant. The new internet infrastructure is being installed. A gift of $10,000 has been given to support the improvements. The next goal is obtaining the necessary software. Sound issues have been noted in the courts. Over $10,000 has been donated to address this issue. New sound equipment in the courts should be installed by the end of August. The new sound equipment for the courts could be moved to a sanctuary later. New software should be acquired by October. If not available then, we will delay until January 2024. Staff and Laity job descriptions – staff job descriptions are at the point of being implemented. They should be in place by end of year (Goal is Oct 15). Laity job descriptions will be started soon. We need to think about the new class of LC members for 2024. We will start the process of considering what we want to do about having a sanctuary.

4. Preparing for our first GMC Corporation Mtg./Charge Conference – We must have a charge conference before Dec 1, 2023, because our bylaw became effective on Dec. 1, 2022. Since GMC has not defined what the charge conference should be, we can decide what is included. Jeff suggested having the charge conference on a Sunday after the service.

5. Sewer system status report – there is a meeting Thursday morning with Joy Bosse to review sewer information and assess grade. Next question is Greenwood connection fee. Mark English asked about purchasing the pumps from the church. The extension to raise a manhole by 2 – 3 feet is intended to raise it to just above ground level. Bricks are being laid for repairs to the damaged west wall of the church. Two bricks used only to hold down covering on the brick stacks were built into the wall and should be removed.

6. Potential of sharing property with an ethnic minority congregation desiring to become a GMC congregation. A portion of this group is currently using a UMC facility but will not be able to continue there if they become GMC. The associate pastor asked Pastor Jeff approximately a week ago about using our church space. Jeff is gathering information. We will need to determine what spaces they would need. Jeff is anticipating that they may have a congregation of 150 persons. The discussed usage time for the group would likely be Sunday afternoons.

7. Trafalgar status update – Trafalgar is fully functional with respect to bulletins, custodial responsibilities, and making slides. Mark Weatherman will be the finance chair.

8. Financial Report – Jeff and Mark will meet to share information with the plan that Trafalgar will handle their own finances starting in January. Jeff shared the financial reports. Beth has filed the grant report with the state reporting the use of all funds received from the grant. The cell tower lease is guaranteed through 2026. A letter from Crown Castle was shared. The pros and cons of selling vs keeping the tower lease were discussed. The lease should be read, and this topic should be discussed next month.

9. Staff parish note – Jeff Buck is healthy!

10. Jeff Wright noted that more counters or persons willing to take money to the bank are needed. It was noted that personal requests seem to be required to get persons to take on volunteer tasks at the church. John shared that the plan is that all laity rolls should have a representative on the LC.

11. Closing Prayer was given by John Thompson. The meeting closed at 8:50 PM.