CHURCH COUNCIL -- November 8, 2007

We Celebrate Our Past

• Approved minutes, as written, of our 10/11/2007 meeting. M/S/P (Paske/Lueck).
• Financial report: Approved October 2007 report subsequent to modifications. M/S/P (Wallin/Paske).

Old Business

• Name tags: Colleen Both has been in contact with a company in Hackensack, MN and shared this information with Council. Tags will be ordered per request from individual Congregational members. We received considerable requests from members at cottage meetings to utilize name tags. In response, M/S/P (Wallin/Backlund) the Council voted in support of name tag usage. The Council will seek funding from various congregational sources.
• Call committee: The committee had its organizational meeting and elected Matt Karlgaard as Chair, Cathy Taylor as Secretary and Colleen Both as Communicator.
• Strategic Planning: Children's Ministry and the Wednesday Evening Task Force continue to work on goals.

New Business

• Office coverage: Addressing coverage of office staffing in the absence of Laurie Winters, Pastor Joan presented a work schedule for the coming week. A sincere thank you to Peggy Carlson for her many hours of coverage to this point, with assistance next week from Annette Frank and Tammy Hedlund. Several members have volunteered to assist in the office during Laurie's absence. Volunteers will be scheduled as necessary.
• 2008 Budget: Council budget requests must be in by next Council meeting (12/13/07).

We Present Our Offering

   Senior Pastor's report

• Staff
  • Temporary Pastoral Assistant - Pastor Joan introduced Rachel Flogstad-Heise, who has begun her duties at LCC.
  • Illnesses/injuries (Laurie/Clint) - Discussion regarding coverage of duties.
• Children's Ministry - Question from Janet Mayer regarding appropriate minimum age to serve as Communion Assistant. Decision: Age 7. Janet is lining up families to assist with worship on Nov. 18th.
• Stewardship Committee - Commitment Sunday is Nov. 18th. Pledge cards will be mailed soon.
• Call Committee - Chair, Secretary and Communicator elected. (See Old Business.) Committee will meet with Pastor Scott Jacobs (Ass't. to Bishop) on Nov. 20th.
• Annual Congregational Meeting, Part 1 - Elections - Sunday, Nov. 18th, 9:30 a.m.
• Nominating committee - Kari Campion, Marvel Ring and Wes Anderson.
• Based on input from cottage meetings, an attempt was made to run two people for every position.
• Thanksgiving offering - Will go to ELCA World Hunger as agreed upon by Council.
• Vacation - November 22-29. Rachel will be on-call.

   Outreach report

• We are close to having a co-host for Interfaith Hospitality Network. LCC will next host families/individuals December 9th-16th.
• We will again reach out to families in need at Christmas time.

   Education report

• Operation Christmas Child kick-off was October 28th.
• Sunday School "service day" will be Nov. 18th. This is a service project for Bethany Good Samaritan during Sunday School. Families are asked to volunteer during one of the church services. The next Sunday School "service day" will be January 6th.
• Christmas program - Rehearsal has started. Christmas program scheduled for Dec. 9that the 10:30 service.
• Advent Festival - Scheduled for Dec. 2nd.
• Special Birthday Party for Jesus - To be held by the Children's Ministry team on Dec. 16th.
• Christmas VBS - The 2ndannual will be held on Dec. 27th.
• Teachers needed for Sunday School. No experience necessary. Must love children. Openings available February through April. All rotations are a two-week minimum. Contact Janet Mayer for more information.
• Wild West Fall Festival - 75 kids attended, was a lot of fun. The kids had a wide selection of games and activities. A special thank you to all volunteers.
• "Messy Brunch" and "Preschool Bible Presentation" were a huge success. Lots of families attended. A special thanks to Peggy Carlson.

   Youth report

• The Duluth trip was excellent. We had 22 7th-9th graders and five adults attend.
• Sr. High Youth Sunday was excellent. All participants did wonderfully and Jon Aga shared an inspiring and heartfelt message.
• Sr. High youth are meeting regularly and have a core group of very dedicated people. Pam Sandelin is leading the weekly meetings. Look for good things from this group.
• 9thgraders have chosen mentors for the completion of their Confirmation program. They will meet one-on-one with an adult to learn from the mentors and gain from their personal experiences with the Church.
• Middle School Synod gathering at Cragun's Resort is scheduled for Nov. 16th. LCC will be well represented by 22 youth.

   Congregational Life report

• WELCA: The fall gathering was a huge success!
• Storage issues: We need to evaluate how much storage is needed by various groups and then address how to accommodate their needs.
• Kitchen committee: Maureen Johnson is the new Chairperson. Thank you Maureen.
• Usher training: Discussion followed. Will need to be re-visited.
• Church directory: It has been suggested we update the directory with pictures of new members.

   Property report

• Snow plowing: Max Crider expresses concern regarding the speed bumps and fencing. It will make his job more difficult. Two solutions were discussed: 1) do not plow that access, and 2) plow the access as best possible and do clean-up with a snow blower. Solution #2 is probably best. The Property Chair will resolve with Mr. Crider.
• Organ: Mike Johnson, Johnson Organ Co., plans to work on the circuit boards for the organ this coming week.
• Fiber optics cable: CTC has placed an underground cable starting at C.R 13, going on the east side of the garage, along the north edge of the east parking lot, along the north side of the Celebration Center, and under the short paved area to connect to the existing location on the north side of the church.
• Outlets: Tom Erickson has installed two new outlets in the newly remodeled classroom downstairs.

We close, as always, with prayer, giving thanks and asking for guidance. All are welcome at Council meetings. Approved minutes and approved financial reports are available in the church office to any member upon request.

Respectfully submitted,

Denny Holmen, Secretary