COUNCIL MINUTES -- JANUARY 8, 2009

• Healthy Start goals – meeting at 3:00 on January 25 (or right after Annual Meeting)
• Strategic Planning goals – continuing to progress smoothly for the future planning of our church family
  
• 2009 Budget proposal – Colleen Both presented the current budget to the Council. After considerable discussion and explanation, it was decided to present this budget to the congregation at the upcoming Annual Meeting on January 25. (M/S/P –Holmen/Smith)
  

• Plowing of road between Crossroads and Smiley – We know LCC is responsible for plowing it, but it hasn’t been done and Crossroads Assoc. has been paying their plowing service to do it. Tom Larson will check with John Wallin for more information.
• Shrove Tuesday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m. – Council will cook and serve pancake supper.
• Installation of Council will be January 18, at both services.
  

• Congregational Wish List for memorials.
  
• It has been suggested that we produce an on-going “wish list” with which to respond to memorial money inquiries. Most families would like memorial money from the death of a loved one to go to something specific and needed. Request that each Council person/committee chair come up with one-three such things for next Council meeting. Will also be asking staff to do the same.
  
• Congregational communications/publicity. 
• Request from Staff and Lifelong Learning Committee: cork strips in hallways for hanging informational signs and posters of congregational events and projects; or display kiosk/s in narthex (and Celebration Center).
• Confirmation. 
• 9th grade “Financial Sanity” unit – stewardship project, based on Parable of the Talents. From $5 cash given to each student, roughly $350 was raised by the small groups, who each invested the $5 in a project to raise more, and each chose a mission or ministry to support with what they raised. Results and letter from one small group, attached. Another group chose projects/animals from ELCA Good Gifts booklet, to support foreign missions. Each group rose to the occasion and did wonderfully!
• Volunteer Appreciation. 
• Arlene Rice, Lay Ministry Coordinator, is planning a congregational Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Saturday, April 4. Staff will cook and serve! Reservations will be requested.
• Looking Ahead/IMPORTANT DEADLINES.
  
• Annual Reports due to Joy W. by January 7.
  
• Change April Council date (Maundy Thursday).  
  
• Larger Church.
  
• Synod Personnel Committee, of which I am a member, meeting next Tuesday, January 13, in Duluth.
• Continuing Education. 
• Canceled participation in next week’s Luther Seminary Mid-Winter Convocation, Jan. 14-16 – too soon to be away for 2-1/2 to 3 days after December vacation, and day-long trip to Duluth for Synod committee meeting Jan. 13.
• Hoping to attend a Women’s Spirituality Conference at St. Benedict’s, Feb. 19-20.
  

• Focus on Evangelism:
  
• Continuing to explore ways of setting up an evangelism committee.
  
• Will be starting a program to call upon inactive members.
  
• Will be starting lay visitation of potential new members.
  
• Exploring program(s) to equip all members for evangelism.
• Focus on New Member Classes: 
• Have four families for next new member Sunday.
  
• Next new member class will start probably start in March – classes will run for four weeks.
• Focus on Stephen Ministry: 
• Anticipate starting a Stephen Ministry program here at LCC sometime after the first of the year
• Focus on Third Worship Service: 
• View from the pew surveys will be distributed shortly.
• Focus on Education:
  
• Curriculum task force.
  
• Children’s ministry.
  
• Confirmation – looking at curriculum for confirmands
• Focus on Fun: 
• Shrove Tuesday – would like council members to join with staff in cooking, serving.

• Letter from the City of Nisswa about Nisswa Marine asking for an amendment to their CUP (Conditional Use Permit) to sell some new type of recreational equipment.
• Parking lot light is working once again in the back parking lot, one light is still out.
• It was proposed to ask Waste Management for a detail of waste.
  

• Staff reviews for 2008 are almost complete.
• Staff handbook is underway. Personnel is meeting on Tuesdays to accomplish this.

• Interfaith Hospitality is going on this week and going well. We are serving two families (4 adults, 3 children). I will be speaking about this ministry in church this Sunday, as it is the benevolence of the month. In the future, my goal is to invite families with children to participate in the volunteer positions. I am very impressed by the wonderful volunteers that are currently serving, and am looking into ways we can be acknowledging their efforts.
• Formation of Outreach/Missions Committee – will be in bulletin announcements and newsletter, most likely will meet quarterly or as need arises. Will be looking into new and/or expanded ministries, especially local needs (i.e. Lutheran Social Services…) I will be starting a “Mission Minutes” page in the newsletter filled with many ideas for how our members can help meet the needs of those around us.
• Food Shelf Update – December of ‘08 was their biggest month ever in terms of families served and pounds of food distributed. 2009 has already been record-breaking-- serving 78 families on Tuesday, January 6th alone. Upcoming church events: Souper Bowl Sunday on February 1st. March is Food Share Month (our biggest source of support for the Food Shelf)—Pastor Bruce and I have been brainstorming some ways of making this more visible and high energy to encourage involvement throughout the whole month.
• Save the Children's Knit One, Save One program – Colleen has let me know that our church sent 627 caps to Washington D.C, for Save the Children's Knit One, Save One program. Thank you to those who shared their time…what an amazing effort!
  

• The Congregational Life committee is not really a committee at all — but an attempt to pull together diverse activities and functions in our congregation to assist them and also to report on them to the church council. A list of those activities:
• Fifty Plus
• The Kitchen Committee
• WELCA
• New Member Committee
• Lenten Suppers
• Hot Dish Ministry
• Supper Club
• Red Cross Bloodmobile
• Organ Recitals
• Friendly Visitors
• Prayer Chain
• Communication Committee
• In addition to these many activities, an appreciation dinner was hosted for Rachel Flogstad-Heise in September during coffee hour. Rachel was our temporary associate pastor after Pastor Chris Meier left and until Pastor Bruce joined us. We wish her well! There are many events that take place here at LCC that fall under the heading of Congregational Life – I have surely left some out. I apologize if this is true. I have finished my three-year term on the LCC council. Thank you to all who have helped me in this role.
  

• Christmas Eve Services Attendance:
• 3:00 p.m. -- 271
• 5:00 p.m. -- 528
• 7:00 p.m. -- 114
• 10:30 p.m. -- 78
• Total -- 991
  
• Started planning the services for 50th Anniversary on May 17.
• May 10th, 10:30 service, “Oh Jonah” – an intergenerational musical.
  

  Contact us:
Lutheran Church of the Cross
On Hiway 13 just east of Hiway 371 at Sportland Corner
P.O. Box 29
Nisswa, MN 56468
Phone: 218/963-2564   Fax: 218/963-0294
Email: lcc@lccnisswa.org