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A quorum was established with 142 voting members in attendance.
The meeting was called to order by Council President John Natterstad at 1:05pm.
John Natterstad welcomed everyone to the second portion of the 2007 annual congregational meeting. He asked each of the council members to introduce themselves.
Pastor Neal Snider led the opening devotions.
Butch Martin made a motion to approve the written minutes from Part 1 of the Annual Congregational Meeting of February 11, 2007. Dallas Crow seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Pastor Neal Snider’s Report
Pastor Snider read his written report to the congregation. (Please see attachment)
Treasurer’s Report
Roy Wenzel covered the report on behalf of Treasurer John Hulbert. The estimated contribution for the fiscal year 2007 will be approximately $690,200. You will see a budget proposal asking for approximately $853,673 for the fiscal year 2008. Estimated contributions based on a 10% giving increase over 2007 will be approximately $749,000, leaving a deficit of $104,606. John Hulbert urges the congregation to take a good hard look at the budget as presented before approving.
Q: Where are we to date on the giving?
A: Butch Martin said as of October we have a shortfall of approximately $15,000 in giving on the budget.
John Natterstad stated we still need a strong giving to sustain the budget for the remainder of 2007.
Budget
Roy Wenzel covered the 2008 budget. Contributions pledged for 2008 are at $281,875 and unpledged are $441,317. Not all members like to sign and submit pledge cards. Roy mentioned there is no interest income listed for 2008 because the congregation voted at a previous meeting to no longer include interest income on the budget sheet. The facility insurance now includes sexual harassment insurance which is required. The facility expense “other” of $20,000 will be used towards the demolition of the Wilcox house. CD interest received from Bly Wilcox’s generous gift will be added to the general fund. The $5750 budget for council contingency is a 92% increase over last year. This fund will be used to reimburse call committee expenses and pastoral moving expenses. The $5750 may not be enough to cover these expenses. Roy explained the increase in the interim youth leader salary from $12,500 to $30,000 is because this position was on the payroll in 2007 for approximately four months. The $25,875 under youth income on the front page of the budget, plus the total budgeted line amount of $24,600 listed under youth & family ministries on page three equal a total amount of $50,475. The estimated $25,875 that will be paid out for the youth summer trip is not shown on the budget. The budget will be amended to show a line item for this expense. A time for questions was provided and the following is a recap:
Q: If the youth program is required to have this perceived income listed on the budget, why are the other ministries not required to have this?
A: Men’s ministry does not have any income and the BLCW ministry has their own budget.
Q: Why has the volunteer expense for youth & ministries been decreased down to $500 from $6000? The youth program is short approximately $12,000.
A: The Youth Committee is trying to simplify their budget. Some of this volunteer expense has been absorbed into the summer camps line item which is $10,000 for 2008 vs. $2000 for 2007. The Finance Committee used the figures recommended and submitted by Ryan Brown.
Q: Why is the associated pastor’s housing allowance more then the senior pastor’s allowance?
A: The housing allowance figures are submitted by each individual pastor and are exempt from taxes. The amount that is submitted by the pastors must be spent towards housing. The pastors pay taxes on the gross wages we actually pay them.
Comment: Tom Frodsham’s (Music Director) salary for 2007 was $43,200, which is now divided into three positions according to the budget. The 2008 combined total for the music director, choir director, and the music administration assistant is $53,700.
Response: Edi Dirkes explained the staffing structure for the music and worship positions. In 2007 we had a Director of Music and Worship and an Organist with a combined salary package, including FICA and Board of Pensions benefits, of $85,137. Following the recommendation of the Music and Worship Selection Committee, council approved the two previous music positions be split into four positions with a combined salary, FICA, and board of pensions package of $85,338. This reflects a total increase of $204 for 2008.
Comment: We need to keep in mind that the interim positions are based off an annual salary. We will be hiring two pastors, which one of them may be a youth pastor. We may not be paying the interim youth leader position for the entire year.
Comment: Ryan Brown is a fantastic asset to this youth program. There are up to 60 junior high and middle high school youth that attend programs here on Wednesday nights. We need to prayerfully consider finding a place for him in our youth program.
Q: Is it possible we may save 3-6 months of housing expense with the interim pastors?
A: We may be paying more or less. The salary will be determined by who the Bishop sends us.
Comment: Interims generally get paid on a higher scale because they float around.
Q: Can we get by without an administrative assistant for music or use a volunteer for this position?
A: Yes we can eliminate this position, but will we be able to move forward? Is that furthering our ministry?
Comment: If every giving entity in our congregation gave an additional $3.00 a week, we would have a surplus at the end of the year.
Comment: We could save on copying expense if we purchased a projection machine and utilized the email system more frequently. When Pastor Walles suggested the congregation invest in a projection machine, some members donated money specifically for this purchase.
Comment: When comparing the total expense column on page four of the budget, the difference between 2007 and 2008 is a 4.1% increase. A 5% increase in expenses annually is considered normal.
Q: Why is there a $5950 increase in salary for the Traditional Coordinator/Organist position for 2008?
A: We actually did not give this position an increase. In previous years, including 2007, the $14,248 has been coming out of payroll expenses, and the difference of $5,752 has been paid out of another account. The reason why it looks like there is an increase is the total payroll amount of $20,000 is now correctly showing under payroll expense. There was also no FICA total indicated on the 2007 budget, but it is included in the 2008 budget.
Comment: The church could save money in bank transactions fees if more people would enroll in direct deposit for their offerings.
Q: What does the Synod consider a normal Synod Benevolence amount?
A: There are no normals for the Synod.
A motion was made to adopt the 2008 budget as amended. The motion was seconded. Discussion ensued. The motion failed.
Ron Sailer made a motion to refer the budget back to the Finance Committee to obtain a maximum bottom line that is equal to this years 2007 income, and then to call a special congregational meeting to approve the 2008 budget. The motion was seconded. Discussion ensued.
Comment: We are not able to achieve a bottom line for 2007 because we don’t know what the total amount of income for 2007 will be until the end of the year.
Comment: There are many errors with the budget that need to be fixed.
A motion was made to end discussion and to call for the question. The motion was seconded. The motion was unanimously passed.
Members voted by a show of hands on the above motion to refer the budget to the Finance Committee. The motion failed with 48 votes in favor of the motion, and 57 votes opposed.
Comment: We may want to consider referring the budget back to the Finance Committee to have the errors fixed without the 2007 bottom line limitation and then bring it back to the congregation for a final vote.
Beth Hustad motioned to refer the budget back to the Finance Committee to fix the errors as discussed, and then bring it back to a special congregational meeting for approval. The motion was seconded. The motion carried.
Unfinished Business:
Transition Team Update-Rick Hart asked for members of the transition team to please stand as he thanked them. The team consisted of a dedicated and a diverse group of individuals. There were evenings that they did not always agree, but when they left the meeting they were united. One of the main questions, was “How can we continue to grow in our walk with Christ?” The team researched five different areas.
- Review of Bethlehem’s History & Outreach-We are a church that has had a long and successful history. What will our future look like here at Bethlehem? How do we continue to move forward and further the ministries?
- Review of the Congregational Constitution-We have a functioning well organized constitution.
- Review of the Congregation’s Core Values/Mission/Vision-We reviewed our mission statement, and we believe this is what we are about as a church.
- Review of Staffing needs & Resources-We have been meeting needs, but there are some areas we need to look at. We need to look at hiring a third ordained pastor in the next five years.
- Review of Property & other Physical Resources-Currently our facilities are up to date and in good condition. Our mortgage is below a million dollars. In the past seven years we have grown by 21% however, our giving has gone down. We need to challenge each and every household to engage in giving their time, talents, and tithes. Our school is bursting at the seams. Should we be looking at building a school on the Wilcox property? We need to look at possibly setting up a separate campaign fund for the school.
- The Transition Team completed and submitted to the council the first ten pages of the ELCA Congregational Profile. The remaining three pages are to be completed by the Call Committee. On behalf of the Transition Team, Rick thanked the congregation for this opportunity.
New Business:
Endowment Committee Report-Ron Sailer briefed the congregation on the works of the committee. He mentioned our church is really blessed with people’s giving. This fund was set up four years ago with zero dollars, and a committee trying to figure out how to make this work. The three areas the committee decided to give scholarships to are: Pastoral Training, Local Missions, and Global Missions. The first few years they chose one of the three missions to give the scholarship to. With the growth of the endowment fund through the generosity of donations, this is the first year we are able to give a $1400 donation to each of these missions. The funds that are received into this fund our held in growth funds and income funds. Ron thanked everyone for supporting the endowment fund.
Selection of an Auditing Committee-John Natterstad asked for volunteers with auditing and finance experience to serve on an audit committee. Volunteers can not currently be serving on the Finance Committee. Katie Paulson, Jeff Whitehead, and Brad Schade volunteered to serve. Ernie Fosse moved to close the nominations. Patti Pote seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. A motion was made to elect Katie Paulson, Jeff Whitehead, and Brad Schade to the auditing committee. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Selection of a Nominating Committee-John Natterstad presented two names from the church council. They are Patti Pote and John Natterstad. John asked for nominations from the floor. They are: Kathy Blake, Ernie Fosse, Sarah Moore, Kylene Binder, and Angela Purdy. Roy Wenzel motioned for the nominations to be closed. The motion was seconded. The motion carried. A motion was made to elect all five names to the committee. The motion was seconded. Discussion ensued. The motion carried.
Election of a Call Committee-John Natterstad briefly went over the instructions for the call committee ballot. Voting members must be confirmed and 15 years of age or older. The ballet included 23 names of volunteers willing to serve on the committee. John Natterstad asked for nominations from the floor. They were as follows: Robb Stearns, Jacob Binder, and Josh Smith. Carolyn Snow moved to close the nominations. Dallas Crow seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. John Natterstad asked each of the nominees to come forward and introduce them.
John Natterstad made a motion for a ten minute recess while the ballots were being tallied. The motion was seconded. The motion carried.
After the meeting reconvened, John Natterstad declared the results of the election:
Betty Bjorn, Ernie Fosse, Jason Gooding, Robin Hart, Karen Hundley, Cassandra Kelsey, Aini Messmer, Pastor Paul Schoup, and Josh Smith. Ron Sailer motioned to accept the elected people to the call committee. Carolyn Snow seconded the motion. Discussion ensued.
Zoe VanEaton moved to add one or two more names to the list of elected call committee members. The motion was declared to be out of order. Zoe withdrew the motion.
After no further discussion, the motion to accept the elected people to the call committee passed unanimously.
Ron Sailer emphasized the importance of the confidentiality of the call process. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance especially for these pastors who will be interviewed. We need to keep the call committee in our prayers.
Ernie Fosse was asked to briefly explain the nominating process for pastoral candidates. There are three ways of obtaining names for the call process. The congregation can self nominate, Pastors can nominate themselves, and the Bishop’s mobility list.
Q: How do we go about self-nominating? Is there a form we complete?
A: After the call committee’s meeting with the Bishop they will receive forms from the Synod for this process.
Q: How does the Bishop chose the five pastoral names he brings to the call committee?
A: He will use information from the profile packet submitted by the transition team and the call committee team.
Comment: Once a pastor is selected by the call committee, there will be a special congregational meeting to vote on the appointment of the pastor. A two-thirds majority vote by eligible voting members attending the meeting is required to call a pastor.
Q: Where is the council currently at with regards to the interim pastors?
A: Pastor Snider is our ¾ time interim pastor, and we have voted to have the Bishop appoint an additional interim pastor full time.
Forest Paulson made a motion that the congregation contract with Pastor Neal Snider to serve Bethlehem Lutheran Church as its lead interim pastor until such time as the congregation has called a permanent lead pastor, and further authorizes the church council to pursue the contracting of an associate pastor as necessary. The motion was seconded. The following is a recap of the discussion that ensued.
Q: Is your recommendation that he moves from a ¾ time position to a full time position?
A: (Forest) Either or.
Comment: The Bishop appoints us an “Interim Pastor”. It would benefit us to wait until we know the strengths and weaknesses of both interim pastors before deciding on “associate” vs. “lead” interim pastors.
Q: What is the purpose of an interim Pastor?
A: The role of an interim pastor according to the Synod is one who serves the congregation, and sees that ministry continues and expands during the interim process.
A motion was made to end discussion and call for the question. The motion was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The motion to have Pastor Neal Snider serve as the Lead Interim Pastor as proposed was accepted by a tally of written votes. The motion carried with 80 votes in favor and 42 votes opposed.
Rick Hart announced with the deferment of the budget back to the Finance Committee there is a council item that needs action. In last Tuesday’s council meeting the council unanimously moved to hire a person for the Music and Worship Director contingent on the congregation’s approval of the budget.
Rick Hart made a motion requesting the congregation approve the hiring of a music and worship director. The motion was seconded. Ernie Fosse recommended amending the motion to have the congregation authorize the council to proceed with the hiring.
Rick Hart amended the motion as follows: he moved to have the congregation authorize the council to proceed with the hiring of a Music and Worship Director. The motion was seconded. The motion carried.
Ernie Fosse led the closing prayer from page 153 of the green hymnal book.
President John Natterstad adjourned the meeting at 4:30pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michelle Bach
Council Secretary
Attachments:
Pastor Neal Snider’s Report
Transition Team Summary Report
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