Tag: Council

The FELC Church Council met on July 18 on Zoom. Here are some highlights from the meeting:

1. Approved spending $9,000 to replace the A/C in the fellowship hall. This is half the cost of the replacement; the child development center will pay for the other half.
2. Approved spending up to $6,000 from the Metzger endowment to purchase new paraments and vestments for Advent and Lent, from the same company that made our other new paraments, Jeff Wunrow Designs.
3. Approved spending up to $2,700 from the memorial fund to purchase up to 16 framed saint icons to display in the Chapel of the Saints, featuring diverse saints from ancient to contemporary.
4. Adopted a Statement of Welcome for FELC, developed by our LGBTQ+ Ministries Team, that is inclusive of all people as part of our ongoing status as a Reconciling in Christ congregation through Reconciling Works.
5. Approved spending $2,750 to have a guest preacher once a month through 2022, including the expenses to bring back former vicars Kelsey Kresse and Alex LaChapelle.

The FELC Church Council is meeting on a retreat Saturday, June 18, gathering at Ascension Lutheran Church from 9 AM to 1 PM. The goal of the retreat is to develop a “theory of change” for FELC. A theory of change is a way that nonprofit organizations think about the impact they hope to have, and what actions and strategies will achieve the stated impact. The council will share the results of their work and how it will guide the ministry of the congregation after the retreat.

The FELC congregation council met for its monthly meeting on May 16. Here are some highlights from the meeting:

1. The council continued the discussion on living our strategic plan for outreach. Opportunities will be available soon for volunteers to help with immigrants and refugees in partnership with Casa Marianella.

2. Pastor Coffey’s report included: (1) Update on Sunday worship participation data, with our average total participation (in person and online) at 90. (2) Update on the progress of the capital campaign team’s work to develop a proposal. (3) Update on the formation of an LGBTQ+ ministry team and the focus on writing a statement of welcome.

3. The council discussed the transition plan to a new treasurer as Erin McCracken prepares to step down this summer.

The church council met on Zoom this month. Here are a few key highlights:

• We discovered that some donations made in December of 2021 had not transferred over to the 2021 financial statement. This resulted in an additional $2,050 in surplus for 2021. Our budget is structured so that all surplus goes toward benevolence and toward rebuilding our savings. The council approved distributing the $2,050 using the same formula as our benevolence: 50% for Synod/ELCA, 25% split between Micah 6 and Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, and 25% for rebuilding savings. These funds will be distributed this month and are in addition to any benevolence given based on 2022 income.
• The council appointed Andy Maclaren as our 2nd synod assembly voting member.
• Allen Jensen was re-elected council president.
• Nancy Neuse was elected vice-president.
• Andrew Koepp was elected secretary.
• Gwen Flory was previously elected as financial secretary for 2022.
• Erin McCracken was elected as interim treasurer until a new treasurer can be found. Erin has served us faithfully and will take a break from this form of service. We are grateful for Erin’s excellent work as treasurer.
• Pastor Coffey shared worship participation data for January: average live participation (in-person and livestream): 61. average total participation (in-person and livestream 3 day unique viewers): 86