Council Notes June 7, 2023
Council was called to order by President Gary Apgar. Anne Hutnyk led devotions entitled “A Million Dreams.” Minutes of the May regular council meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report: Council reviewed the May 2023 treasurer’s report. As of May 31, 2023, at 41.35% of the 2023 budget year: Receipts are at 37.63% and expenses at 40.49% for a year-to-date deficit of $14,477. Gary to ask Denise to also provide a brief written summary of the report. All members voted to approve the Treasurer’s Report.
President’s Report: A big thank you to everyone who helped make the Spring Fling such a success. I was happy to see a nice turnout for the church picnic on June 4 – it’s great to do things together as a church family. Pastor Ethan is making headway with the second church – see more details in the Pastor’s report. This is a suitable time to remind everyone that we can work at growing our church! We want Pastor Ethan here all the time! We also have a new clothing bin at the Dylan Drive entrance that will generate $600/year for Faith. Thank you, Janet!
Pastor’s Report:
Here are the highlights of Pastor’s report as he continues to provide pastoral care, provide ministry leadership, teach the Faith, participate in the Community and Wider Church, and learn for Ministry.
2. I have been invited to participate in the police department’s Worship Center Working Group to get insight into emergency planning
3. I was also invited to attend a board meeting to discuss the needs of the community and how Faith may partner with the township.
Ministry Team Reports:
Christian Education: Parents’ Night Out will resume in September with the following schedule for the rest of 2023: September 15, October 13, November 17, December 1 and 8.
- Plans for VBS are ramping up. Advertising is beginning and Janet will start taking registrations. We still have some roles that need to be filled (station leader for “All Star Sports” and Tech/media person). VBS volunteers will be meeting after church on June 25.
- Sunday School teachers (Anna, Nancy, or Gail) will have an activity planned for the children after Sunday worship services throughout the summer.
- Gail is coordinating the efforts to clean out the Sunday School supply areas prior to VBS.
Fundraising: Easter Breakfast fundraiser raised $225.
New Faith T-shirts have arrived and yielded a profit of $122.85.
Two scrap-booking weekends held in April raised $600 and $860.
Spring Fling on May 20 raised $1305.19.
Ameritex Industries have placed a clothing/shoe recycling bin in the parking lot (for which they will pay us $50/month).
A meeting is being held after church on June 11 to review the feedback from the Spring Fling and create a proposal for the church bazaar on November 10-11 (to be presented to Council in August). If approved, vendor applications will be ready to send out.
Mutual Ministry: Need to appoint 2-4 members from the congregation to be on the committee; selected by Pastor & President for 2-year term per the Constitution (C13.04.) Ernie Achilles has agreed.
Property Team: Thank you to Dale and Adam for mulching all the flower beds. We are still trying to find time and appropriate weather to fill in the pothole and insulate the ducts. May also need to look at the need for replacement of the sheds.
Shepherding: The team will be sending out Father’s Day cards. The team would like feedback from council as to whether it’s time for a “all congregation” mailing (this was referenced to drawing some members back into the fold). Council suggested that cards be sent to Friends of Faith, members who have not been attending, families that come to PNO, and those we know from Spring Fling. These cards should mention service time, Rally Day and our permanent Pastor.
Social Ministry:
Update on April’s God’s Global Barnyard - with the $610 we raised, we purchased 2 shares of a fish farm, 2 shares of a cow, 2 goats, 2 set of goat and flock of chicks, 2 piglets, 5 flocks of chicks, 4 roosters, and 1 honeybee hive.
May – Morning Star Ministries’ Maternity Home in Lansdale – Collected were 2,686 wipes, 490 diapers, 75 disposable diaper bags, 3 crib sheets, and two $25 Target gift cards.
June/July – We are partnering with the NPSD Education Foundation for the North Penn Strong Community Build-A-Bag School Supply Drive. We are collecting composition books, folders with pockets, spiral notebooks, No. 2 pencils, colored pencils, dry erase markers, and highlighters.
OLD BUSINESS Constitution Update – still in review.
Roll Clean-up.
Sponsor a table at Lansdale’s First Friday on July 7. See notes from May 21 meeting. Pastor is in the process of signing us up.
Faith Playdate: Team met to create an outline for this 2-hour event (see notes from May 21 meeting).
NEW BUSINESS All agreed that the August council meeting should be a day retreat on August 19. Pastor will look into locations for this retreat, where we will also delve into some of the long-term topics, possibly bringing in others at specific times.
November Bazaar – covered under Fundraising.
A request has been made to move the library books to be more accessible. Pastor will look for a new volunteer librarian to start this endeavor.
Next Meeting: Saturday, August 19. Place and time are TBD. Devotions led by Linda.
Council was called to order by President Gary Apgar. Anne Hutnyk led devotions entitled “A Million Dreams.” Minutes of the May regular council meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report: Council reviewed the May 2023 treasurer’s report. As of May 31, 2023, at 41.35% of the 2023 budget year: Receipts are at 37.63% and expenses at 40.49% for a year-to-date deficit of $14,477. Gary to ask Denise to also provide a brief written summary of the report. All members voted to approve the Treasurer’s Report.
President’s Report: A big thank you to everyone who helped make the Spring Fling such a success. I was happy to see a nice turnout for the church picnic on June 4 – it’s great to do things together as a church family. Pastor Ethan is making headway with the second church – see more details in the Pastor’s report. This is a suitable time to remind everyone that we can work at growing our church! We want Pastor Ethan here all the time! We also have a new clothing bin at the Dylan Drive entrance that will generate $600/year for Faith. Thank you, Janet!
Pastor’s Report:
Here are the highlights of Pastor’s report as he continues to provide pastoral care, provide ministry leadership, teach the Faith, participate in the Community and Wider Church, and learn for Ministry.
- I attended Synod Assembly with Rich and Gary on May 5-6.
- Thanks to Pastor Maggie and Rich for leading service while I was away.
- I continued to supply at St Paul’s in May and will continue through June 11.
- Rich will be leading the service on June 25.
- June 24 the second church is holding a meet and greet, then I am leading the service on the 25th. Afterwards, the congregation will vote.
- I met with Pastor Nancy Raabe from Grace Lutheran in Hatfield and hope to find ways to interact more with their congregation. Discussions continue.
- I have been in contact with Montgomery Township (discussions continue):
2. I have been invited to participate in the police department’s Worship Center Working Group to get insight into emergency planning
3. I was also invited to attend a board meeting to discuss the needs of the community and how Faith may partner with the township.
Ministry Team Reports:
Christian Education: Parents’ Night Out will resume in September with the following schedule for the rest of 2023: September 15, October 13, November 17, December 1 and 8.
- Plans for VBS are ramping up. Advertising is beginning and Janet will start taking registrations. We still have some roles that need to be filled (station leader for “All Star Sports” and Tech/media person). VBS volunteers will be meeting after church on June 25.
- Sunday School teachers (Anna, Nancy, or Gail) will have an activity planned for the children after Sunday worship services throughout the summer.
- Gail is coordinating the efforts to clean out the Sunday School supply areas prior to VBS.
- Pastor continues to post on Facebook more regularly and asks the congregation to please “share” to bring our message to the broader community. Jack mentioned that a team was needed for this function, rather than one person; conversations continuing with Pastor. VBS should be announced on the sign. A calling campaign should be organized for August to promote Rally Day and Catechism.
Fundraising: Easter Breakfast fundraiser raised $225.
New Faith T-shirts have arrived and yielded a profit of $122.85.
Two scrap-booking weekends held in April raised $600 and $860.
Spring Fling on May 20 raised $1305.19.
Ameritex Industries have placed a clothing/shoe recycling bin in the parking lot (for which they will pay us $50/month).
A meeting is being held after church on June 11 to review the feedback from the Spring Fling and create a proposal for the church bazaar on November 10-11 (to be presented to Council in August). If approved, vendor applications will be ready to send out.
- : Council suggested that we try to reschedule the Red Cross Blood Drive after the summer.
- : Coffee Hour Sponsors: June 4 - Picnic; June 11 – Congregation; June 18 – Father’s Day Breakfast (Monday Night Bible Study); June 25 – Congregation
Mutual Ministry: Need to appoint 2-4 members from the congregation to be on the committee; selected by Pastor & President for 2-year term per the Constitution (C13.04.) Ernie Achilles has agreed.
Property Team: Thank you to Dale and Adam for mulching all the flower beds. We are still trying to find time and appropriate weather to fill in the pothole and insulate the ducts. May also need to look at the need for replacement of the sheds.
Shepherding: The team will be sending out Father’s Day cards. The team would like feedback from council as to whether it’s time for a “all congregation” mailing (this was referenced to drawing some members back into the fold). Council suggested that cards be sent to Friends of Faith, members who have not been attending, families that come to PNO, and those we know from Spring Fling. These cards should mention service time, Rally Day and our permanent Pastor.
Social Ministry:
Update on April’s God’s Global Barnyard - with the $610 we raised, we purchased 2 shares of a fish farm, 2 shares of a cow, 2 goats, 2 set of goat and flock of chicks, 2 piglets, 5 flocks of chicks, 4 roosters, and 1 honeybee hive.
May – Morning Star Ministries’ Maternity Home in Lansdale – Collected were 2,686 wipes, 490 diapers, 75 disposable diaper bags, 3 crib sheets, and two $25 Target gift cards.
June/July – We are partnering with the NPSD Education Foundation for the North Penn Strong Community Build-A-Bag School Supply Drive. We are collecting composition books, folders with pockets, spiral notebooks, No. 2 pencils, colored pencils, dry erase markers, and highlighters.
OLD BUSINESS Constitution Update – still in review.
Roll Clean-up.
Sponsor a table at Lansdale’s First Friday on July 7. See notes from May 21 meeting. Pastor is in the process of signing us up.
- Deb, Anne and Ralphie, Anita, Gail, and Missy and Genevieve have agreed to host the table.
- Set-up is at 4:30, with the event from 6-9. Anne has a 10x10 pop-up tent and an 8’ table.
Faith Playdate: Team met to create an outline for this 2-hour event (see notes from May 21 meeting).
- Possible dates include Fridays, July 14, July 21 and August 18. Time would be 10-12.
- Aimed at toddlers, pre-schoolers, and early elementary, but will not strictly adhere to age limit if a family has a younger and older child. Adults must stay during the event.
- Activities include story time, craft or science projects, coloring sheets, active game/challenge, snack time, and prayer.
- Those volunteering to help are Debbie, Anna, Missy, and Genevieve.
- Recommend putting this event under Christian Ed with Gail overseeing.
- Advertise on Faith’s Facebook page, as well as other Facebook groups: NP under 10, Moms of NP, Babysitter of Lansdale, etc. Perhaps reach out to other churches in the area.
- Council voted to approve the event as it continues to be planned based on this proposal.
- Next meeting to refine details will be June 11 after church.
- The council approved that pending Pastor’s approval from the second congregation, services at Faith will continue to be at 9:30 AM beyond our normal summer schedule.
- The council approved the payment of the $75 grass-cutting bill from a non-contracted service (note that the provider contractor did not cut the grass), but this change saved us $15.
NEW BUSINESS All agreed that the August council meeting should be a day retreat on August 19. Pastor will look into locations for this retreat, where we will also delve into some of the long-term topics, possibly bringing in others at specific times.
November Bazaar – covered under Fundraising.
A request has been made to move the library books to be more accessible. Pastor will look for a new volunteer librarian to start this endeavor.
Next Meeting: Saturday, August 19. Place and time are TBD. Devotions led by Linda.
