May Mustard Seed - Council Notes

Council Notes April 3, 2019
Council was called to order by President Debbie Hollenbach at 8:15 p.m. and commenced with prayer led by Gary Apgar. Devotions and Mission Statement were read.

New Business:

• Stewardship e-giving. Jack relayed the information he had collected to date.
• Council will be providing breakfast for Easter morning. The congregation is providing food for the Palm Sunday luncheon and Maundy Thursday dinner.

Secretary’s Report: The minutes of the March council meeting were approved as submitted to the council via email.
Treasurer’s Report:
The March report had not yet been completed.
Pastor’s Report:

• Pastoral acts for March included a baptism, first communion, and three funerals. Madolyn Marvel’s funeral will be at 11 AM on Saturday, April 13.
• Vacation days are April 24-28 and May 19. At synod May 3-4.
• The transition team’s first event was held March 31. Feedback was provided.

Ministry Team Reports:
Christian Education: Missy is working on a Kid Event for April 14.
Communications:

• There is a new banner to advertise for the Holy Week services (see Worship & Music).
• Lauren has been advertising Holy Week services on Facebook.
• Lauren will also publish Pastor’s Mustard Seed articles on Facebook and the church website.

Finance: Theteammettoreviewtheelectricratesand information about the solar panels. We have switched back to PECO for our energy purchases as of March 25.
Fundraising: Remember GIANT gift cards! The Spring Fling team met and has started planning. Sharon has contacted previous vendors, and we have seven so far. Anne and Beth are working on the menu of sale items. Lauren has started advertising through Facebook, and signs are available for hanging on community boards.
Hospitality: The anniversary luncheon will be held on Palm Sunday (April 14) with the congregation providing the food. This is also when the collection will be out for funds for the furnace (with matching funds up to $500.) Funds collected will go into undesignated funds.
Property/Building Usage: Adam has proposed to council to remove some bushes from the property. Dale will have Adam speak to Marty so that she can incorporate this into her overall gardening plan for the property. The stump from the magnolia tree will be ground out at no charge.
Social Ministry:

• In March and April, we are encouraging people to shop at Laurel’s Loft to help support victims of domestic abuse.
• We also have a prayer jar in the foyer for people to put in prayer requests and pray for each other.
• There has been a change for the month of May – we will now be putting a flower pot out for monetary donations for the church’s landscaping, with a tithe back for seeds (still looking into organization).

Stewardship: See new business on e-giving.
Transition: The first event was held March 31 during the service at 9:30 AM, in the sanctuary, with breakfast. Information was collected on the like and dislikes of the various pastors throughout our history. The team will meet again after Easter and surveys will be going to the congregation.
Worship & Music:

• The team met and planned Holy Week services. A reusable vinyl banner was purchased with donated funds ($100 anonymous and $70 from Sharon Hood) to advertise the services. This was approved during a short meeting of council on March 24.
• Passing of the Peace: As this is getting very time- consuming, we’re looking for ways to improve – Worship and Music will discuss, possibly changing the placement to right after announcements, etc. Pastor will be writing an article for the May Mustard Seed.

Old Business: Gary and Sharon will be attending Synod on May 3-4. If Sharon is unable to attend Friday, we may be looking for a back-up.
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Next Meeting: May 1 at 7pm.