Council Minutes May 7, 2025
Council was called to order by President Rich Hollenbach.
Minutes of the April regular council meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report: At 33% of the year, our receipts are about 37% and our expenses are at 33%. Pledged Member Giving is at 35.77% and Unpledged Member Giving is at 41.58%. Fundraising events: $1,093.72, Thrivent Choice Dollars: $303, Merck Dividends: $260. Expenses are in line with the budget. The deficit for the month is $3,901.37 and our year-to-date deficit is $8,092. Our current mortgage balance is $146,521.19. The treasurer’s report was approved as written.
President’s Report: We had a wonderful Palm Sunday/60th Anniversary worship service and luncheon. Our Holy Week services went well, and it was nice to share the services with Jerusalem and Grace. We have had two meetings with Grace leadership, one with the Bishop and Synod staff and the other between our council leadership. More in the Old Business below.
Pastor’s Report: I have led and presided at worship regularly throughout the month of April at Faith and Jerusalem. Led the Holy Week services. Had two First Communions at our Easter Worship Service. Presided at David Gansner’s Funeral. Participated in the meetings with Grace. I will be away on vacation July 7-13th.
MINISTRY TEAM REPORTS:
Christian Education:
Sunday School - Our lectionary Sunday school lessons will end on May 25 and resume on Rally Day, September 7. Sunday school will be held at the same time during worship service for the summer months starting June 8 and ending August 31, but we will be meeting down in the Fellowship Hall for teacher directed Summer Fun Fellowship.
Young Adult Fellowship (ages 12-17) - On May 18, 6 pm to 8 pm, this youth group will join with Adult Formation Group to watch a movie, “Godspell,” followed by a discussion. We will go back to our regular group meeting on June 22, 6 pm to 7:30 pm in the fellowship hall.
PNO-YF (ages 3 to 11) – Our May 9th theme will center on our own cherished mothers and mothers of the Bible. We will also celebrate Caden’s birthday with a treat provided by his mom. Our June parent night out will be held on the 20th. Both dates are Fridays, 6 pm to 9 pm.
VBS 2025 - “True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World,” is scheduled Monday through Friday, August 4 thru 8, from 9am to 12 noon. Thank you to all those who signed up as volunteers for serving our youth community in getting to know Jesus. We still need two volunteers for Imagination Station: one assistant for Wild Bible Adventures, and one assistant for Tundra treats (preparing and serving snacks). In addition, we need two to four adults to be Crew Leaders. So, if you would like to be part of this fun Christian formation event for our youth please contact Gail Achilles, [email protected] (email) or 267-664-3328 (cell).
MNBS - May 19 is our last session of our current study, “The Me I want to Be” by John Ortberg. We are learning a lot about ourselves and how to be better servants of God for others, and that building God centered, loving relationships with family, friends, and community is so important to all those in this connectedness to find true joy in good and dark times. Our MNBS will not be meeting during the summer months, but we will resume on Monday, September 8, 2025, via zoom. If anyone is interested in joining this group, please contact Gail Achilles.
Communications: Posts were made on our website for Holy Week. The front sign was updated.
Finance: A Scrapbook Fundraiser was held in the Fellowship Hall on April 24-26 and brought in $1,023. Redner receipts came in at $70.72.
Hospitality: Coffee lite all the month of May. Testing the recipes and assembling the volunteers for the Feast Incarnate at University Lutheran Church, Philadelphia on Tuesday the 27th where we will be planning meals for approximately 95 to 100 people. Long-Range Planning: Coordination with the Nourishing Vocation Project. Will be scheduling a meeting soon.
Property Management: Fellowship hall rental request for Hollenbach/Blauvelt Wedding Shower on Saturday, July 12, 2025 – Need council approval for serving alcohol. All voted in favor of approving.
Property Team: We were able to have the workday on April 5th even though it was raining. Thank you to everyone who came to help. The gutter drain system has been fixed, and grass seed was planted where holes had to be dug. All air conditioners were turned on and the sanctuary units didn't work. IT Landes is coming on Wednesday May 7th to check them and get everything up and running.
Shepherding: Beth Schoening has taken over the ministry.
Social Ministry: Social Ministry Project – April/May (Debbie Hollenbach, Sharon Hood, Nancy Gansner, Mary Lou Foster) The congregation is being asked to donate food items for the “Feast Incarnate” at University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in University City, Philadelphia. We will provide a meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, iced tea and honey cake dinner on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, for 95-115 people. The congregation will also be asked to prepare the food at home, bring it to Faith, organize it for transport, and help serve at University Lutheran.
Social Ministry Project for 2025 For January - April, God’s Global Barnyard “noisy coin collection” has received a total of $230.50. This collection is taken on the third Sunday of each month through November. Thank you to John Taylor for finding a coin collector. It turns out there was nothing of significant value. He indicated that the foreign coin was worth nothing, but he did donate $1 to our church.
Special Funds: Approval requests in April: property expense for the drain camera: $252.61; Pastor’s replacement laptop: $419.99.
Worship & Music: Substitute organist Pat Keen will continue to play through the middle of June. We will not have music on Sunday, June 1st due to Pastor Nancy Raabe’s retirement (Pat will be playing at Grace.)
OLD BUSINESS
Constitution Update: Needs a few changes based on feedback from council review before being sent to the congregation for review. Will need to wait until after the Churchwide Assembly in July to see if there are any additional changes / updates needed.
Discussion with Grace Lutheran Leadership has continued. April 11th meeting with Grace Council, Bishop Penman, Pastor Sease, Pastor Ethan, Rich, Gary, Debbie, Anne Hutnyk were present. Bishop Penman gave Grace’s leadership options since Pastor Nancy Raabe is retiring. Pastor Ethan, Rich, and Gail had a second meeting with their council leadership on April 30. Tom, Grace’s council president, informed us that they have a supply pastor for the summer months, and will hold a meeting on June 8 to inform the congregation of the options they have to move forward and see where the congregation is at and where they hope to go. We also talked about partnerships on a ministry level; we will keep having ongoing conversations. Synod Assembly, May 30 & May 31, 2025, at Trinity Lansdale. Gary and Gail are the Faith lay representatives and will attend along with Pastor Ethan. Rich will also be attending as part of the Synod Transitional Ministry Team.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm.
Council was called to order by President Rich Hollenbach.
Minutes of the April regular council meeting were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report: At 33% of the year, our receipts are about 37% and our expenses are at 33%. Pledged Member Giving is at 35.77% and Unpledged Member Giving is at 41.58%. Fundraising events: $1,093.72, Thrivent Choice Dollars: $303, Merck Dividends: $260. Expenses are in line with the budget. The deficit for the month is $3,901.37 and our year-to-date deficit is $8,092. Our current mortgage balance is $146,521.19. The treasurer’s report was approved as written.
President’s Report: We had a wonderful Palm Sunday/60th Anniversary worship service and luncheon. Our Holy Week services went well, and it was nice to share the services with Jerusalem and Grace. We have had two meetings with Grace leadership, one with the Bishop and Synod staff and the other between our council leadership. More in the Old Business below.
Pastor’s Report: I have led and presided at worship regularly throughout the month of April at Faith and Jerusalem. Led the Holy Week services. Had two First Communions at our Easter Worship Service. Presided at David Gansner’s Funeral. Participated in the meetings with Grace. I will be away on vacation July 7-13th.
MINISTRY TEAM REPORTS:
Christian Education:
Sunday School - Our lectionary Sunday school lessons will end on May 25 and resume on Rally Day, September 7. Sunday school will be held at the same time during worship service for the summer months starting June 8 and ending August 31, but we will be meeting down in the Fellowship Hall for teacher directed Summer Fun Fellowship.
Young Adult Fellowship (ages 12-17) - On May 18, 6 pm to 8 pm, this youth group will join with Adult Formation Group to watch a movie, “Godspell,” followed by a discussion. We will go back to our regular group meeting on June 22, 6 pm to 7:30 pm in the fellowship hall.
PNO-YF (ages 3 to 11) – Our May 9th theme will center on our own cherished mothers and mothers of the Bible. We will also celebrate Caden’s birthday with a treat provided by his mom. Our June parent night out will be held on the 20th. Both dates are Fridays, 6 pm to 9 pm.
VBS 2025 - “True North: Trusting Jesus in a Wild World,” is scheduled Monday through Friday, August 4 thru 8, from 9am to 12 noon. Thank you to all those who signed up as volunteers for serving our youth community in getting to know Jesus. We still need two volunteers for Imagination Station: one assistant for Wild Bible Adventures, and one assistant for Tundra treats (preparing and serving snacks). In addition, we need two to four adults to be Crew Leaders. So, if you would like to be part of this fun Christian formation event for our youth please contact Gail Achilles, [email protected] (email) or 267-664-3328 (cell).
MNBS - May 19 is our last session of our current study, “The Me I want to Be” by John Ortberg. We are learning a lot about ourselves and how to be better servants of God for others, and that building God centered, loving relationships with family, friends, and community is so important to all those in this connectedness to find true joy in good and dark times. Our MNBS will not be meeting during the summer months, but we will resume on Monday, September 8, 2025, via zoom. If anyone is interested in joining this group, please contact Gail Achilles.
Communications: Posts were made on our website for Holy Week. The front sign was updated.
Finance: A Scrapbook Fundraiser was held in the Fellowship Hall on April 24-26 and brought in $1,023. Redner receipts came in at $70.72.
Hospitality: Coffee lite all the month of May. Testing the recipes and assembling the volunteers for the Feast Incarnate at University Lutheran Church, Philadelphia on Tuesday the 27th where we will be planning meals for approximately 95 to 100 people. Long-Range Planning: Coordination with the Nourishing Vocation Project. Will be scheduling a meeting soon.
Property Management: Fellowship hall rental request for Hollenbach/Blauvelt Wedding Shower on Saturday, July 12, 2025 – Need council approval for serving alcohol. All voted in favor of approving.
Property Team: We were able to have the workday on April 5th even though it was raining. Thank you to everyone who came to help. The gutter drain system has been fixed, and grass seed was planted where holes had to be dug. All air conditioners were turned on and the sanctuary units didn't work. IT Landes is coming on Wednesday May 7th to check them and get everything up and running.
Shepherding: Beth Schoening has taken over the ministry.
Social Ministry: Social Ministry Project – April/May (Debbie Hollenbach, Sharon Hood, Nancy Gansner, Mary Lou Foster) The congregation is being asked to donate food items for the “Feast Incarnate” at University Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in University City, Philadelphia. We will provide a meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, iced tea and honey cake dinner on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, for 95-115 people. The congregation will also be asked to prepare the food at home, bring it to Faith, organize it for transport, and help serve at University Lutheran.
Social Ministry Project for 2025 For January - April, God’s Global Barnyard “noisy coin collection” has received a total of $230.50. This collection is taken on the third Sunday of each month through November. Thank you to John Taylor for finding a coin collector. It turns out there was nothing of significant value. He indicated that the foreign coin was worth nothing, but he did donate $1 to our church.
Special Funds: Approval requests in April: property expense for the drain camera: $252.61; Pastor’s replacement laptop: $419.99.
Worship & Music: Substitute organist Pat Keen will continue to play through the middle of June. We will not have music on Sunday, June 1st due to Pastor Nancy Raabe’s retirement (Pat will be playing at Grace.)
OLD BUSINESS
Constitution Update: Needs a few changes based on feedback from council review before being sent to the congregation for review. Will need to wait until after the Churchwide Assembly in July to see if there are any additional changes / updates needed.
Discussion with Grace Lutheran Leadership has continued. April 11th meeting with Grace Council, Bishop Penman, Pastor Sease, Pastor Ethan, Rich, Gary, Debbie, Anne Hutnyk were present. Bishop Penman gave Grace’s leadership options since Pastor Nancy Raabe is retiring. Pastor Ethan, Rich, and Gail had a second meeting with their council leadership on April 30. Tom, Grace’s council president, informed us that they have a supply pastor for the summer months, and will hold a meeting on June 8 to inform the congregation of the options they have to move forward and see where the congregation is at and where they hope to go. We also talked about partnerships on a ministry level; we will keep having ongoing conversations. Synod Assembly, May 30 & May 31, 2025, at Trinity Lansdale. Gary and Gail are the Faith lay representatives and will attend along with Pastor Ethan. Rich will also be attending as part of the Synod Transitional Ministry Team.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm.
