Church Council
Meeting
Monday, April 15,
2013
Attendees: Charlie Yund, Fred Claus, Gail Conschafter,
Sheila Rader, Jan Garrison, Mike Fonte, Laura Mason, Chris Hipp, Ann Hipp, Liz
VonWald,
Charlie shared a prayer to officially begin the meeting
and informed the group as to the explosions at the Boston Marathon.
God sightings:
Limited injuries at the Boston Marathon.
Gail shared how the seniors at CCA just recently returned from their
mission trip to the DR. The impact was
incredible. Nate shared that Jacob and
his wife are in the hospital having their first baby.
Approval of March
minutes: Minutes for the March
meeting were approved as presented. Motion
made by Fred and seconded by Jan Garrison.
Minutes approved unanimously.
Changes to Agenda: No changes
Calendar Events: DR youth mission trip 7/10 – 7/17
VBS
July 28 – August 1 (evenings)Crop Walk October 13
Fall Festival TBD
Women’s retreat October 11 – 12 at Asbury
One Starry Night 12/6-12/7
Garage Sale for youth May 17 – 19
Finance: Chris Hipp reported from the blog:
General Fund Giving - 1st Quarter 2013 vs. 2012
2013 2012 Difference
1st Quarter Gen Fund Income $
83,499.97 $
84,326.10 $
(826.13) Easter Offering March April $ 2,441.00 $
2,679.50 $
(2,679.50)
Giving Units 209 190 Deaths 3 1 Left 1 4 Left - still giving 0 3 $20 or less 17 9
Conclusions: We are close to 2012 giving levels
despite the above changes We need to continue
carefully monitoring giving on a monthly basis It is too soon to make major corrections in planned spending, but
restraint is clearly indicated
Recommendations: Communicate this
information widely Encourage spending
restraint consistent with our priorities Emphasize Trinity Fair and Christmas Offering Begin 2014 Budgeting Process in
September
A
giving unit is constitutes anyone that gives and signs “in” for one
Sunday. They are not assigned a “number”
until they sign in for more than two Sundays.
Discussion on attendance and how numbers for the 8 AM
service is creeping up. All other
services are holding their own with a few new ones. Numbers are stable and finances are in good
shape.
CE: Liz reported that numbers have picked up
with new families.
From the
Blog:Spring is in the air and our students are getting ready for school to end. Our whole staff is hard at work at finishing out our school year strong. We are consentrating on Bible basics such as the Lord's prayer and certain key Bible Verses that we feel are fondational to a Christian life. Our teachers are giving us feed back to help us make adjustments to our education style to meet our student needs. We know we cannot meet all their needs, but if we cover basics we can at least start them down the road.
Speaking of School ending, we would
like to have a year in review of some mountian tops we reached this past year.
At our VBS we had our highest number of participates as we had over 70 students
at each event. During our Trunk or treat we had over 300 kids going through our
cars and all over our campus. We had a great Christmas play this past year with
some extra help from a Chris Bedell. We are also recaping our Easter egg hunt which
was bigger than ever. All in all God has blessed us. It seems as the whole year
was a God sighting...
God
is good.
Yours
in his serviceMark and Liz Von Wald
We are also currently working hard on VBS
Nate shared the Pastor’s Report that
was distributed. There were a handful of
people volunteering for new positions, and several wanting to continue to do
what they are currently doing. We are
looking for people to do ministries in that area. The necessary resources will be available for
you to prepare you for the group. Between
a passion and an interest, Larry and Nate will find a place for ministry that
is well suited for that person. The
surveys will be available for the next few weeks to make sure everyone has the
opportunity to complete it and turn it in.
Asking people that are new to our church may not be a bad idea. A personal invite might be just the thing
they are looking for. Liz said she is looking to perhaps rotate teachers
because there are some that cannot make the commitment of every week, but would
like to be able to work in some capacity.
Discussion on Right Now
ministries. Sheila questioned how to
project what is on the computer to the entire group. Nate stated that if the interest is there, we
will make it happen.
It would be nice to have new faces in
leadership. Discussion on those on the
attendance roster that are not attending the meetings. Charlie will look into the list. Gail will e mail it to him so he can follow
up with the names.
Liz shared that there will be two
Sunday school classes during the summer; one for the 9:00 service and another
for the 10:30 service. More teachers
will be needed.
Charlie said that the Hand of the Plow
group met on Saturday, and there were a few less in attendance than last
time. There were about 70 people with
the topic being worship – how do you worship and what are the aspects of
worship. What is our mindset?
There was a question on the “Post Christian
Cities.” Nate reported that this refers
to cities where there is the least amount of Christianity. There are very few people that claim
Christianity as their faith. The reasons
are too many to even begin to discuss. Buffalo
has a large atheist think tank near the UB campus. (Center for Inquiry)
“What do we need to do?” How do we present the message to make an
impact? Perhaps making it
multi-sensory!!!
Unfinished
Business:
Some of the things that have been brought up at our
meetings have been addressed. Ushers and
Hospitality are moving in a positive direction.
Once people are coming in, we want to make sure we are welcoming and
friendly church. Charlie suggested that we contact those that
we have not seen.
Next meeting May 20, 2013 at 7 PM
Nate asked for prayer for his brother and sister in law.Respectfully submitted,
Gail Conschafter
