Christ the King Lutheran Church, New Brighton, MN

Congregation Council Meeting Minutes—January 18, 2010

Members Present: Pastor Paul, Pastor Deborah, Pastor Cindy, Cindy Larson, Dave Durham, Kim Burfeind, Greg Debelak, John Foell, Len Krumm, Cyndi Lesher, Scott Paulson and Allen Pofahl.

Members Absent: Ann Bollmeier, Cheryl Olson

I. Cindy Larson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

II. Pastor Paul opened the meeting with prayer. He read a Bishop Rogness devotion titled ìClaim the Promiseî. It was based on Revelations 21:5 ìI make all things new.î

III. Introductions:

Cindy Larson introduced Pastor Cindy Bullock, Interim Pastor of Youth & Family. Pastor Cindy has been a serving as a pastor since 1986 in various capacities around the United States, most recently St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church inWest St. Paul.

IV. The Senior Friendly Congregation Report to be given by Judy Benke and Rusty Sorenson was postponed.

V. Cyndi Lesher moved to approve the minutes from the December 21, 2009 meeting. Allen Pofahl seconded. Pastor Deb stated that the request for $5,000 reported in the minutes was not correct and that the actual amount was $4,800. The motion was amended and accepted by the makers. Motion carried.

VI. Treasurer’s Report: Presented by Dave Durham

a. December total receipts: $158,806.70

b. December total expenditures: $109,691.48

VII. New Business:

a. 2010 Budget Review and Approval, see attached.

Dave Durham reviewed the 2010 Budget as prepared by the Finance Committee. He reported the following:

I. a proposed budget of $1,328,546,

II. pledges of $985,419,

III. an end of the year surplus of $236,971,

IV. pledging for 2010 is down by $112,576,

V. the surplus will be used to make up the difference (2008 carryover, Extra Mile gifts, unfilled staff positions and miscellaneous gifts)

It was noted that budget requests are up by almost $72,000. This includes new pastor interview and moving expenses; property maintenance and increased property insurance; external audit and best practice analysis; new member campaign; pastor and staff inflation raise; repairs and upgrades to sound/light video; and a strategic initiative fund.

Allen Pofahl questioned the wisdom of using the surplus to make up the deficit rather than making the cuts in the budget. If the pledges do not match the budget next year we may need to reduce the programs funded this year.

Minor changes were made in naming some of the budget items. John Foell moved to approve the 2010 budget as modified by the Council. Scott Paulson seconded. Motion carried.

b. Personnel Committee: Gap Analysis and Staffing Recommendations

Cindy Larson reviewed the Personnel Committee’s Report ìStrategic Gap Analysisî. This report is an introduction into February 15th council meeting which will go into more detail of the gap analysis and staffing recommendations . Personnel committee is bringing the plan forward for approval by the council.

c. Audit and Best Practice Analysis

Cindy Larson reported that a task force led by Cheryl Olson has discussed hiring an independent auditor to audit the church’s books. The emphasis will focus on using standard business practices. The task force will meet again in February and come back to the council with a recommendation in March or April. After approval, an audit is planned to take place in the summer.

d. Call Committee Candidate Slate Approval

Pastor Paul reported a slate of 14 candidates (Cheri Aldridge, Pam Axberg, Rick Bauer, Nancy Burton, Kristi Chace, Mark Edwards, Krista Redlinger- Grosse, Tom Harkins, Joel Hoeger, Lisa Howard, Stephanie Moreno, Melodee Rossi, Ron Salber, Sheryl Stone, and Daryl Vossler) for the call committee for the Pastor of Youth & Family. Allen Pofhal moved to accept the list and recommend the candidates be voted on at the annual meeting. Kim Burfeind second. Motion carried.

e. Foundation Trustee Reappointments

Cyndi Lesher moved to reappoint Paula Buchner and Truman Jeffers as Trustees to the Christ the King Foundation Board. John Foell seconded. Motion carried.

VIII. Pastors’ Reports

a. Pastor Paul

Stewardship

There is great news and then there is not so great news. The great news is that those who pledged in 2009 actually contributed $82,134 more than they pledged! Those generous gifts and very careful spending by our staff, teams and committees resulted in a year end balance of $236,971.

Some more great news is that people contributed $964,532 to our three year capital campaign (2007-2009). Those monies allowed us to service our mortgage debt, replace the leaking roofs and complete Phase I of our sanctuary remodeling project.

The not so great news is that pledges for 2010 are down significantly. We only received $985,419 in pledges which is $112,576 less than in 2009. A number of households have indicated that they are leaving CtK over the ELCA vote to allow gay and lesbian pastors in a committed relationship to serve as clergy. Some have indicated they will remain at CtK, but will withhold their giving. Another 45 households who pledged in 2009 have not returned a pledge for 2010, so we do not know what to expect in terms of their 2010 giving. Our three year capital campaign pledges totaled just over $700,000. While this is less than we had hoped for it should be sufficient to service the mortgage and complete phases II and III of the sanctuary remodeling plan. Some of the other capital goals will have to be deferred.

I. Staff

Cindy Bullock officially started as the Interim Pastor of Youth & Family. Amy Morphew has resigned. Anne Van Bruggen is serving as the Interim Children’s Ministry Director.

II. Leadership Retreat

Ramon Pastrano will lead the Leadership Retreat on February 13th.

III. Lenten Plans

Pastor Paul is writing a Lenten series of Chancel Dramas based on the marks of Discipleship

IV. Vacation

Pastor Paul will be on vacation from January 20th through January 27th.

b. Pastor Deb

I. Higher Ground

50 people attended Jim Lindberg’s series on Judaism. A strong lineup for this winter should keep attendance up.

II. Bible Studies

Pastor Deb is leading a group of 20 to 30 women in bible study on Tuesday morning. Greg Block is leading a men’s bible study on Monday nights.

III. Stephen Ministry

We will need to train new Stephen Minister leaders in the near future. Cost per person is approximately $3,000.

IV. Outreach

New member orientation will take place on January 30th. They will be received on February 7th.

V. Block Party

The 2010 Block Party Committee has met but is looking for a chair. Tentative plans are to have the Community of Nations Worship at 11 prior to the Block Party.

IX. Announcements and Updates:

a. Next meeting Monday February 15, 2010

b. Annual Meeting Sunday January 31, 2010

c. Leadership Retreat Saturday February 13, 2010

X. Pastor Paul closed the meeting with prayer.

XI. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Leonard Krumm for

Ann Bollmeier, Secretary

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING