Our Savior Lutheran Church and Student Center
Minutes of the Council Meeting
11/19/07
approved and amended 12/10/07

Opening: 7:10 P.M.
In-attendance: Rosemary Affeldt, Chip Baldwin, Susan, Bloomfield, Randy Budner, Deb Cofell, Karen Geiling, Dale Penny, Matt Peterson, Ken Shewmaker, Pastor Susan Thomas, and Pastor Michael Thomas
Absent: Karen Geiling
Devotions
Review of meeting agenda

1. Audience and Communication:
   UVIP Update and Its Listening Campaign: Gisela Jones, Madeline Boughter, Bernie Du Breuil, Barbro Thuren, and vEnessa Achem
• Gisela passed out information regarding the listening campaign.
• UVIP hopes Council will endorse the listening campaign and their 1:1 listening meetings.
• The meetings allow people to weigh and consider what is on people’s hearts concerning needs in the upper valley.
• These meetings, because they probe for area needs through this intimate 1:1 context, are not merely informational and data-driven, but are relational.
• UVIP is not a charity. Rather, it’s an active organization seeking change by involving people of faith to live out the command to love one’s neighbor.
• The above point will only be accomplished through participants. Action and political involvement necessitates people—their hands and their voices.
• One of the riches of UVIP is that it also seeks to empower the people it serves—a servant-leader model.
• UVIP has submitted a grant request to the ELCA for $10K because the ELCA has highlighted goals that UVIP explicitly aims to address.
• Council
2. Approval of Minutes
   10/22/07 (unanimously approved)
3. Reports and Roundtable Briefs
1. Pastors’ Report (see attached Pastors Report for additional information)
• Laura Zimmerman, our new administrative assistant, has begun work.
• New church office hours will be in the monthly newsletter.
• Laura has written a short piece about herself to appear in the newsletter.
• Laura has made an initial concerted effort to meet individuals using the church space during the day.
• Campus Ministry: the pastors request an additional month before Council receives an initial recommendation concerning the future of campus ministry and its use of the parsonage.
• Rosemary Affeldt expressed her desire to know what will be covered during the Safe Church training. The initial training will be for Sunday school teachers, nursery assistants, and volunteers working with children.
• Discussion ensued concerning the extent of training that OSLC should require for various kinds of volunteers for events like overnights and trips.
• In light of the discussion, Council also highlighted the importance for volunteers and lay ministers to be aware of the church’s sexual harassment policy.
• Rosemary Affeldt will be a resource in 2008 with Safe Church and sexual harassment training.
2. Council Comments — Updates on committees
1. Dale—Thank you letters have been sent out congregational members following Consecration Sunday.
2. Ken—Evangelism
• Evangelism Committee has sent letters to new members and new attendees.
• A question from Evangelism Committee: What is the best way to find out who is new to the congregation? Perhaps the new secretary could re-establish a system for her to receive contact information of new attendees. Currently, there is the guest book, and greeters do pass out guest cards, but these systems would benefit from consistent oversight.
• The committee would like an attractive postcard system – Karen Coombs to design? – to send to new attendees, thanking them for worshiping with us.
• Marquee—Art and Design is thinking about possible designs.
• Evangelism would like to promote a “Bring a Friend to Church Program.” Liese has made a poster for this.
3. Chip—via Karen, defibrillator, $3000-5000 and must be certified yearly. An E.D. Physician has said he would maintain it. However, more affordable models may be found through the fire dept. or, perhaps, through the NH Dept. of Safety: $709—includes defibrillator, pads, and battery. OSLC would not train people, but it would make the device accessible to people already trained in defibrillation. Chip will continue to pursue this.
4. Chip—Property committee met on 11/4. Dan Affeldt has taken an active role on budgeting for 2008 property expenses.
• Council reviewed HR’s prior understanding that Kathy is the employee of record. Further conversation recognized that at times additional hands are necessary. It is the council’s concern that should a family member ever help with sexton-related tasks because of the nature of the task, that the person reflect his/her hours in such a way that workman’s comp. could function properly in the event of an injury.
• Chip informed the council that the financial treasurer and he have explored the implications with the sexton, a family helper, and liability/workman’s comp. issues with the sexton and helper. For best bookkeeping practices, council may make Richard an employee so that he would be covered under workman’s comp if ever there were an accident.
• Chip will ask the financial treasurer what are the implications for a 1099 vs. a casual employee when additional help is necessary for the task.
• Executive committee will review the job description of the sexton, along with the addition of casual labor, and workman’s comp.
5. Michael—Barry Schuster is pursuing a 4th person to live in the parsonage. Schuster will attend proceedings in Haverhill in December.
6. Matt—Parsonage—lead levels were twice the allowable limit (acceptable: .015; Parsonage: .031) according to Fall Mountain Water Testing. They have installed a kitchen sink filter.
7. Susan Bloomfield—Art and Design—A&D would like to improve wooden signage, not replace it with a vinyl sign.
8. Susan Bloomfield—Worship: continuing with setting II; Moravian Love Feast in December.
9. Susan Bloomfield—Space Use task force knows OSLC is now sufficiently insured. The committee wants to clarify rental and tax implications of making the space available for non-church activities.
   
   • The task force will draw up a philosophy of use, will draw up long-term plans for the crèche if ever the daycare leaves, is looking to partner with the Parsonage task force to consider the parsonage’s future use (though not its programming), and is considering OSLC’s lack of storage space, and is seeking to fill and gaps in OSLC’s congregational records.
10. Deb Cofell—the youth will receive an award from the National Council of Burned Black Churches for its work in the South.
11. Rosemary—Social Ministry—submitted budget to Financial treasurer and asked for a 3.5% contribution from congregation.
• Community dinners cost $600. Social ministry has asked Mary Marthas to help with this amount.
• Quilting continues to be wonderful for the congregation and even as an outreach.
• Social Ministry now has a current Palestinian student to receive parking monies from past years.
4. Discussion and/or Action Items
1. Organize a Council nominating committee—Evelyn Johnson, Paul Gross, Virginia Palmer
• Open positions in 2008: Randy Budner, Karen Geiling, Rosemary Affeldt, and possibly Matt Peterson
2. Parsonage committee recommendation
• There’s a need to separate the financial implications of the space and the ministerial goals of campus and young adult ministry.
• The Church Space Use task force could research what hiring a property manager would entail.
• The Parsonage committee will be responsible for considering ministry implications.
• There is a need to offer the congregation the opportunity to explore what might happen with campus ministry in the parsonage or beyond it.
• 12/16 @ 9:15, pre-church finance and parsonage meeting—coffee and conversation.
• 1/6 @ 12:15, 2nd conversation
3. “Guidance for Pastors and Congregations of the New England Synod, ELCA, Regarding the Blessing of Unions of Same-Sex Couples”
• Council began to clarify what the implications of the document might be for OSLC, if blessing of same-sex unions could occur at OSLC. Conversation to be continued.
• Council in 2008 will make a decision on this issue. Council will engage the congregation before doing so.
5. Financials
• Financial Secretary’s Report (Defer to 12/10)
• Treasurer’s Report (Defer to 12/10)
• Budget ’08 Report (Defer to 12/10)

Adjourned: 11 P.M.
Closing: The Lord’s Prayer

Future Meeting Dates

• Third Mondays at 7 P.M., *unless noted otherwise. (12/10—new date, 12/16* (Sunday pre-church conversation), 1/6/07* (Sunday post-church conversation), 1/21/08, 1/27/08* (annual mtg))