The Church Council Meeting this past Tuesday was focused on the future. Short and long term projects in various ministries have been or are nearing completion and were celebrated at the meeting. But other subjects were addressed as well.
The opportunity to be a part of the many ministries of St. John’s is a gift from God. We can each use our unique talents to serve Him in a variety of ways. In the next weeks, information will be shared about the various ministries of our congregation.
We will also receive information about financial commitments to serve God through our monetary gifts. St. John’s operates very efficiently to serve the members of the congregation, maintain a large property, and support our Northern Illinois Synod and the ELCA.
This coming Christmas season, the Sunday School children will return to having a pageant to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The congregation is asked to attend the pageant being held on Sunday, December 22. That weekend, Worship will be held on Sunday only. Everyone who ordinarily worships on Saturday evenings are encouraged to come on Sunday morning and support the children as they present the story of Jesus’ birth. A Sanctuary filled with congregation members and families and friends of the children would be wonderful. All are welcome!
The Advent Cantata will be held on both Saturday, December 7 and Sunday, December 8. The choir has begun preparations for it at the weekly practices held every Wednesday night at 7 pm. While many people prefer to be invited to join, please consider speaking to any choir member and joining in this joyful and fun ministry. We are happy to share!
Christmas Worship will be held on Christmas Eve at 5:30. No service will be held on Christmas Day.
There are other decisions that were made at the Council meeting regarding the holiday season. Last year, the attendance at the first midweek Advent service was only twelve and as Advent progressed it dwindled to six. There will not be midweek Advent services this year.
Similarly, no Worship Services will be held on New Years Eve or New Years Day.
Church Council is very appreciative of the work that the Music and Worship Committee did for their assistance in gathering information and recommendations for these decisions. It is with reluctance anytime a worship service is not held. The votes on all of these were unanimous after lengthy discussions.
For the last two years, the Personnel Committee has been updating Staff Job Descriptions and creating a Staff Personnel Manual, all consistent with our newly amended Constitution. This includes Confidentiality Agreements and Technology Usage Policies. We are very appreciative of this “behind the scenes” but very important work. Council approved both the Manual and Job Descriptions. Our manual is being shared with the Northern Illinois Synod as a good starting point to assist other smaller congregations. Our Manual creation process began with a manual shared by a larger congregation. One of the ongoing tasks for this Committee is to keep these updated and relevant. Thank you for all of your work!
The next few months include preparing the Budget for the next year, new plans for the various ministries in 2025, and transitioning to new officers for the Church Council. We are looking for people willing to serve on Church Council and in the various ministries of the congregation. Ministry ideas and suggestions are always welcomed!
Dave Kromphardt
Council President