Church Council President’s Report for September
Planning for the future was the emphasis at the Church Council Meeting last Tuesday.
The Northern Illinois Synod has Grant funds available to assist congregations in their roles in their community. There is not a specific type of program a congregation must use, so creative ideas are very possible! St. John’s has taken a very active position to be more visible and helpful to our community, and this is a great opportunity to get a boost from our church body in reaching out. One idea that came from the meeting is to host a speaker that provides important information to the Illinois Valley. Others can be to expand on things we do now but have held back due to financial limits. Have an idea? Please share it with a member of the Church Council. We will be gathering ideas through the end of October.
A tremendous number of building projects have been accomplished over the last several years, many to update items in place since the church was built in the late 1950s-early 1960s. The list of known issues has dwindled greatly. A just completed inspection by our new insurance company found no issues of concern. But maintaining our beautiful building, parsonage, and adjacent paved areas and landscaping is an ongoing responsibility. This is the time of year for planning for next year and to create budgets for 2025. The Building and Grounds Committee wants to hear your thoughts on maintaining our space.
Some practices were instituted when COVID hit, some preventative, some out of economic necessity. Council is reviewing what needs to be restored starting in 2025. One economic item of necessity was caused by a sharp drop in giving, and distributions that came from the Endowment Fund were shifted to cover the church’s Mission commitments to the Northern Illinois Synod. During COVID, many local programs shrunk and their need for funding shrunk. Now that much of society has returned to previous levels of need, our congregation has a challenge to return to prior levels of support. This is a Budget challenge, and it appears the solution is a gradual shift of funding back to pre-COVID practices.
Related to this, the Endowment Fund will have about $4,000 to distribute for local needs by the end of 2024. Do you have an idea of a local need? Please share it with one of the Endowment Committee- Alice Mueller, Don Anderson, or Dave Kromphardt.
The biggest challenge to our congregation after the COVID pandemic, and most every other church of every denomination- is a return to normalcy. At the Annual in-person Meeting of the Northern Illinois Synod Council last weekend, both pastors and lay people alike from all over shared how they are trying to reengage members who haven’t returned yet to in person involvement. Everyone asked that ideas be shared Synodwide. Do you have an idea? Mine involves food and getting together in small groups. I called them “your bunch” during a sermon this summer. Have you reached out to church friends to get together away from the church building? Getting together for food is a good Lutheran tradition. Would someone you know meet you for lunch or supper? This is a long term challenge and now is a great time to start. This is about restoring Christian Community, a job for all of us.
Finally, the most unusual ministry in our congregation is serving on Church Council. This year, three Council positions plus the Treasurer role are expiring. So far, one has indicated an intent to run again for their position. That may change prior to our Annual Meeting in January, perhaps not. Is this a calling for you, something new or perhaps to serve again? Our Nominating Committee is Alice Mueller, Alissa Kays, and Don Anderson. Please consider this ministry and discuss it with them or another Council member. The ideal Council is a diverse group, both women and men from both Saturday night and Sunday morning worship groups, and perhaps members who worship exclusively online.
Peace to you all,
Dave Kromphardt
Council President
Pastor Tom asked that I include this guidance at the end of my report.
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, September 23rd to Sunday September 30th
Day Genesis Psalms Proverbs Matthew
Monday Ch. 41:57-Ch. 42 12 Ch. 14:22-Ch 15:9
Tuesday Ch. 43 & 44 13 Ch. 15:10-39
Wednesday Ch. 45-47:12 14 Ch. 16:1-20
Thursday Ch. 47:13-Ch. 48 3:1-10 Ch. 16:21-Ch. 17:13
Friday Ch. 49 & 50(end) 15 Ch. 17:24-Ch. 18:9
Saturday (Begin) Job Ch. 1-3 16 Ch. 18:10-35
Sunday Ch. 4-7 17 Ch. 19:1-15
**No summary this week