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Last week the council selected the following to serve on the Call Committee to find an Associate Pastor:

• Dave & Sue Wright**
• Scot & Theresa Sorenson**
• Damon & Deb Frick**
• Terry Peterson
• Kelly Jacques
• Jason Chalupnik
• Tommy Middagh
• Deana Jeske (alternate)
• Nancy Dehmer (alternate)
• Pam Freer (alternate)

** Couples are one voting unit, alternates do not vote.

At their annual retreat on February 6, the church council discussed the motion that was presented and tabled at the 2009 Annual meeting. This discussion included the larger issue of the ELCA social statement on human sexuality and the ELCA vote concerning the ordination of gay and lesbian persons. A rough draft of a possible statement on the issue was reviewed and it was decided this statement would be discussed and reviewed over the coming year. Pastor Ted will lead this process with the aim of involving the congregation in discussion of the ELCA’s statement, vote, and that a final draft would be presented at the 2010 Congregational meeting, currently scheduled for December 5.

You may contact Pastor Ted if you would like more information on this item.

The Council has recently received a few questions concerning our decision at the December 16 meeting not to add a general forum back into the agenda at council meetings. Dirk Foster, president of the church council, provides the background and the basis for that decision:

The open forum was removed from the standard council agenda when Pastor Chris first arrived at Zion. This was done to help focus the discussion at the meetings on agenda items and to allow the council the time needed to work though the difficult decisions required at the time. In December 2009, the Executive Board raised the question as to whether it was time to re-introduce the open forum in the standard agenda. This was discussed at the December 16 meeting of the council and it was decided not to add back an open forum. Even with just concentrating on the items on the agenda, the meetings can sometimes be 2 to 3 hours long and it was felt that members did have many opportunities available to bring concerns to the council. Having those concerns identified ahead of time, helps the council manage the length and prioritize the meeting much better.

Here’s how the agenda for a council meeting is set.

• The Executive Board usually meets the first Sunday of the month to set the agenda for the council meeting which usually occurs on the third Wednesday of the month.
• Members are encouraged to contact the Pastors or an officer if they are interested in getting an item on the agenda. Prior to the first Sunday of the month is preferred, but not necessary.
• The agenda is usually emailed out to council members about a week prior to the meeting and any council member may identify an additional item for the agenda at that time.
• Finally, at the beginning of each council meeting the agenda is again reviewed and modifications are made, if necessary. A member could ask at this time to be placed on the agenda.

If you do have a concern for the council, you are encouraged to identify it as soon as possible so that we can prioritize the items on the agenda. We will make every effort to address your concern as soon as possible.

Please contact any council member if you have questions.

Dirk Foster, President

Steve Peterson, Vice President

Devonne Kent, Secretary

Roger Brenny, Treasurer

On Wednesday, January 13, the Church Council elected new officers for 2010.

Dirk Foster was elected for a second term as Council President, and newly elected officers are Steve Peterson, Devonne Hermosillo, and Roger Brenny. The Council also expressed a thank you to the outgoing officers from 2009.  The officers of the Council, along with a pastor, make up the Executive Board which meets to set the agenda for the council meetings and to discuss and resolve issues and questions that do not need to go to the full Council.

At the January meeting, the Council also reviewed and approved the timeline and process for naming a Call Committee to call a permanent Associate Pastor.  If you are interested in serving on this Call committee, please submit your name to any member of the Council.  The full Council will elect the seven members of the Call committee on Wednesday, February 17.

In other business the Council :

• reviewed and approved modifications to the fundraising guidelines for the church, approved a recommendation to take over the administration and management of the Buffalo Community Ministerial Association’s Assistance Fund for three years
• assigned Council representatives to the various committees
• approved a recommendation to conduct a special Congregational meeting for the purpose of discussing a new capital funds campaign.

The next meeting of the Council will be a 2/3 day long retreat on Saturday, February 6, when the Council will be discussing the Bridgebuilder reports and the motion that was tabled at the 2009 annual meeting.

• Deb Johnson gave a report on Love Inc. and the work to establish a branch in Buffalo to coordinate care for Buffalo, Maple Lake and Hanover. Spots for representatives of six different denominations on the board are already filled. A motion that Zion join in spirit with the Love Inc organization to form a Love, Inc. Big Woods chapter in Buffalo passed.
• Guidelines for fundraisers will be reviewed and updated.
• The motion from the Annual meeting regarding the Churchwide Assembly human sexuality vote and suggesting that Zion withdraw from the ELCA was discussed.
• The Forward In Faith IV committee updated the council on interviews of consulting firms. The tentative initial goal is to raise $1 million in the course of a three year campaign.
• The Bridgebuilder Task Force Plan of Action was tabled until the February council retreat.
• After discussion, it was decided not to add an “Open Forum” back to the council’s regular monthly agenda. Members can bring issues forward by consultation with a council member, written motion, or a request ahead of time to be put on the agenda.
• A motion that all requests for individual salary or compensation detail shall be referred to the personnel committee was passed.

Complete minutes are available on the church website at ZionBuffalo.org/council.

The Council has started the process to form the Call Committee to find our new Associate Pastor. If you are interested in serving on this committee or would like to nominate someone, please submit your name to any member of the council by February 16.

The Council will select the seven member committee on February 17.

• The treasurer’s reported that offerings were a bit better in October and are up year to date. Accounting adjustments through out the year to bring selected line items into the right accounts make line-by-line comparability of 2009 vs 2008 difficult.
• In Pastor Judy’s final report as Zion interim she shared observations and insights gained in her months with us. She urged us to continue the work of forming caring ministries/teams, and to really market Marysville, noting it is a very unique property and worship experience. She hopes to see Zion members on a trip to Nigeria in 2011 to support our brothers and sisters at the Shelleng congregation. She also suggested that Zion is really in the wrong Synod Conference and should be in the same conference as Delano and Rockford
• The Audio/Visual equipment committee has spent $17,000 of the $27,000 Gladys Gilbert bequest on projectors installed in Trinity Hall.
• Planning for ELCA Assembly Action congregation conversation was tabled until January or February.

Complete minutes are available on the church website at www.ZionBuffalo.org/council.

At the annual congregational meeting on Sunday, November 22:

• Changes to to the constitution that were originally discussed in May 2009 were ratified
• Changes to the bylaws were approved with one amendment
• Roger Brenny, Devonne Kent, Sue Lyrek and Tracy Gurneau were elected to the church council
• Lynn Pfeifer was elected to the Nominating Committee
• Karen Mattson, Mary Mahlberg, and Jason Chalupnik (write-in) were elected as MAS Voting Members
• Delaney Freer was elected as MAS Youth Voting Member
• Sandy Kath-Brenny and Duane Olson were elected as Foundation Trustees
• One motion from a member was tabled until the council can facilitate further discussion

The Annual Congregational Meeting of Zion Lutheran Church will be held this Sunday, November 22, following the 10:30 service (at approximately 11:30 am).

The meeting will be held in Trinity Hall. Care for children preschool and younger will be available in the nursery. School-aged children will go to the Grapple room while parents attend the meeting.

Candidates for elected positions are Read the rest of this entry »

• A letter was read from a member who has decided to no longer financially support Zion’s general fund as long as Zion financially supports the Minneapolis Area Synod.
• A letter was read from a member who expressed dismay over the deficit in Zion’s Building Fund and sent a generous donation to be applied to that account.
• The call committee introduced Pastor Ted Vanderpan to the council. Pastor Ted shared his thoughts on answering a call to Zion and answered a number of council questions.
• The AV subcommittee will likely have a deal approved and installation of projectors in Trinity Hall started by the next council meeting. This project is funded by the Gladys Gilbert Estate Memorial.
• The Property Committee reported that the final cost of the parking lot project will not be completed until the City of Buffalo completes its projects in the Spring of 2010.
• The Bylaws Revision committee presented a number of updates to the current bylaws to bring them into line with the recently updated and congregationally approved constitution. Council members recommended additional changes to the descriptions of the Global Missions and Stewardship standing committees and the process for removing an officer.

Complete minutes are available on the church website at www.ZionBuffalo.org/council.

The Annual Congregational Meeting of Zion Lutheran Church will be held on Sunday, November 22, 2009 following the 10:30 service (at approximately 11:30 am). All voting members are requested to attend. A voting member is defined as confirmed, communing, & contributing.

The nominating committee is accepting nominations for the following positions:

• 4 Church Council Members to serve for 3 years.
• 3 Nominating Committee Members. Two will serve for 2 years, and 1 to serve for 1 year.
• 2 Zion Foundation Trustees to serve for 3 years.
• 5 Minneapolis Area Synod Voting Members, including 1 youth member and at least 3 males to serve for 2 years. The 2010 synod assembly is on April 25 in Prior Lake.

Those interested in serving the congregation in one of these positions, please contact the church office (Office @ZionBuffalo.org or 682.1245) or a member of the nominating committee (Sue Foster, Kelly Schmidt, Martha Driscoll-Nelson, Michelle Swenson, or Teresa Sorenson) by November 2.

Pastor Chris Hagen

Everyone is welcome for coffee, cake and fellowship following the 8:30 AM and 10:30 services on Sunday, October 25 in honor of Pastor Chris.

October 25 will be Pastor Chris’ last Sunday here at Zion. Please join the Council, staff and everyone in the congregation in thanking Pastor Chris for the outstanding work he has done for Zion during this time of transition. We wish Pastor Chris good luck and continued success in his next calling.

Over the summer, four task forces met to address the areas of focus identified by the Bridgebuilder report (mission and vision / building on strengths / change management skills / leadership, development, structure and communication).

All interested members are invited to attend the meeting council meeting on October 21 in Fellowship Hall and hear from the task forces. They will report on their findings and lay a foundation for the longer-range process that will begin in the fall with the next senior pastor. The task forces will make their reports to council about 8:00 pm.