Council President’s Update

By Dirk Foster

The summer is flying by and it has been a while since I have submitted an update to the newsletter. There have been a number of activities that have happened over the last few months and I would like to catch you up on some of them.

check presentation

Photo: Mark Olson (left), chair of the Zion Foundation Board of Trustees, and Dirk Foster (right), president of the congregation, accept the $800,000 check from Scott Vergin (center) on behalf of the Merle Dobbs Estate.

In June, the Zion Foundation received an $800,000 check from the Merle Dobbs estate. Merle grew up in Buffalo as Merle Stromberg, married Len Dobbs and made her home in Edina. She kept in touch with Zion though pastoral visits, listening to the chapel line and visiting whenever she could. A recognition and celebration of her gift is being planned for this Fall.

On a related note, the Foundation is currently looking for members with experience and interesting in investing to ensure the donation is invested wisely. The Zion Foundation is a separate financial entity from Zion Lutheran Church. It receives gifts which are strategically invested by the elected trustees, who use only the earnings from these gifts to disperse grants for religious, educational and charitable purposes outside of the normal church budget.

In July, Tom Janzen accepted the position of full time Facilities and Grounds Manager at Zion. Tom has been doing an outstanding job over the last few months as acting Facilities and Grounds Manager and the hiring team has great confidence in Tom continuing his duties. Fifty-four outstanding candidates applied for the position.

Finally, the council is reviewing guidelines for how committees function. These guidelines include, among other things, recommendations that committees meet at least once per quarter, invoking term limit for members and officers so that others may serve, encouraging committees to establish short term and long term goals and requesting that committees establish committee notebooks either physically or electronically (on the Zion website). The guidelines will be reviewed again at the August council meeting.

Please join me in praying for the continuing efforts of the Call Committee and the Capital Campaign Committee. Both these committees continue to work hard though the summer months on their very important tasks. Enjoy your summer and hope to see you in church.

Call Committee Update

The call process is moving forward. The synod and the congregation have submitted a number of candidates for us to consider for our new Associate Pastor. The Call Committee is evaluating candidates and deciding those we would like to interview. They are identifying the information we want to receive during interviews and developing corresponding interview questions. They hope to begin interviews by late July or early August.

The Call Committee asks that you keep them in your prayers along with the candidates considering a call from Zion. With your prayers and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they are confident that they will be able to bring a candidate to the congregation, for approval.

Call Committee Update 6/6

Call CommitteeOn Sunday, June 6, Nancy Dehmer provided an update from the call committee:

The process for calling our associate pastor continues carefully and prayerfully. Our congregational profile and job description have been sent to the synod. They will be processing our information and compiling a list of potential candidates.

We would like to invite the congregation to participate in this process also. A form has been developed for parishioners who may know of someone they think should be considered. This form will be at the information desk and also online at the Zion website.

As a committee we continue to meet and prepare for interviewing. A poster tracking our progress can be found in the hallway outside of Trinity hall.

I believe our committee is a well rounded representation of the many people of Zion. We welcome your questions and suggestions. We ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers.

Associate Pastor Job Description

Call CommitteeThe Church Council has approved the attached job description for our new Associate Pastor. The congregation profile along with this job description has been sent to the Minneapolis Synod and the Call Committee is now ready to accept candidates for the call from the Synod and the Congregation.

Call Committee Update

Call CommitteeOn Sunday, May 23, Deana Jeske provided an update from the call committee:

The Call Committee has completed the congregational profile, job description and survey. On May 19 the church council approved the job description and the Call Committee is ready to proceed to the next step in looking for our new Associate Pastor. All of the materials will be sent to Glenndy Ose, Bishop’s Associate for Rostered Ministries in the Minneapolis Area Synod, this week.

The Call Committee is now preparing to process candidates which will be brought to them by the synod staff, through rostered persons in the synod, and by members of the congregation.

The Call Committee will continue to update the congregation, and asks the congregation for support and payer for the the continued guidance of the Holy spirit as Zion prepares to call our new associate pastor.

To submit a name of a candidate you feel should be considered for our new Associate Pastor, please complete a recommendation form at ZionBuffalo.org/Call.

Associate Pastor Recommendations Requested

Call Committee page linkMembers of Zion are invited to submit a name of a candidate you feel should be considered for our new Associate Pastor. Forms can be found at ZionBuffalo.org/Call and at the information desk at Zion. All recommendations must be received by June 26, 2010.

Please keep in mind the specific qualifications for this position:

  • Pastor of Congregational Care.
  • Ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
  • Able to communicate a comprehensive understanding of the Bible, Christian theology in general and Lutheran theology in particular.
  • Demonstrated experience as a community-wide leader.
  • 5 years experience as a pastor preferred.

ZionBuffalo.org/Call

Call Committee Update

Call Committee BusAs the June newsletter went to print today, the call committee is awaiting council approval of the job description for our new associate pastor at the council meeting tonight.  After approval, the description along with the profile and surveys will be sent to the synod.  Zion will then be receiving candidates through the synod staff, rostered persons in the Minneapolis Area Synod and the congregation.

Watch for the completed description online and in the Sunday announcements.  The Call Committee is looking forward to the next steps in the process and asks that you continue to keep the call committee and our candidates in your prayers.

ZionBuffalo.org/Call

Who are your Zion Neighbors?

Who are your Zion neighbors?Do you wonder if someone right in your own neighborhood is a member of Zion?

If you have recently moved to Buffalo or joined Zion, how can you get to know others from your neighborhood that attend Zion? If you have been here a while, do you have a new neighbor who has started attending Zion?

As a part of an ongoing process, a Bridgebuilder Implementation task force is working to implement some of the suggestions found in the reports last Fall, including making Zion more friendly and inviting by developing connections between members and blurring the boundaries of the many smaller ‘congregations’ within Zion.

Large maps of Buffalo and Wright County will be posted near Trinity Hall, where you can stop by and place a stick pin to show where you live. There will also be an option of connecting your name to your pin if you wish.

As more members add their pins to the maps, we will all get a clearer picture of our Zion neighborhood.

Sexuality Statement

A motion concerning the ELCA’s vote on Human Sexuality was brought to the 2009 Annual Congregational Meeting. Pastor Ted and other individuals have formed a task force to follow up on the motion. The task force is seeking to create a statement outlining how we as a congregation, made up of people with varying positions on the ELCA vote, can continue to move forward in mission together. This work will continue throughout the summer with the goal to present a statement at Zion’s Annual Congregational Meeting on December 5, 2010.

Ministry Survey Almost Complete

In worship last Sunday, Tommy Middagh provided a brief update from the Associate Pastor Call Committee.

The Call Committee is working on Zion’s congregational profile, and expects to have that completed and submitted to the synod office by May 1. At the same time, the church council is working on a job description and expects to have that defined by the May council meeting.

The Synod will provide names of potential candidates to the Call Committee about 1 month after the congregational profile and job description are submitted, and interviews will likely begin in mid to late June.

Ministry Evaluation SurveyIf you have not yet completed the Ministry Evaluation Survey, please do so by the end of this week. The surveys are available online at zionbuffalo.wufoo.com as well as at the information desk at Zion. The online survey will be available until this Friday, April 16, and paper surveys will be collected until this Sunday, April 18.

Please contact any member of the call committee with other input or questions:

They ask that you keep them in your prayers. With your help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Zion will be calling a new Associate Pastor in the near future.

Call Committee Update

Ministry Evaluation SurveyThe Associate Pastor Call Committee has now met twice. They have had orientation with Pastor Ted, Glenndy Ose from the Minneapolis Area Synod, and a number of members from the most recent call committee which selected Pastor Ted. They have gotten to know each other and have been working well together as a team.

The committee has prepared the Ministry Evaluation Survey and invites all confirmed members to complete a survey. The surveys are available online at zionbuffalo.wufoo.com as well as at the information desk at Zion. The call committee will use the information gathered in this survey to create Zion’s Mission Profile, which will be used in the call process. The online survey will be available until Friday, April 16, and paper surveys will be collected until Sunday, April 18.

Please contact any member of the call committee with other input or questions: Terry Peterson, Chair, Dave and Sue Wright, Vice Chair, Deana Jeske, Secretary, Kelly Jacques, Tommy Middagh, Scot and Theresa Sorenson, Jason Chalupnik, Nancy Dehmer, or Pam Freer. They ask that you keep them in your prayers. With your help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Zion will be calling a new Associate Pastor in the near future.

Call Committee Seeks Input

Ministry Evaluation SurveyAs they begin the process of calling an associate pastor for Zion, the Call Committee requests that members provide perspective and thoughts through a ministry evaluation form which is available online and in the narthex. Please return completed paper forms to the box at the information desk by April 18.

Also, keep the Call Committee in your prayers through this journey. If you have questions or information you would like to share, please contact any of the call committee members: Terry Peterson, Chair, Dave and Sue Wright, Vice Chair, Deana Jeske, Secretary, Kelly Jacques, Tommy Middagh, Scot and Theresa Sorenson, Jason Chalupnik, Nancy Dehmer, Pam Freer.

Try This

Dave SchmidtAt a recent council meeting, Pastor Ted encouraged us to go out of our comfort zone to meet people from church that we don’t already know. This is difficult for some people to do, including me, but I decided to do my best.

Since I am the liaison from the council to the New Member Committee, I had an opportunity to meet 9 families at the recent new member class, all great new additions to our Zion Family. Now I see them in church and greet them by name. More recently I tried this in the fellowship hall after worship, introducing myself and starting a conversation. I have met about 25 new Friends!

I will continue to practice Pastor Teds advice. 

I challenge you try this too!

Dave Schmidt, Council member

20 Questions

quis resultsHow well do you know Zion’s staff … take this quiz and see how you do. The staff wrote their own questions and the council took a longer version of this quiz at their retreat earlier this month. It’s not as easy as it sounds!

Call Committee Named

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.

Captial Campaign Approved

At a special meeting on Sunday, February 21, the congregation approved the motion:

Based upon the recommendation of the Forward In Faith Selection Committee and the results of the assessment performed by Jim Pence of KAIROS; The Zion Church Council moves that Zion commits to a 3 year capital campaign which would be led by Jim Pence of Kairos and Associates in the fall of 2010. Work will begin on this campaign immediately upon approval of this motion.

The cost of leadership from KAIROS will total $42,000.

Goals of the campaign could include the following:

  • Continue to make mortgage payments
  • Pay-off roof and parking lot loan
  • Pay down part of mortgage balance
  • Support mission work

The campaign will also include approximately $8,000 for marketing expenses.

There were 71 ‘yes’ votes and 21 ‘no votes.

Background information can be found here.

Special Congregational Meeting

A Special Congregational Meeting will be held in Trinity Hall at 11:30am on Sunday, February 21 concerning a capital campaign to be conducted in the fall of 2010.

At the current rate of expenses and with no changes in income, it is projected that funds for Zion’s Forward in Faith account, which enables Zion to make its monthly mortgage and building repair loan payments, will be zero by September or October this year. Also, the last three-year capital funds campaign is now complete. So, a Forward in Faith selection committee (Steve Peterson, Jason Kabe, Chuck Zumbush, and Scott Morin) has been investigating options for the church. They have interviewed a number of consulting companies and have recommended Kairos and Associates to the Council too lead our efforts. After interviewing approximately 50 individuals in the church, Jim Pence, of Kairos and Associates, has recommended to the Council that background work begin immediately, with a drive start in earnest this fall. A fall campaign is being recommended. Given Pastor Ted’s recent start and the short amount of time for a spring campaign, the fall seemed to be better timing.

The motion that will be presented is: Read the rest of this entry »

Annual Meeting Follow-Up

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.

Bridgebuilder Update

At the council retreat on February 6, all four of the Bridgebuilder reports were discussed and it was decided that two areas of concentration will occur in 2010.

  • First, a Mission and Vision Task Force will be formed this year. This group will develop a visioning process for the congregation to work through. The task force will bring their proposal to the Annual Congregational Meeting on December 5th. This visioning process will be a major focus of the congregation in 2011.
  • Also, a Bridgebuilder implementation task force will be formed to work on the more immediate goal of incorporating some of the suggestions found in the Bridgebuilder reports. One particular area this task force will focus on will be developing social events and small groups so that the members of the congregation can get to know each other better.

In the course of our discussion, we talked about how we may be a church of many congregations and that isn’t a bad thing. Being a congregation of made up of numerous smaller congregations provides more places for new people to get connected. We need to continue to develop the many congregations, but also allow opportunities to blur those boundaries so that people get to know each other as members of the larger congregation.

Please contact any council member if you have questions or would be interested in serving on any of these new task forces.

Council Open Forum

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.