Church Council Meeting



Date: November 7, 2021

Attending: Dale Bentz, Deb Buffington, Nancy Deiter, David Engle, Gene Flory, Jodi Hoffman, Scott Johnson, Rachel Mock, Pastor Scott Paradise, Mary Ream, Stephanie Seldomridge
Absent: Cole Pennington, Karl Keath

Nancy opened the meeting.
Rachel Mock provided devotions.
David Engle will provide next meetings devotions.
Gene Flory made a motion to accept last month’s minutes.
Mary Ream seconded it.
All approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Stephanie Seldomridge
Please see bulletin board in the Narthex for details on the treasurer’s report.
All approved.

Pastor’s report: Pastor Scott
• Lebanon County Christian Ministries Delegates meeting was held October 12th. A summary of the meeting was handed out with Pastor Scott’s report.
• Expressed his happiness that 9 MLC members will be attending the LCCM Annual Dinner.
• Community Christmas tree lighting will be held on December 5 @ 6:00 pm.
• Family movie night is scheduled for Friday December 10th @ 6:00 pm. The movie Home Alone was chosen when the congregation voted.
Music & Worship Committee
• Schedule of upcoming holiday events was shared.
• Will be having a luncheon following the Hanging of the Greens service; congregation will be asked to bring sandwiches (in individual baggies) and cookies. The church will provide chips and drinks.
Christian Education
• Sunday School teacher’s will be meeting on November 10th to review Sunday School modifications, recent curriculum changes, etc.
Evangelism Committee
• Minutes from their October 13,2021 meeting were handed out.
• Discussed upcoming events on November 14, which is our Veteran’s service. There will be a luncheon following the service and there will be a dedication of the new equipment in the multipurpose room in memory of Linda Bentz. Her family members will be there as well. Paul Brandt will also be giving a pictorial program. What a great way to use the new equipment!

Property Committee: Nancy Deiter
• An outlet has been added to be used for the tree lighting.
• Karl Keath has gotten the water softener up and running.
• Gene Flory reports that the mower lift he was looking to purchase Is no longer available. After looking further, he feels it would not have worked anyway due to where the mower deck is located.
• The reconstruction of the base for the sign is in progress.
• David Engle donated a wall unit to display brochures and to replace the table that sits outside the office. That table could replace the 2 tables in front of the stained-glass windows. The goal is to eliminate so many tables in the narthex. David also donated his popcorn machine as well.
• Nancy reports doing some research on memorial plaques. She visited Weaver Memorials and was told that what we want would be very expensive. She was encouraged to look online.
• Rachel Mock reported that a new coffee maker is needed for the kitchen. She will look into purchasing a 50-cup coffee urn.

Unfinished Business: Nancy Deiter

• The Gift Giving policy committee meeting was held on October 13, 2021. This was the 4th and final meeting to complete the 4 pieces of the policy for the final approval by council and ultimately the congregation.
-Nancy sent a copy of the finished policy to council members via email for their review prior to the council meeting.
-Nancy recommends that a Gift Acceptance committee with the Pastor, current Lay Leader and 3 active participants of the congregation who have financial backgrounds should be formed.
o Scott Johnson made a motion to accept the Gift Giving Policy.
o Dale Bentz seconded it.
o All approved.

• Clarissa Wolfe will not be continuing her dance classes.
• Nancy reports no positive responses to the search for a 3rd usher. List of usher duties has been updated.
• Luminaries have been moved to the tractor room. Dan and Deb Hoglund built shelves for their storage. Gene Flory confirmed that he and his family will be setting them up again this year, and if anyone is interested in helping, they are welcome, although it will be much easier this year since they are already on the church grounds. Council discussed using regular candles or battery-operated candles. Battery-operated candles with a reported 100-hour life were found on Amazon and it was decided to try them this year. Rachel Mock will order the battery-operated candles. If they don’t work out, we will go back to the wick candles.

New Business: Nancy Deiter
• Light timers have been installed for outdoor lighting, making the parking lot more secure at night.
• Nancy reports that she has obtained lights and an extension cord for the Christmas tree which will be lit during the community tree lighting.
• Nancy suggested reinstalling the shelves in the closets beside the stage.
• Deb Buffington volunteered to obtain information on restarting the blood drive that MLC used to sponsor. She will present it at the next meeting.

The meeting closed with The Lord’s Prayer.
The next meeting will be on December 12, 2021.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Buffington, Secretary