Church Council Meeting



Date: May 7th, 2023


Approved Church Council Meeting Minutes
May 7, 2023
Attending: Darryl Bentz, Deb Buffington, David Engle, Scott Johnson, Pastor Scott Paradise, Connor Pennington, Mary Ream, Stephanie Seldomridge-Treasurer, Dara Wolfe
Absent: Gene Flory, Deb Hogeland

Scott Johnson opened the meeting.

Connor Pennington provided devotions.
Mary Ream will provide next meetings devotions.

Connor Pennington made a motion to accept last month’s minutes.
David Engle seconded it.
All approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Stephanie Seldomridge
Checkbook Balance: Northwest as of 04/30/2023=$2,951.97
April Deposits=$14,830.07
April Expenses=$-18,781.94
Transfer from MM=$6,000.00

Restore and Renew Campaign: as of 04/30/2023=$6,793.58
RENEW & RESTORE CAMPAIGN
April Deposits=$475.00
April Expenses=$14,788.00
April Interest=$8.34


Mission Plus account (Money Market): as of 03/31/2023=$15,982.24
Transfer to General Fund=$-6,000.00
Interest-Mar/April=$23.84
Undesignated funds in Money Mkt=$10,006.08
Designated Funds=4,993.41
Designated Funds=$6,000.00
Balance designated as of 3/31/2023=$20,999.49

Income:
Building rentals=$250.00
Lenten=$2,065.00 ($500.00 over budget)

Memorials
-$295.00=Mary Moyer

Miscellaneous income
-Bryan & Sandy Breidegam’s wedding=$1,040.00
-Sweet Sunday=$330.00
-Coffee money=$20.00

Expenses: This was a horrible month for expenses
Building & W/C insurance=$2,113.00
Domain Name (Shepherds Land)=$237.06
Leaf-New Copier-1st payment=$74.95
Documentation Fee=$95.00
Electric Bill=$960.44
Fuel Oil-received 2 bills=$1,753.75

Brian Webber has started mowing again.
All 1st quarter payroll taxes have been paid=$1,008.06
Steph contacted Brown Sign’s regarding the bill for the sign that we never received. She was told by Pat that the bill was mailed out in January. We didn’t receive it because it was missing the P.O. Box. Final bill=$14,788.00-paid
Steph will call Ehrlich to check about why we were charged for April but didn’t receive a report. She will also gather information about having them come out 2x/yr vs calling them when we need them.
Received a $50 gift card for Home Depot which was donated by the Breidegam’s; Council will decide what to use it for. Discussed using it for cleaning supplies.
Steph received information regarding an ERC-Employee Retention Credit which is a refundable tax credit for businesses that continued to pay employees during the pandemic or suffered a significant decline in gross receipts during that time period. Steph will see what needs to be done.
David Engle made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report.
Dara Wolfe seconded it.
All approved.

Pastor’s report: Pastor Scott
Pastor’s report handed out and reviewed.
Pastor Scott and 9 members of the congregation went on a trip to the Gettysburg Seminary. Had a good time and will go again.
St. James and Salem Lutheran churches voted unanimously to merge.
Pastor Scott will be the camp Chaplain at Camp Nawakwa. He will leave after the church service on July 2nd and will be there through July 8th. He will be available for emergencies and can leave if needed.
Friedens in Myerstown is ready to start interviewing for potential pastors.
Richland Community Library has scheduled another Bingo for October 15th. Pastor received messages from 2 congregation members that feel it was not well run and there were too many people. They will be coming to us soon to ask to use the church. The council must approve. Need to find out if the church has a certificate of occupancy to determine maximum capacity.

Youth
Nothing to report.


Evangelism Committee: Dara Wolfe
Minutes from their April meeting were handed out and reviewed.

Property Committee:Scott Johnson
David continues to look into the Light shield replacements.
Pastor Scott reports that the table and chairs for his office have arrived.
Scott brought up some concerns that have come up regarding Brian, our custodian. His job coach is not doing a good job of coaching him. There is a checklist that is to be completed each time. Scott said he would contact Quest.
Discussed putting a lock box on the thermostat in the multipurpose room.

Music and Worship: Pastor Scott
Nothing to discuss.

Christian Education: Pastor Scott
A pool party at the Heckendorn’s is in the works. Working on scheduling a date.

Unfinished Business: Scott Johnson
David reports that he will be reaching out to his contact regarding the front doors. This will be a good time to look into changing the locks. Pastor Scott suggested the possibility of key fobs that can just be activated and deactivated as necessary.
Deb Buffington updated council on the meeting that occurred with the Directory committee and the representative from the company. A meeting with just the committee met at Nancy’s house on May 5th. Things are moving right along. Will be scheduling pictures to be taken October 12th, 13th, & 14th. Mary Ream will start taking pictures of the shut-ins and various other photos.

New Business: Scott Johnson

Scott would like to start using greeters again. Will need someone to take care of scheduling etc. Scott will put something in the Echo.

Discussed the summer church schedule. Since it can still be warm in the church at 85 degrees, it was suggested that 90 degrees should not be the set temperature for deciding when the service will be held in the multipurpose room.
Deb Buffington made a motion to allow Scott Johnson and Pastor Scott to use their discretion when the services are held in the multipurpose room.

David Engle seconded it.

All approved.


The meeting closed with The Lord’s Prayer.
The next meeting will be on June 4, 2023.

Respectfully submitted,
Debra Buffington, Secretary