The Salem Church Council met August 10, 2005 in the Fellowship Hall.
Those present were: Pastor Mackey, Deb Bachman, Scott Helgeson, Deb Kingland, Doug Bruhns, Linda Rasmusson, Bob Peterson, Amy Olson, Don Aamodt, Keith Helland, Jerry Hoffman and Kathy Gilbertson. Late: Pastor Dykstra. Absent: Dianne Gardner.
Pastor Mackey led us in devotions and prayer.
Each council member individually read the Secretary's Report. On the Treasurer's Report Doug Bruhns noted an error on the amount owed to MBT. Motion was made by Linda Rasmusson and seconded by Keith Helland to accept the minutes as corrected.
The Treasurer's Report was given by Doug Bruhns. Doug announced the MBT loan of $14,000 has been paid in full. We have a balance of $39,000 borrow from the cemetery fund. As of July 31, 2005 we have a balance of $28,487.72.
No Financial Report was given. The amount of $45,910.39 was deposited in July.
A motion was made by Amy Olson seconded by Jerry Hoffman to accept these reports.
Board Reports:
Board of Worship and Music: Keith Helland asked the council to check the serving communion list and to find a replacement if you are going to be gone. The board is seeking donations to help sponsor a South African group of musicians that would perform at Salem on October 30 during both services and a concert in the afternoon. The cost is $950. A dream team for first service is being formed to discuss the enhancement of the service. A nursery is being organized and will start on Rally Sunday during both services.
Board of Stewardship and Social Ministry: Don Aamodt reported on the Stewardship drive being planned for November. David Kingland will talk at forum on his research project on Salem's trend analysis.
Board of Education: Bob Peterson reported Rally Sunday is scheduled for September 11 with the theme "I Love Sunday School." The board has teachers for the first rotation only.
Board of Youth: Amy Olson reported on the great success of the mission trip to Kentucky. A high school bowling trip is scheduled for August 26 and August 27 a trip to Valley Fair is being planned for grades 7-9.
Board of Life and Growth: Linda Rasmusson reported on a new member class being scheduled for October.
Board of Property and Management: Jerry Hoffman reported Nate and the Moonlighters have donated some of their sound equipment to Salem and will be used in the chapel. The board is working on setting a date for the stained glass window repair project to begin.
One in Christ Parish Council: Deb Kingland reported that the council is discussing the revised "Where Do We Go From Here?" proposal. Deb appreciated the councils input to her on how we personally felt about the new proposal and the future of Salem.
A motion was made by Deb Kingland and seconded by Bob Peterson to accept these reports.
Old Business: The council had a lengthy discussion on the revised "Where Do We Go From Here?" proposal the pastors of the parish have been preparing and how it would all affect Salem. After a very long discussion on the matter, we decided by consensus that we believe the right move for us to make at this time is what has been called "Option #4." This is to disband the parish as it currently exists, and have individual congregations or yokes of congregations call and/or hire their own pastors or staff. It is then our hope that we can continue to do many cooperative ministries together (e.g. WOW, ALPHA, Stephen Ministries, Summer Youth Trips, etc.) under the umbrella of a very scaled-down organization called "One In Christ Cooperative Ministries." This has been a difficult discussion for the council, and also an emotional one at times. We have felt good about reaching out to help our neighbors. But we believe the parish as it now exists is not proving to be the organization through which we can most effectively step forward in the direction of the purposes to which we believe God is calling our congregation. We do sincerely hope, and will do our best, to make this decision in respect and good will toward our neighboring congregations. We asked our Parish Council representatives to report our thoughts to the Parish Council, and then, depending on what the Parish does, we will call a special congregational meeting formally to vote on our recommendation.
New Business: A motion was made by Doug Bruhns and seconded by Bob Peterson to accept John & Rhonda Nielsen, James, Marie and Raymond as new members of Salem. A motion was made by Linda Rasmusson and seconded by Deb Kingland to renew our CVLI license.
The next meeting will be held Thursday, September 8, 2005. A motion to adjourn was made by Doug Bruhns and seconded by Jerry Hoffman.
We closed with the Lord's Prayer.
Kathy Gilbertson, Recording Secretary