SALEM LUTHERAN CHURCH COUNCIL
The Salem Lutheran Church Council met June 14, 2006.

The board members present were Don Aamodt, Tami Alphs, Scott Helgeson, Jerry Hoffman, Deb Kingland, Jennifer McGrady, Rick Orban, Bob Peterson, Wanda Playter, Gaye Sletten. Guests were David Kingland and Carolyn Swanson.

Devotions were given by Deb Kingland. There was a motion to accept Carolyn Swanson as new Chair of the Worship and Music Board made by Scott Helgeson and seconded by Jennifer McGrady. All approved.

Secretary's Report: Each council member individually read the Secretary's Report. Motion to accept the minutes was made by Bob Peterson and seconded by Scott Helgeson. All Approved.
Correspondence: Deb Kingland informed the Council that we received a Letter of Acceptance from Pastor Weeg. His first services at Salem will be Saturday, August 19th and Sunday August 20th.
Treasurer's Report: Scott Helgeson reported that the General Fund Balance as of May 31, 2006 was $33,737.94. Scott also reported that he has gotten a two-year amortized schedule from the bank to pay off the Cemetery Fund Loan. We will start making monthly payments on that to get it paid off.
Financial Secretary's Report: Tami Alphs reported that the General Fund Income for May was $25,807.90, with the total income for May being $29,768.10. A question was asked about what we have made in pop can redemption. Tami reported that so far in 2006 we have made $682.40. Last year we made $564.50, which we didn't start until February, so that is 11 months. This has been going very well.
Motion to accept the treasurer's report and the financial secretary's report was made by Jerry Hoffman and seconded by Don Aamodt. All approved.

BOARD REPORTS:
Board of Worship & Music: Deb Kingland reported that the BBQ fundraiser was a success. There were about 100 people in attendance and they raised $818, with an additional $400 from Thrivent, and more donations coming in. This will cover the new keyboard, which Bill Georgia has ordered. Installation Sunday for Pastor Weeg will be Sunday, September 24th. The board is checking into getting the group Stone Soup for the July 30th 10:15 a.m. service, with possibly some special music at the 8:30 a.m. service. There has been a change in the music for the Saturday night service to all-time favorite hymns. They are also looking at possibly doing a pot-luck sometime either before or after the Saturday service or possibly a coffee and dessert time for fellowship following that service. There was some discussion regarding the communion in the chapel on Tuesday afternoons, which has been poorly attended. There is also communion currently being served at Mills Harbour and the Lake Mills Care Center. The possibility of discontinuing the communion in the chapel and asking the few who attend to come to Mills Harbour, the Lake Mills Care Center, or to the Saturday night service was discussed. There was a motion made to discontinue the Tuesday afternoon communion made by Don Aamodt and seconded by Carolyn Swanson. All approved.
Board of Stewardship and Social Ministry: Don Aamodt reported that Thrivent will be matching funds up to $400 for the WELCA brunch on Saturday, June 17th, with funds going to the bell tower. He also reported that Lutheran Brotherhood has raised and given $600 to Diane Brackey to assist with the financial burden resulting from their house fire.
Board of Education: Bob Peterson reported that the Board of Education met with the Pre-School Board to set up new contracts for Ree Pederson, Pre-school teacher, and the new Associate teacher. Once they are done revising the contracts they will be brought to the Council for approval. They have also started interviewing for a new Associate Pre-School Teacher.
Board of Youth: Wanda Playter reported the youth are in the processes of building a float for the July Jubilee parade. They also have 4 students attending the Wild Concert at Waldorf.
Board of Life and Growth: Jennifer McGrady reported they are currently reviewing the New Member Orientation. There are some changes they are looking at to make it more Salem oriented along with other changes. They have started looking into ways to involve the young adults in the congregation. They will also be working on welcoming receptions for Pastor Weeg and his wife. They also donated $59 in coffee proceeds to the general fund.
Board of Property and Management: Jerry Hoffman reported that they met about insurance for the Church and there will be no increase in rates. Jerry reported that the deal with American Steeple Jacks, who are coming to check out our steeple problem, fell through. They will continue to look at options for the steeple problem. They also went to the City Council meeting to talk about the cemetery sidewalks. The City Council will be getting back to us on what needs to be done with that. There are a variety of painting projects that continue around the church. Jerry reported that the back yard of the parsonage also requires some work. The Board is looking for volunteers to take on this project. Jerry said that the Board also discussed that they would like to sell the parsonage. At this point, it could sit empty for a while until we have an Associate Pastor. It seemed to make sense for us to sell the Parsonage and look at buying something else once we have an Associate Pastor back on staff. We will need to have a Congregational Meeting to approve the selling of an asset. Jerry said that their board was also looking at the current rental rates at Salem. The current rates are: Lounge $25, Fellowship Hall $35 (members), $75 (non-members), Weddings $15 (custodial), Receptions $25 (custodial). The proposal would be to double these rates since they have not changed for many years. A motion was made to put forth the following rates: Lounge $50, Fellowship Hall $70 (members), $150 (non-members), Weddings $30 (custodial), Receptions $50 (custodial) and adding the following charges: Sanctuary $150 (non-member funeral or wedding) the motion was made by Jerry Hoffman and seconded by Scott Helgeson. All approved
Pastor's Report: Deb Kingland reported that we have Pastors lined-up for 33 services. We also have 9 Pastors that have agreed to be on a list to do funerals as needed.
Call Committee Report: There was discussion that we need a congregational meeting to approve the continuation of the current Call Committee. We also need a Congregational Meeting to approve the selling of the parsonage. There was a motion made to have a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, July 16th to approve the continuation of the current Call Committee and the selling of the parsonage, by Bob Peterson and seconded by Tami Alphs. All approved.
Motion was made by Rick Orban and seconded by Jennifer McGrady to accept these reports. All approved.

OLD BUSINESS: None.

NEW BUSINESS:
Deb Kingland brought up that there is usually poor attendance at the Saturday night service of July Jubilee. There were some that wondered if we should even have a service on Saturday, July 8th. After discussion, it was agreed that we should continue to have the Saturday service, even if there are just a few people. Maybe we can promote that service and get better attendance.
Deb Kingland brought up the topic of Salem sponsoring missionaries. Currently Salem does not have missionaries assigned to us that we directly support. Discussion was held and several options were brought up. We will continue to explore our options and discuss them at our next meeting.

Motion to adjourn was made by Jennifer McGrady and seconded by Rick Orban. All approved.

Next meeting will be Wednesday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. We closed with the Lord's Prayer.

Gaye Sletten, Recording Secretary