July 14 council meeting notes

Julie DeGroot, Kate Grube, Jeff Heffelfinger, Mark Losagio, Sherri Lutz, Shelley Gilbert, Darlene Garon, Alyssa Young, Mel Zellner, Pastor John and Christa Browne attended.

Christa Browne, director for spirituality formation, attended and provided a report to council in advance via e-mail. She said kids would like to do more events like the lock-in, which targeted third- through eighth-graders. Fifty kids have registered for VBS, but she’s preparing for 100. She has sufficient volunteers, though she would’ve liked to see more teens sign up, and all of the materials sought on the tree are being donated.
Christa’s still trying to find balance in her position. She’ll stand firm in her team approach and wants to see communication improve among others involved in Christian education. She doesn’t see herself as overseeing the program, but rather serving as a liaison and support person. She’d like to become more familiar with the confirmation program, so she’s better equipped to help. There was discussion about other Christian education volunteers being unclear about what her role would be and whether she was replacing them in their positions.
Christa wants to form a committee of core volunteers to help start two youth groups that meet and have programming on a regular basis.
Darlene Garon suggested looking again at Christa’s role to define it more specifically and spell out how it’s integrated with the existing programs and volunteers. Pastor John said the spiritual growth committee also will be feeding ideas for Christa’s position.

Treasurer’s Report: Council further discussed the new bill-approval process on which it agreed last month, to clarify the steps and timeline for the treasurer. Bills should be due the 20th of the month or later to accommodate council approving all bills before they’re paid. Pam would call utility companies, etc., to request any necessary changes to billing cycles.
Before each council meeting, Diane should give finance committee members a list of the bills that need approval. A committee member will pull the copies of the bill from the folder Pastor keeps in the office (he will continue to monitor bills to ensure they are legitimate, initial them and put copies in the folder). All checks could be written and held until they’re approved, then the treasurer could send them. Council doesn’t need to sign off on expense reimbursements that were submitted with a green approval slip.

Finance Committee: Additional volunteers are being sought to count and deposit the offering weekly.
Council voted unanimously to amend the cost-sharing formulas the church charges day care for the following bills. The detailed information day care requested will be provided and any questions answered.
Sexton pay: The church had been charging day care $9.35 per hour but pays the sexton $9.70 per hour, so this will be updated. Council accepts the day care’s stance to not pay the difference retroactively.
Janitorial supplies: The church will ask the day care director to use only one supplier (Sam’s Club) instead of two. She should submit the order to the church office manager, and the church will pay the bill then seek 50 percent reimbursement from day care.
Natural gas bill: The church has been paying the natural gas bill, for the kitchen stoves, in full. It will start charging day care 75 percent of the bill, since day care uses the appliances most frequently. The committee will provide day care with monthly bill amounts for the past six months.
Copier expenses: Day care has been contributing 33 percent for supplies and maintenance. Based on use, the church requests 50 percent. The day care wants to discuss this further.
Electric bill: Based on estimated use, the day care’s share will increase from 25 percent to 40 percent.
Water testing: The church and day care have been splitting the monthly $400 testing fee and quarterly charges at 50 percent, but the church requests day care pay 75 percent since this expense only is required to meet day care regulations.

Property Committee: The property committee OKed up to $500 in repairs by a new roofer -- Kunsman. An estimate is in the works. Members will approach prospective new volunteers and will meet again Aug. 4.

Spiritual Growth Committee: Pastor John is working on revitalizing the spiritual growth committee; two members have agreed to stay on, and Pastor has approached four others. He’d like at least five members. The new stewardship program (New Love, New Mercy) will get under way once the committee is formed.

Pastor’s Goals: The ELCA’s handling of the homosexuality issue is pending. Pastor John asked for council’s anonymous input on a questionnaire about ordaining openly, practicing gay people and redefining marriage as more than just between a man and woman.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:36 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. Aug. 11.

Wildwood Youth Retreat
July 17 through July 19, 2009

The youth are going to Wildwood, NJ once again for their Summer retreat. Reservations have been made at the Luther Inn for 28 beds. We look forward to another great retreat! Please contact Terry DeGroot at 610-837-7264 with any questions.

Wild Wood Retreat Schedule
Friday July 17
8:00 am Depart Holy Cross for Wildwood (Brunch enroute)
11:00 am Arrive at Wildwood (2810 Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood, NJ 08260)
Unpack, establish behavior guidelines
11:30 am Water & Amusement Park Fun!!!
6:30 pm Dinner
7:30 pm First Program Session, Theme introduction
8:30 pm Group Beach service and Boardwalk activities (w/ Chaperones)
10:30 pm Evening Prayer Session at Hotel
Midnight All youth in rooms
1 pm Lights out – Good Night!

Saturday July 18

~8:00 am Rise and Shine!
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Second Program Session
11:30 am Make lunch
Noon Beach Time! Lunch at the beach
5:00 pm Contemporary Church Service at Holy Trinity
6:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Third Program Session
9:00 pm Boardwalk Game (Clue or Scavenger Hunt)
11:00 pm Return to Hotel for evening prayer and Free time
Midnight All youth in rooms
1 pm Lights out – Good Night!

Sunday July 19
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Beach Sunday Service
10:45 am Clean rooms and pack
11:00 am Beach time/Lunch
1:00 pm Depart for Holy Cross
~4:00 pm Arrive at Holy Cross

LOCK-IN A SUCCESS!

This past Friday's lock-in was a great time! We started the evening with pizza, salad and soda and then when straight to work on some poster making and preparing materials to be used for our Vacation Bible School week. VBS is fast approaching, it will be held July 27th-July 31st.
The kids then enjoyed some movies and popcorn and treats. They had a blast playing games and just spending time together at the church. A great big THANK YOU goes out to all that participated! Your help will go a long way making VBS week easier! Keep your eyes open for more lock-in's to come in the future!

Vaction Bible School News
Studio GO! Game Show will be held July 27-31st, with many new friends to meet like our game show host Wade Winalot and old faces like Cooper the dog, your kids will be sure to have a blast while learning about Jesus and the love God has for each of us! Registration forms are still available in the Narthex. Please return your forms in the yellow box marked "VBS".

A Lock-in (sleepover) is being held this Friday night ,June 26th, for youth in grades 4-9th. We will be working on props and decorations to be used for our VBS stage and different sites. We will also be preparing some of the craft materials for the week. After our "work" there will be a time for fun and fellowship. Perhaps a movie or two and popcorn!! Call Christa Browne to register at 610-759-4993, or stop by the church and the sign up sheet is in the Narthex.

We can still use any time you would like to contribute to make our VBS week a success. If you can spend the 3 hours a day for the week that is great, but even an hour or two is apprectiated. The Volunteer sign up sheet is located in the Narthex.

A volunteer meeting has been set for July 2 at 7:00 PM in Fellowship Hall. It is important that all attend so the final details for our VBS week can be discussed. If you are unable to make the meeting please contact Christa Browne at 610-759-4993.

June 9 council meeting notes

Don Bostic, Jan Carlson, Kate Grube, Mark Losagio, Sherri Lutz, Shelley Gilbert, Darlene Garon, Russ Phillips, Alyssa Young, Mel Zellner, Pastor John and Diane Searfass attended.

Treasurer’s Report: Council unanimously agreed, on a Bostic/Carlson motion, to begin approving bills for payment before the treasurer mails the checks. This allows council to be better accountable and relieves the treasurer of some apprehension. The finance committee needs to work with Diane to review whether any billing cycles need adjustment to accommodate this schedule. There have been insufficient funds to pay the monthly mission payments and make contributions to other accounts.

Mutual Ministry Committee: Committee members still are being sought after Jim Carlson’s resignation and the desire to increase the number from three to five members.

Property Committee: One person responded to the request for property team members; additional volunteers are welcome. Don Bostic plans to set up a monthly meeting, starting next week, plus a work meeting with an agenda on one Saturday each month. He also plans to contact Terry DeGroot about involving youth.

Church Blog: Alyssa Young is working with stakeholders to set up accounts to update the new church blog, so they can use the Internet to keep members informed. She created a form members can use to request no photos of a person or his/her children be posted on the blog. She’ll revise it to include an option to keep people’s names off the site, too.

Bus Trip: Council approved Sherri Lutz’s plan to organize a Dec. 12 bus trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. The church will pay the up-front cost of about $3,700, to be reimbursed as tickets are purchased.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m. The next meeting is 7 p.m. July 14.

Just fill out a form to report maintenance needs

See a property issue that needs attention?

Now it's easy to report building maintenance needs, simply by filling out a form.

The work orders are available in the Narthex near the water fountains. Please submit a completed form so the volunteers who address things that need fixing can give the problem prompt attention.

Thanks for your help keeping Holy Cross in good shape!

Calling all Vacation Bible School volunteers!

Vacation Bible School is July 27-31 this year. If you can help all week or just part of the week, please sign up in the Narthex with your interest (craft, Bible story, extra hands, etc.). Please include your phone number when you sign up.