The regular January 29th, 2012 voters meeting of First Saint John Lutheran Church was called to order by President Steve Wangerin. Pastor Dave Hutson opened the meeting with prayer. A quorum was declared with 35 voting members present.

Mr. Eugene Hagman Jr. and his wife Nancy Hagman asked to be received as voting members. Dale Lyon moved and Carmen Rice seconded the motion to receive the Hagmans as voting members. The motion carried.

The minutes of the October, 2011 Voters meter were distributed and read prior to the meeting. With no additions or corrections, the minutes were approved.

Report of the Financial Secretary; Joann Brooks as Financial Secretary, commented on her report that receipts for the 2011 year were long on the budget.

Report of the Treasurer; Tiffini Gross as Treasurer spoke to her provided report that we ended the 2011 year spending $503.36 under the 2011 budget.

Report of the Pastor;
• The Rev. Amos Bolay “thank you” letter was provided with meeting materials. He was thanking the members of First Saint John for the $1500.00 that was donated toward putting the roof on a Lutheran Church in Liberia.
• A letter from the Kansas State Fire Marshall was provided in the news letter regarding the exemplary actions of our church in working to keep in compliance with fire regulations from the Kansas office.
• Pastor Dave reported that he and President Steve Wangerin would this day be attending a Circuit Forum meeting in Norton. The purpose for the meeting will be to elect a new Circuit Counselor from among our church pastors.
• The Kansas District LCMS Convention will be held June 6th-8th at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka, KS. However, Pastor Dave will not be able to attend the convention due to his planned attendance at his daughter, Annie’s, wedding on June 9th in North Carolina.

Report of the Board of Education; Becky Kirchhoff reported that CFF was going well. The numbers are down right now due to scheduling reasons and school sports. She thanked Joann Brooks and Kim Rietzke for quickly finding some storage cabinets for CFF supplies. She also thanked Jeff Levin and Josh Levin for assembling the cabinets and installing them in the Parish Hall nursery room. She also reported that the Sunday School Christmas Program went very well. In youth news, she reported that the KFC – Kids for Christ – youth group is meeting on the 3rd Sunday of each month. There were no further questions.

Report of the Board of Elders; Elder Kurtis Forell announced that the Church Council had appointed Dale Lyon to fill the unexpired term of Tracy Smith who resigned as Elder. There is one year left on his term.

Report of the Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke reported on the “Ladies Night Out” activity. They have held several events and reported that their next activity would be another movie night of Feb. 21st. They will be showing the movie, “Courageous”. She also spoke of their plans for the celebration of “Anniversary Sunday”. The Anniversary Sunday, to recognize those who will celebrate multiples of 5 year wedding anniversaries, will be held on Feb. 26th. There will be activities to recognize the honored couples in the morning service and a special dinner to follow in the Parish Hall. We will have a catered Prime Rib dinner served for all who sign up for the meal.

Report of the Board of Trustees; Josh Kirchhoff gave the report for the board. The Trustees are proceeding on several projects at this time.
• Replacing the west windows in both Pastors office and the Conference Room;
• Considering light fixture upgrades in the parish hall kitchen.
• Replacing old light switch in the sanctuary.

Report of the Board of Stewardship; Steve Levin reported that there was nothing to report at this time.
Unfinished Business;
• There were just 2 days left for applications to be received for the position of Parish Coordinator. No applications had been submitted at this time.
• Carmen Rice thanked everyone for the food for the potluck dinner held this day, and suggested that someone take the remaining soup from the Christmas Soup Meal.
New Business;
• Lent Plans were discussed. Ron Reneberg moved and Dale Lyon seconded the motion that we should hold all of our own Lent services, hosted here at First Saint John and that an invitation should be offered to the members of Saint John Lutheran, Kensington, to come and join with us in the Lent process. If Saint John Lutheran is planning to hold the graveside Sunrise Service, we would be willing to work with them and attend the sunrise service.
• An amendment to the motion was made by Joann Brooks and seconded by Dale Lyon that all of our Lent offerings should be sent to the Rev. Amos Bolay and the Liberian Lutheran Church. Included with the invitation to Saint John Lutheran would be the suggestion that any offerings received in these services, including theirs, would also go toward that same mission project.
• The motion carried. There was some discussion and interest in a possible mission trip to Liberia.
• President Steve Wangerin asked for a volunteer to serve on an Audit Committee to audit the 2011 church financial books. No one volunteered. President Wagnerin will find an appointee.
Motion to adjourn, by Lynn Wallgren, seconded by Tiffany Rietzke – motion carried. Closed.

President Steve Wangerin called the Voter’s meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Pastor Dave opened with a Prayer.

Sheila Dues requested to become a voting member. Joann Brooks moved to waive the Constitution requirement requiring a new Voter to wait for the next meeting to be able to vote. Kristi Reneberg seconded. Motion passed.

Ron Reneberg moved with Roy Wangerin second to approve Sheila as a voting member. Motion carried.

Roll Call Tracy informed the President that there were 32 voting members were present. President Wangerin declared a quorum.

Minutes were included in the packet and were read. Dale Lyon moved with a Cheryl Synoground second to approve the Minutes as read. Motion carried.

Financial Secretary’s report; Joann Brooks had the 2nd Qtr. Report in the packet. She noted that we are long $5720.65 for the year. The report was approved as presented.
• Joann informed the meeting that all of the money in LCEF had been withdrawn and put into the local bank on CD’s.
• Some of the Memorial money has been designated for certain projects. They include:
o $3288.00 for a new organ
o $1115.00 from Mae Wangerin memorial for a cabinet to hold wall banners, acolyte robes, paraments, etc.
• The Church recently received $5000.00 from the Cleon Dettmer Trust.
• The Church will receive a final gift from the Rathert Foundation in 2012 in the amount of $24,000.00.

Treasurer’s Report was a written report and approved as presented.

Pastor’s Report was given by Pastor Dave.
• Pastor informed the meeting of recent events in the consolidation process with the North Church. The St. John church Council voted to end discussions as they were going to proceed with other possibilities. Pastor noted that in the North Church newsletter, the article written by the Council contains several inaccuracies about the role of our Council in the decision to end discussions.
• First Saint John now needs to move forward more aggressively with the discussions concluding. Pastor noted that God did not provide us with over $200,000.00 so we could put them on CD’s.
• Pastor is leading the kids’ Summer Sunday School
• The “Praise in the Park” event will be on Aug 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the roadside park in Kensington.
• Jess Rietzke & Stacy Rachow will be married on August 20 in Phillipsburg with Pastor Dave & Pastor Joel performing the ceremony.
• The “Lake Event” will be at the South shelter house at Harlan County Reservoir on Aug 22nd with a potluck picnic at 6:30 p.m.
• The August 3rd Council meeting will be in the form of a Planning Event to begin “Dreaming” again to move our church forward.

Board of Education no report.

Pre-School Board; Kim Rietzke informed the meeting about the new Teacher/Director – Ashley Schilkowsky. The Board is going to have to raise the rates due to increased costs and they have not done this for a long time. The Board also requested donations of time talents and treasures for the Pre-School.
• Pre-School Open House will be held sometime before school begins.

Board of Elders report was given by Steve Wangerin & Tracy Smith. Rob had given Steve some written notes which commented on the consolidation process and on the amount of money that our congregation is sitting on. The Elders feel that this money was given to us to use to spread the good news of the Gospel.
• Tracy reported that the annual Lake Event will be held after the regular Morning Worship on Sunday August 28th at the South shelter house at Harlan County Reservoir.

Board of Evangelism – was a written report.

Board of Trustees – no report.

Board of Stewardship Suzanne Faulkner had nothing to report.

Unfinished Business
• Kim Rietzke inquired about the 2 west windows in the Narthex. The Trustees will be contacted.
• Pastor informed the meeting that the Ceiling Fans for the Parish Hall have been put together and will be installed soon.
• B&H Electric installed the new kitchen lights in the Parsonage.
• Lynn Wallgren asked that the list of Church Council Officers and Board members be published in the August newsletter. Tracy will take care of this.

New Business
• Sheila Dues commented that the “Wine, Watermelon & Song” event was an awesome time of fun and fellowship.

Dale Lyon made a motion to adjourn, it was seconded by Lynn Wallgren and carried. Meeting was closed at 1:15 p.m. with The Lord’s Prayer.

Submitted,
Tracy Smith
Recording Secretary

VOTER’S MEETING

JANUARY 23, 2011

The January 23, 2011 Voter’s Meeting was called to order by President Steve Wangerin at 12:40 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.

Roll Call provided that 31 voting members were present and a quorum was declared.

The Minutes of the October 2010 meeting were approved as presented in the packet.

Financial Secretary Report; a handout of the 3rd quarter was in the packet. There was no discussion.

Treasurer’s Report; Tiffini Gross provided a handout and explained some of the areas where we went over on budget.

Pastor’sReport; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;

- The Christmas Event went well and in 2011 it will include a “sing-a-long” of all the favorite Christmas carols.

- The District Youth Gathering was well attended by Kensington youth with our church sending 11 youth.

- Ash Wednesday will be March 9th. First Communion will be held sometime in March.

- Confirmation will be held on Palm Sunday. Easter is on April 24th.

- The PAC is not working well as there are many things broken and torn up. A new policy for use needs to be implemented.

- Received a visit from Rocky Meese, who informed him about the coming changes in our Synod, including the KS district will probably meld into a larger district possibly with Oklahoma and Nebraska.

- Discussed the meetings with the North Church on possibilities between the two churches.

- Received an email from Alan & Jan Levin who had sent $10,000.00 to the church for youth activities.

Board of Education Report; Becky Kirchoff gave presentations on CFF, the youth group, and a powerpoint presentation on the 2010 district Youth Gathering.

- The Christmas program went very well with 167 people in attendance.

- CFF is being held from 6:30 – 8:00 on Wed. evenings. There are several high school kids helping. The CFF received $4000 from the Cleon Dettmer Trust fund.

- The youth group is going well with lots of young people participating. They will have an activity the 3rd Sunday of the month from now on. A Christmas “Progressive Nativity” was held for the kids.

- The youth group will hold a Potato Bar sometime this Spring. They will also participate again in the 30-hour famine project.

- They will be doing community service projects again this year during Lent.

Board of Elders; was given by Rob Bogart. Most of what the elders have discussed was in Pastors report.

- Tracy had compiled attendance records and charts showing the last 3 years attendance. He will be sending out letters to each home showing them their personal attendance and where they fit in on the pie graphs.

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Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke announced that the Anniversary Sunday will be on Sunday Feb. 27th during the service and a meal after.

- A Spring Tea is being planned for this April or May.

- Tiffany Bohm is holding Cooking Classes in the Parish Hall.

Board of Trustees; Ryan Rietzke reported that they fixed the water leak in Pastor’s office. They also found some problems on the roof that will need to be fixed this Spring. Other items include:

- Discussion on who will install the ceiling fans in the Parish Hall.

- The voters thanked Kim and Vincent Rietzke for purchasing and installing the wood blinds on the new windows in the Sanctuary.

Board of Stewardship; no report.

Unfinished Business; none.

New Business;

- Joint Lent services were discussed. A motion was passed to hold Joint Lent services with the North Church. We will hold our own Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday service with communion. The other Wed. evening services will all be held here at First Saint John with the refreshments being split with the North church. Good Friday will be here with the Tenebrae service. Pastor Dave will conduct the Easter sunrise service at the North church cemetery with Breakfast to follow. Our regular Easter service will be at 10:00 a.m. with communion.

- The audit committee for the 2009 Budget needs to be set up. No volunteers were found. Steve will ask Donna Levin to audit the books.

A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer at 1:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted;

Lauri Smith, Secretary

The October 2010 Voter’s Meeting was called to order by President Alan Bates at 12:40 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.

Roll Call provided that 37 voting members were present and a quorum was declared. Suzanne Faulkner was approved as a voting member.

The Minutes of the July meeting were approved as read.

Financial Secretary Report; a handout of the 3rd quarter was provided by Deb Levin, and presented by Steve Levin.

Treasurer’s Report; Tiffini Gross provided a handout.

Pastor’sReport; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;
- Rev. Matthew Harrison is our new Synod President
- Sacrament class has 3 kids in it. Confirmation class has 11 kids.
- The Breakfast Sunday service will be held next Sunday, Oct. 24, with recognition of all new members since 2000.
- The Adult Sunday School is beginning studies on Lutheranism and what the Lutheran religion is really all about.
- The 2 computers are installed and running in the preschool. Stacy has programs on them for the kids to use.
- There was a meeting held last Monday with our council and the council from the North Church to begin a dialogue between the two on whether there are possibilities of the two churches joining together.

Board of Education Report; no report.

Board of Elders; was given by Rob Bogart. He stated the position of 2 of the elders in the matters of the two churches joining and that it will be their position that we must not stray from the theology that the LCMS provides.

Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke informed the meeting of the Women of Faith Conference that 13 women from our church attended recently in Denver. The Board is busy preparing for the Fall Harvest Party to be held on Oct. 31st at the park in Kensington.

Board of Trustees; Ryan Rietzke reported that the trustees knew of nothing that was needed at the present time. Kathy Holthus asked about building a closet for the church banners as now they are crammed into the storage area. Money from the Wangerin memorial had been donated to build a closet for the banners. The trustees will look into this matter.

Board of Stewardship; Steve Levin stated that they would present the budget proposal during new business. Tracy presented a proposal for a new laptop and QuickBooks Pro software to put all of the church’s financial records and activity on. A motion was passed to purchase a laptop and software for the church’s financial records and activities. Tracy & Tiffini will take care of this. A motion was passed to use money from the general savings account to pay for them.

Unfinished Business; Tracy stated that work on the directory will begin shortly.

New Business;
- Ty Wallgren presented the 2011 Budget proposal. He noted that there were a few new line items and a few changes on others.
- Tracy requested that his salary as Secretary be reduced from $4620 to $3600 in the budget proposal.
- A motion was made to use the money reduced from the Secretary salary to increase the accompanist pay and try to hire someone outside the church to play for services. The motion died for lack of a second.
- A motion was made & seconded to pass the 2011 budget of $127,870.00 with the change to the secretary salary. A written ballot was handed out. The motion passed with 33 in favor and 3 against.
- A motion was passed to approve the housing allowance in the budget for 2011.
- The ballot for the election of Officers for 2011 was handed out. After some discussion a motion was passed to approve a unanimous ballot. Officers elected for 2011 were:
- President – Steve Wangerin – 1st term
- Vice President – Alan Bates – 1st term
- Financial Sec’y – Joann Brooks – 1st term
- Bd of Elders – Tracy Smith – 2nd term
- Bd of Education – Becky Kirchoff – 1st term
- Bd of Evangelism – Tiffany Rietzke – 2nd term
- Bd of Trustees – Josh Kirchoff – 1st term
- Bd of Stewardship – Suzanne Faulkner – 1st term
-
A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer at 1:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted;
Lauri Smith, Secretary

Alan Bates called the Voter’s meeting to order at 12:20 p.m. Pastor Dave opened with a Prayer. 32 voting members were present.

Minutes were included in the packet and were read. Minutes were accepted as read.

Financial Secretary’s report in packet. Approved as presented.

Treasurer’s Report was given by Tiffini Gross and approved as presented.

Pastor’s Report was given by Pastor Dave.
• The new Norton Lutheran Church Sanctuary dedication will be on Aug. 1st at 2:30 p.m.
• The “Praise in the Park” event will be on Aug 13th at 7:00 p.m. at the roadside park in Kensington,
• The “Lake Event” will be at the South shelter house at Harlan County Reservoir on Aug 22nd with a potluck picnic at 6:30 p.m.
Pastor also had Linda Hommon come forward to give a presentation on the convention she attended in Liberty, Missouri, and the new Parish Nurse program she will head here at First St. John.

Board of Education in packet.

Board of Elders report was given by Tracy Smith. The Elders asked the Trustees to see about putting a programmable thermostat in the sanctuary. Jeff Levin will take care of this.

Board of Evangelism - no report.

Board of Trustees report was given by Jeff Levin.
• The work is complete on the North side of the church to keep the water away from the building. An 8 foot section of the gutter on the north side was missing and has been replaced, and the downspouts have been extended away from the building.
• The mold problem in the Activity Center basement is being taken care of. Jeff purchased a couple of large dehumidifiers and used a third to bring down the high humidity in the basement. ServiceMaster out of Hays is coming to rid the carpets, furniture, etc. of the mold at a cost of $550 to $600. Discussion was held on the best way to prevent this from happening again. The basement of the church is in good shape and not having any mold problems.
• Lynn stated that the ceiling fans for the Parish Hall are in and awaiting the gentleman to come and install them.

Board of Stewardship no report.
Unfinished Business
Pastor received a letter from the District thanking all the churches in the District who sent extra money in to help offset the large deficit they were experiencing. Our church was one of those churches who donated extra.

New Business
1. Steve Wangerin stated that The Nominating Committee is already taken care of by the Constitution.
2. Tracy presented all the sign proposals from the sign companies. The prices ranged from $22,750 to $44,950. After much discussion a motion was passed to table the sign project until a later date.

A motion was made to adjourn, was seconded and carried. Meeting was closed at 1:40 p.m. with The Lord’s Prayer.

Submitted,
Lauri Smith
Secretary

Alan Bates called the Voter’s meeting to order at 12:41 p.m. Pastor Dave opened with a Devotion. 42 voting members were present.
Motion was made to accept Josh Kirchhoff as a voting member. Motion passed.
Minutes were included in the packet and were read. Minutes were accepted as read.
New Business:
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of a $3000 gift to the Kansas District to help with the budget shortfall. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to send $3000 to Kansas District of LCMS with the funds to be paid from the General Savings Account. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 34 for – 8 against.
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of purchasing 2 new office computers. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to purchase 2 computers with 22” monitors from Computer Solutions, with the payment of $2572.00 to come from savings. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 30 for – 1 against.
• A motion was made to discuss a computer room for the Preschool. Motion seconded and carried. This was for remodeling the NE room in the basement. A motion was made to remodel the computer room for the Preschool and to allow the trustees to get bids and to accept the bid of choice. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 41 for – 1 against.
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of purchasing an outdoor sign. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to proceed in conversations with Tri-City Sign Company with the questions raised at today’s meeting about size, height, adding LCMS, and type of electronic display. Final proposal to be presented at July’s Voter’s meeting. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 36 for – 6 against.
• A motion was made to discuss ceiling fans for the Parish Hall. Motion was seconded and carried. A motion was made to have Lynn Wallgren contact the person who installed the fans in the sanctuary and have him install the fans in the Parish Hall with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 fans with light Oak blades. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 35 for – 7 against.
• A motion was made to discuss ushering. Motion was seconded and carried. A motion was made to reinstate ushering out of church at the end of service. Motion was seconded and did not carry. Votes were 7 for – 33 against.
• A motion was made to discuss robes for acolytes. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made that the Acolytes should wear robes and sit in the front of the church. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 21 for – 14 against.
Financial Secretary’s report in packet. Approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report was given by Tiffini Gross and approved as presented.
Pastor’s Report was given by Pastor Dave. Discussed the need to have a membership “defining moment” for approximately 35 people who have joined the church in recent years. Possibly with a potluck dinner at some point. He also discussed the repayment of the Insurance deductable and the amount to be reimbursed.
Board of Education in packet. Becky Kirchhoff brought up Liz’s leaving and the need for some new Youth Sponsors. She also bought up CFF and the need for some decisions being made concerning the program and leadership for the program. She is willing to help but not lead it.
Board of Elders report was given by Rob Bogart. On May 23, Pastor Dave will be gone and Pastor Joel will be invited to hold services that day. Attendance was discusses and input was asked for to help with increasing attendance from absent members.
Board of Evangelism report was given by Tiffany Rietzke. They are planning on having a program with Prom dresses and other dresses being modeled. They have been sending cards out for illnesses, sympathy and other occasions. The tickets for the women’s trip to Denver have been purchased.
Board of Trustees report was given by Jeff Levin. The church yard has been sprayed and Zach Wallgren is doing the mowing this year. A work day is to be scheduled on May 8th to do dirt and rock work to stop the water problems in the basement.
Board of Stewardship report given by Steve Levin. He encouraged families that have memorial funds in honor of loved ones to adopt a project for those funds.
Unfinished Business
None
New Business (continued)
The Audit report was included in the Voter’s packet. Becky Kirchhoff and Tiffany Rietzke conducted the audit. They raised the possibility of the Church getting a bookkeeping program to be used by the Treasurer. They also requested some guidelines be set up for the Audit team to follow.
Thank-you to Becky and Tiffany for doing a great job!
Constitution Committee report was given by Steve Wangerin. 7 people are attending the meetings and are looking at the 10 different items brought up at the Planning event. Some of the items looked at so far are the number of Voter’s Meetings per year, the number of Council Meetings per year, Board Meetings, Membership and Term Limits. At this time they had no recommendations and the meetings were being put on hold for the summer.
A motion was made to adjourn, was seconded and carried. Meeting was closed with and Amen.

Submitted,
Lauri Smith
Secretary

Alan Bates called the Voter’s meeting to order at 12:41 p.m. Pastor Dave opened with a Devotion. 42 voting members were present.
Motion was made to accept Josh Kirchhoff as a voting member. Motion passed.
Minutes were included in the packet and were read. Minutes were accepted as read.
New Business:
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of a $3000 gift to the Kansas District to help with the budget shortfall. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to send $3000 to Kansas District of LCMS with the funds to be paid from the General Savings Account. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 34 for – 8 against.
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of purchasing 2 new office computers. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to purchase 2 computers with 22” monitors from Computer Solutions, with the payment of $2572.00 to come from savings. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 30 for – 1 against.
• A motion was made to discuss a computer room for the Preschool. Motion seconded and carried. This was for remodeling the NE room in the basement. A motion was made to remodel the computer room for the Preschool and to allow the trustees to get bids and to accept the bid of choice. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 41 for – 1 against.
• A motion was made to discuss the possibility of purchasing an outdoor sign. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made to proceed in conversations with Tri-City Sign Company with the questions raised at today’s meeting about size, height, adding LCMS, and type of electronic display. Final proposal to be presented at July’s Voter’s meeting. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 36 for – 6 against.
• A motion was made to discuss ceiling fans for the Parish Hall. Motion was seconded and carried. A motion was made to have Lynn Wallgren contact the person who installed the fans in the sanctuary and have him install the fans in the Parish Hall with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 fans with light Oak blades. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 35 for – 7 against.
• A motion was made to discuss ushering. Motion was seconded and carried. A motion was made to reinstate ushering out of church at the end of service. Motion was seconded and did not carry. Votes were 7 for – 33 against.
• A motion was made to discuss robes for acolytes. Motion seconded and carried. A motion was made that the Acolytes should wear robes and sit in the front of the church. Motion seconded and carried. Votes were 21 for – 14 against.
Financial Secretary’s report in packet. Approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report was given by Tiffini Gross and approved as presented.
Pastor’s Report was given by Pastor Dave. Discussed the need to have a membership “defining moment” for approximately 35 people who have joined the church in recent years. Possibly with a potluck dinner at some point. He also discussed the repayment of the Insurance deductable and the amount to be reimbursed.
Board of Education in packet. Becky Kirchhoff brought up Liz’s leaving and the need for some new Youth Sponsors. She also bought up CFF and the need for some decisions being made concerning the program and leadership for the program. She is willing to help but not lead it.
Board of Elders report was given by Rob Bogart. On May 23, Pastor Dave will be gone and Pastor Joel will be invited to hold services that day. Attendance was discusses and input was asked for to help with increasing attendance from absent members.
Board of Evangelism report was given by Tiffany Rietzke. They are planning on having a program with Prom dresses and other dresses being modeled. They have been sending cards out for illnesses, sympathy and other occasions. The tickets for the women’s trip to Denver have been purchased.
Board of Trustees report was given by Jeff Levin. The church yard has been sprayed and Zach Wallgren is doing the mowing this year. A work day is to be scheduled on May 8th to do dirt and rock work to stop the water problems in the basement.
Board of Stewardship report given by Steve Levin. He encouraged families that have memorial funds in honor of loved ones to adopt a project for those funds.
Unfinished Business
None
New Business (continued)
The Audit report was included in the Voter’s packet. Becky Kirchhoff and Tiffany Rietzke conducted the audit. They raised the possibility of the Church getting a bookkeeping program to be used by the Treasurer. They also requested some guidelines be set up for the Audit team to follow.
Thank-you to Becky and Tiffany for doing a great job!
Constitution Committee report was given by Steve Wangerin. 7 people are attending the meetings and are looking at the 10 different items brought up at the Planning event. Some of the items looked at so far are the number of Voter’s Meetings per year, the number of Council Meetings per year, Board Meetings, Membership and Term Limits. At this time they had no recommendations and the meetings were being put on hold for the summer.
A motion was made to adjourn, was seconded and carried. Meeting was closed with and Amen.

Submitted,
Lauri Smith
Secretary

VOTER’S MEETING

OCTOBER 25, 2009

The October 2009 Voter’s Meeting was called to order by President Alan Bates at 12:40 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer. Roll Call provided that 34 voting members were present and a quorum was declared. Claude and Sharleen Allen were approved as voting members.
The Minutes of the July meeting were approved as read.
Vince Rietzke, Jerry Rietzke and Jeff Levin were chosen to count ballots for the meeting.

Financial Secretary Report; a handout of the 3rd quarter was provided by Deb Levin. The money needed for the Fan into Flame project donation is almost complete. Treasurer’s Report; Tiffini Gross provided a handout. For the year we are over budget by $2,538.00.Pastor’sReport; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;

The "Christmas Event" will be held on Saturday Dec. 12th. Signup sheets will be out in mid- November for the soup supper and all that goes along with it.
The church ownership of programs remains very strong. Some of the programs include:
CFF
Praise in the Park
Christmas Event
The Sunday School Christmas Program will be during the service on December 20th.
CFF is going well with 35 kids usually in attendance.
Sacrament class has 3 kids in it. Confirmation class has 10- 11 kids.
The newest Max Lucado book "Fearless" will be the next book we will study beginning sometime in January.
The Adult Sunday School is going great with excellent conversations. Pastor questions why there are not more in attendance.
There needs to be a planning event held this year. The focus for this event needs to include a look ahead to what our children will inherit as a church.
The fire marshal should be doing the inspection of the facility soon.

Board of Education Report; a printed report was in the packet. Board of Elders; was given by Dale Lyon. Most of what the elders have discussed were in Pastors report.Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke provided a handout. Pastor asked about a project that was being discussed to send care packages to our military people overseas. It was decided that the whole church should take ownership of it. Becky Kirchoff & Janeen Wallgren will oversee it.　
　
　
　
　
　

Board of Trustees; Jeff Levin reported that the State Farm inspector inspected the facility. He was very impressed with the Radon pump, the escape window among other things.

There is a moisture problem in basement. We need to get the water away from the building on the north side. The grass is higher than the ground next to the building. This will be worked on next spring.
The smoke alarms have been checked. The representative also checked on what needed to be done to put the system through the whole church.
The Parish Activity Center needs to be winterized.
Board of Stewardship; Steve Levin stated that they would present the budget proposal during new business. Unfinished Business; none.

New Business;

Steve Levin presented the 2010 Budget proposal. He noted that there were a few new line items such as the accompanist pay and the medical deductible repayment. He noted that the new windows on the parsonage had really helped on the utilities.
A motion was passed to raise the salary of the Secretary from $3900 to $4500 in the budget proposal.
Discussions were held also on how we might save money on energy cost with fans in the parish hall and new windows and more insulation in the sanctuary. Also, the need for repairs or new installation of the lawn sprinkler system were discussed.
A motion was made & seconded to pass the 2010 budget with the approved change to the secretary salary. A written ballot was handed out. The motion passed unanimously.
A motion was passed to approve the housing allowance in the budget for 2010.
The ballot for the election of Officers for 2010 was handed out. After some discussion a motion was passed to approve a unanimous ballot. Officers elected for 2010 were:Treasurer – Tiffini Gross – 2nd termSecretary – Lauri Smith – 2nd termBd of Elders – Kurtis Forell – 1st termBd of Education – Renae Snyder – 2nd termBd of Evangelism – Trish Campbell – 1st termBd of Trustees – Ryan Rietzke – 1st termBd of Stewardship – Steve Levin – 2nd term

A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer at 1:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted;
Lauri Smith, Secretary

VOTER’S MEETING

JULY 19, 2009

The July 2009 Voter’s Meeting was called to order by Vice President Steve Wangerin at 12:45 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.
Roll Call provided that 32 voting members were present and a quorum was declared.
The Minutes of the April meeting were approved as read.

Financial Secretary Report; a handout of the 1st quarter was provided.
Treasurer’s Report; no report.
Pastor’sReport; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;

CFF will get underway in September. It is still difficult to get volunteers to help with the program, but it is still important to the kids in the community.
The Sacrament Class will be held again this year and will contain the same material as last year, with communion and baptism education.
The "Praise in the Park" event has been rescheduled to Aug. 14 due to the Smith County Fair.
The study of the Church and where it has been and where it is headed will continue during the next Church Council meeting in August.

Board of Education Report; a printed report was in the packet. The summer Pool Party will be held on Aug. 2nd. The report also stated that the Board had donated $250.00 to the "Fan into Flame" project.
Board of Elders; was given by Dale Lyon. The Elders did not meet in July.
Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke reported on the Women’s Tea held in May. She also stated that the Fall Harvest Party was being planned.

Board of Trustees; no report.

Board of Stewardship; was given by Steve Levin. Nothing new to report.
Unfinished Business; none.

New Business;

Steve asked for volunteers for a nominating committee. Tracy S., Lynn W., and Pastor will be the nominating committee.
Tracy Smith delivered the 2009 Kansas District Convention report. He reviewed the presentation of the guest speaker and the speech by President Kieschnick. He also reviewed the outline set forth by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on change recommendations to the Synod.
The Audit Report was not finished at this time.

VOTER’S MEETING

APRIL 19, 2009

The April 2009 Voter’s Meeting was called to order by President Alan Bates at 12:47 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.
Roll Call provided that 34 voting members were present and a quorum was declared.
The Minutes of the January meeting were approved as read.

Financial Secretary Report; a handout of the 1st quarter was provided by Deb Levin.
Treasurer’s Report; Tiffini had a handout for the first quarter of 2009. She stated that we were over budget for the first quarter.
Pastor’s Report; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;

The Lent and Easter season went very well with good attendance by First Saint John members during the entire season.
The Confirmation and Early Communion classes went well.
Pastor Joel H. is our new Circuit Counselor.
Tracy & Pastor will be attending the District Convention in Topeka in June. There will be several important topics discussed. Among these topics are:
Reducing the number of Districts nationwide.
Restructuring the way delegates are represented at Conventions.
Changing the name of the Synod.
Pastor reviewed the Planning Event Priority Goals. The Remodeling/Enlarging Goals has been tabled for now.
Pastor also discussed the amount of money that the Church has in reserve. With all savings and CD’s included, the amount is over $200,000.
Board of Education Report; a printed report was in the packet. The Board decided to hold Sunday School though the end of June. JoAnn Brooks will help with the Sunday School kids during the month of July.

Board of Elders; was given by Dale Lyon.

Pastor will be gone on May 24th. A "Lay Sunday" service will be held.
July 12th will be a "Breakfast Sunday" service.
July 26th there will be an evening lake service with Downs at Glen Elder lake.
Rocky Meiss will be asked to come on November 1st with a presentation.
Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke provided a handout.

Board of Trustees; Jeff Levin reported on the following;

- The man with the fire alarm system has been contacted to set up the Sanctuary and Parish Hall ` systems and will tie them in with the basement system.

The PAC utilities are too high as a result of the heaters being left on when no one is there. Jeff will try and correct this problem.
The carpeting is in and the risers will be carpeted before the Preschool program in the middle of May.
Nothing new to report on the ceiling fans in the Parish Hall.

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Board of Stewardship; was given by Steve Levin. The "Stewardship Corner" bulletin inserts are being well received, and will be continued.
Unfinished Business;
Dale informed the meeting that the Elders discussed the accompanist situation. It was the Elders feeling that we should begin paying $25 per service to whomever plays each service, so if the need arises to hire an accompanist from outside, it will be fair to everyone. After much discussion, a motion was passed to pay $25 per church service to the accompanist. This will be done non-budget the remainder of this year and included in next year’s budget.

New Business;

Alan asked for volunteers to serve as an Audit Committee. There were no volunteers. Janeen will ask Donna Levin and Kim Rietzke if they would serve as the Audit Committee.
Steve Levin presented plans for a new Escape type Window for the Preschool in the basement. The cost will be around $3500 - $4000, with half the money already raised for this project. A motion was passed to proceed with this project. A committee mad up of Steve Levin, Otto Levin, Rob Bogart, Lynn Wallgren and Stacy Cole will proceed with this project.

A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer at 2:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted;
Lauri Smith, Secretary

VOTER’S MEETING

JANUARY 18, 2009

The January Voter’s Meeting was called to order by President Alan Bates at 12:25 p.m. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.
Roll Call provided that 33 voting members were present and a quorum was declared.
The Minutes of the October meeting were approved as read.

Finacial Secretary Report; a handout was provided by Deb Levin. She also stated that with matching Thrivent funds, the Christmas Event fundraiser only came up a few dollars short of the $1500 needed for TIM support.
Treasurer’s Report; Tiffini had a handout for the last quarter of 2008. She stated that we were under budget for the last quarter, and were over budget $102 for the year.
Pastor’sReport; Pastor Hutson reported on the following;

The "Christmas Event" was a success both in attendance and financially, and it helped to bring our church more into the community.
He stated that we had received another $10,000 toward the remodeling/enlarging sanctuary project which brings the total to $40,000.
The Lucado Studies are going well, however the attendance numbers are dwindling, probably due to the length of the study.
Exciting to see Liz starting a women’s Lucado study as well, and it has been well attended.
The Kansas District Conference will be in Topeka June 4 – 6.
"Dave’s Devos" are presently being sent to 175 email addresses and probably many more are being forwarded.
The Confirmation Class is going well. Confirmation will be on Palm Sunday, April 5.
The Sacrament Class is also going well. There are 3 girls and they will take first communion on March 15th.
On February 8, there will be a circuit convocation held in Hoxie. The theme will be "Conversations of Grace", a synod program designed to help train and equip people in Evangelism and sharing Christ with others.
Board of Education Report; a printed report was in the packet.

Board of Elders; was given by Dale Lyon. A "Care & Concerns" dinner meeting will be held with Pastor Dave & Susie and the Elders and President and their spouses at the Black Powder Steakhouse in Franklin on Jan. 24th.
Board of Evangelism; Tiffany Rietzke announced that the "Anniversary Recognition" Sunday will be on February 15th with a potluck dinner. Couples whose anniversaries are divisible by 5 will be honored.
Board of Trustees; Jerry Rietzke informed the meeting that they had caught up most of the items that needed attention. However, there were some new items that will need to be done. These are:

Ceiling fans installed in the Parish Hall.
Meeting with the insurance representatives to compare costs.
A programmable thermostat needs to be installed in the PAC south room.

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Board of Stewardship; was given by Steve Levin. He stated that with the 10% increase in the budget, they are going to do more to make everyone aware of the need for increased giving to offset the larger budget. The "Stewardship Corner" bulletin inserts are being well received.
Unfinished Business;

The 2008 Planning Event Goals were reviewed and discussed. The Planning Event will be held again in 2010. Some of the Goals that have been met include:
Sanctuary Ceiling Fans
A Greeter List is working well.
The Parish Coordinator Position is working well.
More Contemporary music.
A music committee has been established.
A church sign is in the beginning phase.
Pastor is leading several Bible studies.
The nursery speaker is fixed,
The power point system is being used in CFF.
The "Fan Into Flame" proposal was submitted. It calls for a donation of $1000 per year for 5 years. The money is to be raised through non-budget fund raising events. Several events were suggested, such as, Breakfast Sundays, Old Fashioned Saturday Night etc. A motion was passed to adopt the proposal as presented.
New Business;

The Joint Lent possibilities were discussed. A motion was made and seconded to make an overture to the North Church to continue the joint Lent services as in the past. This would include each church doing their own Ash Wednesday service (ours would include communion), they host 3 lent services, we host 2, we have our own Maundy Thursday service with communion, and we host the Good Friday service. After some discussion the motion was passed.
A motion was passed to have Tracy Smith as the lay delegate to the District Convention.
A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer at 1:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted;
Lauri Smith, Secretary

Voters Meeting October 19, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Steve Wangerin at 12:45 p.m. There were 38 members and 2 guests present. Pastor Hutson opened with a prayer.
A motion was made and seconded to approve new voting members, Ryan & Tiffany Rietzke, and Ty & Jeni Wallgren. Motion carried.
The minutes of the July meeting were approved as read.
Financial Secretary Report; given by Deb Levin showed we are $3000 short on the budget. Last year at this time we were short $6000.
Treasurer’s Report; the report was in the packet. Tracy reported what Tiffini had given him. Non-budget expenses included the roof repair and was paid by the insurance claim. An extra $6783.50 had been paid for the roof, after the report was prepared. Actual expenses for the year were $425.00 over the budget.
Pastor’s Report; Pastor reported on the following;

The Barn Christmas Survey showed overwhelming support to continue with 2 services on Saturday. The service is set for Dec. 6th.
The Advent schedule is starting to fall into shape.
CFF is going well. The numbers have been reduced by reducing the age down to the 5th grade, and it is much more manageable.
The Sacrament Class has 3 girls enrolled.
Confirmation is going well. Pastor has implemented "Jesus Stories" into the classes.
The Lucado Study of "3:16 – Numbers of Hope" will begin on Oct 27th at 7:30.
Dave’s Devos now goes out to 68 church members and 73 friends of the church.
Pastor thanked the worship accompanists who have stepped forward to play.
The computer/ projection system is here and being used.
The Parish Coordinator position is going very well. Pastor commented on how the position has, and still is, evolving.
Pastor discussed the Planning Event goals and what has been accomplished so far.
"Pack the House" Sunday will be held on November 23rd with a potluck to follow.
Board of Education; a handout was in the packet.
Board of Elders Report; given by Dale Lyon. The elders meet the first Wednesday of the month.
Board of Evangelism; a handout was in the packet. Jeanne Bogart presented and explained what was in the greeter packet for visitors. They are very pleased with the response to the Greeter Program. The Old Fashioned Saturday Night booth was not real successful, but it did attract some people to see some of the activities at First Saint John.
The Fall Harvest Party is planned for Sunday October 26th in the park. The Sunday School kids were given an invitation to share with their friends.
Board of Trustees Report; Steve Wangerin reported on what Jeff Levin had given him;

The new smoke alarm system, with the battery backup, are installed in the preschool.
The shingling project is done.
The bathroom fans have arrived, but have not been installed yet.
The Parish Activity Center siding will be replaced.
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Board of Stewardship; Lynn Wallgren presented the 2009 budget proposal. He also went over a few items in the 2008 budget. The 2009 budget proposal includes the following;

Pastor’s salary is increased.
The new salary affects the retirement and Social Security figures.
The car allowance is increased due to the price of gasoline.
An allowance of $1200 is included for accompanist’s pay.
Unfinished Business; A question was raised about the repair of the organ. Tracy stated that as far as he knew, the organ was working properly.
New Business; Nominations for District Officers were as follows;

President – Keith Kohlmeier
Vice President – Randall Jahnke
Circuit Counselor – Joel Hiesterman
Motions were approved to nominate the three.
The 2009 Church Budget was discussed. A motion was made and seconded to amend the budget by striking the accompanist pay. Motion carried.
A motion was made to approve the amended 2009 Budget. Paper ballots were handed out. Results were; 29 to approve, 5 to reconsider. Motion carried.
Election of Officers; A motion was approved to accept the nomination slate as presented. New Officers;

President – Alan Bates. (1st term)
Vice President – Steve Wangerin. (1st term)
Financial Secretary – Deb Levin (2nd term)
Elder – Rob Bogart. (2nd term)
Stewardship – Ty Wallgren. (1st term)
Education – Jeni Wallgren. (1st term)
Evangelism – Sandi Reneberg. (1st term)
Trustees – Jeff Levin (2nd term)
The "Fan into Flame" fund-raiser was discussed. A motion was approved to have the Board of Elders, Stewardship, and Evangelism to come up with a recommendation of a 5 year plan and amount of donation. The plan is to be presented at the January Voters meeting.
A motion to approve the Parsonage Allowance was approved.
A motion to approve was passed. The meeting was closed with The Lord’s Prayer.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lauri Smith, Secretary

Steve Wangerin called the meeting to order. Pastor Dave gave an opening devotion. 20 voting members were present but 22 are needed for a quorum so a motion was made to suspend rules due to a lack of quorum.
Sandy Reneberg requested to become a voting member. Motion made, seconded and passed.
Minutes were included in the packet and were approved as read.

Financial Secretary’s report was given by Deb Levin. She reported that things are looking better than a year ago. The General savings balance includes some insurance money from hail damage a year ago that hasn’t been spent yet.

Treasurer’s report was given by Tiffini Gross. She reported that everything was running close to budget. Non-budget items were high due to some of the purchases coming from other accounts.

Pastor’s report presented by Pastor Dave discussed CFF for the upcoming year. There may be some changes due to the school consolidation and busing issues. Confirmation class is seeing some significant changes this year. Time of classes is an issue with out of town confirmands. The Early Communion Class is also seeing some changes. Instead of an Early Communion class it is now going to be a Sacramental Class and also go into more depth on Baptism along with Communion.
On months that there are 5 Sundays we will have the “pre-service sing-along” on the 5th Sunday also. Pastor also discussed the presentation from Alyce Renneberg on the Youth Convention she was able to attend in Florida, due in part to a donation from our Congregation. The Ordination for Down’s new Pastor will be on August 3rd. The lakeside service scheduled for July 20th was canceled due to the extreme temperatures. August 10 will see lawnmower races, cardboard sculptures and the annual pool party with finger food. Catacombs is being tentatively rescheduled for this Fall –hopefully September.

Board of Education report was presented by Sandi Reneberg. She reported that VBS went great and they had a very large attendance at the closing program. Sunday School teachers are already in place for the coming school year and she is to be the liaison for the Board of Ed. and CFF. They held Summer Sunday School this year with attendance being low, mainly the teacher’s kids. They are starting two new activities for Sunday school this year, one being verse memorization and the second being a closing program at the end of each Sunday Session.

Kim Rietzke presented the Preschool Report. There are 30 students enrolled in 8 sessions a week. On August 28th they will be holding an open house for the new students.

Board of Elders report was given by Dale Lyon. The amount of manpower that it takes to prepare for the traditional Barn Christmas was discussed. The Communion policy that the Church adheres to was discussed and the reason for the two statements in the bulletin on the Sundays we have Communion was explained. This is to further clarify our stance on Communion to any visitor wishing to commune with us.

The Board of Evangelism report was presented by Jeanne Bogart. The Hawaiian Ladies night out was a great success. They had 55 attend from our church and the community. She stated that there is a need for more volunteer greeters on Sunday mornings, and described the packet the greeters are handing out to visitors.

Board of Trustees – none

Board of Stewardship was given by Lynn Wallgren. They are pleased with the way the budget is going and the generosity of the congregation. He also stated that they would be continuing the Stewardship Corner notes as they have been well received.

Unfinished business – none

New Business – Donna Levin completed the audit and found the books in order. Motion was made to accept the report. It was seconded and carried. She did note that all charge tickets need to be signed by the person doing the purchasing and also list what they will be used for. Thanks were also given to Donna for an excellent job and for volunteering to do it.
Elections are coming up in October and several positions need to be filled. Pastor Dave, Tracy Smith and Lynn Wallgren are on the nominating committee. The SOS (Support Our Soldiers) fund-raiser meal was discussed. Tentatively it will be in September at the Legion Building. They will be needing food, labor and monetary donations. More info to come at a later date.
Dale Lyon presented a summation of the “Fan into Flame” meeting he and several other members attended in Phillipsburg. This is the fund-raising portion of the Ablaze program. His recommendation was to have Pastor Joel do a presentation to our congregation to explain more fully.

Motion was made to adjourn, seconded and carried. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted,
Lauri Smith, Secretary

New Business - A Parish Coordinator Job Description was handed out. This
position will replace the current Office Secretary position. After discussion, a motion was passed to establish the new position. The Council will advertise the position and hire their choice of applicants.
The Planning Event results and goals were presented by Pastor.
A motion was passed to donate $ 145 to cover registration fees for Alyce Reneberg to attend the National College Youth Ministry convention.
A motion to adjourn was passed. We closed at 1:50 p.m. with the Lord’s Prayer.

President Steve Wangerin called the meeting to order. There were 39 voting members present. A motion was made, seconded and approved to add Jeff Grauerholz as a voting member.
The Oct. 21, 2007 minutes were approved as read.

Financial Secretary Report – Deb Levin handed out a report for the last Quarter of 2007. She also reported that the Church was $4,590 short for the year.

Treasurer Report – Trish Campbell had a handout. She also reported that the expenses for 2007 were very close to the budget. A total of $4100 had been taken from savings for the year, but that was the lowest total for two or three years.

Pastor’s Report – Due to Pastor’s illness, there was no report.

Board of Education – Sandi Reneberg reported that Sunday School was going well. She thanked Renae Snyder for doing such a great job with the Christmas program. Vacation Bible School will be coming soon and there will be an organizational meeting coming up shortly to set up directors.

Board of Elders – Dale Lyons addressed the problem the Elders had been having with the Acolytes. Several children had refused to do it on their scheduled Sunday. If this continues, we may have to stop the program for awhile. He also discussed the Lent Service calendar, which will be voted on in New Business. The Elders, in their January meeting, discussed the new position of the Administration assistant. Tracy and Lauri were presently putting together a profile list of Council and Board members in order to more effectively communicate with each other. The board of Elders will meet each month on the Monday before the Council meeting.

Board of Evangelism – Jeanne Bogart said they are trying to get the Greeter’s program up and going. They are going to try and get the Anniversary recognition set in February. Also, a Mother – Daughter tea is possible in the Spring.

Board of Stewardship – Lynn Wallgren reviewed the 2007 budget line by line, which showed how close we were on most areas.

Board of Trustees – Jerry Rietzke reported that the backs of some of the Church pews were beginning to split. They would look into the matter. He also noted that the door closer on the men’s restroom was broken and would be fixed.

Old Business – none.

New Business – President Steve Wangerin asked for volunteers to be on the Audit committee. There were none, so he will appoint a committee. The Lent schedule was printed on a handout. A motion was made seconded and carried to approve the schedule. We will have Ash Wednesday Services here, with communion, and the Downs Church invited. The remaining Wed. evening Services will be split with Saint John. Maundy Thursday Services will be held in Downs with communion. Good Friday service will be here at 9:00 A.M. and Easter Sunrise service and breakfast will be at the North church. Our Easter Service will be at 10:30 with communion.
Jeff Grauerholz reported that the organ committee will try and get a second opinion on the repair of the organ, but the repairman from Salina informed them that the organ was a 1959 model and the wiring going into the keyboard was also going bad. A motion was passed to start a fund raiser for a new organ. Rob noted that a committee needs to be organized for the fund raiser.
Discussion was held on the lawn care. A motion was made, seconded and passed to open up bidding on the lawn care. It will be advertised.
A motion to adjourn was made seconded and passed. We closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

The Voters Meeting was called to order with 32 voting members present. Pastor Dave led with a prayer.

The Financial Secretary’s report was given by Deb Levin and is almost $6000 short year to date.

The Treasurer’s report was given by Trish Campbell and shows that expenditures are on track with the yearly budget.

The Pastor’s report stated that all the Bible Studies are going well. He will be in Wichita for a District LWML meeting on Nov. 9 & 10. Other Dates to remember are:
12/08/07 - Barn Christmas and soup supper at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m.
12/19/07 – Advent service and soup supper (here) with Downs
12/24/07 – Service at 8:00 (under consideration)

The Downs congregation has a call list they are working on and plans in place for calling a candidate if the list doesn’t work out.
Also discussed was the position of the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP). This individual would be ordained, but only certified to work in a specific area and for a specific congregation only.
It was also noted that we are in fellowship with the AALC branch of the Lutheran Church.

The Board of Education report was given with Kim Rietzke and noted that the Sunday School Christmas program will be December 23rd during the Church Service. The Petunia collection money is going to be donated to the S.O.S. program to help with the postage for the packages to soldiers. CFF is also going well.

The Board of Elders report by Dale Lyon stated that they had the ballot prepared for today’s election.

The Board of Evangelism report by Jeannie Bogart reminded everyone of the Fall Harvest Party and the First St. John web site at www.lutheransonline.com/kensingtonks

Board of Trustees – no report. Pastor added that the flooring in the Parsonage is completed, bids on the windows received and estimate for the new doors at the parsonage and Narthex are in hand.

The Board of Stewardship report by Lynn Wallgren reminded everyone of the Breakfast Service on November 18th. He also presented and explained the proposed budget for 2008.

Unfinished business – none

New Business – The ballot for election was presented. It was moved to make the ballot unanimous, seconded and carried. Officers are Treasurer – Tiffany Gross; Elder – Tracy Smith; Board of Evangelism – Tiffany Rietzke; Board of Education – Tamara Portenier; Board of Stewardship – Galen Arment; Secretary – Lauri Smith; and Board of Trustees – Randall Snyder.
A motion made to accept the budget was made, seconded and carried. The funding for the Together in Mission (TIM) program is to come from the Barn Service soup supper donations and matching funds.
A motion was made to let the parsonage allowance stand, was seconded and carried.
A question brought up what to do with the old hymnals. It was decided to make them available to anyone in the congregation that wished to have one and then find a home for those left.

A motion was made to adjourn, seconded and carried. The meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.