0 ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2015 JANUARY 24, 2016 Lebanon Lutheran Church 1101 South Mears Avenue Whitehall, Michigan 49461 231-893-5745 www.lebanonlutheranchurch.com
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ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2015 JANUARY 24, 2016
Lebanon Lutheran Church
1101 South Mears Avenue
Whitehall, Michigan 49461
231-893-5745
www.lebanonlutheranchurch.com
1
Lebanon Lutheran Church Sunday, January 24, 2016
Welcome, establishment of Quorum
Opening Prayer
Approval of minutes from Annual Meeting 2015
Ballot for Elected positions distributed
Special thanks to Nominating Committee:
Review of 2015
2015 Financial Reports
2016 Proposed Budget
Looking Forward – Ministry Reports reviewed and approved
Prayer
Closing
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above you heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen
2
Annual Meeting Business
2015 Annual Meeting Minutes - 16,17
Staff Reports
Calendar of Events 3
Pastor Douglas M. Ogden 5,6,7
Congregational Statistics 35
Office Administrators 8
Reports
Choir 11
Endowment Committee 14
Financial Compliance Review 9
Finance Reports 25-34
Food Pantry 10
LYO 14
Membership 11
Memorial Report 11
Mutual Ministry 15
Property 12,13
Slovak Seminarian Program 13
World Hunger 11
Thrivent 9
Quilting 13
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3
JANUARY
23 Scouts
24 Annual Meeting
30 White Lake Sportsfishing @ Lebanon
31 Church Council Installation
31 LYO Organizational Meeting/Valentine’s Boxes
FEBRUARY
10 Ash Wednesday
10, 17, 24 Lent Soup Supper & Vespers
12 Montague /Whitehall Mid Winter Break
21 Blue & Gold Banquet
MARCH
2,9,16 Lent Soup Supper & Vespers
5 Music For Meals @ Howmet – 7:30pm
13 Daylight Savings Begins
Scouting For Food – 1-3pm
White Lake Chorale Spring Concert
24 Maundy Thursday
25 Good Friday
27 Easter Sunday
APRIL
2-10 Mid Winter Break Montague-Whitehall
16 Craft fair
MAY
5 National Day of Prayer
White Lake Area Relay For Life
8 Mother’s Day
Synod Assembly
30 Memorial Day
27-30 Rest Area
JUNE
14 Flag Day
19 Father’s Day
20 Summer begins
JULY
4 Independence Day / parade
8-9 Wedding Rehearsal and Wedding
14 Smorgasbord
16 DayCamp Prep begins
17-22 DayCamp
Stony Lake Family Camp – TBD
25 Playground begins
AUGUST
Stony Lake Family Camp – TBD
18 Lakeshore Backpacks for Kids
18 Playground ends
SEPTEMBER
5 Labor Day
2-5 Rest Area Weekend
Grandparent’s Day
Opening Day Adult Forum
Install Education staff / Gift Bibles
11 ELCA Day of Service
22 Fall Begins
25 Hayride @ Heritage Park
OCTOBER
2 White Lake Area CropWalk
30 Reformation Sunday
31 Reformation Day
NOVEMBER
6 All Saints Sunday/Memorials
6 Daylight Savings Ends
13 Veteran’s Program
11 Veteran’s Day
20 Christ the King
24 Thanksgiving Day
30 First Sunday of Advent /Vespers (hang
Advent Decorations)
DECEMBER
7,14,21 Advent Vespers (Decorate Sanctuary
Family Promise Luncheons
17 Tree set-up
18 Decorate Tree
21 Winter Begins
24 Christmas Eve Worship @ 6:30pm & 11pm
27-30 Synod Youth Gathering
JANUARY 2017
Tree un-decorating
1/29/17 Annual Meeting
Installation of Council
2016 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4
REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS
FINANCE COMMITTEE………………………………………………………………………..2ND MONDAY/MONTH @ 6PM
EXECUTIVE BOARD……………………………………………………………………………..2ND MONDAY/MONTH @ 7PM
CHURCH COUNCIL………………………………………………………………………………3RD MONDAY/MONTH@6PM
POTLUCK & BIBLE STUDY…………………………………………………………………… EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 6PM & 7PM
FOOD PANTRY………………………………………………………………………………….. EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 8:30AM-11
LUGE TEAM………………………………………………………………………………………..ADULTS - TUESDAY @ 7PM (Jan-March)
YOUTH - THURSDAY @ 6PM (Jan-March)
AA GROUP………………………………………………………………………………………….TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS @ 5:45 PM – 7 PM
Scout schedule 2016
Webelos II - Mon 6:30-7:30pm (1st & 3rd week)
Wolves - Mon 6:30pm-7:30pm (1st & 3rd week)
Webelos I - Mon 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (1st & 3rd week)
Tigers - Tues 6:00 pm - 7:00pm (1st & 3rd week)
Bears - Wed 5:00pm-6:00pm (1st & 3rd week
Boy Scouts meet at 5pm each Sunday. Scout Committee
meets the 3rd Sunday at 4:30 pm
Cub Scout Committee meet the 4th Monday at 3:00pm
5
STAFF REPORTS
PASTOR
6
7
8
OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS
The office continues to serve the congregation and
community daily 9:00 am to 1:00pm, Monday through
Friday.
As always, a special Thank You to Sue Roesler who
maintains the evening office hours and keeps me
updated with news and events that are called in while
she is in the office & is always willing to help if I fall
behind on a deadline.
Monica Ogden lends us her time and talents in
preparing the bulletins for Sunday worship. As always,
thank you to her for her beautiful music. Thanks also to
Diane Eastman, Emma Greenwood for their musical
talents as well.
I continue to keep records and monitor the daily
operations of the food pantry - We serve on average
about 75 people per week (160+ individuals), here at
the White Lake Area Food Pantry. We continue using a
U-Haul truck to go once monthly to Feeding America
West Michigan Food Bank with volunteers who spend
time each Monday stocking the shelves in preparation
of Wednesday’s pantry. There are many hands
involved in the weekly food pantry, from the
collection, to stocking of the shelves, to staff during
pantry hours, and the countless records that must be
kept. I print numbers to be handed out on Wednesday
mornings, and that is how they proceed into the pantry
to shop. Records are kept for each person attending the
pantry and new this year, Feeding America is requiring
us to obtain signatures of income eligibility on each
form. These forms must be kept for a period of 3 years
as well as entered online during the monthly ordering
process to remain compliant with the USDA
regulations.
I am charged with the day to day scheduling of events
and meetings, calendars and weekly bulletin
announcements. I update records in Power Church,
keep track of items that are time sensitive such as
cleaning of our kitchen appliances on a tri-monthly
rotation, making repair lists for our property
committee, ordering supplies, and assisting Pastor
Ogden as needed, to keep Lebanon operating
efficiently. With everyone working to keep the flow of
communication open, correct information on schedules
and changes can be made via our new website and
mass mailing capabilities.
Smorgasbord dinner was a wonderful success – we
had many great comments from those who attended
from near and far! DayCamp events brought its usual
excitement and fun during the summer.
If you have any suggestions or ideas, please contact the
office we are always willing hear new ideas.
In 2016 we strive to do the following:
Streamline the website and make it more
appealing to visitors
Get a new operating system for our church
desktop, to replace the outdated Windows XP
format which is no longer supported through
updates and virus protection.
Shrink the newsletter mailing and encourage
online access.
Margaret Everling
NIGHT OFFICE STAFF
It is my privilege to work in the church office on
Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30 pm.
I serve as receptionist to groups meeting these nights
and make reminder calls for committees and special
events. But my main purpose is to communicate with
our members, especially those who are homebound, ill
or in the hospital, and those we haven’t seen in a while,
to see how they are doing and to catch them up on the
news at Lebanon. I also call for food donations for
funeral luncheons and assist with the packing and
delivery of Christmas baskets. I estimate that I made
about 1500 calls in 2015.
Thank you to Marlene Holmstrom, Lora Swenson,
Donna Stacy and Pastor Ogden who bring communion
to our homebound regularly. Thank you, also, to Hazel
Palmer who visits and brings refreshments to those at
Heartland.
Thank you to Margaret who is so efficient she rarely
needs my help. But most of all, thank you to all the
members of Lebanon who make my job so enjoyable.
Submitted by Sue Roesler
9
COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE REPORT
THRIVENT COMMITTEE
2015 has been a busy year for Thrivent
participants and a year of more change within the
programs. Choice Dollars come to us because
Thrivent members who have purchased certain
policies from Thrivent designate earned monies
directly from the company to the church. Action
Cards can be requested by these individuals as
well. This process entails completing an
application for up to $250 if it is granted.
As a group, Thrivent Choice dollars were
allocated for Pastor's education, daycamp,
backpacks, the capital campaign, and world
hunger. A total of 5,600 was spent. A variety of
causes benefitted from the Thrivent Action Team
program. These causes were identified by
individuals within the Thrivent family and so were
not all identified by this group. Some of them
were Hope Scarves, tickets to the Dutch
Resistance Play, providing Christmas baskets and
Christmas Wreaths, and using some cards for
specific items for day camp, and backpack event.
Submitted by, Donna Stacy
*Art Plewka will be the 2016 Thrivent Committee
Chair.
FINANCIAL COMPLIANCE REVIEW
Review was completed. The final report is annually
sent to synod. This year we brought the Boy and Cub
Scout finances under the committee review.
10
FOOD PANTRY
MISSION STATEMENT
The White Lake Area Food Pantry at Lebanon
Lutheran Church serves to help a wide variety
of hungry people representing the unemployed,
the working poor, senior citizens, at-risk
children, pregnant teens, and domestic violence
victims and more. We offer them a warm
breakfast, fellowship and food and other
household items that are donated by members
of the community and Feeding America West
Michigan Food Bank.
The Pantry served 2715 families in 2015, or
approximately 6140 individuals. The breakdown is as
follows: 2152 men, 2920 women, and 1287 children.
Food is purchased from Feeding America West
Michigan Food Bank and milk is purchased at a
reduced price from Country Dairy. The Pantry also
welcomes food donations from area food drives.
Because the Food Pantry is not a budgeted program of
the church, it is entirely dependent upon the generosity
of Lebanon Lutheran Church members and other
churches in the White Lake area. Community
organizations, philanthropic businesses and individuals
are very important to enable the Food Pantry to
continue to provide nutritious food for hungry families
in our area. Transportation and fuel was funded
through a grant from the White Lake Community Fund
for hauling food from the Comstock Park Feeding
America Food Bank. The Food Pantry received
generous grants from Thrivent Financial, private
matching grants, and Women’s Division of the
Chamber of Commerce ( Dancing with the Local Stars)
The Pantry served White Lake area families for a total
of 46 weeks during the year, closing the month of July
for cleaning and also closing the weeks of
Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sincere thanks is extended to all the volunteers who
contribute hundreds of hours each year to cook
breakfast, order and pickup food, load shelves and staff
the Pantry on Wednesday mornings. The Pantry would
not be such a service to the community without these
volunteers.
Thank you to all financial contributors for hearing the
call and reaching into your hearts to support this very
important mission of Lebanon Lutheran Church and
the White Lake Community.
Submitted by Margaret Everling
11
MEMBERSHIP
This year we made several changes to collecting
membership and visitor information.
Pastor Ogden suggested eliminating the pew pads since
they weren’t always signed and replaced them with
candy in your mailboxes.
Please make sure that you remove the candy each Sun
day. If you don’t like the candy, please give it to a
friend who might love it! Thanks
Ginny Farmer has been good enough to oversee the
member attendance information. She replaced candy,
records names, labels new mailboxes, and provides Sue
Roesler with the names of members who have been
gone for 3 or more Sundays. THANK YOU, Ginny!
Rob Montgomery distributes mugs and forms to
visitors to gather their names and addresses. Please
encourage them to fill out the cards and return them to
Rob before leaving. Thanks Rob! When visitor
information is collected, I write notes of welcome to
them and include a bookmark of church activities.
Seven were sent out this year.
Sue Roesler continues to make calls to members who
have been gone for three weeks to see how they are
doing. Thanks for your continued help.
Margaret Everling helps by typing and duplicating
forms, etc., as well as creating the bookmarks. She also
provides us with a great sounding board by listening
and providing suggestions. Your help is greatly
appreciated.
Submitted by,
Elaine Liska
WORLD HUNGER
Once again Lebanon was involved with the crop walk
this year raising $1250 for our food pantry. Many
thanks to Virgina DeMumbrum and Kay Snell for their
tireless efforts in leading and organizing this event. A
total of $2,554 was raised with donations, this included
$600 coming from Thrivent Choice income from 2014.
Shining a light on the many ways The ELCA
supports world hunger was a main focus for 2015.
Breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty comes in
many forms. Support for providing clean water and
sanitation, focusing on health care and prevention,
creating activities to generate income, finding solutions
to help maximize agriculture and nutritional needs, and
dedication to educational and training opportunities are
only a few ways the ELCA to works to come up with
solutions that will get at the root causes of world
hunger.
Respectfully Submitted
Cheri Crouch
CHOIR
In the last year we have had several changes in the
choir make up. While we have tried to address these in
a creative and worshipful manner, there are more
changes to come. New material purchased in the
2013/2014 season has been useful and will continue to
be used, as well as alternative resources. It is unlikely
that we will be able to perform as regularly as we have
in the past, but we will continue to present musical
offerings as often as possible.
Thanks for your patience and support,
Diane Eastman, Choir Director
MEMORIALS
Three memorials were established in 2015 in honor of
the following:
Irene Peabody
Robert Rule
Allison Lundell Taggart
Memorial disbursements were applied to two projects
in 2015:
New refrigerator for the Food Pantry
(Joyce, Quinten, Elmer, Clarence Bloom Memorial
and Irene Peabody Memorial)
Lebanon Lutheran Church’s Memorial Fund account
balance at 12-31-15 is $16.522/98/ with the last
transaction occurring in October, although the funds
are not held separately.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Roesler
Memorial Secretary
12
PROPERTY COMMITTEE
Committee Members: Doug Aardema, Terry Beekman,
Dave Gelvin, Scott Keller, and Glenn Eaton (Chairperson).
Special thanks to John Parks for his help on the hallway
project.
Work Completed During 2015
Completed routine building and grounds
maintenance.
Coordinated the repair of the parking lot sink hole
and the repaving of the excavated area.
Facilitated the replacement of the damaged surfaces
surrounding the parking lot drains.
Coordinated the seal coating of both parking lots.
Striped the parking lots.
Replaced damaged boards and stained the picnic
tables.
Corrected numerous fire code violations and
facilitated re-inspection by the Fire Marshall. (See
attached)
Replaced the burned out exhaust fan motor for the
main floor bathrooms.
Replaced electronic ballasts in two ceiling light
units.
Trimmed numerous trees and bushes.
Coordinated the professional removal of 5 trees and
the grinding /removal of their stumps.
Leveled and planted grass seed in areas where tree
stumps had been.
Removed old speakers from the bell tower.
Mulched and blew leaves for the fall pickup.
Installed a handicapped sign in front of the church.
Facilitated the removal of broken concrete retaining
walls in preparation for replacement with
landscaping blocks.
Purchased and stacked landscaping blocks.
Facilitated the replacement of the broken garbage
disposal.
Disposed of numerous boxes of outdated financial
records/documents.
Painted the curb adjacent to the east parking lot.
Installed hardware on the new Food Pantry
refrigerator.
Developed a schedule for the periodic testing of the
church’s emergency egress lights.
Replaced the old computer desk with a more
compact one.
Painted ceiling stains caused by minor roof leaks.
Fixed a wiring problem with a ceiling fan in the
fellowship hall.
Facilitated the repair of a leaky heating system
valve.
Hauled a truckload of used lumber to the Restore.
Facilitated the repair of a toilet in the women’s
bathroom.
Installed required trim in the Food Pantry elevator.
Weeded the playground.
Repaired the foosball and ping pong tables.
Repaired pews.
Projects for 2016:
Build new retaining walls with landscaping blocks.
Repair or replace the lawn tractor.
Implement the testing schedule for the church’s
emergency lights.
Address the periodic leaking around the chimney at
the roof line.
Recycle scrap metal currently stored in the church
basement.
CORRECTION OF FIRE CODE VIOLATIONS
On February 10, 2015 an inspection by the Fire Marshal
resulted in being cited for 19 violations. The Property
Committee has addressed the following:
Purchased and installed an external secure key box
and locking plugs for FDC pipes. ($549)
Marked and cleared required floor space in front of
electrical service panels.
Removed all door stops from fire rated doors
except for the kitchen and food pantry.
Removed combustible decorations hanging from
the ceiling.
Replaced numerous missing ceiling tiles.
Relocated the K fire extinguisher next to the
kitchen door.
Replaced burned out bulbs and dead batteries in old
exit signs. ($43)
Replaced nonfunctioning exist signs with new
combo exit signs and installed new ones where
required. ($947)
Removed extension cords where used as permanent
wiring.
Removed combustible material from the furnace
and boiler rooms.
Removed improperly stored items from the top of
shelves in order to achieve required ceiling
clearance.
Filled holes in fire rated doors and block walls with
fire caulk. ($15)
13
Had the hood and exhaust system above the kitchen
stove professionally cleaned. ($345) Must be done
annually.
Removed the wooden pallets stacked against the
outer wall of the church.
Brought the exit hallway in the SE corner of the
nursery up to code by installing additional drywall
and replacing the suspended ceiling. ($200)
Replaced batteries and bulbs in existing emergency
egress ceiling lights and installed new units where
needed. ($393)
Had Cofessco: (A) Repair the horn/strobe lights,
(B) Install an electronic gas valve manual reset
relay for the kitchen stove/ovens, (C) Install a hard-
wired smoke detector above the fire alarm panel in
the office, (D) Conduct check valve maintenance
and 5 year internal pipe inspections of the sprinkler
systems, and (E) Replace 3 riser pressure gauges.
($1,971)
Removed old magnetic door stops and filled
resultant holes in the concrete floor.
The total cost for the church to address fire code
violations was $4,478. Property committee
members also donated additional materials.
On 11/25/15 the Fire Marshal approved the above
corrections, but identified a wiring problem in the
community food pantry that subsequently was
addressed by installing an additional electrical
outlet for a refrigerator.
Submitted, Glenn Eaton
ALTAR GUILD
No report submitted in 2015
QUILTING
2015 has been a busy year in the quilting room. With
Minnie Estlund, Hazel Palmer, Ruth Baxter, Rene
Walker, Donna Stacy, Flo King, and Laura Swenson,
the materials were sorted, organized, and repacked this
summer. Shelving was put in place and we went to
work.
We sold quilts, thread, and pot holders at the Spring
Craft Fair. Donations of quilts, rice bags, walker back
packs, and small personal bags were given to residents
of maple Creek who visit us as part of their Fall Color
Tour.
Quilts were packed up and delivered so that they could
join the big effort of the Lutheran Church for Lutheran
World Relief. Other recipients of quilts were Mission
for Area People, Soap and Suds efforts, Veteran's
Home in Grand Rapids. We also helped make several
quilts for individuals.
Minnie and Hazel did a miraculous job of creating 80
special hat and mitten sets which will be delivered to
the area schools for elementary children.
We are in need of sewers and cutters as well as
quilters so if you are interested or curious, please let us
know so we can welcome your time and talents. Many
hands make work light!! Straight sewing and tying
knots are the only experience one needs and telling
jokes is really helpful!!
We normally meet on Mondays at 12:30 this year.
Respectfully submitted by,
Donna Stacy
SLOVAK INTERN PROGRAM
In the summer of 2015 Lebanon Lutheran Church received
an intern from the Seminary in Bratislava, Slovakia and his
name is Emil Hankovsky.
I would like to thank the Host families - the
DeMumbrum’s, the Eatons, the Gelvin’s, the Wheeler’s, the
Keller’s, and my wife for all of the work that you did to
make Emil’s stay in the White Lake Area a great experience.
We feel that this program has been a great success, and we
are looking forward to hosting another intern in the summer
of 2016. Please consider supporting the program, either
financially or as a host family.
Program Coordinator
John Parks
14
LYO
We have a very small youth group. With working around
the kids schedules and mine it seemed to be very difficult to
get the whole group together this last year. We were able to
send Valentines boxes out again this year. They are very
appreciated by the college kids and military.
We raised funds with the Lenten Soup Suppers,
Smorgasbord auction and Steak Fry auction. Thanks for all
the donations for the silent auctions at both events. The
quilting ladies blessed the group with quilts to raffle off.
This year’s focus for the Youth Group has been the National
Youth Gathering. We had three team building exercises in
anticipation of being together at the Gathering. A group of
four youth, an intern, Jim and I were blessed enough to
travel to Detroit for the gathering. One of the most
rewarding experiences was to watch the homeowner’s face
as we cleaned up the neighborhood that they live in.
From all the youth, thank you to the congregation for their
support.
Submitted by –
Flo King
EVANGELISM COMMITTEE
No report submitted in 2015
ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE
The Committee members during 2015 are Tony
DiNicolo and Becky Whar whose terms expire in 2018,
Karen Hostika and Jon Blyth whose terms expire in
2017, and Terry Beekman who was re-appointed by
Church Council and whose term expires in 2018. We
had no requests for grants during the year.
This past year saw a loss in the fund in the amount of
$51. We began the year with a balance of $34,370 and
ended the year with $34,421. This is divided across
the three sub-funds as follows:
GENERAL BUILDING FUND - This is a
Restricted Fund in which the gains can be used to
maintain, remodel and repair the original Sanctuary
built in 1877. The balance in this Sub-Fund as of Sept
30, 2015 is $20,264 with $ 264 available for use.
DANCE & DANCE EDUCATION FUND –
This is a Restricted Fund in which the gains can be
used to support the art of dance and dance education.
The balance in this Sub-Fund as of Sept 30, 2015 is
$5,703 with $703 available for use.
OUTREACH ENDOWMENT FUND - This
is a Non-Restricted Fund in which the gains can be
used to support our Christian Mission. The balance in
this Sub-Fund as of Sept 30, 2015 is $5454 with $517
available for use.
Please give consideration to investing some of your
gifting to the Endowment Fund and including us it in
your estate planning. Further information is available
from the Committee Secretary, Tony DiNicolo or
myself, including methods of giving, the Mission
Statement for use of the Funds and the application
forms and procedure to request funds from the Fund.
Respectfully,
Terry Beekman - Chairman
15
MUTUAL MINISTRY
Mutual Ministry met at the behest of the Finance
Committee to recommend salary changes for
Pastor and staff.
We also reviewed items in the Synod’s
Compensation Guidelines and made the following
recommendations to Pastor Ogden:
1. Commission a Social Media Action Group.
Their mission: jazz up the Lebanon’s
Facebook page (“Like us on Facebook” or
the Facebook logo should be added to our
advertising.)
2. Begin using Twitter and Instagram.
3. Update Lebanon’s web page, using current
photos.
4. Upload DVDs of our worship service. The
committee suggested the project could be
introduced by our confirmation class, but
the intent is for this group to be ongoing.
The advertisement for Lebanon in the White Lake
Beacon should indicate every Sunday communion
and should include Lebanon’s website address.
Periodically, the sandwich board sign in front of
church should say, “Join us for communion every
Sunday.”
Other Matters:
Day camp participants need to have an invitation
mailed to their families, inviting campers to a
planned program on Sunday mornings at the same
time as Sunday service. The activity should
include music, stories and food—every Sunday—
managed by a paid professional if necessary.
The intent of the above recommendations is to
increase the interest, awareness and attendance at
Lebanon Lutheran Church. It is the hope that
increasing our social media footprint, using better
advertising and inviting day camp families to a
well-planned program will increase attendance
and inject new energy, thus enabling the Church to
afford the additional costs incurred in increased
salaries.
Submitted by Barb Aardema
16
Call to Order
Following worship service and a potluck lunch
President Al Wheeler called the 2015 Annual Meeting
of Lebanon Lutheran Evangelical Church to order at
12:29pm. with a prayer and scripture reading.
Approval of 2014 Minutes
Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept minutes of the
2014 annual meeting. Jon DeMumbrum supported the
motion. Al Wheeler noted the minutes approved at the
2014 meeting should have read “2013” not “2011”.
Tim and Jon amended their motion to include the
correction. Carried.
Elections Tim DeMumbrum moved to have the Kellers’ names
removed from the Synod Delegates category as there is
another couple, Al and Michele Wheeler, on the ballot,
and Kellers were reticent about being delegates.
Wheelers have been delegates in the past; Al urged the
Kellers to reconsider as it is a very worthwhile event.
The Kellers agreed to remain on the ballot; Tim
withdrew his motion.
Virginia DeMumbrum nominated Donna Stacy to fill
the LSSM slot on the ballot. Donna agreed.
Two empty slots on the ballot – one for Council and
one for Camp Champ – received no nominations.
Pastor Ogden explained the importance of filling the
Camp Champ position as it would encourage youth
participation now and help ensure a base of young
adult members in the future.
Ann Nessa volunteered to remove her name from the
Financial Compliance slot in order to make it easy to
vote a unanimous ballot. After discussion, she agreed
to leave her name in contention.
Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept a unanimous ballot
except for the contested positions. Jon DeMumbrum
supported the motion. Ballots were marked and
collected. Tally results:
Financial Compliance Review Committee
Ann Nessa
Synod Delegates:
Scott and Kathy Keller
Lay Communion Assistant Coordinator:
Karen Hosticka
LSSM:
Donna Stacy
Usher Coordinator:
Al Wheeler – 8am
Rob Montgomery – 10:15am
MCCC Liaison:
Mike and Lois Szczerbinski
Living Waters Camping Ministries:
vacant
World Hunger:
Cheri Crouch
Council:
Doug Aardema
Sandy Robbins
One vacancy
LEBANON LUTHERAN CHURCH
MINUTES OF CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
Annual Congregation Meeting
January 25, 2015
17
Finance Reports:
Financial Secretary Curt Crouch and Treasurer Roger
Silk highlighted sections of their reports. Tim
DeMumbrum moved to accept the reports. Donna
Stacy supported the motion. One correction should be
made to the Notes on page 35. The hourly rate increase
for staff should read 1 percent. Motion to accept
corrected reports carried.
2015 Budget
Council recommends a budget of $180,074. Some
savings should be realized now that we have a new
boiler; snowplowing expenses are much lower so far
this year than last year.
Pastor noted Roger had brought a high level of
professionalism to the treasurer’s job. He is retiring,
and Lebanon has hired Terri VanderLeest to be our
accountant. Mallory Crouch – Lothschutz will write
checks to vendors until Karen Hosticka returns from
winter vacation. Frank Hollister thanked Roger for his
years of service.
Ministry Reports
Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept all ministry
reports. Elaine Liska supported the motion.
Rental Properties
Al Wheeler noted Lutheran Social Services of
Michigan may be interested in using the rental
properties Lebanon owns. Council appointed Frank
Hollister and Doug Aardema to study the LSSM
proposal and make a recommendation to Council in
three months. A congregational vote would be needed
for any new plan for the houses.
Adjournment
Tim DeMumbrum moved to adjourn at 1:22pm. Jon
DeMumbrum supported the motion.
Respectfully submitted,
Barb Aardema
Members in Attendance at 2015 Annual Meeting:
Al Wheeler
Rob Montgomery
Sue Roesler
Diane Eastman
Cheri Crouch
Curt Crouch
Pastor Doug Ogden
Ann Nessa
Roger Silk
Kim Nelson
Jon DeMumbrum
Tim DeMumbrum
Virginia DeMumbrum
JoAnne Silk
Frank Hollister
Bernie Weidner
Marie Hendrixon
Elaine Liska
Barb Aardema
Doug Aardema
Dan Girvan
Jenny Lynn Girvan
Art Plewka
Donna Stacy
Nancy Dahl
Nancy Peterson
Darlene Willbrandt
Sue Plewka
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CONGREGATIONAL STATISTICS
MEMBERS RECEIVED
By Affirmation of Faith
Jone Benedict
Donna Ginn
Maurine Rea
Marsha Eyler
Eileen Hovey
Lois Fuller
Rosemary Grubb
Brian Jaekel
Kara Jaekel
DEATHS
Irene Peabody 1/12/15
Terry Ernst (NM) 1/25/15
Charles Svensson 2/17/15
Robert Rule 4/23/15
Clarence Johnson (NM) 6/8/15
Eleanor Carlson 6/9/15
Jeanette Svensson 12/30/15
*(NM) denotes non-member
TRANSFERS
Jacquelyne Martin 3/28/15
BAPTISMS
Renee’ ElizabethAnn Balkema 12/27/15
MARRIAGES
Debra Statz and Charles Peabody 6/6/15
Kathryn Girvan and Jeffrey Barron 7/25/15
Danielle McGahan and Jon DeMumbrum 11/5/15
STATISTICS
ATTENDANCE AVERAGES:
Total Attendance for 2015 was: 3,647 * (some
attendance numbers were not included due to no usher
notations)*
Average Early Worship - 19
Average Late Worship - 48
Christmas Eve Worship – Early service: 77
Christmas Eve Worship – Late service: 73
Easter Worship - Early service: 32
Easter Worship - Late service: 62
MEMBER STATISTICS:
Total Membership 580
Confirmed 236
If we inadvertently missed anyone, we apologize.
Please call the church office (893-5745), so we can
correct our records. Thanks
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