ASLC Council Meeting Minutes
February 15, 2024
7:00 pm in Adix Room
Attendees:
Marc Funderburk, Andrew DaCosta, Mary Rosas, Libby Lindstrom, John Barnes, Donald Scheeler and Beverly Byers.
Sue Brant joined us.
Opening Prayer led by Bev Byers.
Devotion led by Marc Funderburk. We discussed “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”, by Oscar Wilde and “My Messy House”, by Kathleen Norris.
Approval of Minutes:
Mary Rosas moves to approve the minutes from the January 2024 meeting, Andrew DaCosta seconded. All approved.
Team Reports:
Ministry Reports: Souper Bowl for Caring donations were taken to Mission Arlington per Mary Rosas. Ginya Anderson is currently working with the Confirmation class, she is continuing to teach Children’s church and looking for helpers. She currently is conducting class in the atrium if she is the solo teacher on Sundays. The Live Nativity is scheduled for December 14th and the down payment was sent for the animals by Ginya. Marc Funderburk is working on the Spring Cowtown Brush-up. It is scheduled for April 6, 2024. The Garden of Hope greenhouse was assembled, and planting has begun inside it for spring plants. The Easter Eggstravaganza is scheduled for March 30th from 2 to 4 pm. Lenten suppers are on Wednesdays at 6:30pm and the worship service begins at 7:00 pm.
One question raised by Mary was on the confirmation students who want to participate in Sunday services. John Barnes is going to coordinate with Ginya Anderson and get with the students to begin their work with worship.
Property Report: Art is currently working on repairing intermittent leaks. Mary Rosas has agreed to work on the Abundant Life Lease and will coordinate with the team (Andrew, Mary, Bev and Libby) to present the document to Abundant Life for execution. The hope is to have the lease executed prior to March 1, 2024. Julia Bessler is the contact for the Junior League dress storage and prom shopping event. Currently waiting for the facility usage agreement submission. They will move the dresses into the designated areas toward the end of February for storage. The youth room is currently undergoing renovation. Mary Rosas compiled a signup sheet for facility cleaning. A few spots have been taken. Marc Funderburk suggested at the Town hall that teams be formed, and each team take a weekend to clean the church. He is leading a team. The compost bin and arbor have been installed in the garden. We have several projects lined up for the future including re-wire and bulb replacement in the outdoor signs, installation of the donated ice machine in the kitchen and cleaning the gutters.
Financial Reports: The financials for January were reviewed and look good. Bev will make adjusting entries as needed once the finance team has reviewed the reports officially on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. The only question was regarding the items under conventions which according to Bev is actually Pastor’s continuing education budget which he has used already this year. She put it there but will make the correcting entry to put it in the continuing education slot after the finance team reviews the reports.
Pastor’s Report: Pastor sent his report in earlier today since he was unable to attend the council meeting. He made home visits, phone calls, participated in church activities and teaching confirmation classes. He also had eye surgery on Feb 13th and is currently recovering at home.
Issues and Opportunities:
Spiritual Walk:
Marc emailed a picture of a prayer post near his house. We might think about putting one up on our property for anyone who would like to put a prayer on the post, and we will add them to our prayers. Project for scouts to build? Might be a clever idea for mission Monday group. We will reach out to John Anderson about the scouts.
Website:
Sue was invited to join us regarding the website. She volunteered to work on our website and will need all the information to keep the website current. We currently are limited on our Facebook and social media posting since the changes from the first of the year. We currently are not sending out the live Facebook link each Sunday via email like we were in the past. Sue suggests we have the ASLC website link to the Facebook page. She suggested we have a social media team to coordinate the postings. We have been on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly twitter) and YouTube in the past. Sue will communicate with Pastor Hellemo what the sign needs to say regarding the Facebook/Youtube broadcasts. Also discussed attaching a pdf in the email for the upcoming bulletin each week. She is currently working with Steve Bessler regarding the website. Sue will also use the computer in the office periodically.
We also discussed signage that states by entering the building, you are releasing your photo for publication on our website. Bev to get with Bob Blankenship regarding the legal aspect and if this is necessary. It was necessary for the CLC in regard to the photos that show the faces of the children, but with the CLC closed we are unsure if we really need this clarification.
Town Halls:
Town halls are going well. The congregation really plugged into participation. We have had a full house each meeting.
Volunteers:
A few members have signed up to participate in the cleaning. We are currently looking for team leaders to create a group of members to clean once a month. The signup sheet is on the table in the atrium. We are also still in need of volunteers to take over many of the duties Julia and others were performing prior to January.
The ASLC lease:
Mary to recruit members for the team to work out the lease. Andrew DaCosta will sit on team since he is president-elect.
Mineral Rights Sale:
Mineral rights agreement was executed on February 14, 2024. Money to go into emergency funds for future use.
Copier lease:
The CLC unit is ours. We own it outright. It does not have a handler but we can make it work. Our bulletin will be stapled but not folded with the CLC printer. Lease Direct contacted Bev. We have four printers/copiers affected by our agreement with them. We owe $21000.00 to the company. One option is to return them to Lease Direct in San Antonio. Once we return them, they will auction them off and deduct it from our balance owed. If we choose to return them, they will give us a receipt from the auction of the copier (Lease Direct) to show what they got for our copier. We must have it down to San Antonio before March 12, 2024.
The other option is that we still have a three-year lease and if we keep them, we can pay it out over the 3 years for $740.00 per month.
Bev Byers motioned that ASLC return the leased copies and printers to Lease Direct within their prescribed time frame. Mary Rosas seconded it. Discussed ensued and voted took place. All present approved returning the copiers/printers to Lease Direct.
Mary, Bev, and John will go over the stipulations regarding the shipping of the copiers. Andrew DaCosta is going to contact the shipping company and see about the freight charges as opposed to someone hauling it down to San Antonio ourselves. Council feels it would be best to use the suggested shipping company rather that assume the liability ourselves.
Easter Lillies and Palms:
Mary stopped at Beverly’s florist and the price will be determined at the beginning of March. The council decided to defer to the March town hall meeting (March 10th). In the past, we had less than 20 Easter lilies purchased. Due to timing, we may need to do a council vote on Easter lilies via email should we need a vote on it. Pastor Hellemo and Ginya previously asked that real palms be presented to adults. We need to know what exactly they have planned for the live palms since we currently do not have it budgeted due to our limited funds this year. We can add to Council chat/Mission Monday discussion regarding the palms for Palms Sunday since Pastor Hellemo and Ginya will be in attendance.
March town Hall:
The Town hall meeting on March 10th will be led by John Barnes since Marc is out of town.
Easter Sunday Pancake Breakfast:
Rod has requested that the breakfast be moved to another date in April. It will be discussed on Mission Monday, but the Council agrees to not hold the 5th Sunday Pancake Breakfast on Easter Sunday this year.
Corey Liaison:
Rod Parks will be here for the piano recital and function as the liaison. John Anderson has taken on the role going forward as liaison to Corey Elementary since he is an AISD employee and feels comfortable reaching out.
Yellow Cards:
Yellow cards with prayers go to Pastor Hellemo after service.
Church Directory:
At town hall, Chris Brower volunteered to work on the directory with Julia. He is asking for pictures of events that have occurred at ASLC.
Audit Team:
They are waiting for the information from Bev. They want to look at the past 5 years. They agreed to start with 2023 financials and go backwards.
Anderson Baptism:
Mary to speak with Ginya regarding the usage of the church areas. Currently, it conflicts with ALC and Santisma services.
Facility Rental for Events:
The property team will have approval regarding the usage of the facilities and will review the calendar to see about conflicts depending on the scheduled events at ASLC for the requested day. Currently, Bev is checking the office email which receives the facility request. She will forward the request to the Property team and the calendaring volunteer review and approval. This year, Mary Rosas has been designated for the Property team and John Barnes since he has volunteered to do the calendar this year. This will change yearly, depending on the council members each year.
Lenten Offering:
John Barnes moved that we give the Lenten offerings to the Rainbow Room as per discussed at the Town hall meeting this past Sunday. Seconded by Mary Rosas. Discussion: Will there be a QR code? Yes. Bev will put a drop down on the online giving page. Mary will put a note in the bulletin this Sunday.
Voting: All approved.
World Water Day:
Libby suggested that we do a brief acknowledgement of World Water Day, which is March 22nd, on the Sunday prior which is March 17th. Marc will speak to Rod about our Thrivent contact regarding recognition of the wells we have sponsored in Africa. We would like to recognize the congregation for their contribution to our effort to bring clean water to those in need of it.
Lenten Bible Study:
Pastor Hellemo has an idea, and we will discuss it on Mission Monday.
Holy Week:
Bev, Lynn, Art, Mary, Pastor Hellemo, Joe, and Steve will discuss Holy Week on February 25th after service. This may change due to availability of participants.
Prayer Concerns:
The following were concerns voiced by the council members for prayers: Pastor Hellemo’s eye surgery and healing, our community in general, Joe Alan, Donald’s sister Susan, Libby’s Mom and mother-in-law, and Andrew’s cousin’s cancer diagnosis.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Next meeting March 21, 2024, at 7 pm in Adix Room as ASLC
Transcribed by Libby Lindstrom
Addendum:
On March 4, 2024 the council meet via zoom and Mary Rosas made the motion that we accept the bid from Onepak Inc (Return Center) to pack and ship our copier and printers to San Antonio, Texas, as requested by Kyocera. John Barnes seconded the motion and discussion ensued. Vote was taken and motion passed with all 5 members in attendance voting for the motion (Marc was unable to attend via zoom). An electronic vote was emailed after the meeting to document the vote and all 6 council members voted yes to the motion with no one voting against. The motion passed. The bid is attached to the minutes for reference.