Congregational Life Ministry Team minutes

Last meeting: Aug. 14, 2007

Attendees:
Ellen Evensen

Jean Monson

Emilie Larson

Elizabeth Hensel

Deni Lundwall

Phyllis Anderson

Jean Wuethrich

Karen Herbrich

Excused:
Yvette Woerishofer

Margaret Zweig

Important items of information:

• Parish nurse update: Karen Herbrich started position July 1, going well. Has and will continue to visit people in hospitals, received calls into the church that identified a nursing need which leads to home visit to assess situation and needs, acts as a support person and implements resources available through the church and community, church office in Room 114 on main level, phone ext. 310.

Upcoming work: blood pressure screenings (once per month, perhaps?), seminars on various needs (support for caregivers, for example), will attend Concordia Mequon to be certified as a parish nurse (4 week program) in September. Parish nurse position might become part of baptism process to discuss spiritual development/needs of young baptized children to help parents of these young children understand what they can do to further their child’s spiritual growth (even at such a young age). The Health Ministry team will meet again in September. Karen is working to get medical equipment for church use and possibly will have regular parish nurse office hours. Since there are several retired nurses in congregation, the parish nurse can possibly have other clinical offerings besides just blood pressure each month.

• Wednesday evening Downtown Site (fall) activities/plan: Faithfully Fit program offered by parish nurse in October – 6-week study that is for body, mind, and soul that encourages and offers scripture to lose weight and strengthen faith. Possibly also a Special Friends jump-start session with Pastor Herder, and in future, maybe Stephens Ministry training sessions during the Wednesday night learning hour in the fall.

Wednesday night activities will be held at the Downtown Site, to start Sept. 12 with confirmation orientation (no meal provided) and worship service, with the first full evening on Sept. 19: meal 5:15 -6:15pm, learning hour 6:15-7:15, and worship (with communion) at 7:15 to be completed at 8pm. There are three caterers (Zuppas will take one - two weeks each month), and fifth Wednesday’s will be noncatered. Cost for meal is $5 per person, not to exceed $20 per family, and under age 5 eat free. This requires a Monday noon deadline for RSVP and last minute cancellation by noon Tuesday.

To begin with; expecting 50-100 people. Bakers in congregation will do desserts (not caterers). Disposable dishes will be used so everyone can participate in the learning hour activities. Nancy Allen will handle collecting money and registrations for these dinners. The service will be Holden Evening Prayer with communion. The next meeting for the planning group for the Wednesday activities will be after Labor Day. (The summer Wednesday night service (with the summer interns) will be the Wednesday after Memorial Day until the Wednesday before Labor Day.)

• Prayer ministry update: need a volunteer coordinator/task force leader. Prayer 101 is tentatively planned for December 2007. Anyone can pick up a prayer shawl from the church to donate (doesn’t need to be the pastors) – see Amy Truby for details.

• Stephens Ministry update: discussed with parish nurse, plan for 2008 leader training in the summer, so that can offer Stephens Minister training during the Wednesday night learning hour in the fall of 2008. Program costs are $5,000 and each Stephens Minister pays for his/her own materials for the training.

• Senior bus trip to be planned (need task force) for fall, task force to also help with future quarterly activities. Jean Monson will contact Elizabeth Hensel and Carol Diehl for information to help with this planning.

• Possibly planning a trip to Decorah, Iowa, for the Juletide Christmas program at Luther College. Sherrill Moard has expressed interest in this and will be asked to help set this up.

• Time & Talent forms/Volunteer Fair on Sept. 16: Deni and Margaret to represent CL at North Site between services, Ellen to represent CL at Downtown site, Emilie to make up both poster-boards – one panel of boards to show October through December volunteer needs.

• Next meeting: will discuss 2008 goals.

Submitted by:

Emilie Larson