Zion Lutheran Church
Council Meeting Minutes February 17, 2015
Council members present: Jessica Aasheim, Larry Nelson, Jamie Gaboury, John Bye, Tricia Porter, Kathy Johnson,
Ken Benson, Emily Jones, Diane Shuldheisz
Outgoing Council members present: Nathan Norquist.
Council members excused: None.
Pastors present: Connie Tiede.
Others present: Call Committee members Doug Jones, Colleen Nelson and Misty Beckman; Dee Ann Cameron,
Director of Administration; Barb Loe, Volunteer/Membership Coordinator.
Christ Care Prayers
Pastor Connie welcomed the newly elected council members. Introductions and Christ Care Prayers followed.
President John Bye called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m.
Adoption of Consent Agenda
John stated that prior to the adoption of the Consent Agenda, a couple of items from the Consent Agenda need
Council’s attention.
Pre-K Accreditation Visit
 Diane stated that Hope Luedtke and the Pre-K staff have been working on the accreditation process for the
past three years. The accreditation site visit will take place March 14-17. All council members are invited
to a luncheon on Sunday, March 15 to meet the Accreditation Team. During that morning, the team will
attend worship services and visit with members of the congregation. Diane shared with the group The
Early Childhood Accreditation Report that Hope and the Accreditation Team have put together during this
process.
John asked if the visit by the Accreditation Team signals the end of the accreditation process.
Diane responded by giving an outline of the site visit: Hugh Kress, ELEA accreditor will meet with Hope on
Saturday. On Sunday, Hugh and the Accreditation Team (composed of Marlene Colvin and two others from
the local area) will attend worship services and the luncheon at noon. In the afternoon, the group will have
a facilities tour. Hugh will then begin working with and training the Accreditation Team. On Monday, Hugh
and the team will observe classrooms, check out the facilities and interview different people. On Tuesday,
they will conduct more interviews and then get together and summarize, decide whether or not the Pre-K
will be accredited and then meet with Hope. Ken Benson and Paul Davis will be leading the facilities tour
on Sunday.
John asked what the overall feeling is on whether or not we will be accredited.
Diane stated that she feels that the Pre-K will be accredited but that there will be some flags such as the
drinking fountains and the step stools in the bathrooms.
 Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Jamie Gaboury stated that he would like to request two separate motions in regard to the
Building Fund.
o There is unfinished business from last month’s council meeting in regard to the money left over
from 2013 and 2014 in the Building Fund totaling $98,487. Jamie stated that council could apply
the whole amount to principal but that his recommendation is to apply $75,000 towards principal
o
reduction and retain $23,487 in the Building Fund Excess account to cover some bills that we know
will be coming in such as the drinking fountains and a couple other things that total approximately
$18,000.
The Building Fund currently has a target balance of $50,000 which is enough to cover three
mortgage payments. Jamie went on to recommend increasing the target balance to $55,000 and
authorizing Dee Ann to apply any amount over the $55,000 directly to principal rather than having
to wait to the end of the year to figure out what is in the Building Fund that could be applied to
principal.
Motion by Ken and seconded by Tricia to apply $75,000 of the $98,487 Building Fund
surplus towards principal reduction with the balance of $23,487 retained in the Building
Fund Excess account.
Motion by Ken and seconded by Tricia to increase the target balance of the Building Fund
from $50,000 to $55,000 and to allow the Director of Administration to automatically take
any excess of the $55,000 in the fund and apply it directly to principal.
Ken asked in regard to the first motion whether or not we have enough money to cover the changes
to the usher’s closet. Dee Ann stated that we already have funds to cover that project.
Diane asked in regard to the second motion if $55,000 is enough in case something were to break
down. Dee Ann replied that there is also money in the Building Fund for additional expenses. This
would be over and above what is already in the budget. Dee Ann also stated that if we have any
issues we could come back to council and ask to suspend the automatic excess principal payments
for a few months.
No further discussion. Motions carried.
Emily inquired about Restricted Account 4111 HSY Summer Trip 2014 and whether there is still an
outstanding balance from last year. Dee Ann stated that the money in this account is for this year’s
trip and that the heading needs to be changed to HSY Summer Trip 2015. Jamie asked why the
current balance is negative. Dee Ann stated that expenses are being paid out of this account before
deposits have all been made.
Motion by Jessica and seconded by Emily to adopt the Consent Agenda. No further discussion. Motion
carried.
Election of New Officers
John turned the meeting over to Pastor Connie.
Pastor Connie stated that the officers make-up the Executive Committee. The following council members have
been nominated for the officers of the congregation:
President: Jamie Gaboury
Vice President: Tricia Porter
Secretary: John Bye
Treasurer: Diane Shuldheisz
Pastor Connie asked for any additional nominations from the floor. Hearing none, Pastor Connie called for a
motion to approve.
Motion by Ken and seconded by Jessica to approve the officers of the congregation as presented. No
discussion. Motion carried.
On behalf of the council and the congregation John thanked outgoing council members Steve Will, Martha West
and Nathan Norquist and presented them with a small token of appreciation. (Steve and Martha were unable to
attend the meeting).
John turned the meeting over to President Jamie Gaboury.
Jamie thanked John for his leadership as president.
Old and New Business
 Call Committee Report/Ministry Site Profile
Colleen Nelson stated that the Call Committee has met six times and has worked hard to complete the
Ministry Site Profile. The Call Committee will be presenting the Ministry Site Profile to the congregation
this coming Sunday at 10 a.m. Bishop Ann Svennungsen will be there as well to answer any questions
about the Call process. Following this meeting the Ministry Site Profile will be tweaked if necessary. The
document will then go public and any interested candidates can learn about us. Colleen went on to explain
the Call Committee process. Meetings begin with devotions and Christ Care Prayers. The committee did a
lot of wordsmithing with our goals and mission statements. The committee has really jelled and it has been
exciting and fun. The committee also had a lot of resources available to them including the 2009 Ministry
Site Profile, the Annual Report and Pastor Peter’s three page exit interview. Also, it has been very helpful to
have two members from the 2009 Call Committee, Doug Jones and Sandy Benson, on the current Call
Committee. There are some things missing in the document that, due to confidentiality, will not be made
available to the congregation.
Diane asked about the choices of the Top Five Ministry Tasks that are listed on page eight of the document.
Diane stated that she felt that Spiritual Formation or Interpret Theology would be more important than
Stewardship.
Colleen responded saying that we have Preaching and Teaching checked because the committee felt that if
the individual is good at these two ministry tasks, spiritual formation would happen. Diane stated she feels
that if the individual is good at spiritual formation, stewardship would happen. Pastor Connie stated that
Pastor Kathie does a lot of the spiritual formation already—adult education, book studies, retreats. Doug
reminded the group that only five tasks could be checked on the list.
Diane also asked about page nine of the document. She stated that she would like two additional areas
checked: Be effective in working with children and Have a strong commitment and loyalty to the Lutheran
Church. Colleen responded that the committee had tried to check Be effective in working with children as
their sixth choice on the list but were only allowed to choose five. The committee had discussions and
recognizes the importance of a Lead Pastor being able to relate well to children and youth. This will be
communicated in the interview process. Colleen went on to say that in her mind, loyalty to the Lutheran
Church is a given. Jamie interjected that loyalty to the Lutheran Church is amorphic, people have their own
definitions of what it really means.
Diane also expressed her concern under Mutual Expectations about the mention of phase II of the building
project. She stated that she feels the person needs to get his/her feet wet before giving attention to this
project—not the first year but perhaps the second year. Pastor Connie stated that we will be moving
ahead with Phase II and that there is a meeting scheduled for February 26 with the Properties Committee
and Tim Sheie to discuss what the wants and needs are. We can’t wait. There are things that need to be
done. It won’t be happening next year. There will need to be a capital campaign. But we have to at least
say that we are a congregation that understands what our needs are within this building and in our
ministries. Diane reiterated her concern that it might be too much for the person the first year that they
are here. Pastor Connie agreed saying that we would not be placing the project on one person but on the
congregation. When we voted on Phase I we said that the next phase would happen in three to five years.
Colleen stated that it would be helpful for the Call Committee to have bullet points about the direction that
we are headed available when they meet with candidates. Jamie interjected that it is a great selling feature
to a candidate—demonstrates that the congregation is not standing still waiting for a new senior pastor.
Doug stated that it is important to understand the purpose of the Ministry Site Profile. It is sent to the
Synod and the Synod uses the document when talking to particular candidates. It is not their marching
orders or a job description but rather a description of where we are right now, some things that we see on
the horizon and what some of our congregation’s priorities are. It is just a big picture of Zion and what is
on the horizon. Colleen also stated that phase II of the building project is also mentioned on page 5 under
Energy and that we are really looking ahead to its implementation. John stated that this is a guidepost, a
useful tool for the Synod to use.
Pastor Connie stated that Bishop Svennungsen wants to hear what is important to us. Typically bishops
do not come to congregations.
Colleen stated that she is looking for a go-ahead from the council regarding the Ministry Site Profile and if,
after the bishop comes, there are changes to the document, the ability for the Call Committee to go to the
council president rather than full council for permission to make those changes to the document.
Motion by John and seconded by Ken to accept the Ministry Site Profile as stated and any additional
inputs after the meeting with the Bishop can be approved by Council President Jamie Gaboury. No
further discussion. Motion carried.

Council Welcome and Orientation
Pastor Connie stated that there is a Council Guidebook for those council members who are new. The
guidebook has sections for minutes, reports, etc. Every month there will be council meeting information in
each council member’s mailbox the Sunday prior to the council meeting. Information is also sent out
electronically. This is where you will find the Consent Agenda information for each month. It is important
for you to know what is happening ahead of time. Pastor Connie went on to stress the importance of
confidentiality—many issues that are discussed are sensitive in nature. The minutes of the meetings are
taken and made available to the congregation to read but some of the more sensitive information is filtered.
Also, minutes are not available to the congregation until after the council has approved them. Pastor
Connie went on to say that we need the leadership and voice of the council members so it is important that
members are at the meetings whenever possible.
Conversation took place amongst the group on why those new to council agreed to be on council.
Jamie reminded the group that each member has his/her own mailbox and in that mailbox is a name
badge—wear it on Sundays and be available out in the narthex area when possible.
Kathy asked if council members get asked a lot of questions on a Sunday morning. And is it okay to say
that she will get back to them if they ask her a question to which she does not know the answer. Jamie
stated that most of the time people just want to let someone know something. Emily stated that another
good response is to say that you will take their particular concern back to council. Pastor Connie
interjected that if people have concerns they can always talk to her.
Strategic Mission Information and Action Items
 Update Council Vision
Pastor Connie stated that this is council’s action item for next time. The previous council wrote up some of
their visions regarding the following questions: What do you see Zion doing in the next five years? Where
would you like to see Zion? What are some of your dreams and visions for Zion as you look at our values?
As new council members, consider these questions and write down your thoughts. For those who already
have done this, take a look at them again and maybe re-write your answers. Pastor Connie said that she
will send out the previous council members’ comments. Larry asked if it is possible to get a copy of Pastor
Peter’s three page exit interview. Pastor Connie stated that it is not possible to share Pastor Peter’s exit
interview as it was confidential and intended for the small group that he did the interview with. Pastor
Connie stated that she could probably take a look at the exit interview and encapsulate it and send it out to
the group. Pastor Connie also went on to say that her goal for council meetings is for them to not just be
about the financials and the old and new business but to be about the vision—continuing to look forward
and ahead. That way if someone comes to you with a question or a complaint, you would be able to
succinctly state what are the mission, vision and values of Zion Lutheran Church.
John stated that it would be helpful to re-distribute some of the Long Range Plan discussions. Tricia stated
that the Long Range Planning Committee is on hold because of the Call process.
Ken made a follow-up comment to last month’s decision to change the employee cost for healthcare coverage. He
stated that we need to be careful if we continue to add more to our staff financially then staff morale could be
affected. Dee Ann stated that the staff was not surprised about the increase and Pastor Connie said that she had
not heard any comments about the increase from the pastoral staff. Ken went on to say that he doesn’t think that
we are overdoing it but that we should be careful about future increases.
Motion to adjourn made by Jessica and seconded by Emily.
Meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.