The Epistle of St. Paul
July 2015
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As I write this letter, I am filled with several emotions. I’m thankful for successful knee
replacement surgery on May 5th, while at the same time anxious to get back to work. My
plans are to be back the first week of July. Thank you for your prayers, cards, and support
these past two months.
On July 5th, Pastor Fernandez will be preaching his last sermon as Associate Pastor at St.
Paul. Although we may look at this as a day of sadness, still we are thankful for his ministry
among us and pray that the Lord will continue to bless his work with the family of Christ at
Redeemer Lutheran Church in Denver.
Our family at St. Paul begins a new chapter of ministry on Sunday,
July 12th. That is the day that Aaron Hannemann will be Ordained
into the Pastoral Ministry and Installed as our Associate Pastor/
Church Planter. The special worship service will be at 3:00 p.m. on
the 12th followed by a catered dinner in the Family Life Center to
welcome the Hannemann family.
What an exciting time for us as we -- by the blessing of the Holy
Spirit -- seek to expand our mission efforts into the Ankeny
community and beyond.
The Board of Elders and Church Council will begin working on the call process this fall.
Our goal will be to extend a call for an Associate Pastor who will replace Pastor Fernandez.
More details will be forthcoming.
During this time of transition and growth, please continue to keep our ministry together in
your prayers.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Baldwin
“Lean on the Lord”
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all
your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
It has been over a month now since I announced to my brothers and sisters at St. Paul that Jackie and I have
taken the call to serve God’s people in Denver. The last several weeks have been filled with all kinds of
emotions from joy and excitement, to doubt and fear of the unknown. And just as those emotions have been
present for Jackie and me, I am certain that they have been present for you, our brothers and sisters in Christ at
St. Paul, as we each turn the page to a new chapter in each of our lives.
As I have grabbed the corner of that page, I have been met with a whole new challenge: What does a pastor say
to a group of people he has grown to love and care for when he is getting ready to leave? Today I have resolved
to answer that question in two parts. First, I want to thank each and every one of you. I want to thank you for
the blessing you have been to Jackie and I over the last six years. Your generosity and kindness truly knows no
bounds.
I want to thank you for teaching me. Coming out of the seminary, a new pastor tends to think he’s got it all
figured out. In the years that follow, he quickly finds that he has a whole lot more to learn about ministry and
how to care for God’s people. You have been wonderful teachers and I am going to be taking all those things
I’ve learned into the future in my ministry.
Finally, I want to thank you for your kind words of support over the last several weeks as we have been
preparing for our move. The outpouring of support from our brothers and sisters at St. Paul serves to prove,
once again, how loving and supportive you are of your pastors and partners in ministry. While we are very sad
to say goodbye to our family at St. Paul, I cannot begin to tell you how much peace and how much confidence
the Lord has poured into our hearts as a result of your kind words of encouragement and support.
And now for the second thing I want to say as we work toward turning that page: Lean on the Lord. St. Paul
Lutheran Church has a lot of opportunities laid before her. Pastor Hannemann will be ordained and installed on
July 12th and I can’t wait to hear about how the Lord is working through him to bring the Gospel to Ankeny and
the surrounding area. But as this new adventure begins at St. Paul, don’t lean on yourselves, don’t lean on
Pastor Hannemann. Lean on the Lord. Trust him. Ask him to guide you and Pastor Hannemann in the direction
you ought to go and where he needs you most to plant a church.
Lean on the Lord. Building projects are great. They go a long way to improving the worship life and education
life of the members of any given congregation, but don’t lean on yourselves to get them done. Don’t lean on
your pastors or your leaders. Lean on the Lord. Trust him and his direction and he will make your paths
straight. In every single thing you do at St. Paul, acknowledge the Lord, see what he is planning, ask for his
guidance and he will give it. He’s funny like that.
So then, as that page is nearly turned and as the next chapter for St. Paul is about to begin, I can see the title
already. “Good Things”. The Lord has good things planned for this congregation. Thank you for allowing me
to serve you over the last six years. It has been a great blessing to walk with you through your joys and sorrows.
It has been an enormous privilege to deliver God’s grace to you through his Word and Sacraments. My time at
St. Paul has come to a close, but God’s time at St. Paul is going to continue, and it will continue for many years
to come because you will trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. You do that, and the Lord is
going to bless St. Paul beyond your wildest imagination.
Your Brother in Christ, Pastor James
LWML
Summer Mission Project
Once again we will be collecting school supplies over the summer. In August,
we will then deliver school supplies to the Neveln Community Center and other
organizations that may need supplies. See what good deals on school supplies
you can find over the summer. As you collect school supplies you may place
them in the basket by the LWML table. Thanks for helping make a child’s first
day at school next August special with new school supplies.
Pick up your St. Paul Magnets!
We are very excited to give to all our families here at St. Paul these magnets
which you can place on your vehicles’ bumpers. What a great way to let people
know about our Lutheran church here in Ankeny, no matter where you are. The
magnets are located on the kiosk in the narthex. Pick up one or two as you are
walking by and place them on all your vehicles. They have been tried and tested
and found to stay very well on car bumpers. You probably don’t even really have
to remove them weekly to clean under them. A huge thank you to Jim and Carol
Anderson and Thrivent Choice for making these available to our members.
Camp Discovery VBS
At Camp Discovery VBS, 250 children and well over 80 volunteers learned and demonstrated that “we love
because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Thank you to everyone who was part of this exciting week where
Jesus was (and still is!) at work in and through us! We are so grateful for all our volunteers who guided,
taught, and most importantly, showed Jesus’ love to His children at VBS.
Thank you to those who donated supplies, snacks, scrip cards, and other gifts to help give us the tools we
used to share Jesus’ love. Thank you to everyone who helped get ready for the week through decorating,
preparing materials, setting up, serving on our tent crew, and more. Our decorations and leftover supplies
were shared with 5 other congregations and will continue to make an impact on children all summer long.
Thank you to all those who invited friends, neighbors, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other guests to
join us. Around half of the children at our VBS are not members of St. Paul. We are grateful for the
opportunity to share the gospel with so many children in our community.
Thank you to our children for coming to VBS and for your enthusiasm for praising God and learning more
about our Savior! The kids at Camp Discovery collected $623.58 for Big City Mission to provide 25 new
backpacks full of school supplies to other children in inner-cities. Gifts like this help Big City Mission not
only provide tools for schools, but they also help create relationships so that the gospel can be shared.
Thank you for being part of Camp Discovery VBS. Praise God for the amazing work He does in and through
us
at
St.
Paul
Lutheran
Church!!
St. Paul's Family Game Night!
July 8, 2015
6:00 pm
The Board of Education invites you to come join us for an evening of fun,
games and fellowship! Bring your family, bring your friend, or just bring your
sweetie and enjoy....
Board games • Basketball contest •Carnival games
Bean bag toss •Competition games •Improv/charades
(....to name a few)
Family Fun for Everyone!!!
Lite snacks and drinks provided
July 15th is VBS Cookie Day
Someone might ask, “What is VBS Cookie Day?”
It is a time when we deliver a plate of cookies and a CD to all
the children and their families who visited St. Paul during VBS
week who are not members of our family here. The children
are so excited to see someone from the church, especially if
you were a part of VBS, and to get the cookies (yum yum), and the parents love the CD!
It is also a great time to thank them for letting their child come to our VBS and to invite them
to our pool party and of course to invite them to return to church some weekend for worship.
How can you help? We will need lots of people to bake cookies, and it will take multiple
teams to actually go deliver the cookies on Wednesday evening July 15th beginning at 6:00
pm. Please see the sign up sheets in the hallway and join us in this wonderful opportunity to
show our thankfulness to the Ankeny community.
Christian Education
Summer Sunday School
3 in 1: Discovering our Triune God Summer Sunday School continues through August
23. Children ages 3 and up are invited to join us each Sunday morning at 9:30am as
we explore Bible Stories that teach us about God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit.
2015—2016 Teachers Needed
Sunday School teachers and helpers as well as Midweek
teachers and volunteers are needed for the 2015-2016
school year. Teaching is a wonderful way to serve the Lord
and to share the message of God’s saving grace to our
youngest generation. Easy-to-use teaching materials are
provided. To be a part of St. Paul’s education ministry,
please contact our Director of Christian Education, Amy
Schmidt at (515) 964-1250 or amy@stpaulankeny.org.
Midweek Registration Begins Soon
We will begin a new year of St. Paul Lutheran Church’s Midweek Bible Classes on
Wednesday, September 2, 3:30-5:30 pm. Classes are for first through fifth grade, with
Confirmation classes for sixth and seventh grade. Students meet on Wednesdays
when Ankeny schools are in session, September 2 through the end of April.
Midweek begins around 3:30 with snack, memory work, and games. (For students at
schools that let out after 3:30, students are invited to come over to St. Paul as soon as
they can). From 4:00-5:30pm children will have an hour of lessons in their classrooms
and a half-hour of music time in the sanctuary.
Registration for Midweek begins in Mid-July. Please watch your church mailbox for
more
information.
The Time is Now!
If you have not already signed up to be a part of our Meals from the
Heartland Hunger Fight The Time is Now!!! Thank you to all of you
who have donated either through our Spaghetti Supper, our Bunko and
Silent Auction, in our donation box during Advent and Lent, or through
individual donations.
Now is the time to come together to get the meals packaged. It will
take many of us to complete the task, but we know that we will have a
lot of fun doing it as you can see in these pictures from previous years.
We need people to help set up on Friday, and then we will need 4
teams for each hour on Saturday from 8:00 to 3:00 and some
volunteers to clean up when we are all done. Please see the sign up
sheets on the tables near the Resurrection window and pick a time to
help. It is guaranteed to be a great day as you serve the Lord!
Remember July 18th 8:00 TO 3:00
Family Life Center
All widows and single ladies of St. Paul are invited to attend
“Lady Diners”. We meet on the first Tuesday of each
month. This month we will be dining at Chicago Speakeasy,
Tuesday, July 7th at 6:00 pm. Chicago Speakeasy is located
at 1520 Euclid Ave., Des Moines. If you would like to carpool,
meet at the church no later than 5:30 and we’ll all meet at the restaurant at 6:00 pm. If you
have any questions, please call Carol Wenndt, 964-2403, or Betty Berlau, 249-9968.
Ladies’ Morning Bible Study
The Thursday morning Ladies’ Bible Study group will meet
this month on Thursday, July 9th and July 23rd. We
gather around God’s Word at 9:00 a.m. in the Youth Room.
We are dedicated to Scripture and prayer. We are studying the Book of Romans. We want to welcome all women
of the congregation. Please join the “Prayer Warriors”!
PLAY GROUP
Parents of Newborns to Preschoolers
Please join us in the Family Life Center at 9:00 am on the 2nd Monday of each
month for fun and fellowship. Coffee and light snacks will be provided. This
group is open to anyone in the area, so tell a friend!
Our next play date is Monday, July 13th.
Hope to see you there!!!
Every third Sunday of the month at 2:00 pm, St. Paul
leads a worship service for the residents at Sunny
View Nursing home. We would love it if you joined
us in leading that service! All you have to do is arrive
at Sunny View at 1:45 pm and be ready to hand out
books, help the residents turn pages, and sing the praises of our God for all he
has done for us! Hope to see you there as we share the love of Jesus with the
residents at Sunny View!
Youth Sailing & Kayaking
Sunday, July 19, 1:00—5:00 pm
All upcoming 7th through 12th graders are invited to an exciting day
of sailing, kayaking, swimming, and hanging out on the beach at
Big Creek. We will meet at St. Paul at 12:30 to carpool or you may
meet us there at the beach after 1:00 pm. Life jackets, lunch, and
drinks will be provided. Please bring swimwear, sunscreen, and a
lawn/beach chair. Adult leaders are also needed. All youth will
need to update their health/medical release forms and turn them in
ahead of time in order to participate.
Please join us for this fun afternoon!
Are you ready for more fun with your VBS friends? On Sunday, July 26, 6:158:00pm, all members of St. Paul and VBS guests are invited to our annual Family
Pool Party at the Prairie Ridge Ankeny Aquatic Center (the old pool). This evening is
totally free and refreshments will be provided. All ages are welcome. We do ask that
at least one parent from each family attend with their children. Feel free to contact
amy@stpaulankeny.org or 964.1250 with any questions. See you soon!
Our mission is to serve Christ and be faithful witnesses by
providing appropriate burial clothing for infants who die and
by offering Christian support and comfort to their grieving
families.
Our mission continues as we are in need of any size blankets. We can provide the yarn or if
you want to supply your own, it needs to be baby yarn in either baby blue or pink. If you
would prefer to sew, we have kits to sew blankets.
We also are in need of x-small hats. A good idea of how small we are needing, it should be
able to fit a kiwi or apricot. The hat yarn is extremely fine and is provided to you. Thank you
to all our volunteers! This mission is very blessed to have you! For questions or needing
materials, please contact Kelly Buttery at 963-1232 or mkbuttery@netzero.net
SCRIP UPDATE
Thank you to all of the St. Paul members who have supported our education
programs by purchasing SCRIP cards. If you have never used the SCRIP program,
please stop by a SCRIP store held in the Family Life Center after the 8:00 am worship
service on Sunday mornings to see how you can earn money for the education
programs at St. Paul. Gift cards are available from many frequently used gas
stations, grocery stores, and discount/home improvement stores. Restaurant and
department store cards can also be purchased or ordered through the SCRIP
program. Weekly SCRIP stores will be held except July 5th. Orders will be placed
every two weeks throughout July including Sunday, July 12th and July 26th.
Please
contact Dorothy Marvin (iowamarvin5@msn.com or 964-3020) with any questions.
What is new with our Missionaries in Puerto Rico?
It is time to get personal with our missionaries in Puerto Rico. You can e-mail
Pastor Ruesch and Pastor Schuller to ask about their ministry or you can like
them on facebook or twitter. Hopefully we will soon be receiving newsletters
from them. If you would like to be on their e-mail list and have not already
signed up place you name on the list on the bulletin board.
Check out how you can collect
money for our missionaries.
Pick up a bank and start putting
your extra change in it and then
empty into the jar. Let’s see if
we can fill the jar to the rim! It
is already starting to be filled
so thank you to those adding
their change and dollar bills.
Great mission project for our
children too!
Their e-mail addresses are:
richard.schuller@lcmsint.org and matthew.ruesch@lcmsint.org
Their facebook addresses are :
www.facebook.com/losschullersforgodinpuertorico and
www.facebook.com/puertoricolutheran
You can also find them under Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Puerto Rico.
Continue to keep the Pastors and their families and the ministry of Puerto Rico
in your prayers.
SIGN UP NOW TO PARTICIPATE IN MILITARY TRIBUTE CONCERT
AT 2015 IOWA STATE FAIR
It is time again to make plans for the Military Tribute Concert. The Concert is
sponsored by Mt. Olive Lutheran Church and Iowa District West. We hope you will
plan to join us on August 17 at 5:00 pm at the Anne and Bill Riley Stage for our
tribute to all who have served, those currently serving and those who made the greatest
sacrifice of all.
We will once again rehearse at Gloria Dei Lutheran, 8601 Aurora, Urbandale. We will
bring together an adult choir, children’s choir and an orchestra. Please invite your
friends who have a heart for our purpose to join us! For those who are in the area and
it is convenient to rehearse, we will begin rehearsals in July. For those of you who
live a greater distance away, the primary rehearsal will be on Sunday, August 16 at
2:00 pm. The schedule is listed below.
Dates of rehearsals at Gloria Dei Lutheran
July 22 at 6:00-7:00 pm
July 29 at 6:00-7:00 pm
August 5 at 6:00-7:00 pm
August 12 at 6:00 pm-7:00 pm
August 16 at 2:00 pm-5:00 pm; 5-7:00 pm meal
THE 12TH ANNUAL
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
GOLF OUTING FOR “WALKING
IN THE LIGHT”
Saturday--August 8,2015
8:00 A.M. SHOTGUN START
Otter Creek Golf Course
4100 NE Otter Creek Drive
Ankeny, Iowa
COST:
$60.00/person -- $220.00/4-some
Includes 18 holes of golf, 4-person best shot, cart, lunch,
sleeve of golf balls, fellowship
REGISTRATION ABSOLUTELYENDS: August1,2015
Sign up as 4-somes or individually. Shotgunstarttimeis8:00a.m. Please arrive
earlier to sign in. Send the registration fee and names of participants to St.Paul
LutheranChurch,1100SESharonDrive,Ankeny,IA,
50021,515-964-1250.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“Walking in the Light” is a radio outreach ministry of St. Paul Lutheran Church reaching South
Central Iowa with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is heard every Sunday on KPSZ 940AM at
10:00 a.m.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Co-sponsor:
LCMS Foundation
James Schroeder, 1-877-913-2221, jim.schroeder@idwlcms.org.
From the Council President:
Thanks for the Voter attendance at the May Voters’ Assembly. The attendance exceeded the required
quorum needed to vote on the proposed constitution amendments. Three of the four amendments were
approved so we have a start on updating our constitution and by-laws. The process will likely take
another year to complete and to receive LCMS District West approval.
We should all be commended for the discussion and decisions that were accomplished during this
Voters’ Assembly. I thought the suggestions and comments were very good. I hope that I provided
the opportunity for each voter to voice their suggestion and comments. We each need to feel part of
our congregation’s business and I will continue to encourage open discussion.
The May Voters’ Assembly voted to install new high efficiency HVAC units for the sanctuary, offices
and Sunday school rooms. Total cost will be $37,000 minus $14,000 rebate for a net of $24,000. The
energy savings will result in a 7 to 8 year payback of this investment. The installation is planned for
July.
Also, the Voters approved the council’s recommendation to appoint a Kitchen Committee to review
options to remodel the existing Youth room into a kitchen and to explore options for relocating the
Youth room to another area. The current Youth room was originally designed for the kitchen but
funds were not available for completing the kitchen at that time so the area has remained the Youth
room. Offerings of nearly $20,000 have been accumulated in the Kitchen Fund for the kitchen project.
Current thinking is that at least $50,000 will be required for this project.
Motion that did not receive approval was the parking lot repair estimated to cost $25,000. This project
will need to be completed within the next year to maintain acceptable repair and to not increase
additional damage to the concrete. However, a motion was approved to establish a ‘Parking Lot
Repair Fund’ for future repair of our parking lot.
An additional motion that did not receive approval was the recommendation to approve $40,000 for
the detail design of the proposed Sanctuary/Christian Education addition. The Facilities Expansion
Committee working with Story Construction has developed a design concept that requires detail
design work to provide final cost estimates. The Facilities Expansion Committee has done everything
that Voters asked them to do and has done a very good job of reviewing all options to provide the
information for the proposed expansion. This decision places the committee’s efforts on hold until a
time when the congregation wants to proceed. I want to thank Greg Stokke and the entire committee
for their efforts on behalf of the Voters’ Assembly.
The May Voters’ Assembly was very productive. We implemented decisions on items that we have
discussed for a few months. Thanks to everyone that attended.
St. Paul Lutheran Church
Council Meeting Minutes
May 18, 2015
Present: Pastor James, Bob Peters, Jeff Fahrmann, Amy Schmidt, Randy Sunderman, Greg Stokke, Nancy
Medick, Gary Hauge, Cindy Twedt, Joel Ott, Joe Gardyasz
Bob Peters called the meeting to order and Pastor James led in a devotion.
Minutes of the April council meeting minutes were reviewed. Motion to approve by Jeff, second by Gary.
Approved.
Pastor’s Report: Pastor James reviewed highlights from the report submitted by Pastor Mark. There were five
baptisms in the month of April and 19 youth were confirmed on April 26th. Average worship attendance in April
was 559 versus 493 a year ago.
Associate Pastor’s Report: Pastor James reviewed his report. He noted that due to accepting a call to Redeemer
Lutheran Church in Denver, his last Sunday preaching at St. Paul will be July 5th. He thanked everyone for their
kind words and support during the call process.
Motion by Randy to approve Pastors’ reports, second by Joe. Approved.
Elders Report: Jeff Fahrmann reported that the Elders approved the transfer out of Sheryl Thomas to Our
Saviour Lutheran Church in Des Moines. Motion by Gary to approve the transfer out, along with the acceptance
into membership of 19 junior confirmands listed in Pastor’s report. Second by Nancy. Approved.
Removal of inactive members: Jeff reported that the Elders have begun a process of trying to contact inactive
members, starting with members whose whereabouts are unknown. Jeff said there is a notification timetable for
the Elders to notify members who have been inactive but that the Elders have not been keeping up with those
guidelines. There are currently 224 inactive members on the membership roll. Pastor James suggested that the
Elders recruit a team of members who are good communicators and good with people to assist them in
contacting inactive members.
Marriage policy: Pastor James reported that a Marriage Policy for St. Paul that is in accord with LCMS policy
has been developed and will be presented to the voters for approval at the May Voters Assembly. Motion by
Cindy Twedt to accept the proposed policy to bring to the Voters Assembly, second by Greg Stokke. Approved.
DCE Report: Amy provided some highlights of past and upcoming activities.
Old Business:
Church 360 Update: Bob Peters reported that the process of converting to the Church 360 Treasurer’s software
has become bogged down and so Jason Buls will continue using the old system until Jason can get further
technical assistance with the software. Randy Sunderman is developing a time and talent sheet on the
membership portion of Church 360 that should be ready by late June or early July. He is also working on a photo
directory feature of Church 360 to replace the directory that used to be supported by Olan Mills photography.
Bob said he has been working with Marge Clark to get a directory list on the website in the meantime. A
question about security of members’ information was raised and it was noted that the directory can be passwordprotected just as the previous online directory was.
Page 2 of Council Minutes
Facilities expansion: Greg Stokke reported that an information meeting was held May 3rd and that he thought
the plan was well-received by those attended. He has also put a copy of the slides that were presented into each
member’s mailbox. The proposal will be brought to the May Voters Assembly.
Securing documents and records: Greg reported that he and the committee have looked through file cabinets in
the finance room and under the stairs and have found records dating back to the founding of St. Paul. He said
there is definitely an opportunity to reduce the volume of records that are retained.
Purchase additional lightweight tables and chairs: Gary said the new lightweight tables will be purchased once
work is completed on a new rack for them in a week or two. He said he is researching options for new chairs.
Pledging plan for 2015: Randy reported he is looking into having a separate pledge sheet, without names, to use
as a basis for estimating annual offering amounts for the budget.
Change the council year to July through June: Bob asked for a motion to authorize the Constitution Review
Committee to consider whether the terms for Council members should be changed from the present calendar
year to a July 1-June 30 year. Motion by Gary, second by Randy. Approved.
Committee to prioritize expenditures from Thrivent Choice: The committee has met and is recommending three
priorities for Thrivent Choice funds to these three recurring expenditures: 1) camperships for youth; 2) Meals
from the Heartland donations; 3) food purchases for blood drives, in that order. The Thrivent Choice account
balance is currently $10,408. The Council will otherwise consider requests for funds from Thrivent Choice
dollars on a case-by-case basis.
Motion to approve the committee’s recommendations by Nancy Medick, second by Randy Sunderman.
Approved.
New Business:
Facility Repair Projects:
Gary Hauge brought forward facility maintenance requests for replacement of the heating/air conditioning/
ventilation units to new high efficiency units, at a net cost of approximately $28,000 after rebates. Parking lot
repairs that are needed would cost an estimated $30,000. Additionally, funds will be needed for design
documents from Story Construction if the Voters decide to move forward with construction of a new sanctuary
and remodeling of the present sanctuary to classrooms.
Motion by Greg Stokke to recommend to the Voters Assembly borrowing from St. Paul’s existing line of credit
(currently $94,000 available) with Lutheran Church Extension Fund the necessary funds to do the following as
soon as possible: replace all the existing church HVAC units; make needed repairs to the church parking lot;
enter an agreement with Story Construction to begin creation of design documents for a new sanctuary, as well
as remodeling of the existing structure into Christian Education and other useful spaces. Beginning when
Pastor Fernandez leaves the staff, funds currently budgeted for his salary and benefits will be applied to this
debt through the end of 2015, or until a new associate pastor joins the staff. At the November 2015 Voters
Assembly, a decision will be made on the best method for addressing the remaining debt. Second by Joe
Gardyasz. Approved.
Page 3 of Council Minutes
Facilities Maintenance Fund Offering Weekend: Recommendation by Gary for a special fund offering to be
taken up to replenish the fund; consensus of the Council was that it’s necessary due to fund being depleted by the
tuckpointing repair project. Special offering envelopes will be stapled to the bulletins for the June 6-7 services,
with offerings to be collected the following Sunday.
Committee to Review Kitchen Options: Motion by Jeff for the Council to appoint a committee as soon as
possible to review options to remodel the existing Youth Room into a kitchen, remodel the existing kitchen as
needed and explore options for the location of a new Youth Room. Second by Cindy. Approved.
Treasurer’s Report: Bob reported that there was a small surplus of offerings over expenditures of about $3,000 in
April. The mortgage loan balance was about $675,000 as of April 30, compared with $695,000 at the end of
March, and the balance should be about $500,000 by the end of the year. There was a question about the status
of the Pastoral Leadership Institute funds committed for Pastor Fernandez now that he has accepted a call. Bob
said the remainder of the cost for 2016 will not be owed by St. Paul, and District will reimburse St. Paul $1,500.
Motion to approve the Treasurer’s report by Greg, second by Cindy. Approved.
Board report highlights:
Education: The Council approved the addition of Angela Van Pelt to the board.
Evangelism: Nancy reported that about $4,000 has been raised for the Meals From the Heartland packaging
event so far and that probably another $1,000 will be raised from Bunko Night. Pastor James said another $2,500
will come from the Evangelism budget and $2,500 from Thrivent Choice, so the $10,000 goal should be reached.
Puerto Rico Missionaries Restricted Fund: Nancy made a motion that the Council approve creating a restricted
fund for offerings made to the Puerto Rico missionaries who recently visited. Second by Cindy. Approved.
Car Magnets: Cindy requested that the Council approve funds from Thrivent Choice for about $700 needed to
pay half the cost of the car magnets; the other half of the cost has been donated by Jim Anderson. Motion by
Nancy, second by Cindy. Approved.
Motion to adjourn by Gary, second by Cindy. Approved.
The meeting was closed with the Lord’s Prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Joseph Gardyasz
Council secretary
Board of Elders Meeting, May 5, 2015
St. Paul
Lutheran
Church
Board of
Elders
Report
The Elders report the following Official acts (Baptism, Confirmation,
Wedding, Funeral) for April, 2015.
Baptisms:
Nickolas John Backes – April 11, 2015 (non-member)
Weston Maverick Jackson – April 18, 2015
Madalyn Nicole George – April 19, 2015
Keegan Alan Byrd – April 19, 2015
Kaleb Matthew Tinker – April 26, 2015
Junior Confirmation – April 26, 2015
Josiah Anderson
Zachary Hiney
Jayden Krehbiel
Eva Mae McCoid
Ashley Retzlaff
Leah Deppe
Lucas Juhl
William Krehbiel
Claire McGohan
Kaleb Tinker
Jacob Dozler
Nicholas KoesterCraig
Neal Larsen
Andrew Mumm
Cameron Wabeke
Samuel Dunker
Sophia Lee
Zachariah Olson
Jaedon Wilber
To be received, transferred or released on May 5, 2015:
Transfer-out:
Sheryl Thomas to Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Des Moines, IA
Average Worship Attendance in April, 2015:
2015: 559
Average Worship Attendance Year to date through April, 2015:
2014: 493
2015: 437
2014: 421
Total Baptized & Confirmed members (including April, 2015 Official Acts & those received, transferred
or released on May 5, 2015)
Baptized – 1035
Confirmed – 789
Family Units – 400