Guests: Parliamentarian Zach Manzella, Churchwide council representative Leslie Swenson, David Dunlap

Transcription

1 Alaska Synod Council Business Meeting October 10-11, 2014 Central Lutheran Church Friday October 10 Members Present: Bishop Shelley Wickstrom, Vice President Bill Babylon, Secretary Martin Eldred, Treasurer Carol Norquist, Ed Mjolsnes, Jan Dodds, Brian Crockett, Ron Rucker, Christina Hoy, Susan Halvor, Edna Telford, Verna Henkel, Randy Sutak, Diane Krauszer, Amanda Kempthorne, Julia Seymour, Marilyn Rosene, Keith Anderson, Guests: Parliamentarian Zach Manzella, Churchwide council representative Leslie Swenson, David Dunlap Excused: Annie Weyiouanna, Susie Delgado, Lisa Smith Fiegel 9:00am Opening Communion, Installation of new Council Members 9:30am MSC Approve Agenda with latitude (Keith, Ed) Presentation of Synod Council Minutes from March 2014 MSC Accept minutes as presented Executive Committee minutes presented for information only Mission Review: Synod Goals and Mission Statement, Churchwide Mission Statement, Reflections made by the group. 10:25am. Mission Table. Rev. Adam Barnhart What does it mean to do mission together as a synod. Scenario planning introduced. Synod Council s job is broad vision setting priorities with flexibility. 11:00am- Demographic presentation. Bishop Shelley. 11:35am- Break into small groups and discuss 1. When have we been at our best as a synod? 2. What might we do better together? Group 1 report. Zach Manzella: Do well: Bringing folks together, engage well in reflective practice. Fluidity to who we are. People tend to work well together. Challenges: Cultural awareness. Hearing from voices on the edges and bridging those gaps. Looking for Synodwide service opportunities. Announcing what we do well and our identity. Outside the church activities as a Synod. Group 2 report: Amanda Kempthorne: Do well: Ecumenical partnerships. Recognizing and working to honor our different settings. Different grants that come out of TEAM. Hunger relief work.

2 Challenges: reaching out to other demographics. Is what comes out of the Synod office feeding the spirituality of the Synod? Group 3 report: Carol N. and Bill B.: Do well: Assembly- coming together of people. Stories that get told are good ones. Can rally around a cause. Synod is a good resource. Call Process. Challenges: Resources and fostering connections between congregations and clusters. Coordinate God s Work Our Hands. Youth groups and networks. Combining when groups are too small. Ecumenical combinations- they might share rather than absorb the youth. Communicate for the mission. Anchorage doesn t do well with cluster events. Communication is full of assumptions. Group 4 report: Marilyn: Do well: Get together (Assembly, Council, ASWO, Seward Peninsula conferences, Collegium.) Use gatherings to share larger concerns. Look beyond Synod by means of Bishop, Youth Gathering, and ASWO national presence. PLUME. AFACT, TEAM, LSSA. Articulate empathy among state. Challenge: Build relationships with talking to others and understanding the differences. Communication is full of assumptions. 12:05pm Report from Vice President 12:15pm Lunch Names and introductions. Floor exercise: Each individual recounts personal history and church membership. Bishop s report Treasurer s Reports Cluster Reports: Southcentral- Julia Seymour- Knik: Diane Krauszer- s See Report. See Report Interior-Verna Henkel, Leslie Swenson Seward Peninsula- Brian Crockett Southeast- Keith Anderson, Randy Sutak 3:05pm ASWO report- Leslie Swenson on behalf of Sue Delgado Retreat in Willow in September had 39 people. Susan Halvor led worship and Bible study about what it means to act justly as women in Alaska. Centered on Micah 6:8. 2

3 PLUME Report: Rev. Diane Krauszer on behalf of Rev. Robert Hicks 3:35pm Commence with Old Business Ratification of electronic votes TEAM Large Grant to Good Shepherd (12 yes) Pastor Keith Muschinske to Retired rolls of Alaska Synod (13 Yes) Pastor Sara Quigley Brown to On-Leave-From-Call (10 Yes) Soren Orley to be appointed to the Region 1 Audit Committee (16 Yes) Pastor Paul Bodin to On-Leave-From-Call Status (16 yes) Discussion At least 50% of Council must vote yes for a motion to pass. Dates should be listed in Agenda about when electronic votes happened. Each Synod of Region 1 supplies someone to Audit committee. Previous Alaska Synod person wasn t able to participate. Therefore Soren Orley was appointed. He is a member of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, professor of Accounting at UAA. Has knowledge of cash basis accounting, versus accrual accounting. Commitment involves a couple of phone calls and meetings per year. MSC to ratify all 5 votes Nominations committee: Synod Council appoints this committee. Should have one representative from each cluster and one from council. In need of someone from Southcentral and Southeast. At Assembly, Dan Bollerud s name was brought forward for Southcentral. MSC to appoint Keith Anderson and Dan Bollerud to Nominations Committee. Lutheran Men in Mission- David George Lay Education: Pastor Carol George Clarification of term: Synodically Authorized Minister- People who have been authorized by the synod and the congregation to perform certain functions when there is a need in that congregation. This person is endorsed by his or her council. 4:15pm Return to Old Business Portico levels of coverage- Silver and Bronze levels offer HSAs that roll over from year to year. Bishop requests to be moved to Silver level of coverage from Gold. Executive Session MSC to select Silver Level of coverage with Level A HSA contribution. MSC to Approve of Trapper Creek Lutheran Fellowship to continue to be a Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community of the Alaska Synod, ELCA. 3

4 Sing Hymn 538. Recess until Saturday. Saturday October 11, 2014 Members Present: Bishop Shelley Wickstrom, Vice President Bill Babylon, Secretary Martin Eldred, Treasurer Carol Norquist, Ed Mjolsnes, Jan Dodds, Brian Crockett, Ron Rucker, Christina Hoy, Susan Halvor, Edna Telford, Verna Henkel, Randy Sutak, Diane Krauszer, Amanda Kempthorne, Julia Seymour, Marilyn Rosene, Keith Anderson, Guests: Parliamentarian Zach Manzella, Churchwide council representative Leslie Swenson, David Dunlap Excused: Annie Weyiouanna, Susie Delgado, Lisa Smith Fiegel 9:01am Biblical Work- Susan Halvor: One Body in Christ, many parts. Justice and the character of God- Micah 6:8 and Exodus 3. Churchwide council report- Leslie Swenson The churchwide council meets in Chicago twice a year. Elca.org/socialmessages- Draft of Women in Justice statement is available on website for review and comment. 10:40am Mission Review Session 2 Review of Synod Documents- Snapshot, Ministry Plan- needs to be changed, as it is outdated. MSP was created in preparation for election of Bishop. Motion to make a small committee of the council to develop appropriate thought-provoking questions for congregations for the benefit of informing the Synod ministry plan. Second Volunteers taken for committee: Carol Norquist, Martin Eldred, Jan Dodds, Christina Hoy, Marilyn Rosene, Susan Halvor Carried. 11:24am New Business Renewal of Synod Calls MSC to renew Synod calls to: Pastor Marcia Wakeland- The Listening Post Pastor Susan Halvor- Senior Chaplain-Providence Medical Center Diaconal Minister Fran Victor- Chaplain-Providence In-Home Services MSC to extend Synod call to ELCA pastor Curtis Matz to serve New Hope Methodist Presbyterian Church in North Pole under contract. Call is renewable each year. Discussion: 4

5 Pastor Matz is on the Roster of the LaCrosse Synod. He will be a member of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in North Pole and will transfer to Alaska Synod Roster. Appointment of Additional Members to Synod Discipline Committee. Offering to serve is: Ron Nitz 2015, Karen Sonray 2015, Mark Orf 2017, Mike Schwarte 2019, Carol Bras 2017 MSC to appoint those who have offered to serve (Ron Nitz, Karen Sonray, Mark Orf, Mike Schwarte, Carol Bras) Assembly April 24-26, 2015 conversation: Linda Steele is local chair at Good Shepherd for Synod Assembly planning. Call for new business Appointment for team to work on Alaska Synod Campaign for the ELCA. Diane Krauszer has nominee in mind from her congregation. Randy Sutak will ask a member of RLC- Juneau Ron Rucker will ask someone from GSLC Timeline- two weeks (Deadline October 25 th, 2014) Seeking campaigners, marketers, and visual artists. Martin Eldred will ask someone in his congregation to supply the graphics. Call for other new business. Question: Renewal of call to Judy Wozniak serving as interim- does this need to happen before next Council meeting in March? Answer: It does not need to happen at the October meeting. Singing 661. Closing prayer Bill Babylon MSC to adjourn 5