Family f Christ Lutheran Church FOCUS Vlume 13, Issue 10 Octber, 2018 Tuching lives with the lve f Christ. Sunday Service Lcatin: Gibbs Elementary Schl 5525 56TH Street NW Rchester, MN 55901 424-2902 (ffice) 2619 9Th Ave NW Rchester, MN 55901 http://www.familyfchristrchs.cm http://twitter.cm/familyfchrist1 http://www.facebk.cm/familyofchrist Here We Stand Last year we celebrated the 500 th anniversary f the Refrmatin. It was a defining mment in 1517 when Luther nailed the 95 Theses t the castle church dr in Wittenberg. It was a mment in which the histry f the church was frever changed. There is n denying that was ne f the mst significant events in the entire histry f the church utside f the life and ministry f Jesus. Yet we ask the questin tday was it the wrk f ne man r was it Gd rchestrating the needed and desired refrmatin f an entire church needing a curse crrectin. Gd used Martin Luther in an amazing way t definitively start and mark the Refrmatin, but there were cuntless thers wh prepared, supprted and fllwed in the ftsteps f the great refrmer. Jhn Wycliffe and Jhn Huss had started the wrk which remained unfinished at the untimely ends f their life, but the wrk had begun and the mvement tward refrmatin had started with their wrk. It wuld be a hundred years after Huss death that Luther wuld nail the 95 Theses t the church dr, but histry shws us that Luther leaned heavily n the wrk and teachings f these men t give him assurance and curage t stand behind his cnvictins. Then there were his cntemprary thelgians wh als gained curage and cnvictin upn Luther s actins. Men like Calvin and Zwingli wh tk up the causes f refrming the church in their wn territries. And what abut thse wh supprted Luther s wrk and prtected him and his cause. Peple like Fredrick the Wise wh hid Luther and kept him frm capture and his supprters and cnfidants Philip Melanchthn and his wife Katharina vn Bra. Or hw abut Gutenberg and his creatin f the printing press which allwed Luther t prmte
and circulate his refrms. When Luther famusly nailed the 95 Theses t the church dr and when he defiantly std t declare Here I stand, I can d n ther he mst likely std alne. What we see thugh is that Luther was never alne. Gd had rchestrated events and initiated refrmers hundreds f years befre his actins wh gave him curage and strength. He prvided cntempraries t spur n his wrk and supprters and cnfidants t give him strength. There was and will nly ever be ne Martin Luther and ne defining event f the 95 Theses being nailed t the church drs, but there have been and always will be cuntless faithful witnesses wh stand fr truth, prfess the faith, and rise up against injustice and crruptin. Will yu be ne f thse witnesses? Will yu be ne wh stands and prfesses the faith and wh rises up against injustice and crruptin? Will yu jin the wrk f the maker and rchestratr f all things as he creates, prmtes and preserves his purpses? If s then we cry ut tgether Here We Stand. Pastr Jeff Outreach Funds At Family f Christ, we are supprting mnthly utreach events. Many f these require sme frm f funding. As such, we d have a Designated Outreach Fund in Savings set up that members may cntribute t at any time in supprt f upcming r future utreach events. Gifts t the fund may just be marked fr Outreach. August I ncme: $13,373.14 (exc district supprt) MN Suth District Supprt: $2083.00 August Expenses: $16,622.50 Net: ($1,166.36) Checks being held as f Sept 10: Nne January-August Incme: $116,547.33 January- August Expenses: $127,026.44 Net year t date: ($10,479.11) YTD Budget: $127,870.96 Treasurer's Reprt August 2018 Octber Birthday's & Anniversaries Oct 7 Oct 15 Lydia Niederstadt Jnathan Olander Nte: If we have missed a Birthday r Anniversary, ur aplgizes. I believe ur list is getting plenty ld and utdated. Please email any additins t tim.blck@charter.net. Thank yu.
FOC Meeting Schedule Octber Cuncil Mtg RCLS Oct 1 st 6:00pm Cngregatinal input welcme. Request time by cmmunicating with w/ Mark Halbakken by 9/30 fr agenda planning purpses. Family f Christ Cuncil Meeting Minutes Sept 10 th, 2018 Attendees: Pastr, Tim, Mark, Rick, Barb (Pre-Apprval) Called t rder @ 6:01PM Prayer/Opening Devtin: Ding Life Tgether Acts 2:42-47 Cngregatinal Input: Hly Crss vacancy questins t be addressed at cngregatinal meeting. Apprved Aug 13th Cuncil Mtg Minutes Reprts Treasurer's Reprt Cash in checking: $36,021.22 N checks being held Outreach YTD spending $8142.84 (annual budget $8000) Dedicated utreach balance in savings $660.00 N payments paid yet t RCLS tward 2018-2019 tuitin assistance Plan is quarterly payments $3200 Allw fcrchestermn.rg dmain name t laps w/ payment (n lnger using and nt planning t hld t sell) Pastr's Reprt Octber utreach idea Trunk r Treat Hllween night HC partnership using HC parking lt N cnflict w/ RCLS Hallelujah Festival n preceding Saturday Thanksgiving cntacted Gspel Missin Outreach ptins r Salvatin Army December Christmas at May
Cnfirmatin started 7 students (4 FOC, 3 HC) Cnfirmatin Retreat at Camp Omega Oct 12-13 Natinal Yuth Gathering Mpls July 11-15 2019 $150 depsit due by Oct 1 per persn ($400 reg & $300 htel) Redeemer nt partnering this year s lk t partner w/ Hly Crss Cnsider 2019 budget item fr chapern cst ne frm FOC, ne frm HC perhaps? Alpha Curse 11 weeks starting Sunday 9/16 (skips Thanksgiving weekend) Nv 3 fr a pssible Alpha ne day retreat at Hly Crss (keep the cst minimal) Circuit Frum Sept 23at Trinity (Pastr & lay rep) - elect delegates fr Synd Cnventin July 2019 Gibbs Picnic 9/13 snw cne machine rented and resurced by FOC members Pastrs Cnference (MN Suth District) Mankat Oct 8-9 th Pastr vacatin 3 rd week Oct 15 th thru 21 st (ver MEA break) Need a vacancy Pastr fr Sunday Oct 14 th and Alpha same evening Update n Elders Did nt meet in Aug n reprt. Old Business RCLS regular updates: FOC is nw n the distributin list fr Suzanne's Mnthly reprt and will include prtins in FOC regular newsletter. Still pursuing 2018-2019 RCLS budget details nce ratified by RCLS BD Update n Welcme Wagn "gifts" t new neighbrhd families - Natalie & Barb n update. Status f Thrivent applicatins fr all upcming events - Gibbs back t schl, New Neighbrs Welcme & Alpha Classes will be supprted Status f recrd keeping - New Cnfirmands Dcumented & Archived Data Finalized Inputs t Tim fr recrding in ICON management system. Use f "Everyne His Witness" material (Synd recmmended prgram fr utreach training) Materials given t Pastr fr use at his discretin. Health Fair at Gibbs Pastr/Mark will talk with Gibbs PTA rep fr pssible ne day cspnsrship unless Gibbs already has. Mark has a letter f prpsal ready fr discussin. New Business Finalized Agenda fr Sept 16th Special Vters Mtg
Initiate wrk n 2019 prpsed budget Rick will kickff. Set date fr December annual vters mtg including electins Dec 9 Future meeting dates Next cuncil mtg Oct 1st 2018 FOC Vters Meeting Minutes Sept 16 th, 2018 Attendees: 18 vters Called t rder: by Mark H 10:23am Opening Prayer: Pastr Jeff Items fr discussin: Pastral Vacancy at Hly Crss request fr Pastr Jeff t fill in as a vacancy pastr Pastr relayed request & discussin held thus far with Hly Crss and with District/Circuit Pastr Schauder discussed ptential call with Pastr Jeff, reaching ut fr ptential directin/help fr Hly Crss After taking call, additinal request frm Pastr Schauder t cnsider ptential help as a psitive step frward fr Hly Crss Pastr Jeff brught that inf t Mark H and t FOC Cuncil fr prayer, cnsideratin, and further discussin. HC cngregatinal president als reached ut t start dialg and cnsider vacancy pastr bligatins. Has been existing cperatin with respect t Cnfirmatin, Yuth, VBS, Music Mark H ffered sme ptential cnsideratins e.g., Sat nite services at HC r Sunday mrning earlier at HC Cngregatinal Cmments What is cntractual status w/ Gibbs Week t week n issue if temp r permanent pull-ut Mre stress n Gibbs custdial staff in Sat nite but have dne in past using fill-in flks frm district. Time and half fr Saturdays vs Duble Time n Sundays What if we cmbined n Sundays and this cmmitment culd be lng term (vacancies 1+ years). If a HC, culd Gibbs facility funds be saved fr future facilities? Gd presenting an pprtunity here fr FOC t take sme kind f a change in directin? What is best fr us as a Family whatever we d, build in sme checkpints. Cme back as a Family 6 mnths r whatever timeframe and address hw is this wrking fr us as a Family. Make sure we take care f Pastr Jeff and his family given any new arrangements respect fr family and recharge time. Ideal agenda item fr Dec Vters Mtg as an early checkpint What is HC Cuncil perspective n the jint wrk w/ FOC? Pastr Jeff: HC perspective was desire t maintain a cnsistent style and directin that is mre in tune with FOC. All input has been very psitive frm HC. What can ther LCMS churches in twn d t help? Mark H: Christ, Mt Mariah vacancies alng w/ thers 55 vacancies in MN Suth thus lts f pressure n the lcal cngregatins helping ut. There is als a traditinal vs cntemprary perspective Hw are we fixed budget-wise? Tim B: Nt viable beynd 2020 w/ grwth nce we lse district subsidy Wuld ur decisin affect district subsidy? Mark H: nt affected as lng as we keep and perated as FOC
Mve t HC might likely affect target ministry (Gibbs neighbrhd) and seeds we have planted thus far. Mark H: even at HC, lcatin is NW Rchester and we wuld still have a respnsibility fr NW which includes Gibbs Hw effective can we cntinue t be fr utreach activities given current size f cngregatin? Will HC be able t financially cntribute tward help f Pastral supprt given that they nw have lst 2 pastrs? Pastr Jeff: Fr further discussin based n ultimate decisins Mark H: May be cntractual arrangement w/ HC t be cnsidred. What is the impact n ur future strategic directins? Pastr Jeff: If we stay at Gibbs but Sat nites, nt much changes. If we mve t HC, chances are there is mre cmplicatin r things t wrk thru after vacancy perid. Church within a church cnsideratins and impacts pprtunities and cmplexities we still need t be cnsidering FOC strategic directins. HC is nw ging thru sme strategic planning thru Nv/Dec then put a call cmmittee tgether fr a ptential 1 st call beginning f 2019. N HC Vters meetings n this yet. Current FOC utreach has been mre than Gibbs. There is a NW Website that reaches beynd just dr hangers in Gibbs neighbrhd. N real visitrs passing thru at Gibbs even with the current active utreach activity. Resurces are shrt fr ffices, setup, utreach starting t press us. Is this an pprtunity t mve frward t smething new vs status qu? Dn t have t lse ur Gibbs neighbrhd presence but expand ur utreach in jint cperatin w/ HC. Is it viable t have a Sunday mrning service with the HC cmmitment? Blend a Sunday mrning and still have a Sat nite FOC? Start w/ a jint Sunday mrning service and revisit in Dec checkpint t see if we still want a FOC family gathering? What wuld we d with Sat nites fr Sunday Schl, Bible Study? Mark call t infrmal survey the members present: D Nthing (n interest) Switch t Saturday nite & stay at Gibbs (n interest) Switch t Sat nite at HC (half members) Pursue a discussin w/ HC n Sunday (half members) Pastr Jeff: Mve slw and intentinal. Mtin frm flr: T help HC, mve t Sat nite service at HC (time tbd) and allw Pastr Jeff t take n the interim vacancy as presented. Mtin Secnded. Mtin carried. Meeting adjurned 11:26am. Clsing Prayer: Pastr Jeff