Council minutes

Council Members Present: Pastor Ross Goodman, Mark Olson, Dana Ramish, Heather Sheridan, Brian Sniffen, Wendy Stack, Chris Trost, George Wilson.

Also Present: Katherine Corneilson spelling, Ken Heyda, Don Mitchell, Jen Nahn, Vicar C.J. Stratton.

Absent: Maile Hedlund inexplicably chooses to spend her birthday elsewhere, and Alison Roberts is stuck working late.

Gathering

A quorum was gathered and we came together in God’s name at 7:35pm. A candle was lit to remind us that Christ is present with us as we meet.

Agenda

New membership

Before any other work, we appoint Katherine Corneilson to replace Airin Cherian for the remainder of his term:

Devotions

Dana Ramish then led a devotion on the penitent thief from “Paradise Now” by Howard Hageman and Luke 23. Next month, Wendy Stack will lead devotions.

Hymn

Check-In

Word

Minutes

Reports

Director of Christian Education’s report

Jen Nahn reports that her other work has been asking for more and more of her time. She can’t sustain that workload as well as her work as DCE. We’re now looking for a replacement—she’ll continue to serve until we do, but the start of the new school year would be ideal.

Pastor Goodman speaks highly of the care and dedication she’s brought as Director of our Christian Education program. Both speak about the proper shape of the job: more attention to Youth Ministry is required. The confirmands and the post-Confirmation youth need more attention. New seminary graduates are specializing in “Children, Youth, and Family Ministry,” so one of those might work. Anyone who can give long-term attention to the youth program (instead of the current subscription to the Vicar-of-the-year program) would also help.

Financial secretary’s report

Don Mitchell reports that we continue to have fairly strong income; we’re ahead by number and by percentage of where we were last year. The Korean church’s payments and the cell tower rents have been a little bursty.

Treasurer’s report

Ken Heyda gives a quick tutorial of the treasurer’s reports. The dedicated accounts are all fine. The snow removal account is negative.

New business

Social ministry

Over the last weeks, there have been two requests from the Social Ministry committee: one for a Camp Calumet campership, and one for elca Disaster Response. The campership passed cleanly, but the elca Disaster Response motion was in the middle of a motion for amendment when we stopped:

Alison Roberts proposed an amendment, that this be undirected. After short discussion, that is passed.

E-mail and emergency motions

Mark suggests we switch from e-mail motions to emergency meetings as appropriate for urgent business that requires deliberation.

More social ministry

Brian Sniffen moves an amendment to make this undirected, but it is not seconded.

Directed giving

Brian says: “We’ve made some large gifts to LSS and similar large charities lately. Those organizations regularly have problems with a bad match of directed gifts to real problems. We’ll help more people and reduce the overhead of the megacharities by letting them redirect gifts as appropriate. Even if we’re moved to give by a specific disaster or problem, we do more good when we make our gift fungible.

I have less strong arguments about gifts to small groups or individuals. It may be best to give undirected money to them also, but directed gifts may also be appropriate.”

Mark and Heather both propose that we make a general practice of undirected giving, but that we be flexible about others’ need to be constrained (e.g., capital campaigns).

E-mail motions

We’ve had some good results from e-mail motions, but I worry that the deliberate discussion that provides the principal value of the Council is lost.

The relevant section of the bylaws on conducting business is this:

7. The Church Council shall normally meet once a month. Special meetings may be called by the president or any pastor of the congregation, and must be called at the request of one-half or more of its members. Except in case of emergency (serious harm to persons or property), prior notice of each meeting shall be given to all who are entitled to be present, and when time permits to the congregation.

8. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of a majority of the members of the Church Council; however, this must include a pastor of the congregation or the vice-pastor except when all such persons request or consent to be absent and have given prior approval to an agenda to which the business of the meeting must then be restricted.

9. The Church Council shall exercise only such authority as may be delegated to it by the congregation, and this authority shall be exercised in accordance with the articles of incorporation, constitution, bylaws, and resolutions of the congregation. In all matters not decided by the Word of God and not subject to civil laws, and when not prohibited by these bylaws, the Church Council shall have the right of decision. The congregation, however, reserves the right to override or preempt any right or decision of the council.

In brief, it says that we do business at meetings with half of the lay members plus the Pastor, that we can’t have secret meetings, and that we can make exceptions in case of risk of serious harm. It also says that we can work around the bylaws as long as we don’t outright break them.

I like that definition of emergencies—if something’s important enough to do as urgent e-mail without time for discussion, then it’s important enough to show up at St. Paul in person. Contrapositively, if it’s not important enough to show up at St. Paul, maybe it’s not important enough to bend the rules for.

Let’s sketch out a proposal for the next Congregational meeting, try living within it for a few months, and have time to revise before January.

I propose:

10. The Council may conduct certain business by e-mail. Such business may be initiated by the president or any pastor of the congregation, or by agreement of one-half or more of its members. Except in case of emergency, such business shall include a message from the president specifying the text of the motion and a date at least one week in the future, on which votes will be counted. If by that date no requests for amendment have come in, the majority of the council have voted, a pastor or vice-pastor has voted, and more votes filed between the opening and closing of the voting period have been for the motion than against, the motion shall be considered passed. If any requests for amendment are made during that voting period, the matter is tabled until the next in-person meeting. If if the lay and ordained quora are not met, a separate e-mail session may be held, or the matter may be brought for reconsideration by any member at the next meeting. No such voting period may extend over a scheduled Council or Congregational meeting.

The intention here is that we’ll announce an idea, discuss the idea, and then have a separate voting period. Votes aren’t welcome during discussion.

If the idea’s not well-enough thought through, then we’ll have to have an in-person meeting. The bit about reconsideration is to prevent a botched e-mail motion from being unraisable at the next meeting, because nobody’s left from the losing side¹ . My biggest concerns:

1.: Is a week too long? Do we need to pack discussion and action into only a few days?
2.: Is this too complicated? I’d like the simplest procedure that could possibly work.
3.: Is the amendment booby-trap too harsh? Will it give the wrong incentives?

Mark suggests this be taken up in e-mail and consider telephone conferences as well.