1. Parish Life is continuing to work on a Pin board, which will show on a map where all family units of Advent live.
2. Souper Bowl of Caring [Feb 7]: Youth collected $468 and 182 canned goods.
3. Valentine Care Packages [Feb 14]: Youth put together 19 care packages for our college students and military.
4. Catechism Youth Quake [Feb 12-14]. Six of Advent’s catechism class attended the Huron Youth Quake.
5. Church Use and Clean Up: Several groups use the church and all need to be reminded to clean up after the event. For example, Sunday school rooms and Fellowship Hall need to be picked up and all things in place so that the Bears Preschool Teachers do not have to clean up in order to conduct school.
6. George Zaebst and Ron Tvorik are both working with the Parish Life Team to develop a Picture Directory Display of Members.
7. Council discussed the need for a new coffee maker. A motion was passed to go ahead and purchase a new Bun Coffee Maker.

Lenten Services

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday services on February 17.  Beginning on February 24, Council invites you to join your Advent family on Wednesday evenings throughout Lent as we continue our tradition of a soup supper followed by a brief worship service.  This is a wonderful opportunity to come together for fellowship and worship during this most meaningful season of the church year.  Soup suppers begin at 6:30 and the worship service begins at 7:15 and concludes at 8:00.  We encourage you to attend this family-friendly service, which includes child care for those who have young children.  Can’t leave work in time for supper?  Many folks come only for the worship service.  Don’t like to drive at night?  Let a Council member know – we’ll be happy to arrange for someone to drive you.  We look forward to spending this time of preparation for the wonderful miracle of Easter together as the family of God at Advent.

Scrip Funds

Your support of the Scrip program is one way that you help us to fund our activities.  We thank those of you who are “Kroger shoppers” for registering with Kroger for their donation program (a percentage of your purchase total is donated to Advent) and we thank those of you who purchase gift cards, as well – it all adds up!  While the original intent for Scrip funds was to support youth activities, for the past few years this income has been going to our general fund in order to help us meet our monthly expenses.  At our January meeting, Council voted unanimously to begin splitting the income from the Scrip program between the general fund and the designated fund for youth activities.

Financials Update

Council is happy to report that we are on much sounder financial footing as we begin the New Year; November and December giving was stronger than in September and October.  Your commitment to supporting Advent is appreciated.  As we move forward in 2010, Council remains committed to responsible stewardship of Advent’s resources.

• Giving Down in October - Expenses exceeded income by a little more than $4,000 in October.  While it is normal for there to be some month-to-month fluctuation, we do want to make sure that this shortfall does not become chronic.  We are doing a good job as a congregation in managing our expenses; we all need to be diligent in our giving as well, remembering that our weekly and monthly offerings are vital to Advent’s ability to fulfill our mission and ministry to our congregation, our community, and beyond.


• Reminder: Holiday Opportunities for Service - Don’t forget the many opportunities for service during the Christmas season, all of which allow us to reach out to others in our community and beyond. Look for details of these opportunities via displays in the Narthex and announcements in the weekly bulletins.
  • Live Nativity:  December 6
  • Mitten Tree:  Caps and mittens will be donated to middle-school children.  Decorate this special tree between November 29 and December 18
  • Bath Soap:  Donate money to purchase bars of soap for inmates at the Pickaway Correctional Facility.  Our goal:  enough money to purchase 200 bars of soap.

Together We Do What We Can’t Do Alone

Tom Katz, of the Southern Ohio Synod, spoke to the Council, reminding us of all the good we do as a synod – and emphasizing that it’s we, the members of Advent, who are the Synod.  Together, we have:

• provided day camps for underprivileged, un-churched children
• enabled churches to stay open and provide vital services to their communities even though the membership is dwindling
• educated seminarians from other countries who otherwise would not have had this education
• baptized 3,000 people in Tanzania

Tom reminded us that when we give freely of our resources we can trust God to make sure that there will be enough – and more – for all.

www.AdventELC.org

Don’t forget to visit Advent on the web!  Thanks to Ben Pforsich for the web redesign – making our mission and ministry, not to mention the activities that support this – easy to see and share – check out the RSS feed!

Congregational Meeting Results 

On October 18, Advent members approved an amendment to our constitution that enables us to notify members via email of upcoming congregational meetings.  This will cut our postage costs by over $400 per year – a considerable savings.  Of course, members who prefer to receive notifications by surface mail can still do so; just share your preference with Mary Garland or any Council member.

Sharing Our Space With Jacob’s Porch

Jacob’s Porch is a vital and vibrant Lutheran Campus Ministry serving the Ohio State University students.  The one thing they lack is a worship space suitable for performing weddings.  Their Pastor, Jay Gamelin, has asked if we would be willing to allow him to perform weddings at Advent, waiving the usual building use fee.  Council is happy to extend that courtesy to Jacob’s Porch.  

Holiday Opportunities for Service

The holidays are fast-approaching, and the Social Concerns committee is coordinating many projects that will allow us to reach out to others.  Look for details of these opportunities via displays in the Narthex and announcements in the weekly bulletins.

• Thanksgiving In-Gathering:  Our goal is to collect 200 bags of groceries between November 8 and November 22
• Mitten Tree:  caps and mittens will be donated to middle-school children.  Decorate this special tree between November 29 and December 18
• Bath Soap:  Donate money to purchase bars of soap for inmates at the Pickaway Correctional Facility.  Our goal:  enough money to purchase 200 bars of soap.
• LSS Food Pantry:  Our next opportunity to volunteer is Saturday, November 21.

1. Mortgage Refinancing

   • The refinancing of Advent’s mortgage with First Bank of Bexley is nearly complete.  First Bank of Bexley is waiting on the results of a property appraisal.  Once that is received, the final step is to sign the loan papers.  We anticipate that the process should be concluded by September 30.

2. Improvements to Financial Reporting Process

   • Starting with the September Treasurer’s Report, you will notice some changes to the way designated funds appear.  They will now be designated with a “D” and be assigned line-item numbers and sub-points as needed, similar to other line items in the Treasurer’s Report.  This will make it easier to administer in-and-out expenditures such as seasonal charity programs (e.g., Advent’s Mitten Tree), as well as help Advent administer ongoing designated funds, such as those set aside for the various Sunday School projects.

3. New Members

   • Our church community continues to grow.  In August we welcomed 16 new members; the upcoming new member class already has 12 people who are interested in becoming members of our congregation.  God continues to be at work in our midst!