FINANCIAL UPDATE

In July, the giving was lower than budgeted and anticipated. The use of air conditioning in the hot days of July caused the electric bill to be about $300 higher than normal.

JACOB’S PORCH

Pastor Gamlin presented about Jacob’s Porch, a Lutheran church on The Ohio State University campus. He gave us some history as to how Jacob’s Porch came into existence and where its vision and mission are for the future. The church averages 60-100 worshippers per week. The student presented from the students’ perspective and how happy students are that they have a strong church community on campus. There are 38 Lutheran churches within 15 miles of Jacob’s Porch and Jacob’s Porch is reaching out to these local churches for help in maintaining this church’s mission.  

PARISH LIFE

In addition to the Greeters who greet people at the door, the Team would like to have members assigned to seek out visitors and welcome them. The Team would like to have an outside-of-church ministry to meet with visitors and prospective members. Places like Panera would be used. The goal would be to allow people to come to an informal setting where people can ask questions about Advent. 

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Advent Lutheran Church finished the 2010-2011 fiscal year with an anticipated income approximately $3900 under projected. However, the excellent work by the Team members allowed us to realize an increase in assets. 

BENEVOLENCE

In response to the blessing we have received by realizing an increase in assets, the Council voted to give to The Southern Ohio Synod an additional $1000 for Benevolence. 

MISSION RESPONSE

The Council created a Designated Fund for Mission Response. Council transferred $2000 from Operating funds a Designated Fund for Mission Response.

Congregational Council for 2010-2011

We’re pleased to introduce this year’s Council members: 
Ed Cooper – President
Amy Lytle – Vice President
Wade Meyer – Secretary
Sylvia Wallace – Treasurer*
Isabel Leonard – Financial Secretary*
John Borstad
Tim Malone
Susan Cockerill                 
Ron Tvorik
John Korting
Sherri Wilson
 
Elections to the Council were held at the June 13 Annual Congregational Meeting; officers were elected at the June 15 Council meeting.
*Non-voting appointed Council member

Treasurer: Thanks and Welcome

Many heartfelt thanks to Brian Rhea for his dedication and hard work as Advent’s Treasurer during the past year.  Brian is resigning due to work requirements.  We welcome Sylvia Wallace as our new Treasurer and appreciate her willingness to serve in this appointed Council position.

Financials Update

Advent should finish the current fiscal year in an encouraging financial position, as June income and expenses are anticipated to be on plan. Thanks to all the teams and committees for their excellent stewardship of our resources during the past year.

Worship Service Attendance

Attendance at both the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services continues to grow, which is excellent. Attendance during Easter Sunday was the second highest in Advent’s history.  However, giving remains a concern, as our expenses in March exceeded our income by approximately $2,000.

Congregational Survey

Work continues on developing a congregational survey, designed to gather feed back from our members on how we as a church are doing as we offer opportunities to worship, learn, and serve in order to fulfill our mission statement.

Congregational Council Nominating Committee

A nominating committee has been convened to identify candidates for the upcoming Congregational Council election during the June . We will have six to be elected to fill for terms beginning in July 2010. If you are interested in running, or have a suggestion for a candidate, please contact any of the nominating committee members.

The nominating committee, headed by Ron Tvorik as Council Vice President, consists of:

• John Borstad
• Amy Lytle
• Jennifer Parker
• Beckie Evans-Zaebst

1. Staff Evaluation Process
   Thanks to the hard work of the Human Resources committee, chaired by Jim Blazek, and including Jim Brown, Elaine Cooper, Judi Hatcher, Norma Pitts and Becky Seifert, Advent now has an end-to-end process for conducting annual staff reviews.  This includes complete job descriptions, a written annual review process, and procedures for conducting a 90-day review for new hires.
2. Financials Update
   February expenses exceeded giving by almost $2,200; giving for the first 2 weeks of March is also down.  Thanks to a positive cash flow in preceding months and careful management by Advent’s committees and ministry teams, our overall expenses to income ratio remains favorable, but we cannot be complacent about this, and are counting on your continued commitment to supporting Advent’s mission and ministry.
3. Congregational Survey
   Over the next several months Council, with input from the three ministry teams and Pastor Saunders, will begin work on crafting a congregational survey to assess Advent’s programs and services.  Our goal is to gather input and use it to ensure that as a congregation we are fulfilling our commitment to serve Christ as outlined in our mission statement.