COUNCIL MINUTES - APRIL 7, 2009

Tuesday evening, 7-9PM Greenwood Office
Excused absences:
Mike Colyn w/sick kids; Sarah GC w/client in crisis; Suellen sick; Dan w/baseball kid, spouse working

In attendance:
Eric Likkel, Biff Gaitan, Ben Lappenga, David Anema, Mark Nelson, Beth DeVries, Chandra Mullenix

7:00PM Gathered at Greenwood Office; Sanctuary CRC Council also meeting
7:10PM Joys/Sorrows
Moving around the room, everyone shared a couple joys/sorrows, re: Emmaus Road and/or personal
7:20PM Prayer
7:25PM Council Offices and Officers
Ben voted in as President; David as Vice President
1st item of business; how to form agendas: at end of Council/Elders’ meetings, President calls for agenda items; send out reminder email and call for update on agenda items
-Added/Extra Elder Leadership Thoughts
ACTION ITEM: Beth will follow up with Brad & Cynthia about the leader board
Elders continue to come forward during Prayer of Supplication; hope to share requests of those in each Elder’s district aloud with congregation
What about after-service Elder prayer? Important to keep weight off Eric and keeps coming forward non-threatening. ACTION ITEM: Beth to include on volunteer schedule. Have one man, one woman each week. ACTION ITEM: Eric to continue to announce, at Benediction. Eric to head towards the door each week.
ACTION ITEM: Beth to also add before-church Small Group prayer to volunteer schedule.
-Council Calendar
Elders/Council switch-off monthly, so Elders would meet monthly.
May 14th Elders, Eric’s birthday
(May 28th Road Crew)
June 11th, Council
July 9th, Elders
August 13th, Council
(August 27th, Road Crew)
September 10th, Elders
October 8th, Council
November 12th, Elders
(Road Crew falls on Thanksgiving—TBD)
December 10th, Council
7:40PM Ministry Talk
-Groundwork Sunday: Review; next May 17
Best connection ER has had to Belltown yet. Sara (City Dept. Neighborhoods), Brett (Txori), Erin (Tula’s) came. Mama’s folks came out: “Sweethearts”. Re-engaged with Glen at P-Patch. Gardeners and others came and visited. Joe Corsi walked by. Neighborhood organizer on Vine Street spoke to the group. And Hans visited, too! ACTION ITEM: Eric to do write-up for the blog to share. Those who participated should share. Most wonderful: Darryl-Ann shared on the corner, this was the corner where her drug use spiraled—outside Recovery Café. Keep NH on the list: cleaning the kitchen, and maybe sorting donations. The next round on the 17th. (31st is Pentecost, and the 24th is Memorial Day weekend.) ACTION ITEM: Next step: have neighbors out with us. Natural conversations already happening, but hope to be more intentional with other groups, and other churches, too. Planning further out helpful, but won’t prevent accidental arrivals for worship. August 30th, November TBD, falls on Thanksgiving. (Perhaps serve a meal as a church.)
-Anticipate April 18 Retreat
The Theme: Fishers of Men. Approach ER’s growth from this stand/viewpoint. What does it mean to be fishers of people? What is the net? (Eric: Relationships, strategic things we do as a church—serving. Needs to be thought of, or we don’t use it. Many think the net is inviting someone to church on Sunday and stays there. Ben: Off-putting image? Capture? Important to discuss context; what did/didn’t he mean by this? Mark: We are the fishers, and still the fish. Broaden the scope, about looking out and looking in, a process that continues for us all.) Take this day, time of fellowship (food, conversation, casual bonding) to discuss. What is our attitude about? Important to have closure/take-away—why did we do this if nothing’s going to change? Why did we talk about this? Are there too many questions to move through?
-Pentecost Seattle: May 30/31
A very diverse group of Christian leaders are planning a new annual event, the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday. Gathering of all church leaders—Catholic, Evangelical, Emergent, Pentecostal… Ethnically diverse. Trying to make as broad as possible. Meet each other and tell each other what God is saying and doing. We cannot hear God fully/clearly unless we know what God is saying to others. Purpose: to say this is what our church is what God is telling us to do, and new connection and relationships within the city. To carry-on year to year. Seattle will have sense that there is a church here, and there is healthy dialogue happening among. Christian. Ecumenical.
-Shift from "Children's Ministry" to "Parent Ministry"; Godly Play update
Sarah had something to share, emailed Eric. How is Godly Play going with Amanda not there? “As I've polled parents and volunteers I've heard strong enthusiasm for the GP program and widespread willingness to get more involved. Our plan is that Rennie will be attending the full accredited teacher training in April and May, and I'll be providing an in-house training for at least 6 others who will then be able to also lead as storytellers. I'm grateful for bringing this good out of Amanda's absence, that support and involvement in the GP program can be so widely shared - the blessing will be multiplied! Also, we can all thank Chad for stepping up as storyteller this past Sunday, and Kristin for supporting him as door person.”
Parent Ministry: A really big thing, only touching on this evening. The greatest asset to the church is the parents. Important not to fall into the trap of leaving spiritual teaching and nourishing to Sundays. Needs to be at home, and supported by the church. Need support, encouragement, resources from other parents. Fun family night? Boys & Girls Club? Chandra: Don’t make into a bigger thing; focus on how we’ve already been voicing this. Put practicality on it, make it tangible. Beth: Shies away from “one more thing”, but seeks a forum, resource(s) for kids’ questions. Ben: Knows others who would also appreciate this. Eric: Expects some activities, but mostly sees resource sharing, and experience sharing. Has underground connections in Seattle.
-Added/Extra Next Meeting Agenda Items
David to step-on as President, Ben becomes Vice President
Beth: Opportunity to voice concerns for those in district? Yes, during each Elder Meeting.
Beth: Revisit rules as to who can be eligible to be Elders.
Eric: Eldership term limit, David as President (Elections in the Fall: Ben, Suellen, David)
Eric: South Whidbey Island State Park reservation change, August to September now
Chandra: Review Retreat
Mark: Want to re-iterate, seeks input, and is open to hearing
Ben: Pit Crew thoughts to share with Mark. (Sarah has these notes.)
Beth: What to be addressed as Council, and what as Elder
David: Emergency responses. How did that work out recently with our visit to Suellen?
Eric: Deacons on care? (Affirming Cynthia in her traveling to see Suellen.) To be there and coordinate community’s response, meals, flowers—concrete ways of showing love.
Beth: Is Cynthia, as Worship Supporter? (Eric followed up, and she said “no”.)
Ben: Definition of Deacon. Is it allowed to be in leadership role, and not attend meetings?
9:00PM Beth led Closing Prayers