Bethel Lutheran Church, Cupertino, California
Minutes recorded by congregational secretary Davis Fields
Opening: Bill Hanson, President, called the meeting
to order at 12:40. Pastor Rick opened the meeting with a prayer.
Quorum: 88 members signed in for the meeting. (10%
of our voting membership or 70 people were sufficient for a quorum.)
Approval of Minutes: The January 25, 2004 meeting
minutes were approved without discussion.
Call Committee Report: Jim Hooper made a
presentation on behalf of the Call Committee seeking a new Lead Pastor for
Bethel. He said we’ve reached the halfway mark and he introduced and thanked
the committee members. He described the recently-released Congregational
Mission Profile document that will now be used by the Synod to select pastoral
candidates to recommend to Bethel. In about four weeks we should have a list of
about ten candidates, after which interviews can begin. The document required
the Committee to select the four most important attributes we seek, and our
responses were worship leadership, administration, evangelism and preaching.
Assuming we fill the position in one interview/selection/approval cycle, we
would expect to recommend a new Lead Pastor to the Congregation sometime in
August or September. A special congregational meeting will be scheduled for
this vote. If approved, our new Lead Pastor would be in place in late 2004. If
for any reason two or more cycles are required, the timeline would be extended.
Jim closed with a prayer being used by the Call Committee.
Stewardship Report: Our interim Lead Pastor Ken
Anderson spoke about our stewardship program. He reviewed the process that was
used this spring to drive the process, culminating in “home meetings” at 16
locations in late April and early May, attended by 123 people including 26
hosts and leaders. He presented a summary of results, including a large group
of prior pledging members who increased their pledges, and a slightly smaller
group of prior pledging members (labeled “attrition”) who have not pledged this
year. 189 pledge cards had been returned by the end of May (compared to 249
through the end of June a year ago).
Budget Report: Our financial officer Euo
Menezes presented our budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004. It was
developed in an atmosphere of continued economic hardship and uncertainty, with
local unemployment still high and large numbers of young families and retirees
leaving the area.
Our giving has continued to fall behind what was assumed for
our 2003-2004 budget. We were especially struck by much weaker year-end giving
in 2003 than in prior years. We currently expect an operating loss of about
$22,000 for the fiscal year that ends this month ($810k income, $832k expenses).
In making plans for 2004-2005, we have assumed a $40k
increase in giving over this year (meaning $851k in income in the new fiscal
year). Gaining this increase will require additional focus on stewardship
and/or special appeals. Euo said that we had to deal with the fact that over
65% of our expenses are directly related to staffing, and knew we would have to
reduce this expense in the new budget. Cuts in other areas would not be
sufficient to balance the budget. Euo presented a plan to restructure the
church staff in order reduce staffing expenses. The main points: reducing the
total hours devoted to publications, our receptionist and bookkeeper; reducing
our pastoral care and visitation outreach; and reducing hours for ministry
facilitation. These steps bring our expense budget into line with the $851k
income number, yielding a balanced budget for 2004-2005.
Questions were asked and answered about the reductions in
pastoral care/outreach and ministry facilitation, school tuition discount
transfers for member and staff family members, staff salary increases in the
budget, pledgers as a percentage of members, and possible relocation expenses
for our new Lead Pastor. The 2004-2005 budget was approved by a show of hands.
Bethel Lutheran School Report: School
board president gave the school report. He opened by mentioning that only 7% of
our school students are members of Bethel church families, meaning that for the
other 93% the school is an outreach to the community. The school has over 300
students in all its programs and had an income this year of approximately $1.6
million. Given current economic conditions, the 2004-2005 budget will be very
close to this number (roughly $1.577 million), based on an expectation of flat
enrollment compared to the year now ending. The school budget was approved by a
show of hands.
Welcome Zone Report: Tom Hoegel gave a report on all
the Welcome Zone projects completed (or nearly completed) in the last year
including the Visual Connection video projection system, new sanctuary lighting
and shades, the People Connection outdoor welcome area, the parking lot
renovation and repairs to the sanctuary roof.
New Business: None.
Closing: Pastor Ken thanked Bethel for its support
of him as interim Lead Pastor. He mentioned the upcoming “Purpose-Driven Life”
program beginning September 12th. He closed the meeting with a
prayer. President Bill Hanson thanked the pastors, staff, council members and
the Bethel community.
Meeting Adjourned at 2:21 pm.