Council Meeting, April 17, 2012

Discussion occurred regarding Facility Usage. Pam assigns each group a room and the assignments are listed on the bulletin board as you come into the church. When groups take a room other than that which was assigned, there can be a ripple effect with other groups. Please consult the room assignments before starting a meeting. Please also notify the office by note or email when a meeting is planned at the church so a room can be assigned.

The Ascension Day Service for the West Berks Mission District will be held at Reformation on May 17th at 7 P.M.

Pastor highlighted the value of participating in a spiritual retreat like the one that he served on in March. There is one scheduled for November 8-11 through the local Journey in Faith Via de Cristo at Mariawald in Shillington. If you are interested, there are application forms available on the website for Journey in Faith.

The Property Committee met and is taking on a whole series of repairs and improvements, further changes to make our use of storage space more efficient and effective, and work to improve the experience of visitors and new people to our congregation.

Communication with our partner parish in Tanzania has been very spotty. We are working to improve that communication and understand the hurdles that they are experiencing.

Reformation's WELCA will be hosting a Bible Study on Saturday, September 26 led by a local author, Audrey West, who writes the Bible Studies for Gather, the magazine of the WELCA. It will be open to all women in the West Berks Mission District. Registration information will be available in the next couple of months.

The Youth Ministry team has been very active with a number of activities and fundraisers as well as regular meetings with both the Jumping Juniors and the Junior and Senior High Youth. There are 9 youth and 3 chaperones sponsored by Reformation to attend the National Youth Gathering this summer. The Youth will be running the Yard Sale on May 5th and the proceeds will be used for the National gathering expenses.

Information for the Scholarship Fund is available, and the application period is shortened in order to provide the information for high school graduation program bulletins.

Many ministries and groups have been launched and are hosted at Reformation. It is an exciting time as Reformation serves needs within our local community. That very situation requires support-- in volunteer time and in contributions. While so far in 2012, both giving and expenses for Reformation are holding close to the budget, we are also seeing that unbudgeted expenses are rising from the increase in activities and ministries and more volunteer time is needed as well. Please prayerfully consider whether you can provide additional support to Reformation.

Council Meeting, March 20, 2012

Delegates to represent Reformation are needed for the synod assembly in June, the spring assembly in April; amd the fall assembly in November. Please contact the church office if you are interested in representing our church.

The ELCA is sponsoring an initiative to control malaria, therefore, saving lives. Reformation will be participating in the effort and it will kick-off in June.

A group of people, led by Tim Dewalt, has been studying potential changes to the sanctuary to emphasize water and baptism in the worship space. A proposal was approved by council to refurbish the existing baptismal font in such a way that an artistic glass bowl will be fit on top of it. The glass allows the water to be visible to all. There will also be modifications to the pews around the font. Those changes open up the space which is needed during baptisms and also provide places to accomodate worshippers who have wheelchairs. Memorial and/or gift opportunities will be made available to the congregation for sponsorship.

The Property Committee and the Worship and Music Committee were asked to determine how a projector and screen could be accommodated within the sanctuary to replace those now in use for announcements and other media display.

Thank you to Kathy Austin and Sue Kern who have been thoroughly organizing and cleaning storage spaces and the nursery as part of the implementation of the Space Audit recommendations.

Paster Steve is working with a small group of people to determine ways in which Reformation can expand the efforts of hospitality towards visitors. The coffee station in the narthex is one such effort. There will be a training session on April 1st for all ushers and greets to focus on how these volunteers play critical roles to help visitors.

Summer worship will be one service at 9 A.M beginning June 17th. The annual church picnic and outdoor worship service at Exeter Community Park, St. Lawrence, will be held on June 10th.

The Yard Sale, slated for May 5th, is being coordinated by the Youth this year with the proceeds being used to help fund their trip to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.

The next week for Reformation to host Family Promise is September 23-30. We are seeking a volunteer co-coordinator for the program. Pam Schneeberger will containue as the other co-coordinator.

Council Meeting, February 21, 2012

A small group within the Property Committee reviewed all the storage space within Reformation's building. They have made a series of recommendations that will organize and more effectively use the existing space. Those recommendations will be taken back to committees and groups for discussion and implementation.

Pastor Steve will be working with others to further develop Reformation's sense of Hospitality within the congregation. He also announced that a New Member Class will be starting around Easter.

Reformation has received a letter from the Northeast PA Synod discussing the budget shortfall they are experiencing as a result of decreased contributions from the churches in the synod. As a result, they will have to cut back on the contributions made to the ELCA as well as look at staffing. The ELCA and the synod provide important resources for the congregations. Reformation currently has allocated 8% of all general giving to be sent to the synod.

A small group of Council members met with Exeter Area Food Pantry (EAFP) representatives to discuss progress thus far in the partnership. THe EAFP feels that the work thus far has been very successful; strong support from the community, dedicated volunteers, and it has grown to be serving over 65 families serveral months in a row, now -- providing food to over 200 people. It was decided that while the process of food ordering is being worked through, Reformation will allocate closet space in the Parish Hall to the Pantry. We will review this again in 6 months. Reformation has also asked that the entrances of the church be non-smoking areas.

The Youth Ministry committee reported that the Youth have thus far earned $1200 toward their summer trip to the Youth Gathering as a result of the Scrip program. Five Reformation youth attended the recent Captive Free gathering.

Council Meeting, January 24, 2012

Election for officers was held. Officers elected were:President: Teri Stoddard, Vice President: Jim Rhoads, Council Secretary: Melanie Bechtel, Treasurer: Rod Kline, Financial Secretary: Steve Barnett.

The new offering envelope program was discussed. Concerns were raised by members' names and addresses being on the envelopes. While we work with the vender to implement a solution, members can place a label over their names and addresses or blacken them out with a marker. Just insure that the envelope number remains visible.

Council decided that it would be a good idea to review all the space and storage utilization in the church to determine if there are better solutions and allocations possible. Likewise, the signage should be reviewed, especially on storage areas. These two items were assigned to the Property Committee with Tim Dewalt as the Council Liaison.

A small group was assigned to meet with the Exeter Area Food Pantry leadership to debrief the last 5 months experience and look at possible opportunities for improvement.

Paster Steve discussed his work with the Malaria Campaign of the ELCA.

An Audit Committee will be formed within the next few weeks to review the transactions of 2011.

Council Meeting, December 20, 2011

We welcome Melanie Bechtel who has volunteeered to serve as Council Secretary starting with the January Council meeting. Jane Hubert is leaving the role after 20 years of service; she will be greatly missed.

Parish concerns: 1. It was clarified that the Exeter Food Pantry is using some of the Social Hall for temporary storage until the lift gate on the truck is fixed. The shelving is too heavy to move without the assistance of a lift gate. 2. Discussion occurred on the use of the screen for announcements. Parish comment have varied widely, but the majority are neutral or positive, expecially since it has proven to increase responses and communication.

The agenda of the Annual Meeting shceduled for January 22, 2012, will highlight progress on the strategic plan implementation.

The Council reviewed and approved adjustments to the 2012 proposed budget including staff pay increases and a reallocation of benevolence dollars to be 8% of synod - 1/2% to West Berks Mission District and 1 1/2 % to Local Benevolence.

The Council voted to not approve the use of the church for the Dayspring Adult Day Care Porgram. It was agreed that in order to house a program of that breadth, we would need to staff the church on a full-time basis, and we are not in a position to do that at this time.

The Worship and Music Committee reported that a contemporary service will be held on the 3rd Sunday of each month at both services. We will use a full contemporary service but will try to make a comfortable transition using both familiar and new sets from the ELW hymnal (red hymnal) that has a contemporary feel. We will use modern language and a different creed. The scriptures will be read from The Message.

The outgoing members of the Council: Alan Blackburn, Kurt Kohler, Tony Lambert and Becky Schaeffer were thanked for their faithful service on the Council. They have each made significant contributions to the work of the Council during their tenure.