St. Philip Lutheran Church

Open Doors has lift off! On January 8 St. Philip launched an interactive digital worship experience. It was a grand experience both for us as hosts and those who participated. One participant was a neighbor close by whose church home is some distance away. We were reminded of the incredible accessibility of this format.

Our mission together as disciples is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. The digital worship service is a recording of our Sunday worship service in an online interactive online format. Pastor Laura and Pastor David will host a chat for faith conversation and answer prayer requests as viewers converse and worship together.

Research suggests that a significant portion of the population is either apathetic to Christianity and practices of faith or even distrustful about conversation with people of faith about the faith.

YOU CAN HELP! We very much want to explore every avenue possible to publicize Open Doors. You can share the Facebook Event that communicates the next service. You can direct co-workers or acquaintances who are not quite sure about church or Christianity by directing them to the St. Philip website. You can send an email with the link below and an invitation to come and see. The service can be accessed at https://stphiliplutheran.churchonline.org

Council met on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the church library.

Peter Shick, Treasurer, distributed the Treasurer’s report for month ending December 31, 2019. The Treasurer’s report showed receipts for month ending December 31, 2019 of $23,115.22 and our year to date budget under $5,478.34.  Mr Shick stated we had more expenses for maintenance and repairs in the month of December.

Council continues to work on the proposed changes to the endowment policy, the guidelines and application to help process a request for donations.

Council discussed staff compensation for 2020 to include cost of living increase, step increase and merit increase. Gary Sahm, Council President, Gary Dudley, and Doug Layman will meet to discuss these increases for the staff and make recommendations to council at the next meeting.

Pastor David submitted to Council a Staff Evaluation Form he will use for yearly staff performance reviews. Pastor David and Pastor Laura will complete the form in June and submit to Council for their review in July.

Upcoming events are as follows:

Winterfest will be held on January 18, 2020. Children and family activities will be from 2-4 pm with the chili cookoff form 5-7 pm for all.

Open book hosted by Sue Huntington is on January 25, 2020, from 6-8 pm with a potluck meal. The book discussion will be on “Braving the Wilderness” by Brene Brown.

An anti-scamming seminar will be held on February 15, 2020 from noon until 3 pm.

A three part “Celebrate My Life” seminar will be held on March 1, March 15 and March 29, 2020.

Council discussed appointments to the nominating committee as new council members will be elected in April to replace those who have completed their term.

Pastor Laura reported the digital Open Door Worship was a success.

Pastor Laura will attend Winter Celebration with the senior high youth on January 25, 2020.

Pastor David will be out of the office February 2 through February 6, 2020. Pastor Laura will also be out of the office for a retreat but can be reached by phone.

B&D Locks will rekey the locks on the church doors and install a box with a passcode near the door at the kitchen to be used to enter the church on January 20 2020. Keys will be limited to church staff. Members of the congregation with a key will still be able to use their key inside the church to unlock the office and closets when needed. The passcode will be given to members of the congregation by speaking to one of the Pastors or Laura Latham, Office Administrator. A log will be kept as to whom the passcode has been given.

The next council meeting is February 11, 2020 in the church library.