Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Governing Board Minutes

 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Governing Board
November 10, 2009

Call to Order:  President Laurie Peterson called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. In attendance were Laurie Peterson, Scott Snyder, Marv Rohn, Kevin Kelley, Mark Kramer, Jason Hoffman, Doug Pals, Pastor Ron Burcham, and Mark Pierson.

Lorrie Graaf was not present.

Visitor Recognition: Laura Rath was present as recording secretary.

Consent Agenda:

• The minutes from the October 2009 meeting were accepted by consensus.
• The financial report was discussed and also accepted by consensus.

Senior Pastor Report:

• Pastor Burcham gave an update on the Spiritual Life Survey, which ended on Oct. 17. A response rate of at least 35% was suggested for our size congregation. We exceed that with a return rate of 45%. The results should be sent to the church by December. Pastor Robarge, the MAT, and Pastor Burcham will summarize the results and share with the Board. The results will then be communicated to the congregation after the first of the year.

• Pastor Burcham reported that he will begin assembling a staffing committee this month for the Director of Worship Position.

• Pastor Burcham reported briefly on the three initiatives:
• Team Work – The annual ministry staff retreat was held on November 9-10. It was one of the best staff retreats to date. The ministry staff members were paired up and worked together to come up with global ministry ideas, which they presented at the retreat.

Executive Director Bill Jesse led the continuing education segments during the retreat. The topic was trust among team members and how to handle conflict.

• Pastor Burcham gave a presentation of what he learned at the “All Access Conference” at North Coast Church in Carlsbad, CA. This conference was limited to about 20 people and only seven churches.

Monitoring Affirmation:
Parish Paper: The topic of the November Parish Paper was “Seven Roads to a Multicultural Congregation.” The Board felt the topic was not relevant and chose not to discuss.

Axiom: The Board will continue with the book review in December.

ENDS – Laurie Peterson, Kevin Kelley, and Mark Kramer reviewed Sections 1.1 and 1.2. It was recommended that Section 1.2.1.2 be removed. Doug Pals made a motion to remove Section 1.2.1.2, and to renumber Section 1.2.1.3 as 1.2.1.2. Mark Kramer seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Scott Snyder will review Section 1.3 for the December meeting. Scott Snyder, Jason Hoffman, and Mark Kramer will review Section 1.4.

Actions:
LCMS Convention Nominations – Gloria Dei had the opportunity to nominate individuals for the positions of President and Vice President of the Synod. Doug Pals made a motion to nominate the incumbents, The Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick as President, and The Rev. Dr. William R. Diekelman as the First Vice-President. Kevin Kelley seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Sabbatical Policy/Continuing Education – Jason Hoffman and Mark Kramer presented the information they have gathered. They will start a framework structure for the Board to discuss.

Church Employee Consulting Policy – Doug Pals, Lorrie Graaf, and Scott Snyder will meet with Pastor Burcham.

Financial Control Policy – Doug Pals, Executive Director Bill Jesse, and Mark Pierson will meet on November 17. They expect the policy to come together by January.

Congregational Listening Post – There were no comments reported.

Policy Manual – The Board will be working on updating the appendices at the end of the policy manual.

Housekeeping:

a. Future Meetings

i. December 8, 2009 Governing Board Meeting (Materials due Dec. 1)

ii.  Discovery 201 Governing Board Attendees
            February 28, 2010 – Scott Snyder, Mark Pierson, and Jason Hoffman (tentative)
          May 23, 2010 – Doug Pals, Marv Rohn, Mark Kramer (tentative)
iii. February 19-20, 2010 – Governing Board Retreat
iiii. 2010 Willow Creek Leadership Summit dates: August 5-6   

Adjournment:  
After the Lord’s Prayer, the meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Laura Rath.