January 2020 Council Corner
The council discussed our search for an interim minister at our last meeting. In addition, we also held a special joint meeting with the council members from Babbitt to dissect the issue further. Turns out that we do have someone interested in serving both of our congregations as a part-time interim pastor. However, because he/she is currently serving another set of churches, we cannot divulge the name at this time due to confidentiality reasons. While the members of Babbitt seemed to be on board with this person fully, our members chose to take a more measured approach with this situation. We have a few questions that need answered by Deacon Tibbetts from the Northeastern Minnesota Synod before we decide to move ahead with this issue.
After waiting for just the right deal during this holiday season, the council decided to move ahead with our computer purchase. Stan planned to order this the week following our meeting. He will be purchasing the updated operating system, Windows 365, separately in the near future. You would never guess how much bureaucratic red tape is involved in this type of arrangement. Obtaining the operating system software separately will save us money in the long run.
Due to the snowstorm, the council had to pass on the heat tape. This is something that apparently needs to be installed before the snow hits. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate with us on this issue. The near blizzard that led to the cancellation of our December 1 services forced our hand on the issue. Still, thank you to Harold Langowski for his leadership on this issue. In the meantime, the council decided to move forward with heat/salt pucks to handle this problem. We hope that this solution will keep the ice jams on our roof from becoming too much of an issue this winter and upcoming spring.
Finally, I wanted to touch base on a few issues that I discussed last month just to serve as a reminder to our congregation members. First, we will be changing our passcode to the side door in the very near future. This is merely for security purposes. If you serve or need to access the church for some reason, please contact Stan for the new code. Second, council members will be looking at forming a call committee in early 2020. We just want to be prepared for the call process to start--whenever that may be. Third, the council tentatively set our annual meeting date for February 9, 2020, after services. For those who need to complete reports for this meeting, Stan will let you know when they are needed.
May God grant you peace until we meet again next month.......
In God’s Name,
Lance Kupka
Council President
Hope Lutheran Church of Embarrass