June 2020 Council Corner
Our council met in May for the first time in two months due to the COVID-19 crisis. It was great to see faces in the church again even if we sat about 15-20 feet apart with facemasks in the sanctuary. I honestly felt it was one of the more productive meetings in which I have participated in all my time on the council at Hope Lutheran. I left the meeting feeling very positive about the direction of our church.
At the beginning of the stay-at-home order, I was very worried about the effect that the shutdown would have on our church financially. In fact, the thought even crossed my mind that our doors would shut forever. However, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Going over our financial reports at the meeting, we discovered that the amount of giving has increased by an average of $1500 per month. This is absolutely amazing. Thank you to all who supported our church financially during this time. Keep it up!!!
The other important topic we discussed was the opening of our church. Bishop Aitken of the Northeast Minnesota Synod has strongly urged churches to follow the guidelines set forth by our state government and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) pertaining to gatherings of more than ten people. He urged parishioners to be patient during this time. The time will come when churches will open their doors to everybody. Given the demographics of our church, the council felt it was wise to follow this advice. Too many of our congregation members find themselves in the high-risk category.
The council formally passed a motion stating that no activities of any kind would take place at the church until it was fully open. This includes vacation bible school, bible study, knitting circles, etc. I know this is disappointing to many, but I would rather be far too safe than far too sorry. As of this time, we are looking at possibly reopening sometime in August with a modified worship taking place. This could involve the removal of various pews to increase social distancing, the wearing of face masks, restrictions on sitting with non-household members, and the use of a steaming sanitizer after every church use. More information will be provided as this date draws closer.
Members tackled the issue of church employees. Bishop Aitken has urged all churches to keep paying employees their regular paychecks during this time of crisis, if possible. Given our improved financial standing, we agreed with this approach. Hence, the council passed a motion to continue paying our church administrative assistant, custodian, and organist.
Finally, an update was given on the status of our new Facebook page. Work is presently being done to combine the old page with the new page. The possibility of utilizing the free streaming service offered by Facebook was also discussed. Numerous local churches are using this approach to broadcast their worship to the masses during the COVID-19 crisis. We thought this could be something worth utilizing when we come back to full worship. This would allow many of our members who cannot make it to church most Sunday’s to view our worship.
As we make our way through these uncertain times, please do not hesitate to reach out to the church if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
May God grant you peace until we meet again next month…….
In God’s Name,
Lance Kupka
Council President
Hope Lutheran Church of Embarrass