February 2021
Council Corner
Our first meeting of 2021 focused solely on the budget for the current year. Council members spent a great deal of time crunching numbers to make sure that we did not exceed our delicate budgetary constraints. For the first time in a long time, we were able to avoid shortfalls and added money to our saving accounts instead of borrowing against them. This represented a welcome relief from past years. In the process, the council crafted a budget that fit the unique needs of our small church. We hope that you will find it to your liking at our annual meeting on February 14, 2021.
The council also looked to the future of our very body. While AnnMarie Kupka and Sharon Rantala agreed to serve another term, our third council member up for reelection, Chuck Hartline, decided to leave the council after serving one term. He gave back to our church in many ways while serving on the council. I lost count of all the things that Chuck did for us. Nonetheless, I want to thank him for his selfless service these past two years. Chuck’s shoes will be hard to fill. Nonetheless, please contact him or any other member of the council if you are interested in serving our church.
Council members also reviewed the pros and cons of our radio Xmas service last month. Overall, we were very delighted at the results. Things ran rather smoothly with no noticeable glitches taking place. Based upon these results, the council decided to hold our Easter services in the same manner.
Finally, Stan was able to contact Thrivent about the possibility of instituting automatic giving at Hope Lutheran. Unfortunately, Thrivent noted that the cost of this program for small churches did not make it feasible for small churches such as ours. However, based upon the increasing demand for automatic giving, Thrivent did tell him that they were going to look at redesigning their automatic giving programs with small churches specifically in mind.
May God grant you peace until we meet again next month…….
In God’s Name,
Lance Kupka
Council President
Hope Lutheran Church of Embarrass