July 2022
Council Corner
It was a lengthy council meeting on June 12, 2022. Our group talked about a variety of issues. First on the agenda was an update from the Call Committee. Tana Johnson reported that the completed Ministry Site Profile (MSP) encompassing information from Hope Lutheran (HLC) and Babbitt Evangelical Lutheran Church (BELC) was submitted to Deacon Brenda Tibbetts. It now awaits her review and approval. This represents the first of multiple steps in the call process.
Next on the agenda was the topic of food. We have planned a joint church picnic with BELC from noon to 2 p.m. on June 26, 2022, at the Embarrass Town Hall. This will be a potluck event that gives us an opportunity to share some good conversation and fellowship with the people from BELC. We hope to make this a regular occurrence in the coming years. Thank you to the members of both councils who originally suggested this gathering.
The council then spent a great deal of time reviewing the strategic plan process with Tana Johnson. We are presently looking at devising a definitive mission statement for our church. In other words, what do we stand for as a church inside and outside the doors of Hope Lutheran?
After a great deal of discussion, we felt that it would be best to open the discussion of our strategic plan to congregation members. Thus, the church council would like to invite any interested members of HLC to take part in this process. We have scheduled two meetings to gain valuable input from our members. The first meeting will take place on July 10 immediately after regular church services while the second meeting will take place on July 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The hope is to gain some insight from our members regarding our mission and possibly answer some questions about the future direction of our congregation. Please contact Pastor Birk, Stan, or a council member if you would be interested in taking part in this process.
Some members may ask why we are going through the journey of crafting a strategic plan. In the next few lines, I hope to answer this sufficiently.
When I first joined this congregation fourteen years ago, Hope Lutheran found itself in a very precarious financial position. We were burning through our savings accounts at an alarmingly fast pace. To the naked eye, the church did not have many years left in its existence. We held our breath looking at the financial statements during each council meeting. Corners were cut, and we did everything under the sun to save money. It took us multiple years, but we finally found firm financial footing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite our improved financial position, the council decided that we have to stand for something more than just keeping our doors open. We asked ourselves some tough questions and held some in depth conversations. Members felt that we needed to define our purpose as a church. What is our mission? Why do we gather each Sunday for worship? We came to the conclusion that answering these and other questions will not only help us as we conduct the search for a new pastor, it will also help us to grow in terms of our ministry and total members. A church represents so many different things. HLC needs to find this out as we head into the future.
Finally, the council has some bittersweet news for our members. Pastor Birk announced near the end of the meeting that his last day as a pastor will be August 21. While sad to hear that his time at HLC is coming to an end, I want to wish Pastor Birk congratulations as he begins his retirement journey. He came to us at a very unsure time. We did not have a permanent pastor nor did we have any prospects for one. Pastor Birk provided us with a steady hand over the past few years and helped us regain our footing after staying closed for the first three months of the pandemic. He provided us with hope when we had very little. Here is to a happy, healthy, and long retirement for Pastor Birk and his wife, Kathy!
May God grant you peace until we meet again next month…….
In God’s Name,
Lance Kupka
Council President
Hope Lutheran Church of Embarrass