St Mark’s Council Members met on May 17, 2026
The following items were approved:
❖ Minutes from April 19, 2026, meeting were reviewed and approved
❖ May Treasurer’s report reviewed and approved
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
❖ Stewardship – minutes from the May 14 meeting were reviewed.
o Member roster is being updated, and a list has been generated of names of persons who have not attended services at St. Mark’s in two years and a letter will be mailed asking if they’re still interested in being a member of St. Mark’s or if they have found a new place of worship.
o Discussion and plans are underway to retire the mortgage in 2028, discussion of starting a capital campaign starting this summer
and through 2027 –to raise the estimated remaining money needed to retire the mortgage. This was approved by the Council.
❖ Outreach/ESSE – minutes from their meeting on May 17 reviewed – no questions
o Part-time nurse position for ESSE is still open
o NAMI KDK – a fundraiser to support Mental Health Awareness month was launched with a Temple Talk on 5/9 and 5/10 by Jill Fox
o Pride Month Fundraiser is being organized for the month of June to support Youth-Outlook
o The Neighbor Project – Opportunities for our Adult/Youth to do hands on projects this summer and fall is being planned. There will be
a fundraiser on June 12 at the Paramount Theater with drinks, dinner and Second City comedy
o Rally Day Project – For Rally Day on 9/13 discussion to support CASA in Kane County as a new partner to support, they are in need
of backpacks with essentials for the youth, more information is forthcoming
❖ Property
o Roofing: repairs of the flat roofs over the Chancel and the Font have been completed; the roof on storage shed in the courtyard has
been completed
▪ Steeple Roof sustained storm damage and require repairs the area is small and difficult to access replacement is recommended,
currently gathering estimates
o Courtyard Patio: installation tentatively scheduled to start late May with completion date of mid June
o Plumbing: Replacement of the broken sewer line has been completed
o Narthex Lighting – the ballast reached the end of their service life and will need to be replaced, and it is most efficient to replace all
the ballasts at once. The plan is to do the work ourselves and a lift will be required to be rented do the work, this is expected to be completed in early August
o Fire Extinguishers: the special fundraising to replace these was a success and the extinguishers are on order and will be replaced soon
o Building Use Committee:
▪ The Tumaini Swahili Chapel met for the first time since our partnership with them on Mother’s Day. Jeanne Flynn, Randy
Steinheimer and Pastor Krista were present on their first Worship.
• Pastor Krista commented, “it was amazing, they are Gracious people and were thankful to be here. Very warm and friendly.
They were so excited to be here and just love the space. The food was delicious and sent us home with some leftovers”
Everyone is invited to come experience Worship with them.
▪ The Committee has reached out and are meeting with outside organizations and groups to discuss our fees for the use of the building
❖ Children, Youth and Family
o FDL and Confirmation 2025-2026 year came to an end on May 6, 2026
▪ FDL/Confirmation schedule for the fall will be changing a bit due to low attendance since Covid. Dinner will be held with all groups vs two
separate sittings; there will be a joint activity time between the Confirmation and Youth Group Members. More information to come
as time gets closer.
o Youth Group:
▪ Working on their plans for their trip to Brooklyn, New York
o Vacation Bible School: The dates are July 13-17, 2026. A curriculum has been chosen and registration has started
o Rally Day: September 13, 2026, this day will coincide with ELCA’s annual “God’s Work, Our Hands” We will be completing another
service project similar to the one from last year and have decided to do CASA in Kane County
❖ Fellowship Team:
o Ideas for fellowship activities submitted by members were discussed. The team decided to begin by offering one inter-generational activity per season.
Some ideas listed below
▪ Summer – chalk and walk activity more details coming
▪ Fall – A Trunk or Treat activity in October
▪ Winter – Indoor activities such as Trivia, Music Bingo
▪ Spring – FDL inter-generational dinner and service project
o Discussion to startup St Mark’s Coffee Ministry “HOLY GROUNDS” this summer with a “soft” debut on Father’s Day Weekend, the
team discussed the purchasing of
▪ Coffee cart
▪ Coffee pots as some are pretty old and need replacement
❖ Response Advisory Team:
o Fire Drill and Active Shooter - to be announced and will be conducted in June
❖ RIC
o Aurora Pride Parade – June 14; Pastor Krista will coordinate with Melvin and organize pre-parade gathering (June 7) for goodie bag assembly and pep rally
o Sunday, June 14 St Mark’s will not have Worship but instead are invited to come and Worship at New England Congregational Church
Old Business:
• Sanctuary Piano – Kristen has found a piano in Detroit; it is a Steinway B Grand Piano. Funding for the piano was presented and will
be announced to members in the Friday Email. The Council approved the purchase of the piano and delivery timeframe is late June/
early July
New Business:
• Proposal for Communications and Website – last month several proposals were shared with the Council to update our website in hopes
to improve communication. The proposals were reviewed and Pastor Kelsey Creative Design was chosen to update our site. Work on
this project will begin on June 1st.
Next Council Meeting:
Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 11:30 am
The Council is committed to open communication and ongoing transparency with the congregation.
Please feel free to reach out to a Council member with your questions.
2026 Council Members
Randy Steinheimer (President) president@stmarksaurora.net
Jeanne Flynn (Acting Vice President) --flynn64sq@sbcglobal.net
Julie Joerger (Congregational Secretary) julposada.60@gmail.com
Robert Creaney (Treasurer) rob.creaney@sbcglobal.net
Cassie Blickem blickem@mac.com
Gena Gerdin genagerdin@comcast.net
Matt Greising mpgreising@gmail.com
Mary Mandel marymandel610@gmail.com
Melvin Smith kg70gp@gmail.com
Gregg Kobliska grkobliska@yahoo.com
Pastor Krista Zimmerman (Pastor) kzimmerman@stmarksaurora.net
Deacon David Webb dwebb@stmarksaurora.net