The Council met on Sunday, June 23. The following are highlights from the June Council meeting.
MSP / Call Committee
Tyler Mabrey provided an update of the call process. Similar updates have been provided to the congregation through recent Friday email messaging, and announcements during worship services on June 22-23. Please continue to look for additional information in the Friday email communications in the coming weeks.
Youth and Family Program Leadership
Jeanne Flynn and Pastor Will provided Council with an update on the search process for the Director of Children, Youth and Family Program position. There has been considerable interest in the position and qualified candidates have been interviewed. Decisions have been made about second-round interviews of select candidates.
Saturday Evening Worship
Pastor Will provided an update from the informational session that took place following Saturday worship service on June 22. Many members of Council were also present for the informational meeting. Council encourages members of the congregation to reflect on the points that were raised during the meeting and speak with Pastor Will about their thoughts. As always, members may also speak with Council representatives prior to the next Council meeting in July.
Budget and Benevolence Forum
The mid-year Budget and Benevolence Forum is tentatively set for July 20 and 21 following worship services. Council will provide an update on the 2024 annual budget, as well as financial and volunteer support of our many outreach partnerships. Please look for additional information in the Friday email communications in the coming weeks.
Outreach to Inactive Members
A letter will be sent to St. Mark’s members who have not been active in the past two years. The purpose of the letter is to update inactive members about the exciting things happening at St. Mark’s, invite them back to worship and ask them to either confirm their continued membership or update us if they have chosen another faith community. This will help St. Mark’s update its membership roles prior to the arrival of our new pastor.
Building and Property
Council approved a recommendation from the Property Team to approve the creation of a Building Use Committee which would be charged with:
o Creating/updating policies and procedures for consistent use of our facilities by other organizations
o Approval of building use requests by outside organizations
Council approved funds for several capital projects requested by the Property Team. These funds were set-aside from the sale of the Child Development Center and are not a part of the annual operating budget. The projects include:
o Repair/replacement of flat roof portions of the church
o Replacement of one parking lot lamp
o Replacement of two windows in the baptismal font area with broken seals
“What is Possible?” Vision Statements
Jeanne Flynn and Randy Steinheimer provided Council with an update on the development of “What's Possible?” goals and objectives for building out Wednesday night programming with fresh ideas, additional parent involvement and the inclusion of different forms of worship. Additional feedback will be solicited from Youth Group members.
A “What's Possible” Vision Team is reviewing St. Mark’s vision statements developed in 2016-17 and may recommend revisions that will help move St. Mark’s forward, consistent with its mission principles.
We need you! One dominant theme coming out of the “What's Possible?” conversations is the need for a more robust volunteer network to support all of St. Mark’s ministries. Much of that work continues throughout the summer months, during which time vacation and travel impact the availability of volunteers. There are many ways you can help without making a long-term volunteer commitment. Please speak with a member of staff or Council about volunteer opportunities.
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.
If you'd like to contact a Council Member, click here