ATTENDEES: Ron Wendt (CC Chair), Janet Wendt (CC Secretary for Sharon Ramos), Lynn Howard (Finance), Carol Freitag (Children), Bob Burnett (Adult), Janet Wildeboor (Health), Lyndall Foulds (Lay Leader, Lay Member to AC), Dick Mathias (Lay Member to AC), Susan Mantilla (M&E), Vera Zimmerman (Missions for Bruce Keough), Paula McCutcheon (Pastor), Alan Jacobsen (SPRC), Dianne Smith (Stephen Ministry), Jerry Flagel (Trustees), Dick Freiling (UMM), Gayle Meyers (UMW, At Large), Curt Stock (Youth), Donna Stock (Worship), Lisa Burns (Preschool), Doug Ferguson (Young Adult)

OPENING PRAYER: Paula

SIGNPOST OF RENEWAL: Paula led us in the Healing Devotion by reading from Luke. We joined together in reciting the Healing Litany.

REVIEW OF OCTOBER MINUTES:

October Minutes will not be published in the Epistle but will be posted on church bulletin boards.

Corrections were made to the notes regarding the Preschool.

Paula provided some clarification about church finances. We have several designated funds – preschool, youth, etc. However, it is ultimately all the church’s money. Monies can be reallocated if the church needs funds for paying utilities, or other needs.  We are currently using preschool funds to pay church bills because we are so far behind in our budget. Designated funds can be moved if needed in other areas of the church. The intent however is for designated funds to remain designated to their original purpose.

The October Minutes were approved with the requested revisions.

DECEMBER CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING: Pastor Paula

The December Church Council meeting will be held Monday, December 10, 2007 at 7:00 PM as part of the scheduled All Church Conference. Yearly Reports from all committee chairs are due to Paula and Joletta by November 25. The Church Council will not be meeting on the regularly scheduled Thursday date. It was decided we would not bring food to the December 10th event.

DECEMBER 30^th SERVICE:  Donna Stock

The Worship Committee recommended holding one service on Sunday, December 30, 2007 – beginning at 10:00 AM. The service would be held in the sanctuary. A vote was taken and the recommendation was approved.

FINANCE UPDATE: Lynn Howard

Recently Jerry Flagel brought to the attention of the Church Council that the parsonage fund should be put into an account that would earn a higher rate of return. The parsonage fund has resided at Washington Mutual. Given the current business difficulties being experienced by Washington Mutual, a decision was made to transfer the parsonage fund account to the Bank of America. The funds were transferred to a checking account at Bank of America on November 7, 2007. A decision will be made in January 2008 as to where the parsonage fund monies will be invested.

As of October 31, the FCUMC checking account balance was $4000.00. This is a very low balance. Combined FCUMC checking and savings accounts total $37,695.93.

The FCUMC General Fund is approximately $28,000 behind for 2007.  It is believed the shortfall is due to pledged giving that hasn’t yet been realized.

A budget report is being published in the weekly bulletins to keep the congregation informed.  Discussion followed as to what else should be done to ensure that the seriousness of the budget shortfall is shared with church members.

If the current budget deficit is not resolved by the end of the year, serious reflection on the 2008 budget will be required and cuts will likely need to be made. Our current Stewardship drive will end on November 18. The pledges will be blessed and dedicated on December 2. It was suggested we assess the budget situation again at this time to see if progress has been made on making up for the 2007 budget shortfall and review the pledges received for 2008. If necessary, we may need to ask for a special offering on December 9.

Provide congregation a number – let people know that if each of us could give another $120 – that would give a call to action. There are 222 pledged giving units in our congregation. It was suggested a dollar amount per giving unit be provided as a call to action to make up the deficit.

Lynn asked committee chairs to take a hard look at committee spending. Most are not over budget but careful spending was encouraged.

STEWARDSHIP UPDATE: Alan Jacobson

November 11 is the last Sunday of the 2008 Stewardship drive. Ron Wendt and Alan Jacobson will be speaking at both services. A detailed 4-page letter is being mailed out to all church members. The letter details how the money is being spent.  Pledges are due by November 18^th.  The stewardship message is to encourage giving out of abundance.

The pledges received to date will be dedicated on December 2. The Church Council may need to meet in December or early January – depending on the result of pledge drive and current economic status.

TRUSTEES REPORT: Jerry Flagel

We originally thought that we would need outward opening doors for the preschool.  Cathy Russell investigated and learned that they are only required if there will be 50 or more children in the room at one time so it appears we will not need to alter the doors at this time.

In the future, we may need to investigate the need for an occupancy permit for the preschool. The preschool is currently non-licensed and an occupancy permit is not required. If in the future the preschool moves to become licensed, a lot of work would be needed in terms of infrastructure.

ADVENT & CHRISTMAS INFORMATION – Please send to Joletta by November 18. A flyer is being created that will be put into the weekly bulletin.  It was also suggested this information be sent to Mike Sharp for inclusion on the website.

ROUND TABLE:

Trustees: Jerry Flagel – A new membership database package has been purchased. To begin the process of updating church records, information sheets will be sent to all committee chairs. It was suggested that a privacy statement be displayed on the information sheets so church members will know how the information is to be used.

UMM: Dick Freiling – The next UMM meeting will be December 1, 2007. Jim Truitt will share his recent experiences in Biloxi. Women are welcome to attend the UMM breakfast meeting.

Children’s Council: Carol Freitag – Trunk or Treat was a great success.

Adult Council: Bob Burnett - Book has been selected for Advent Study.  There are 4 weeks in the Advent Season. The hope is to form small discussion groups and meet in participants homes. Study will involve reading, journaling, and group discussion. The books are $10.00. Sign-ups are going on right now.

Missions: Vera Zimmerman for Bruce Keough - The Giving Tree will be put up in the narthex the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Food is being collected for Thanksgiving meals. Donations must be made by November 18. Our missionary in Nepal is being supported.

M&E: Susan Mantilla – A successful church potluck was held on October 13. The next potluck is scheduled for November 10. Everyone is welcome.

UMW: Gail Meyers – The UMW will be meeting for dinner on Thursday, November 15 at 6:30 PM at the Golden Peacock. The annual Christmas party is scheduled for December 6. This meeting will be a dessert potluck. Cynthia Van Devender will give a presentation about the candles of Advent. The annual Women’s Retreat will be January 18-19. Flora Bowers will be the guest speaker.

Ron Wendt for Jim Clarke – Ron passed out the latest draft of the Statement of Inclusion.  It will be presented and discussed at the next meeting.

Health: Janet Wildeboor – The Lions Club is supporting the Free Wheelchair Mission. On December 10 a community-wide meeting is being held at Nelson Middle School. An informational video will be shown. Those interested in this important ministry are invited to attend.

Young Adults: Doug Ferguson - New monthly socials are kicking off this month. They have been getting approximately two referrals a month to join the young adult program. Plan is to eventually put young adult group information on our website.

SPRC: Alan Jacobson – Interviews for the janitorial position are continuing. Two final candidates have been selected and both have been told hiring is dependent on the budget status.

Stephen Ministry: Dianne Smith – The ministry continues to provide caring support where needed.

Preschool: Lisa Burns – A new student has recently joined the 3-year old class – we now have 10 students. A few 3-year old students are turning 4 so will be moving up to the next class level. We will be participating in two upcoming preschool fairs - one at Maple Valley in January and another fair at Renton in February.

Preschool bulletin boards have been updated – Lisa invited everyone to take a look.

The playground equipment donated from Our Place is being stored until spring. The condition of the equipment was not as good as hoped. The existing church playground equipment was checked out by the Trustees – it too needs repair work. It was decided that the MPR would be used for play time during the winter. It is possible that new playground equipment may be needed.

A Guiding Principles document is being written to detail preschool processes – how funds are handled, relationship with the church, etc. Once completed the guiding principles document will be sent to different parties for review. The document is over 70 pages in length.

Preschool snacks have disappeared from the kitchen off of the sanctuary. Other items like toys or books from the preschool have disappeared but have been returned. Please let Carmella know if a preschool item is being borrowed and when it will be returned.

On December 6 the preschool children will be performing a Festival of Lights concert beginning at 6:00 PM. The congregation is invited.

Youth: Curt Stock - Youth activities included a food drive held on October 28. The Senior High youth went to Ft Flagler. The Junior High youth had a lock in at the church the same weekend. Sandwich making is taking place on November 18.  The youth will be making wreaths on November 24. Wreaths and swags will be available for sale on November 25.  December 1 is Parents Night Out.

Worship: Donna Stock – Shared that royal blue is also an advent color.  We may incorporate blue with purple for the upcoming Advent season. Sign up sheets for helping with the Christmas Eve services will be coming out soon. Services are planned for 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM and 11:00 PM. The UMW will be selling nuts on Sunday.

CLOSING PRAYER

Respectfully submitted by Janet Wendt