Your Council met January 19th and February 9th. We have started a practice of one member of council opening each meeting with reflections of Joining Jesus on His Mission, which provides a great foundation for the business discussions that follow.

At both meetings we approved minutes from the December Congregational Meeting, as well as the November and January Council Meeting minutes.

The status of the Fellowship Hall renovation project is our usual first order of business. Mike Waring and his team continue to meet with the architects and congregation stakeholders to ensure that the final design meets all our needs. A future presentation will be made to the Congregation to show you all the final design and what the adjustments looks like. Andrew Ehlers briefed the financing options and recommended that we use the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) due to their simpler application process, competitive interest rate, fixed payment amount, no early pay off penalty and faith based missional focus. The Council voted to approve this recommendation. Finally, the Council is moving forward to establish the Transition Team for Office Relocation During Renovation that will start making plans for continuing office operations throughout the construction project.

Along those same lines, the Council approved moving forward to replace the Sanctuary HVAC system. Congregational approval is required, which took place on February 23rd.

Our chief of messaging, Jan Swicord, is working across several fronts to improve how we communicate with each other and to the greater community around us. Improvements are planned for SJLC.com to minimize the steps to reach critical information. Additionally, she is assembling a team to address a change to our constitution which would allow for members to vote electronically when a congregational vote is required. Currently, only those members in person can vote.

Nick Uzl, our Treasurer, reported positive trends in both the Church and ECEC budgets. You will see his reports separately in the Mid-Week Updates.

If you have any questions at all, or would like an issue raised with the Council, contact Elisabeth Auld.