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ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2015 JANUARY 24, 2016

Lebanon Lutheran Church

1101 South Mears Avenue

Whitehall, Michigan 49461

231-893-5745

www.lebanonlutheranchurch.com

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Lebanon Lutheran Church Sunday, January 24, 2016

Welcome, establishment of Quorum

Opening Prayer

Approval of minutes from Annual Meeting 2015

Ballot for Elected positions distributed

Special thanks to Nominating Committee:

Review of 2015

2015 Financial Reports

2016 Proposed Budget

Looking Forward – Ministry Reports reviewed and approved

Prayer

Closing

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise him all creatures here below

Praise him above you heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Amen

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Annual Meeting Business

2015 Annual Meeting Minutes - 16,17

Staff Reports

Calendar of Events 3

Pastor Douglas M. Ogden 5,6,7

Congregational Statistics 35

Office Administrators 8

Reports

Choir 11

Endowment Committee 14

Financial Compliance Review 9

Finance Reports 25-34

Food Pantry 10

LYO 14

Membership 11

Memorial Report 11

Mutual Ministry 15

Property 12,13

Slovak Seminarian Program 13

World Hunger 11

Thrivent 9

Quilting 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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JANUARY

23 Scouts

24 Annual Meeting

30 White Lake Sportsfishing @ Lebanon

31 Church Council Installation

31 LYO Organizational Meeting/Valentine’s Boxes

FEBRUARY

10 Ash Wednesday

10, 17, 24 Lent Soup Supper & Vespers

12 Montague /Whitehall Mid Winter Break

21 Blue & Gold Banquet

MARCH

2,9,16 Lent Soup Supper & Vespers

5 Music For Meals @ Howmet – 7:30pm

13 Daylight Savings Begins

Scouting For Food – 1-3pm

White Lake Chorale Spring Concert

24 Maundy Thursday

25 Good Friday

27 Easter Sunday

APRIL

2-10 Mid Winter Break Montague-Whitehall

16 Craft fair

MAY

5 National Day of Prayer

White Lake Area Relay For Life

8 Mother’s Day

Synod Assembly

30 Memorial Day

27-30 Rest Area

JUNE

14 Flag Day

19 Father’s Day

20 Summer begins

JULY

4 Independence Day / parade

8-9 Wedding Rehearsal and Wedding

14 Smorgasbord

16 DayCamp Prep begins

17-22 DayCamp

Stony Lake Family Camp – TBD

25 Playground begins

AUGUST

Stony Lake Family Camp – TBD

18 Lakeshore Backpacks for Kids

18 Playground ends

SEPTEMBER

5 Labor Day

2-5 Rest Area Weekend

Grandparent’s Day

Opening Day Adult Forum

Install Education staff / Gift Bibles

11 ELCA Day of Service

22 Fall Begins

25 Hayride @ Heritage Park

OCTOBER

2 White Lake Area CropWalk

30 Reformation Sunday

31 Reformation Day

NOVEMBER

6 All Saints Sunday/Memorials

6 Daylight Savings Ends

13 Veteran’s Program

11 Veteran’s Day

20 Christ the King

24 Thanksgiving Day

30 First Sunday of Advent /Vespers (hang

Advent Decorations)

DECEMBER

7,14,21 Advent Vespers (Decorate Sanctuary

Family Promise Luncheons

17 Tree set-up

18 Decorate Tree

21 Winter Begins

24 Christmas Eve Worship @ 6:30pm & 11pm

27-30 Synod Youth Gathering

JANUARY 2017

Tree un-decorating

1/29/17 Annual Meeting

Installation of Council

2016 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS

FINANCE COMMITTEE………………………………………………………………………..2ND MONDAY/MONTH @ 6PM

EXECUTIVE BOARD……………………………………………………………………………..2ND MONDAY/MONTH @ 7PM

CHURCH COUNCIL………………………………………………………………………………3RD MONDAY/MONTH@6PM

POTLUCK & BIBLE STUDY…………………………………………………………………… EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 6PM & 7PM

FOOD PANTRY………………………………………………………………………………….. EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 8:30AM-11

LUGE TEAM………………………………………………………………………………………..ADULTS - TUESDAY @ 7PM (Jan-March)

YOUTH - THURSDAY @ 6PM (Jan-March)

AA GROUP………………………………………………………………………………………….TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS @ 5:45 PM – 7 PM

Scout schedule 2016

Webelos II - Mon 6:30-7:30pm (1st & 3rd week)

Wolves - Mon 6:30pm-7:30pm (1st & 3rd week)

Webelos I - Mon 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (1st & 3rd week)

Tigers - Tues 6:00 pm - 7:00pm (1st & 3rd week)

Bears - Wed 5:00pm-6:00pm (1st & 3rd week

Boy Scouts meet at 5pm each Sunday. Scout Committee

meets the 3rd Sunday at 4:30 pm

Cub Scout Committee meet the 4th Monday at 3:00pm

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STAFF REPORTS

PASTOR

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OFFICE ADMINISTRATORS

The office continues to serve the congregation and

community daily 9:00 am to 1:00pm, Monday through

Friday.

As always, a special Thank You to Sue Roesler who

maintains the evening office hours and keeps me

updated with news and events that are called in while

she is in the office & is always willing to help if I fall

behind on a deadline.

Monica Ogden lends us her time and talents in

preparing the bulletins for Sunday worship. As always,

thank you to her for her beautiful music. Thanks also to

Diane Eastman, Emma Greenwood for their musical

talents as well.

I continue to keep records and monitor the daily

operations of the food pantry - We serve on average

about 75 people per week (160+ individuals), here at

the White Lake Area Food Pantry. We continue using a

U-Haul truck to go once monthly to Feeding America

West Michigan Food Bank with volunteers who spend

time each Monday stocking the shelves in preparation

of Wednesday’s pantry. There are many hands

involved in the weekly food pantry, from the

collection, to stocking of the shelves, to staff during

pantry hours, and the countless records that must be

kept. I print numbers to be handed out on Wednesday

mornings, and that is how they proceed into the pantry

to shop. Records are kept for each person attending the

pantry and new this year, Feeding America is requiring

us to obtain signatures of income eligibility on each

form. These forms must be kept for a period of 3 years

as well as entered online during the monthly ordering

process to remain compliant with the USDA

regulations.

I am charged with the day to day scheduling of events

and meetings, calendars and weekly bulletin

announcements. I update records in Power Church,

keep track of items that are time sensitive such as

cleaning of our kitchen appliances on a tri-monthly

rotation, making repair lists for our property

committee, ordering supplies, and assisting Pastor

Ogden as needed, to keep Lebanon operating

efficiently. With everyone working to keep the flow of

communication open, correct information on schedules

and changes can be made via our new website and

mass mailing capabilities.

Smorgasbord dinner was a wonderful success – we

had many great comments from those who attended

from near and far! DayCamp events brought its usual

excitement and fun during the summer.

If you have any suggestions or ideas, please contact the

office we are always willing hear new ideas.

In 2016 we strive to do the following:

Streamline the website and make it more

appealing to visitors

Get a new operating system for our church

desktop, to replace the outdated Windows XP

format which is no longer supported through

updates and virus protection.

Shrink the newsletter mailing and encourage

online access.

Margaret Everling

NIGHT OFFICE STAFF

It is my privilege to work in the church office on

Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

I serve as receptionist to groups meeting these nights

and make reminder calls for committees and special

events. But my main purpose is to communicate with

our members, especially those who are homebound, ill

or in the hospital, and those we haven’t seen in a while,

to see how they are doing and to catch them up on the

news at Lebanon. I also call for food donations for

funeral luncheons and assist with the packing and

delivery of Christmas baskets. I estimate that I made

about 1500 calls in 2015.

Thank you to Marlene Holmstrom, Lora Swenson,

Donna Stacy and Pastor Ogden who bring communion

to our homebound regularly. Thank you, also, to Hazel

Palmer who visits and brings refreshments to those at

Heartland.

Thank you to Margaret who is so efficient she rarely

needs my help. But most of all, thank you to all the

members of Lebanon who make my job so enjoyable.

Submitted by Sue Roesler

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COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE REPORT

THRIVENT COMMITTEE

2015 has been a busy year for Thrivent

participants and a year of more change within the

programs. Choice Dollars come to us because

Thrivent members who have purchased certain

policies from Thrivent designate earned monies

directly from the company to the church. Action

Cards can be requested by these individuals as

well. This process entails completing an

application for up to $250 if it is granted.

As a group, Thrivent Choice dollars were

allocated for Pastor's education, daycamp,

backpacks, the capital campaign, and world

hunger. A total of 5,600 was spent. A variety of

causes benefitted from the Thrivent Action Team

program. These causes were identified by

individuals within the Thrivent family and so were

not all identified by this group. Some of them

were Hope Scarves, tickets to the Dutch

Resistance Play, providing Christmas baskets and

Christmas Wreaths, and using some cards for

specific items for day camp, and backpack event.

Submitted by, Donna Stacy

*Art Plewka will be the 2016 Thrivent Committee

Chair.

FINANCIAL COMPLIANCE REVIEW

Review was completed. The final report is annually

sent to synod. This year we brought the Boy and Cub

Scout finances under the committee review.

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FOOD PANTRY

MISSION STATEMENT

The White Lake Area Food Pantry at Lebanon

Lutheran Church serves to help a wide variety

of hungry people representing the unemployed,

the working poor, senior citizens, at-risk

children, pregnant teens, and domestic violence

victims and more. We offer them a warm

breakfast, fellowship and food and other

household items that are donated by members

of the community and Feeding America West

Michigan Food Bank.

The Pantry served 2715 families in 2015, or

approximately 6140 individuals. The breakdown is as

follows: 2152 men, 2920 women, and 1287 children.

Food is purchased from Feeding America West

Michigan Food Bank and milk is purchased at a

reduced price from Country Dairy. The Pantry also

welcomes food donations from area food drives.

Because the Food Pantry is not a budgeted program of

the church, it is entirely dependent upon the generosity

of Lebanon Lutheran Church members and other

churches in the White Lake area. Community

organizations, philanthropic businesses and individuals

are very important to enable the Food Pantry to

continue to provide nutritious food for hungry families

in our area. Transportation and fuel was funded

through a grant from the White Lake Community Fund

for hauling food from the Comstock Park Feeding

America Food Bank. The Food Pantry received

generous grants from Thrivent Financial, private

matching grants, and Women’s Division of the

Chamber of Commerce ( Dancing with the Local Stars)

The Pantry served White Lake area families for a total

of 46 weeks during the year, closing the month of July

for cleaning and also closing the weeks of

Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Sincere thanks is extended to all the volunteers who

contribute hundreds of hours each year to cook

breakfast, order and pickup food, load shelves and staff

the Pantry on Wednesday mornings. The Pantry would

not be such a service to the community without these

volunteers.

Thank you to all financial contributors for hearing the

call and reaching into your hearts to support this very

important mission of Lebanon Lutheran Church and

the White Lake Community.

Submitted by Margaret Everling

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MEMBERSHIP

This year we made several changes to collecting

membership and visitor information.

Pastor Ogden suggested eliminating the pew pads since

they weren’t always signed and replaced them with

candy in your mailboxes.

Please make sure that you remove the candy each Sun

day. If you don’t like the candy, please give it to a

friend who might love it! Thanks

Ginny Farmer has been good enough to oversee the

member attendance information. She replaced candy,

records names, labels new mailboxes, and provides Sue

Roesler with the names of members who have been

gone for 3 or more Sundays. THANK YOU, Ginny!

Rob Montgomery distributes mugs and forms to

visitors to gather their names and addresses. Please

encourage them to fill out the cards and return them to

Rob before leaving. Thanks Rob! When visitor

information is collected, I write notes of welcome to

them and include a bookmark of church activities.

Seven were sent out this year.

Sue Roesler continues to make calls to members who

have been gone for three weeks to see how they are

doing. Thanks for your continued help.

Margaret Everling helps by typing and duplicating

forms, etc., as well as creating the bookmarks. She also

provides us with a great sounding board by listening

and providing suggestions. Your help is greatly

appreciated.

Submitted by,

Elaine Liska

WORLD HUNGER

Once again Lebanon was involved with the crop walk

this year raising $1250 for our food pantry. Many

thanks to Virgina DeMumbrum and Kay Snell for their

tireless efforts in leading and organizing this event. A

total of $2,554 was raised with donations, this included

$600 coming from Thrivent Choice income from 2014.

Shining a light on the many ways The ELCA

supports world hunger was a main focus for 2015.

Breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty comes in

many forms. Support for providing clean water and

sanitation, focusing on health care and prevention,

creating activities to generate income, finding solutions

to help maximize agriculture and nutritional needs, and

dedication to educational and training opportunities are

only a few ways the ELCA to works to come up with

solutions that will get at the root causes of world

hunger.

Respectfully Submitted

Cheri Crouch

CHOIR

In the last year we have had several changes in the

choir make up. While we have tried to address these in

a creative and worshipful manner, there are more

changes to come. New material purchased in the

2013/2014 season has been useful and will continue to

be used, as well as alternative resources. It is unlikely

that we will be able to perform as regularly as we have

in the past, but we will continue to present musical

offerings as often as possible.

Thanks for your patience and support,

Diane Eastman, Choir Director

MEMORIALS

Three memorials were established in 2015 in honor of

the following:

Irene Peabody

Robert Rule

Allison Lundell Taggart

Memorial disbursements were applied to two projects

in 2015:

New refrigerator for the Food Pantry

(Joyce, Quinten, Elmer, Clarence Bloom Memorial

and Irene Peabody Memorial)

Lebanon Lutheran Church’s Memorial Fund account

balance at 12-31-15 is $16.522/98/ with the last

transaction occurring in October, although the funds

are not held separately.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Roesler

Memorial Secretary

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PROPERTY COMMITTEE

Committee Members: Doug Aardema, Terry Beekman,

Dave Gelvin, Scott Keller, and Glenn Eaton (Chairperson).

Special thanks to John Parks for his help on the hallway

project.

Work Completed During 2015

Completed routine building and grounds

maintenance.

Coordinated the repair of the parking lot sink hole

and the repaving of the excavated area.

Facilitated the replacement of the damaged surfaces

surrounding the parking lot drains.

Coordinated the seal coating of both parking lots.

Striped the parking lots.

Replaced damaged boards and stained the picnic

tables.

Corrected numerous fire code violations and

facilitated re-inspection by the Fire Marshall. (See

attached)

Replaced the burned out exhaust fan motor for the

main floor bathrooms.

Replaced electronic ballasts in two ceiling light

units.

Trimmed numerous trees and bushes.

Coordinated the professional removal of 5 trees and

the grinding /removal of their stumps.

Leveled and planted grass seed in areas where tree

stumps had been.

Removed old speakers from the bell tower.

Mulched and blew leaves for the fall pickup.

Installed a handicapped sign in front of the church.

Facilitated the removal of broken concrete retaining

walls in preparation for replacement with

landscaping blocks.

Purchased and stacked landscaping blocks.

Facilitated the replacement of the broken garbage

disposal.

Disposed of numerous boxes of outdated financial

records/documents.

Painted the curb adjacent to the east parking lot.

Installed hardware on the new Food Pantry

refrigerator.

Developed a schedule for the periodic testing of the

church’s emergency egress lights.

Replaced the old computer desk with a more

compact one.

Painted ceiling stains caused by minor roof leaks.

Fixed a wiring problem with a ceiling fan in the

fellowship hall.

Facilitated the repair of a leaky heating system

valve.

Hauled a truckload of used lumber to the Restore.

Facilitated the repair of a toilet in the women’s

bathroom.

Installed required trim in the Food Pantry elevator.

Weeded the playground.

Repaired the foosball and ping pong tables.

Repaired pews.

Projects for 2016:

Build new retaining walls with landscaping blocks.

Repair or replace the lawn tractor.

Implement the testing schedule for the church’s

emergency lights.

Address the periodic leaking around the chimney at

the roof line.

Recycle scrap metal currently stored in the church

basement.

CORRECTION OF FIRE CODE VIOLATIONS

On February 10, 2015 an inspection by the Fire Marshal

resulted in being cited for 19 violations. The Property

Committee has addressed the following:

Purchased and installed an external secure key box

and locking plugs for FDC pipes. ($549)

Marked and cleared required floor space in front of

electrical service panels.

Removed all door stops from fire rated doors

except for the kitchen and food pantry.

Removed combustible decorations hanging from

the ceiling.

Replaced numerous missing ceiling tiles.

Relocated the K fire extinguisher next to the

kitchen door.

Replaced burned out bulbs and dead batteries in old

exit signs. ($43)

Replaced nonfunctioning exist signs with new

combo exit signs and installed new ones where

required. ($947)

Removed extension cords where used as permanent

wiring.

Removed combustible material from the furnace

and boiler rooms.

Removed improperly stored items from the top of

shelves in order to achieve required ceiling

clearance.

Filled holes in fire rated doors and block walls with

fire caulk. ($15)

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Had the hood and exhaust system above the kitchen

stove professionally cleaned. ($345) Must be done

annually.

Removed the wooden pallets stacked against the

outer wall of the church.

Brought the exit hallway in the SE corner of the

nursery up to code by installing additional drywall

and replacing the suspended ceiling. ($200)

Replaced batteries and bulbs in existing emergency

egress ceiling lights and installed new units where

needed. ($393)

Had Cofessco: (A) Repair the horn/strobe lights,

(B) Install an electronic gas valve manual reset

relay for the kitchen stove/ovens, (C) Install a hard-

wired smoke detector above the fire alarm panel in

the office, (D) Conduct check valve maintenance

and 5 year internal pipe inspections of the sprinkler

systems, and (E) Replace 3 riser pressure gauges.

($1,971)

Removed old magnetic door stops and filled

resultant holes in the concrete floor.

The total cost for the church to address fire code

violations was $4,478. Property committee

members also donated additional materials.

On 11/25/15 the Fire Marshal approved the above

corrections, but identified a wiring problem in the

community food pantry that subsequently was

addressed by installing an additional electrical

outlet for a refrigerator.

Submitted, Glenn Eaton

ALTAR GUILD

No report submitted in 2015

QUILTING

2015 has been a busy year in the quilting room. With

Minnie Estlund, Hazel Palmer, Ruth Baxter, Rene

Walker, Donna Stacy, Flo King, and Laura Swenson,

the materials were sorted, organized, and repacked this

summer. Shelving was put in place and we went to

work.

We sold quilts, thread, and pot holders at the Spring

Craft Fair. Donations of quilts, rice bags, walker back

packs, and small personal bags were given to residents

of maple Creek who visit us as part of their Fall Color

Tour.

Quilts were packed up and delivered so that they could

join the big effort of the Lutheran Church for Lutheran

World Relief. Other recipients of quilts were Mission

for Area People, Soap and Suds efforts, Veteran's

Home in Grand Rapids. We also helped make several

quilts for individuals.

Minnie and Hazel did a miraculous job of creating 80

special hat and mitten sets which will be delivered to

the area schools for elementary children.

We are in need of sewers and cutters as well as

quilters so if you are interested or curious, please let us

know so we can welcome your time and talents. Many

hands make work light!! Straight sewing and tying

knots are the only experience one needs and telling

jokes is really helpful!!

We normally meet on Mondays at 12:30 this year.

Respectfully submitted by,

Donna Stacy

SLOVAK INTERN PROGRAM

In the summer of 2015 Lebanon Lutheran Church received

an intern from the Seminary in Bratislava, Slovakia and his

name is Emil Hankovsky.

I would like to thank the Host families - the

DeMumbrum’s, the Eatons, the Gelvin’s, the Wheeler’s, the

Keller’s, and my wife for all of the work that you did to

make Emil’s stay in the White Lake Area a great experience.

We feel that this program has been a great success, and we

are looking forward to hosting another intern in the summer

of 2016. Please consider supporting the program, either

financially or as a host family.

Program Coordinator

John Parks

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LYO

We have a very small youth group. With working around

the kids schedules and mine it seemed to be very difficult to

get the whole group together this last year. We were able to

send Valentines boxes out again this year. They are very

appreciated by the college kids and military.

We raised funds with the Lenten Soup Suppers,

Smorgasbord auction and Steak Fry auction. Thanks for all

the donations for the silent auctions at both events. The

quilting ladies blessed the group with quilts to raffle off.

This year’s focus for the Youth Group has been the National

Youth Gathering. We had three team building exercises in

anticipation of being together at the Gathering. A group of

four youth, an intern, Jim and I were blessed enough to

travel to Detroit for the gathering. One of the most

rewarding experiences was to watch the homeowner’s face

as we cleaned up the neighborhood that they live in.

From all the youth, thank you to the congregation for their

support.

Submitted by –

Flo King

EVANGELISM COMMITTEE

No report submitted in 2015

ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE

The Committee members during 2015 are Tony

DiNicolo and Becky Whar whose terms expire in 2018,

Karen Hostika and Jon Blyth whose terms expire in

2017, and Terry Beekman who was re-appointed by

Church Council and whose term expires in 2018. We

had no requests for grants during the year.

This past year saw a loss in the fund in the amount of

$51. We began the year with a balance of $34,370 and

ended the year with $34,421. This is divided across

the three sub-funds as follows:

GENERAL BUILDING FUND - This is a

Restricted Fund in which the gains can be used to

maintain, remodel and repair the original Sanctuary

built in 1877. The balance in this Sub-Fund as of Sept

30, 2015 is $20,264 with $ 264 available for use.

DANCE & DANCE EDUCATION FUND –

This is a Restricted Fund in which the gains can be

used to support the art of dance and dance education.

The balance in this Sub-Fund as of Sept 30, 2015 is

$5,703 with $703 available for use.

OUTREACH ENDOWMENT FUND - This

is a Non-Restricted Fund in which the gains can be

used to support our Christian Mission. The balance in

this Sub-Fund as of Sept 30, 2015 is $5454 with $517

available for use.

Please give consideration to investing some of your

gifting to the Endowment Fund and including us it in

your estate planning. Further information is available

from the Committee Secretary, Tony DiNicolo or

myself, including methods of giving, the Mission

Statement for use of the Funds and the application

forms and procedure to request funds from the Fund.

Respectfully,

Terry Beekman - Chairman

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MUTUAL MINISTRY

Mutual Ministry met at the behest of the Finance

Committee to recommend salary changes for

Pastor and staff.

We also reviewed items in the Synod’s

Compensation Guidelines and made the following

recommendations to Pastor Ogden:

1. Commission a Social Media Action Group.

Their mission: jazz up the Lebanon’s

Facebook page (“Like us on Facebook” or

the Facebook logo should be added to our

advertising.)

2. Begin using Twitter and Instagram.

3. Update Lebanon’s web page, using current

photos.

4. Upload DVDs of our worship service. The

committee suggested the project could be

introduced by our confirmation class, but

the intent is for this group to be ongoing.

The advertisement for Lebanon in the White Lake

Beacon should indicate every Sunday communion

and should include Lebanon’s website address.

Periodically, the sandwich board sign in front of

church should say, “Join us for communion every

Sunday.”

Other Matters:

Day camp participants need to have an invitation

mailed to their families, inviting campers to a

planned program on Sunday mornings at the same

time as Sunday service. The activity should

include music, stories and food—every Sunday—

managed by a paid professional if necessary.

The intent of the above recommendations is to

increase the interest, awareness and attendance at

Lebanon Lutheran Church. It is the hope that

increasing our social media footprint, using better

advertising and inviting day camp families to a

well-planned program will increase attendance

and inject new energy, thus enabling the Church to

afford the additional costs incurred in increased

salaries.

Submitted by Barb Aardema

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Call to Order

Following worship service and a potluck lunch

President Al Wheeler called the 2015 Annual Meeting

of Lebanon Lutheran Evangelical Church to order at

12:29pm. with a prayer and scripture reading.

Approval of 2014 Minutes

Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept minutes of the

2014 annual meeting. Jon DeMumbrum supported the

motion. Al Wheeler noted the minutes approved at the

2014 meeting should have read “2013” not “2011”.

Tim and Jon amended their motion to include the

correction. Carried.

Elections Tim DeMumbrum moved to have the Kellers’ names

removed from the Synod Delegates category as there is

another couple, Al and Michele Wheeler, on the ballot,

and Kellers were reticent about being delegates.

Wheelers have been delegates in the past; Al urged the

Kellers to reconsider as it is a very worthwhile event.

The Kellers agreed to remain on the ballot; Tim

withdrew his motion.

Virginia DeMumbrum nominated Donna Stacy to fill

the LSSM slot on the ballot. Donna agreed.

Two empty slots on the ballot – one for Council and

one for Camp Champ – received no nominations.

Pastor Ogden explained the importance of filling the

Camp Champ position as it would encourage youth

participation now and help ensure a base of young

adult members in the future.

Ann Nessa volunteered to remove her name from the

Financial Compliance slot in order to make it easy to

vote a unanimous ballot. After discussion, she agreed

to leave her name in contention.

Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept a unanimous ballot

except for the contested positions. Jon DeMumbrum

supported the motion. Ballots were marked and

collected. Tally results:

Financial Compliance Review Committee

Ann Nessa

Synod Delegates:

Scott and Kathy Keller

Lay Communion Assistant Coordinator:

Karen Hosticka

LSSM:

Donna Stacy

Usher Coordinator:

Al Wheeler – 8am

Rob Montgomery – 10:15am

MCCC Liaison:

Mike and Lois Szczerbinski

Living Waters Camping Ministries:

vacant

World Hunger:

Cheri Crouch

Council:

Doug Aardema

Sandy Robbins

One vacancy

LEBANON LUTHERAN CHURCH

MINUTES OF CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

Annual Congregation Meeting

January 25, 2015

17

Finance Reports:

Financial Secretary Curt Crouch and Treasurer Roger

Silk highlighted sections of their reports. Tim

DeMumbrum moved to accept the reports. Donna

Stacy supported the motion. One correction should be

made to the Notes on page 35. The hourly rate increase

for staff should read 1 percent. Motion to accept

corrected reports carried.

2015 Budget

Council recommends a budget of $180,074. Some

savings should be realized now that we have a new

boiler; snowplowing expenses are much lower so far

this year than last year.

Pastor noted Roger had brought a high level of

professionalism to the treasurer’s job. He is retiring,

and Lebanon has hired Terri VanderLeest to be our

accountant. Mallory Crouch – Lothschutz will write

checks to vendors until Karen Hosticka returns from

winter vacation. Frank Hollister thanked Roger for his

years of service.

Ministry Reports

Tim DeMumbrum moved to accept all ministry

reports. Elaine Liska supported the motion.

Rental Properties

Al Wheeler noted Lutheran Social Services of

Michigan may be interested in using the rental

properties Lebanon owns. Council appointed Frank

Hollister and Doug Aardema to study the LSSM

proposal and make a recommendation to Council in

three months. A congregational vote would be needed

for any new plan for the houses.

Adjournment

Tim DeMumbrum moved to adjourn at 1:22pm. Jon

DeMumbrum supported the motion.

Respectfully submitted,

Barb Aardema

Members in Attendance at 2015 Annual Meeting:

Al Wheeler

Rob Montgomery

Sue Roesler

Diane Eastman

Cheri Crouch

Curt Crouch

Pastor Doug Ogden

Ann Nessa

Roger Silk

Kim Nelson

Jon DeMumbrum

Tim DeMumbrum

Virginia DeMumbrum

JoAnne Silk

Frank Hollister

Bernie Weidner

Marie Hendrixon

Elaine Liska

Barb Aardema

Doug Aardema

Dan Girvan

Jenny Lynn Girvan

Art Plewka

Donna Stacy

Nancy Dahl

Nancy Peterson

Darlene Willbrandt

Sue Plewka

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CONGREGATIONAL STATISTICS

MEMBERS RECEIVED

By Affirmation of Faith

Jone Benedict

Donna Ginn

Maurine Rea

Marsha Eyler

Eileen Hovey

Lois Fuller

Rosemary Grubb

Brian Jaekel

Kara Jaekel

DEATHS

Irene Peabody 1/12/15

Terry Ernst (NM) 1/25/15

Charles Svensson 2/17/15

Robert Rule 4/23/15

Clarence Johnson (NM) 6/8/15

Eleanor Carlson 6/9/15

Jeanette Svensson 12/30/15

*(NM) denotes non-member

TRANSFERS

Jacquelyne Martin 3/28/15

BAPTISMS

Renee’ ElizabethAnn Balkema 12/27/15

MARRIAGES

Debra Statz and Charles Peabody 6/6/15

Kathryn Girvan and Jeffrey Barron 7/25/15

Danielle McGahan and Jon DeMumbrum 11/5/15

STATISTICS

ATTENDANCE AVERAGES:

Total Attendance for 2015 was: 3,647 * (some

attendance numbers were not included due to no usher

notations)*

Average Early Worship - 19

Average Late Worship - 48

Christmas Eve Worship – Early service: 77

Christmas Eve Worship – Late service: 73

Easter Worship - Early service: 32

Easter Worship - Late service: 62

MEMBER STATISTICS:

Total Membership 580

Confirmed 236

If we inadvertently missed anyone, we apologize.

Please call the church office (893-5745), so we can

correct our records. Thanks

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