Spring Voters Assembly Meeting

Sunday 14 April 2013 Began 12:25pm Ended 1:40pm Twenty-seven people were present.

Call to Order & Opening Prayer led by David Dickhudt. Fall Voters Assembly Meeting Minutes: Carl Hanson motioned to approve the minutes and Kevin Dunning seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. (Fall Voters Assembly Meeting on 4 November 2012) The minutes of the Special Voters Assembly Meeting were approved, with the addition of the following sentence. Many good questions were asked by the congregations and the CALL committee answered them well. Financial Report: See report for full details. Todd highlighted the previous years expenses and giving. While there was a shortfall in giving to meet the proposed budget, there was an operational surplus. This was due to the fact that an Associate Pastors salary was budgeted, yet CAN did not have this expense after August 2012, as well as not fully utilizing the Social Ministries fund.

Presentation of 2013-14 Fiscal Budget: Changes to the budget were reviewed. These changes included: No position of Associate Pastor Fully Funding the GEO Position of the Director of Family Ministries Increase in hours for the church Secretary Increased administrative cost that are involved in finding a new Pastor In order to meet our additional financial commitments, annual giving will need to average HK$64, 000, which would mean an increase in giving of HK$9,000 a week. Discussion & Approval of 2013-14 Fiscal Budget: Thom Garretson queried as to whether or not there is a concrete plan to increase the giving by that HK$9,000. Vincent stated, that while there is not a concrete plans, a stewardship is putting a plan into place.
Bill Leese asked a question about previous years operating deficits. Vincent explained the deficit was met with cash on hand. In 2013, these accruals were adjusted and reflect our actual financial standing. Pastor announced that he is not taking an increment before his retirement. He also stated that a special fund that he had been given previously to use for special projects has been turned over to the Elders to use at their discretion. Bill L. asked if that the budgeted salary for a Pastor was appropriate. Pat stated that the salary and benefits package had been thoroughly researched and reflected fair market value.

Bill stated concern about Social Ministry not fully utilizing all the funds that had been funded and cautioned against using this budgeted item as a fall back for a giving deficit. He also urged to continue increasing the amount Persephone highlighted that Social Ministry did meet the commitments that they started with at the beginning of the financial year. She also encouraged the Voters to let the board know of any projects/charities that they felt strongly needed support. A discussion was held regarding the mission and outreach funraisings we as the work of Social Ministries and Stewardship. The congregation asked the Stewardship Board to help individual set up tangible goals for giving, such as an increase of HK$100 a week, for example. It was asked whether or not designated gifts could be given as noncash items, such as airline tickets. Pat moved to approved the budget; Thom seconded and the motion passed. Presentation of Candidate Slate & Elections: The slate was approved. Written Committee Reports See reports for full details. Social Ministry: No Comments/Questions Elders: No Comments/Questions Pastor & Director of Family Ministry Reports: See reports for full details. Megan Birney left early for previous engagement. Dale Koehneke: Highlighted the changes that the church is going through as well as Pastoral Acts performed. He stated gratitude for the excellent work of the church staff as well as the LCMS mission team and the lay leadership. New Business and Items of Information Update from Call Committee: The committee met on April13, 2013 to decide future steps. They felt it was important to step back, take some time and regenerate the CALL list to submit to the district. An interim pastor will be brought in to meet the needs of the congregation for a minimum of six months or longer, depending on the Call process. It is hoped that the interim pastor will support lay leadership growth and be a dynamic influence on the church and community.

50 th Anniversary Thankoffering Final Report : See report for full details. A total of HK$202,053.17 was collected. The next newsletter will highlight how the funds were allocated. Parsonage Renovation Project : David circuated photos of the parsonage. A motion regarding renovations needed as well as a budget for these repairs was presented. (See motion for full details.) Parsonage Trusteeship Legal Matter :

HKIS LP Redevelopment Church Facility Input:

Closing Prayer & Benediction were led by Prayerfully Prepared and Submitted By: Renee Wong Congregation Secretary