2018 June Stewards Minutes

Present: Peter Bankson (recorder), Kevin Barwick, Ken Burton, Joan Dodge, Elizabeth Gelfeld (angel), Judy Lantz, David Lloyd (moderator), Trish Nemore (worship), Brenda Seat, Keith Seat, Glen Yakushiji (angel), Jacqie Wallen

Absent: Marjory Bankson, Cynthia Dahlin, Michele Frome, Sandra Miller, Vincent Shepherd, Margreta Silverstone, Deborah Sokolove

Worship was offered by Trish Nemore, who invited us to reflect on gratitude, write on a heart three things we’re thankful for, and then share them with all Stewards.

Housekeeping: Stewards will next meet on Sunday, July 1st at 5:30pm at the church.

• Moderator: Joan
• Worship: Kevin
• Recorder: Trish
• Angels: Judy & Ken

Community Review: Brenda reviewed the connections within Seekers Church with individuals who have been active in the community for several years or longer but are not currently members of a mission group. Stewards updated the list, which is maintained by SLT. Currently there are 22 people on this list.

Report on Newcomers: Joan Dodge, reporting for the Outreach Mission Group (OMG) began with a review of the membership and call of the group:

• Currently there are six members and one person is exploring with the group. Members: Teresa Ramsey, Doug Dodge, Larry Rawlings, Donna Franklin, Keith Seat and Joan Dodge; Will Ramsey is
• The call of OMG is “to develop ways to invite new people into the life of Seekers and welcome those who God has sent our way, knowing that this welcoming of newcomers involves careful listening, nurturing, and joint activities within the community. We see ourselves partnering with others as well as other mission groups such as Learners & Teachers who are also listening and encouraging new persons among ”

Joan then distributed a list of individuals who have begun participating in our life together more recently. Outreach Mission Group nurtures links for these newcomers, and maintains this list, reviewing it every two weeks. Currently there are 17 people on the list.

Summer Plans for Our Children: Judy reported for the Children’s Team on plans for Sunday School during the summer. This summer the older children will stay in the sanctuary and participate in worship with the adults. There will be two Sunday morning groups: three younger boys and two infants. There will be two weeks at the end of summer (August 26 and Sept. 2) where there will need to be coverage for the younger boys (ages 8 and 9) and for nursery (little Eli and possibly Dakota) and that otherwise, during the summer, coverage is needed only for little Eli and Dakota. The children’s team will be distributing the attached letter, and contacting mission groups and parents with details.

Report from the Ecumenical Council: Keith reported that the Council is on a good, steady path. The new Church of the Saviour (CoS) website is launched with weekly homilies written by rotating members of a team from different CoS faith communities who also select quotes for daily reflection during the week following their homily. (The website is at http://inwardoutward.org) A small team has been formed to work with Matthias Martin, the new webmaster, to add additional resources and work on a new logo for the site.

Keith reported that at the last meeting of the Ecumenical Council there was a conversation about the balance of inclusion and commitment in membership in CoS member churches. One of the churches, Friends of Jesus, briefed the Council on ways they are working to open up their membership more widely. After a wide-ranging conversation on how to be open and inclusive while maintaining the standards of commitment established in the CoS bylaws, the Council agreed to continue the conversation at the next meeting. Within the Stewards’ conversation there were expressions of concern over the apparent tension between the historic CoS commitment to “integrity of membership” and the need that Friends of Jesus feels to be maximally inclusive.

SLT Reminder Concerning Individuals Seeking Financial Help: Dave reminded Stewards of the “Holy Spirit Fund,” managed by the SLT and financed through our annual budget, to provide emergency financial support for individuals in the Seekers community. He emphasized the policy of referring anyone seeking financial support to work with the SLT.

Pastoral Concerns: After members of the Servant Leadership Team briefed Stewards on several pastoral concerns, Stewards discussed options for support, and appropriate boundaries.

Sharing: Joan shared her reflections on the past year. All Stewards were invited to share in confidence during Soul Talk.

Closing: The meeting closed with prayer at 8:30 PM

Submitted by Peter Bankson
June 12, 2017

 

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Summer Sunday School Program

June 1, 2018

Dear All,

It is time again to think about the Summer Sunday School program. I am contacting you as a member of a mission group, or a parent/guardian of one or more of our children. This summer we will need help with the nursery and some limited help in teaching the younger children. The older children will remain in the worship service throughout the summer.

To Mission Groups

This summer the older children with stay in the service and participate in worship with the adults. For the younger boys, we will have Sunday school for only two Sundays, August 26 and September 2, because Eli and Elad will be gone the rest of the summer. Arnold, at the request of his parents, will stay in the worship service on the other Sundays. For the nursery, we need someone to watch Eli (Mbabazi) and possibly Dakota (5 months old) every Sunday during the summer. Unless there are other children who show up, one person should be enough to watch these children.

Therefore we are asking each mission group to sign up to provide someone to care for the nursery every Sunday and to teach the younger boys on the final two Sundays. If your mission group takes one of the final two Sundays they will only need to sign up once, but will need to provide a teacher for the younger boys and someone for nursery. If you choose dates where only nursery care is needed, we will need mission groups to sign up twice.

Below is information for both mission groups and parents as we move forward into the summer program.

The names and ages of the children you will be interacting with are as follows:

Younger Boys

• Elad Kraybill (9)
• Eli Kraybill (9)
• Arnold Magero (9)

Nursery

• Eli (18 mos)
• Dakota (5 months)

To Parents

We are expecting that you will monitor your children’s behavior during the worship service at all times. We will have quiet things in the sanctuary for Arnold to play with (coloring books and crayons, etc.) but your children should sit with you or another adult during the service and you should sit close enough to them so that you can monitor them. If a child becomes disruptive, please take them downstairs to the conference room where there are materials for the children to use and play with. There will not be anyone there to supervise the children so you will have to remain there for the duration of the service or take turns with other parents to take care of children who are in that room.

Please also be aware that we would like the children to refrain from using any electronic devices since in the past that has been distracting to other children and adults during worship. We are trying to use this summer as a way to teach our children the skills they will need as adults to sit quietly, to participate as much as possible, to be curious about our worship, and to learn new ways to engage with the community and with God.

If you have any questions, please contact me at the email above or at 301 593 2804.

Brenda, Summer Sunday School Coordinator.