Committee News
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Richland, WA 
July 2008
Board & Committee Minutes on Pastor's Website

Several have commented to me they like having meeting minutes on the website. They say it's a great way to keep in touch with what's going on at Church. With that said, sometimes these minutes may have personal information of some of our members and we want to respect the privacy of all.

Therefore, these meeting files will be on the Pastor's website and will password protected. In order to download them you will need to enter a password, The password has been emailed to members and is available from the church office. Please do not give it out to nonmembers, etc until you first have permission to do so.


Council Retreat

This past June, Redeemer held its first annual council retreat. The retreat was held near Fish Hook Park on the grounds of Broetje Orchards. They have a wonderful retreat house which allowed us to focus on three major objectives without the "distractions" of daily life. The first was gathering around His Word and enjoying Bible study as a council. Second, was ensuring a smooth transfer between old and new board chairs. Finally, the new board chairs talked about our mission along with issues pertaining to Voter's and the parsonage.

Overall everyone had a good time and enjoyed starting the new year with some direction and guidance. We look forward to next year's retreat.

Board of Congregational Care

The Congregational Care Committee's purpose is to nurture new members into the congregation and provide for the emotional and physical needs of members of the congregation. So, a BIG WELCOME to those new members that were welcomed on Sunday, June 15. As a reminder to all members of our function, read on!

Our committee is involved with several projects focused on helping Redeemer"s members. Presently, they are Ride Sharing assisting those in need of transportation to attend worship services or other meetings or activities of the church. The Care Casserole program is in place for those situations when somebody has an illness or has had surgery or anything that interferes with everyday life and the burdens of having to feed the family.

The Prayer Shawl project is a great ministry that anybody, even those who aren't on the committee. Lovely shawls are knit or crocheted of beautiful yarn that has been donated. One of our committee members will even teach you to knit. A supply of these shawls is kept available to Pastor and the Elders for situations when individuals are dealing with life changing situations and in need of lots of prayers. A shawl, given at a time when Pastor or an Elder is providing spiritual support, serves as a present reminder of God's love that has been woven into this shawl by loving, caring hands of a member of Redeemer's congregation.

Our newest project is one in which the new members may be interested in participating. It is called Church Buddies. If you would be interested in being matched up with a member of Redeemer as a 'BUDDY'to help you know more about Redeemer or the community, one of our committee members will help to find you a'good buddy'. We also post pictures of the new members on the Narthex bulletin board so everybody can get to know you.

We are always open to suggestions of ways that we can share God's loving care and concern for our members, so let us know of your needs.

In His service,


Shirley Mellick Chairperson

Evangelism

Evangelism Committee is cranking on a Christian concert at the Grassy Knoll some Friday evening in late July or August. Stay tuned for further details. Another activity the committee is undertaking is providing Nursery care for Sunday mornings. With our target audience being young families with kids (or not) there is a strong need to have a viable nursery. Please watch the bulletin boards for a sign up sheet and let's support the Lord's work.

Your bro in Christ

Roy Wolfe, Chairman

Board of Community Service

Blessed are those SERVANTS, whom the Lord, when he cometh shall find watching: verily 1 say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make THE SERVANTS to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them, Luke 12:37

We are beginning our first full year of SERVICE to Redeemer as an active board. The currenj members have been working on the procedures and protocols that will help us to organize our committee to meet the opportunities that the Lord presents to us. Angie has brought to the committee a useful resource list, and Ronda Wolfe has a great contact to obtain a custom made bulletin board that we will hang in the hall by the member mail boxes. This will help you keep current with what the Board is doing. We are praying for the Lord to inspire more of you to join us. We need your ideas and your energy to bring life to this Board. Please join us and share your ideas.

Now since we have been praying for direction, the Lord has placed before us an opportunity to help a sister congregation in Waterloo, Iowa. Emmanuel Lutheran has five families who are now homeless as they have lost everything in the recent floods. Pastor Karpenko, was contacted by a church member, Rich Vance who ascertained their needs. He is the pastor for retired Pastor Laurence Meyer's mother who lives there. I am learning that COMMUNITY has no boundaries in God's eyes so the Board organized a Donation Sunday on June 29 to collect monies used to purchase Walmart gift cards. These cards will be sent to Pastor Karpenko who will distribute them to the five families. We will be continuing to keep these families and all those persons affected by the floods in our prayers daily.

Let us know when the Spirit moves YOU to Love God by serving others...

Susan McCoy, Chairperson

Stewardship

What is a steward? A steward is a manager taking care of the resources owned by another. Therefore, Christian stewardship is the management of the total resources God has given His people individually and collectively to carry out His mission and ministry. (LCMS Bylaws 9.01)

The purpose of Redeemer's Board of Stewardship is to plan and carry out a continuing program of education on Christian stewardship. The emphasis of the program is that the congregation should use their time, talents, and treasures in the mission of bringing people to be believers and committed Disciples of Christ.

We welcome Tom Woods and Lynn Bisping to our board. Tom is already scouring material for an enlightening Bible Study about being Christian managers. Watch for further details!

The outgoing Stewardship members are; Al Kelley, Marlene Paris, Kerry Pitman, Bobbie VanBuren, Jay VanBuren, and long-time chairman Dick Jacluish. Thank you for your service.

Denise Rogers, Chairperson
Board of Fellowship

The purpose of the board of fellowship as stated in the by-laws is "to promote social and recreational activities to strengthen ties in the congregation." In other words, get people together so they can get to know one another, have fun together and enjoy each other's company in Christian fellowship. This should include activities for both young and old, separately as well as jointly.

I am excited to be the new chairperson for the board of fellowship. I enjoy planning fun activities and seeing people get together, visit, play games and generally just have a good time. If you have an idea for an activity, please contact me and let me know. Our first business will be working on writing the policies and procedures as well as making an initial plan for activities. I'll keep you posted!

We are always looking for volunteers to host our fellowship time. This consists of making coffee and if you choose, providing snacks. Hosts are also responsible for clean up which includes emptying and cleaning the coffee pots as well as any other dishes that were used. Fellowship time will run from 9:15-9:45, clean up can occur any time after 9:45. Limiting our fellowship time to between services is meant to encourage interaction and fellowship between those who attend the 8:15 and 11:00 services. Consider staying after 1st service for fellowship followed by Sunday school or coming at 9:15 for fellowship followed by Sunday school and church. The Board of Fellowship will monitor this and make changes as necessary to facilitate fellowship between members and friends of Redeemer.

Again, please contact me if you have ideas for congregational fellowship activities or if you have any questions about the Board of Fellowship.

Dian Mauth, Chairperson

Board of Education

VBS in the Rainforest is coming July 14 - 18, 9:00 am to noon!

We have several spots on the education board that need to be filled. If you are interested, please contact Becky Willhoite. A big THANK YOU to Deanna Snider for accepting the position of Sunday School Superintendent!

We are in the planning stages of a Sunday school teachers/facilitators workshop. The best date looks like August 19 from 6 - 8 pm. All teachers please put this date on your calendar and plan to attend!

Becky Willhoite, Chairperson

ATTENTION Chairmen and members of Boards and Committees:  If you need funds or reimbursements of expenses incurred for approved church functions, please submit your requests along with this form to the Church Treasurer.      

06/30/08