LAMPLIGHTER Spring 2019
Blessings and Opportunities by Pastor Joel Leyrer The following is a condensed version of the “State of the Parish” report presented at our annual Mission and Ministry Sunday this past January 27. The various Boards reflected on 2018 blessings and outlined 2019 goals and plans. For more information and the entire “State of the Parish” presentation, please visit www.sjtosa.org/StateoftheParish. At the request of the Executive Board, the Long-Range Planning Committee continued to explore campus expansion and improvement. Guided by the results of a comprehensive “feasibility study” involving our members, the Executive Board is planning for a potential 2020 capital campaign and, in anticipation of this potential campaign, will devote 2019 to addressing the following areas identified in the study: resolving our parking issues, paying off our existing debt completely, refining and right-sizing our building plan, and replacing our current mission-vision document with new goals for a new decade. The Executive Board is also recommending the expansion of our ministry team through the addition of a full-time called Staff Ministry position. Based on a careful examination of congregational needs outlined in our current mission-vision document, both the Executive Board and the Church Council have endorsed the creation of this position. The main components of this new Staff Ministry position would be 1) communications and media oversight; 2) worship scheduling, coordination, and oversight of related print and electronic materials;
3) strengthening member involvement through volunteer management/coordination; and 4) development and strengthening of women’s ministry. At the time of this writing, an open forum has been scheduled for our members to hear more details about what this position entails, learn how we would go forward, answer questions, and provide feedback. By the time you receive this issue of the Lamplighter, it is likely that this open forum will have occurred. Look for the results of that open forum and the next steps involved through our various communication channels. For the Board of Elders, 2018 brought the implementation of a church security plan and the establishment of a St. John’s Military Veterans fellowship group. Goals for 2019 include stronger attempts to reach long term inactive members, possible reinstatement of a Care Committee for Called Workers, and greater assistance for members transferring from St. John’s and transitioning to a new church home. In 2018, the Board of Education oversaw the addition of STEM classes (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the expansion of the K4 program. The constant for this year and next is personnel change, with new faces in our childcare program and school office and planned retirements for David and Rita Allerheiligen. continued on page 2 and 3 . . .