Last Sunday afternoon, members of Trinity Lutheran Church gathered on Zoom for our first-ever online annual meeting.
I love annual meetings. I really do. And while I would much prefer meeting in-person, I can even love a meeting over Zoom when it has to happen that way.
Annual meetings are when we get to talk about and do the ‘business’ of the church. Now, I know that the terms ‘business’ and ‘church’ are rarely put together in the same sentence. And I know that at first glance, it may not sound very exciting. But I still love these times when we gather.
We talk about our mission. And nothing gets me more excited than talking about our mission. And we look back at the amazing and wonderful ways our mission was lived out in the past year, and even more importantly, we look ahead at where God is calling us in the next year.
I just wanted to share some of the highlights of our time together on Sunday:
- We approved the minutes from last year’s meeting
- We talked through the congregation’s annual report
- I gave my annual report. You can watch the video of this portion of the meeting by clicking here
- As a part of my report, we talked about new initiatives in faith formation, in our new partnership with Lutheran Social Service and our new outreach ministry, taking over Beds for Kids in the community
- Barb Howell, our amazing Director of Finance gave our financial report
- We elected Carter Strawmatt to serve a two-year term on the congregational council. In addition, we re-elected Molly Froman and John Eickhoff to serve on the council, and Gwen Lysne to serve as the Council secretary
- We elected Ellen Cattadoris to serve as the chairperson of the Stewardship Commission, and we re-elected James Bohlen to chair the Properties Commission
- We had the chance to thank Lane Versteeg for his service the last two years on the congregational council, and Todd Egbert for serving as the chairperson of the Stewardship Commission
- We approved Trinity’s 2021 financial budget
- We thanked the congregational council, the commissions, all of the countless volunteers and the Trinity staff
As I said during my verbal report, 2020 was not the year that we expected. Not by a long shot. But it was the year we lived through together. And looking back, it is now so easy to see how God was at work in our midst.
The church is not a business. It is a community of people gathered together to live out God’s mission. Trinity’s mission? “Through Jesus’ love, we welcome, connect, learn and serve.” I love being able to live out this mission alongside you.
Thank you for being a part of this community and our shared mission. If you have any questions about the annual meeting, or the things we decided, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at ToddB@tlcowatonna.org, or at the church office (507.451.4520).
God’s peace!
Pastor Todd
Test Driving Theology 