Elders

The Board of Elders is a group of men who work with the pastors and other servants of the church to support the spiritual life of the congregation. They help to maintain faithful worship, teaching, and individual care of members.

Ushers

The ushers at our Saturday and Sunday services have important roles both to assist worshipers and to protect them. We have usher teams for each service. If you are interested in serving as an user, please contact Tim Schnicker (618-670-0880). Usher Guidelines

Brief Monthly Meeting Notes

November 5, 2018
We have many challenges and opportunities. We discussed the changes in attendance for this year. We will have a decrease of 100. Most of this is due to our support for the revitalization of St. James. But it is also part of a downward trend which is clearly seen in all the churches in the St. Louis area. We are planning a Leadership Retreat sometime early next year. We are working on video taping the Sunday sermons. We moved a number of members who haven't worshiped in more than two years to the Other Than Active List. Those who have been on the OTA list for several years are eventually Released. We reviewed our practice of Special Sundays (LWML, Life, Armed Forces, etc.) encouraging groups to set up displays and use handouts.

October 1, 2018
In a world where immorality is celelbrated and morality is ridiculed and condemned, Peter gives us good direction as he encouraged us to focus on faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, and love (2 Peter 1.5-8). Dr. Ken Wesemann, who grew up at GSLC, will be offering Christian counseling here. The Christmas Eve Services will be at 4:00 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. (with Children's Service); and 11:00 p.m. We will discontinue the Elder Care Groups. Members normal We plan to meet with the leaders of St. James, Glen Carbon to see how their call process is going. Pastor Walther is working on confirmation videos. Tim Schnicker as served two terms as chairman. The Elders would like to nominate Bruce Cross for the next chairman.

September 5, 2018
We discussed the sexual abuse issues in the Catholic Church. All of us face tempations. But the important thing is to follow God's word which makes it clear that people should marry unless they have a special gift to be single. Pastors were married until 1139 A.D. This was an important issue in the Reformation which pointed to the greater issue: What authority does the Bible have for the church? We noted a family who will be joining our church after listening to Issues Etc. We have several families who have been influenced in that way. We discussed the challenges Christians are facing in the increasingly pagan culture of America. Work, leisure, marriage, family, and politics are all becoming areas in which our faith is being challenged. Ben Prohl is our new First Year Field Worker.

August 6, 2018
Jesus often retreated to the wilderness for rest. Vacations are a good time for us to experience the goodness of God's creation and to receive rest. We reviewed the scholarships ($71,558 from GSLC, Budgeted $55,000). Will ask the Council to handle the difference. Check out the webpages for two youth events (Higher Things and Charlotte, NY). After reviewing Mr. Stegman's work load, we recommend that 5th & 6th youth responsibilities be given to Mr. Westphal. Pastor Walther is working on a new member video that goes over the basic teachings of the faith. Pastor Adle is working on the Church Policy Manual. Pastor Walther is finishing the Burning Questions webpage and will contact the twenty somethings about it this fall. We are scheduling a meeting with the leaders of St. James to see how that mission is going. Work continues on the Balcony. Flooring removed. Panelling going up. Railing is being fabricated and will be installed soon.

June 4, 2018
When Jesus said, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish..." Notice that He didn't say, "should not suffer..." Suffering can be punishment for sin (Isaiah 13.11), or it can be a testing of faith (Matthew 4.4). When suffering, we do well to Worship, Work, and Wait. We discussed the importance of congregational singing even though our culture is moving away from singing music to listening to music. We met with the leaders of St. James in May. They know they need to begin the call process, but they are concerned that their membership numbers are still low. They are working to increase their number of elders and to start a self-evaluation for the call process. We discussed the children's music directors' need for a day off or keeping the weekly work average no more than 55 hours per week. We also looked at his compensation and want to make sure that it is appropriate for the work that he is doing. We discussed the Supreme Court decision that a baker in Colorado could not be forced to provide a wedding cake for a gay wedding. This is a good sign for religious freedom in our country. We approved salaries for the church secretary, children's music director, youth director, and pastors.

May 7, 2018
A recent funeral reminds us how quickly an accident can take away life. It is important for Christians to remember the words of King David, "There is but a step between me and death" (1 Samuel 20.3). We discussed a question posed by someone whether a Bible class group not associated with a church could celebrate communion. This will be a future "Ask the Pastor Question" for Adult Bible Class. The Burning Questions Bible Study is finishing. We will have a special webpage with notes from this class. We discussed the last Security Team meeting and continue to work on security policies. Seminarian Anthony DiLiberto will be ordained here in July. We will have a meeting with the leaders of St James-Glen Carbon to determine the next best steps for our revitalization efforts there. We have also begun work on our spending guidelines. A reminder that Wednesday we will celebrate the Ascension with Holy Cross at Holy Cross. Pastor Adle will be preaching. This is a great way for our congregations to work together.

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