July August 2006 Newsletter

July 2006

From the Pastor’s Desk:

Worship Evaluation

We have been in a construction zone this year with our worship format and schedule. That has meant much tinkering and shifting and change. Now with the results of our survey, we have had a chance to evaluate our four-month experiment with a single blended traditional/contemporary worship service. There were 73 surveys returned, which gives us a very representative sample of the congregation.

In these surveys, the congregation came out overwhelmingly in favor of the blended service as the best means of accomplishing what we are trying to do as a community of the faithful:

*One service was strongly favored over two services by 85% to 12%. Blended was strongly favored (58%) over traditional (25%) or contemporary (15%). In all of the categories that measure what we are trying to do in worship, one blended service came out well ahead of two services. (We did not measure one traditional service vs. 2-service or one contemporary service vs. 2-service, since those are not viable options.)

*Church growth experts say that you can expect a drop in attendance with one service as opposed to two, yet our attendance figures were higher in the months following the switch to one service than they were before the switch.

*The later service was preferred by more than 2-to-1 over early and two services combined.

Based on these results, we will establish the 9:00 education hour and 10:00 worship on a permanent basis. Summer hours, however, respect those in the minority. For those months, worship is at the earlier hour on Sunday, it is more traditional, and our Wednesday service is more contemporary. Just to make sure we are in tune on this, we will conduct one more survey at the end of the summer regarding the summer schedule.

Now that we know where we are going, we can establish some continuity in our worship, and can spend our effort on honing and improving what we have. In all of our worship, let us always remember that our goal is to accomplish three things:

1) Keep God at the center

2) Draw spiritual nourishment where the service most connects with us.

3) Offer as a gift to others the parts of the service that least connect with us.

Your partner in ministry,

SURVEY RESULTS

Schedule that I prefer (circle one set)

12% 19% 66% 3%

8:45 Worship 9:00 Worship 9:00 Education No Preference

9:30 Education 10:00 Worship 10:00 Worship

10:30 Worship

Style of Worship I prefer (circle one)

Traditional 25%

Contemporary 15%

Blended 58%

No Preference 3%

SUMMARY Early Worship 19% One Service 85%

Later Worship 66% Two Services 12%

Two Services 12%

Compare the single blended service to the 2-service Contemporary/Traditional format

Blended 2-Service Equal

Draws us together as a congregation 81% 1% 18%

Makes Salem more attractive to visitors 52 21 27

Increases energy and vitality of the service 62 11 27

Helps us experience the presence of God 30 7 63

Inspires us be a community of compassion to each other 56 7 37

Helps us proclaim the good news of Christian faith to all 37 11 52

Helps us pass on the faith to the next generation 49 14 37

Encourages us to be followers of Christ 34 10 56

Effect of Blended Service Change on Attendance

Average attendance in the four months prior to going to one service was 2.3 above the average for the same months in 2001-2005.

Average attendance in the four months since going to one service was 10.0 above the average attendance for the same months in 2002-2005.

Salem Church Council Minutes

June 8, 2006

The meeting was called to order by President – Chuck Taylor with the following members in attendance: John Schlaht, Tim Kinkade, Annette Boswell, Sherri Nissen, Bert Henry, Warren Woods, Dennis Nardy, Mike Linch, and Helen Mosman. Pastor and Margaret Kneedler were also in attendance.

Pastor Nate led devotions.

M/S/C by Tim Kinkade and John Schlaht to approve the May minutes.

Pastor’s Report

a). To date there has been 71 surveys returned in regards to the worship service.

b) Wednesday evening service has started with 36 in attendance.

c) Pastor has been asked to write a Bible Study Guide for Augsburg, so he is spending extra time at church completing this.

d) Pastor would like to have a small group study the future needs of the church: 5yrs, 10yrs, etc.

Treasure’s Report by Mike Linch

a) M/S/C by Warren Woods and Tim Kinkade to move the CD to a money market as recommended by the finance committee.

b) M/S/C by Annette Boswell and Bert Henry to have the names of the current council president and treasurer placed on the money market account.

c) M/S/C by Tim Kinkade and Sherri Nissen to change the name on the Edward D. Jones parsonage fund to the current council president at the time.

d) M/S/C by Tim Kinkade and Annette Boswell to approve the treasure’s report.

Old Business

a) People are still having problems opening the computer newsletter. Warren Woods reported that software will be installed to use PDF file or word, it has been purchased.

New Business

a) Election of Officers took place with the following elected to serve and each council member accepting:

M/S/C by John Schlaht and Annette Boswell to nominate Warren Woods for President, move to cease nominations by Annette Boswell and Helen Mosman

M/S/C by Warren Woods and Annette Boswell to nominate Bert Henry for Vice-President, move to cease nomination by Dennis Nardy and Sherri Nissen

M/S/C by Bert Henry and Warren Woods to nominate Mike Linch as Treasurer, move to cease nomination by same

M/S/C by Helen Mosman and Bert Henry to nominate Sherri Nissen as Secretary, move to cease nomination by Annette Boswell and Bert Henry

b) Sound System: Chuck Taylor presented various Sound Systems with price list by Riemann Music. Chuck, Warren Woods, and other members from the worship & music committee have been working closely with Riemann Music and other area churches to choose equipment to best fit the needs of Salem.

Initial cost estimate was $7330.00 for new cost with adjustments being made depending on what equipment is purchased.

After much discussion three items were removed from the order request with the estimated cost now being $5000.00.

Funds can come from memorials of Alta Kuhl, Anna Swanson, and Harry Kinkade, as well as AAL.

M/S/C by Bert Henry and Chuck Taylor to approve recommendation by the committee to purchase the equipment without three of the requests. (Peavey speakers, speaker mounting assemblies, and amplifiers)

c) Cromwell Alumni paid $75 for the use of Fellowship Hall last month, and request to use it May 2007.

M/S/C by Sherri Nissen and Chuck Taylor to allow Cromwell Alumni to use the church in 2007.

d) Computer, Email, and Printer in the office are working well.

e) The old printer, fax machine, and cordless phone were not put on the spring sale.

M/S/C by Bert Henry and Annette Boswell to place an ad in the Creston News Advertiser in the $50.00 or less section, at no cost with Margret Kneedler taking care of placing the ad.

Committee Reports

a) Barb Bjorn volunteered to be on Social Ministry.

b) Christian Education – Youth will participate in Relay for Life June 9 & 10. Mike Linch, Treasurer paid a registration fee of $50 with an additional contribution of $300.00.

Each camper was given $175 to attend camp (The church paid more than 1/2 the cost). With this and money from fundraisers each campers family only paid $30.00 to attend. Bert Henry thanked the council for the support of campships on behalf of the youth.

Bible School will be July 16-21 at the Presbyterian Church.

c) Worship & Music – Wednesday night service is going well with 36 attending the first service.

The next council meeting will be August 10 at 6:30pm. Opening devotions will be led by Dennis Nardy. Meeting adjourned. Closed with the Lord’s Prayer.

Respectfully submitted:

Sherri Nissen, Council Secretary

____________________________________________________________

Gary Kessler, Nancy Taylor’s mother, Reva Roeder, Thad Sickels, Terry Taylor, Shirley Loos, Tammy Wolverton’s father, Harold Roberts, Dorothy Henry, Wanda Peterson, Marge Hanson, Helen Schadde, Maxine Whan, Ella Groff, Liz McClain and Gwen Skaggs. We ask God to send his Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen these individuals.

Pfc. Matthew Cruse, Major David Cruse, Pvt. Aaron Cunningham,

Chief Msgt David Groff, Spec. Luke Kinkade, Sgt. Mark Kinkade,

Str. Airman Travis Mathis, LCpl. James Paup, Airman 1^st Class

Zacary Sedlmayr, Spec. Matt Tysdal, Col. Vic Wager III---

We ask God to lead and protect our young men and women who are

protecting our country and serving in the Middle East. Please keep our

servicepersons and their families of our military in your prayers.

July Birthdays

01 Florence Mosman 01 Russell Wachter 04 Stacy Wood

05 Gabriel Stofferahn 05 Zachary Stofferahn 07 Nathan Aaseng

07 Daniel Riley 07 Frances Roberg 07 Gavin Sickels

07 Vic Wager 09 Aaron Peterson 10 Jean Western

12 John Keuter 13 Alex Cunningham 14 Gary Jorgensen

14 Jamie Stofferahn 21 William Kunert 22 Jessica Riley

22 Troy Schroeder 24 Brooke Tyler 25 Ron Johnson

27 Janet Eilers 27 Mike Henry 27 Sandra Sickels

29 Mary Jo Foster 31 Florence Roberts

August Birthdays

03 Todd Stofferahn 04 Charles Taylor 05 Joni Cook

07 JoAnn Rathe 09 Grant Wood 13 Dylan Linch

18 Skylar Cook 18 Kerry Grumley 18 Roberta Henry

19 Ron Levine 20 Joan Lienemann 21 Marjorie Hanson

21 Joshua Henry 21 Jacob Hitz 23 Joy Kenyon

25 Charles Henry 25 Alan Pau 26 Jerica Slight

26 Sam Soda 28 Brenda Cook 29 David Rathe

31 Abbie Cook 31 Zacary Sedlmayr

July Anniversaries

03 Jane & Dick Johnston 04 Sherri & Jerry Nissen

04 Tammy & Todd Wolverton 08 Judy & warren Woods

15 Barb & Bill Bjorn 15 Claudia & Larry Peppers

22 Mary Jo & Chuck Foster 27 Helen & Ben Herzberg

28 Carol & Bill Ott 31 Suzie & Todd Stofferahn

August Anniversaries

01 Sandy & Thad Sickels 02 Barb & Tim Kenyon

05 Gwen & Dave Buck 10 Bev & Ray Courtney

11 Peggy & Tony Cass 12 Becky & Dennis Nardy

15 Jannene & Gary Jorgensen 20 Jo & Ron Levine

23 Jody & Andrew Hitz

Fiesta Vacation Bible School is almost here!

Salem Lutheran Church & First Presbyterian Church are planning an exciting adventure that will provide fun, memorable Bible-learning activities for kids age four through 5^th grade. Each day kids will sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, nibble tasty treats, experience Bible adventures and create fun Bible crafts.

Fiesta is July 16-21. Kids will meet at Presbyterian Church each day from 6:00pm until 8:30 pm. On the final night we invite everyone to an ice cream social while the kids show off what they learned and created throughout the week.

To help us plan accurately for supplies we would ask you to pre-register your child if possible. You can call VBS Director Raquel Linch at 782-5482. You can leave a message if no one is home.

If you have taken a slip from the VBS bulletin board requesting supplies we ask that you bring it to the church before July 2 for nonperishable supplies. And if you have any Mexican type decorations that we could borrow we would really appreciate it.

Volunteers would still be appreciated! Nursery care will be available for children under four. We will have a meeting July 10 at 6:30 pm to go over responsibilities and finalize decorations. Call Raquel with any questions or to volunteer. Thanks!!

July Worship Team Responsibilities

Sunday, July 2^nd Wednesday, July 5th

Greeters: Lois & Cliff Olsen Greeters:

Ushers: Duane Schmidt Ushers:

Communion Assistant: Sean Snodgrass

Acolyte:

Reader:

Cookies: Alice Swanson & Lois Olsen

Sunday, July 9^th Wednesday, July 12th

Greeters: Lois & Cliff Olsen Greeters:

Ushers: Duane Schmidt, Joan Lienemann Ushers:

Acolyte:

Reader:

Cookies: Lois Olsen, Joan Lienemann

Sunday, July 16th Wednesday, July 19th

Greeters: Barb Bjorn, Lois & Cliff Olsen Greeter:

Ushers: Duane Schmidt, Joan Lienemann Usher:

Acolyte:

Reader:

Cookies: Lois Olsen, Joan Lienemann

Sunday, July 23^rd Wednesday, July 26^th

Greeters: Greeters:

Ushers: Duane Schmidt Ushers:

Acolyte:

Reader:

Cookies: Barb Bjorn, Lois Olsen, Joan Lienemann

Sunday, July 30th

Greeters: Barb Bjorn, Lois & Cliff Olsen

Ushers: Duane Schmidt

Acolyte:

Reader:

Communion Assistant:

Cookies: Lois Olsen, Joan Lienemann

As you can see we have many empty spaces that need to be filled. If you can help serve the Lord during the month of July, give the office a call. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

At the last council meeting, Salem Church Council approved getting started on replacing and adding to our sound system. The system will include a new mixing board, new mike for Pastor Aaseng, a new wall hung speaker in the hearing impaired section, and other equipment for more versatility. The money appropriated is currently on hand in several accounts and will pay for the new equipment and installation. There is other equipment needed to further enhance the system, such as new main speakers, a CD recorder to enable us to record our services and other events, more wireless microphone equipment for versatility, a new cabinet to house this equipment plus other as yet undetermined needs. There is a need for further funds to pay for this additional equipment. If you are willing to donate to the NEW SOUND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT FUND, please do so when you can.

We appreciated the work of Chuck Taylor, Duane Schmidt, and Don Butler in coming up with the needs assessment and working to get this upgrade taken care of.

Warren Woods

Council President

I wish to thank everyone for their prayers, cards, visits, flowers and other considerations during my recent operation and recovery.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Don Butler

10 In-Kind offering kits were given to Bremwood. Carolyn Biere and Joyce Anderson took 10 large quilts and five baby quilts and blankets with them when they attended the Tri-Synodical convention at Waverly, Iowa. The quilters also donated five quilts to the Beilute Children’s Home in Ames, Iowa.

Pastor Nate will be on vacation July 6-31. We will be having Salem members and guest speakers conducting the worship service. If you have an emergency or concerns arise during this time, contact Warren Woods, Congregational President or you may call the church office. The church office is open 8:00am-1:00pm, Tuesday thru Friday.

July 2006

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

9:00 Worship/w Communion

5:30 pm Finance

6:30 pm Worship/w Communion

9:00 Worship

6:30pm VBS Volunteer meeting at Presbyterian Church

6:30 pm Worship

9:00 Worship

VACATION

6-9PM

BIBLE

6-9PM

SCHOOL

6-9PM

6:30 pm Worship

PREBS.

6-9PM

1:30 pm Yesterday’s Teens

CHURCH

6-9PM

VBS

6-9PM

9:00 Worship

6:30 pm Worship

9:00 Worship/w Communion

August 2006
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2 5:30 pm Finance 6:30 pm Worship	3	4	5
6 9:00 Worship/w Communion	7	8	9 6:30 pm Worship/w Communion	10 Council 6:30pm	11	12
13 9:00 Worship	14	15	16 6:30 pm Worship	17 1:30 pm Yesterday’s Teens	18	19
20 9:00 Worship/w Communion	21	22 NEWSLETTER DEADLINE	23 6:30 pm Worship/w Communion	24	25	26
27 9:00 Worship	28	29	30 6:30 pm Worship	31

FINANCIAL REPORT FOR June (1-27-06)