Council President Randy Gustafson called the meeting order.
There were 22 in attendance at today’s meeting. S.A.M. Ralph Flitter opened the meeting with a reading.
Randy asked those in attendance to take time to read the minutes and reports as printed in the Annual Report booklet. A motion to approve last year’s meeting minutes as printed in the Annual Report was made by Patty Young and seconded by Audrey Anderson.
Ben Odegard presented the 2026 budget at $103,500. Building insurance has been a big line-item for us the last two years with seeing huge increases each year. We are now up to just under $12,000/year in premium. We were able to get the renewal period switched to calendar year to align with the budget. The other increase we have been dealing with is the rising cost of CenterPoint Energy, even though we are set up with the budget plan, costs have increased significantly. We have added a budget-line item for lawn care services. These past few years the lawn care has been taken care of by volunteers, if there are other volunteers out there that would like to help with this, please see Ben or Chad, otherwise we will need to contract with someone. 2025 did come in under budget of just under $3,000.
The 2026 budget was presented, voted on, and passed unanimously.
Randy acknowledged at the meeting that he did perform an audit of the financial accounts with everything looking good. He talked about the new software Kathy and Jane have been utilizing and the accuracy and details that come along with it.
A question came up regarding the budget line-item amount to the SWMN Synod; Ralph spoke a little about the Synod and their role. There are approximately 223 churches that belong to the synod and appreciate the donations they receive from these churches.
Annual Reports from the Council President, Trustees, Deacons, Board of Education and Cradle Roll have been compiled and printed for everyone to review.
Ben made motion to approve reports as printed and Lana seconded.
Patty Young gave an update on Wednesday JAM (Jesus and Me). They use the Spark curriculum, 30-35 kids attend and feel it is a large community outreach program. There is a very dedicated group of adults that help with this program each week and wish to thank them all.
Lori Pietsch spoke about the Vacation Bible School and Operation Christmas Child programs operating out of Faith. Both programs receive great support from our church and our community.
Old Business: Last year a committee was formed to update the Church By-Laws. Randy presented the updated by-laws on behalf of that committee. This document will be reviewed and voted on at next year’s annual meeting. The bell tower has been looked at and while it worked briefly, it has been determined there is a wiring issue. The trustees will add this to another electrical project needing attention this year. The organ- arrangements have been made to have it serviced. A member of the congregation has offered to pay this expense.
New Business: The monthly newsletter- with the rising costs associated with this, the council has decided to go electronic. Approx. $700-800 is the annual mailing cost for the newsletter along with increased paper costs. The newsletter will be emailed out monthly, but we will still have a few printed copies available at the church. Please contact the office with your email address. Lake Hanska noticed the absence of the January newsletter, Ralph did not hear from many at Faith.
We are short cranberry hymnals, not all pews have more than one per pew. These were acquired from Butternut when they closed, and Faith did not purchase any. Ralph will look into finding/acquiring more.
Randy and Ralph asked to have a “visiting committee” established. Patty asked for more clarification on what this entails, do we have a list of names, what is expected and how often. These would be social visits, communion and shut ins. Patty Young volunteered, we will look for others to help with this.
Ralph addressed the weekly church bulletin and the Prayer Concerns section. He would like to see this updated. Ralph will make announcements regarding this each Sunday during the service.
Altar Guild is needed for the months of July and August.
The 2026 Nominating Ballot was presented. The nominees are:
President- 1-year term- Lori Pietsch;
Vice President-1-year term- Randy Gustafson;
Council secretary-1-year term-Stacy Reed;
Financial Secretary-2 people/shared position-Randy Gustafson and Arlo Feder;
Treasurer – 2 people/shared position-Jane Piepgras and Kathy Guyer;
Deacon-2-year term-2 people-Sherri Gustafson and Mary Feder;
Trustee – 2-year term-2 people-Ben Odegard and Chad Becker;
Board of Education-2-year term-2 people-Stephanie Odegard and Tamara Krebs;
Living Meadows Delegates (4): Sherri Gustafson, Barb Nelson, Dori Cummins and Cindy Lehman;
Synod Assembly Delegate-Barb Overlie and Mary Feder;
Gustavus Adolphus Delegate- Ralph Flitter;
Waters Edge Delegate- Barb Overlie;
Nominating committee (4)- Julia Young, Gayle Howard, Mary Feder and Randy Gustafson;
Cemetery Board- Faith – Mark Blekestad
A motion was made by Barb Nelson and seconded by Barb Overlie to cast a unanimous ballot.
Mary thanked all those who help throughout the year at various events and with the building and property upkeep. The church would not survive without everyone’s help and contributions!
Motion made by Ben and seconded by Kathy to adjourn meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Reed
