The main topics of the December meeting of the congregation council were progress on the tiny homes project, our visioning process, and budgeting. Here is a summary of the topics raised at the meeting:
Tiny Homes Project
Adopted a resolution that creates a Settlement Stewardship Team. This team will be the main point of contact between PoP and the tiny home residents as we grow in our relationship. The Settlement Stewardship Team will provide a forum for reviewing tiny home settlement policies, resolve any complaints or policy enforcement issues and make recommendations to Prince of Peace about policy or resource issues. Finishing touches in the homes and “common house” spaces inside the church are about complete and our neighbors will be moving in over the coming days. A home blessing is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 15 at 5pm.
Visioning
The visioning team met on December 5 to share insights gathered from one-to- one conversations with PoP members and community voices. The team reflected on all the workFollowing the meeting three visioning team members drafted a preliminary vision statement that is now being reviewed by the full visioning team, ministry leaders, and staff.
Budget Development
The council discussed the process for developing the revised 2022-23 budget that will be presented to the congregation on January 29, 2023. Key factors were:
- Payroll expense to date is significantly less than currently budgeted due to Pastor Betsy Hoium’s departure.
- The personnel committee voted to give Kristin Bloxham a 5% merit increase and five more days of personal time off and to increase Pastor Peter’s salary from $81,000 to $90,000. These changes reflect an increased workload and improved alignment with Synod guidelines for comparable positions. The new budget proposal will include these changes.
- The new budget will also include adding a month of a half time salary for a new hire for children’s and family staff person, contingent upon the recommendations that result from the Interserve planning process. This position has not been created, but Rev. Melanie Hill will leave in late June and it might be helpful to have the new staff person start a month before she leaves.