Church Council Updates: October 2020

Racial Justice & Equity Report: Dr. Robin Bell // Planning phase: focus: 1) Continue building community with Seeing White; 2) Developing partnership with faith leaders in Northside through SOAR; 3) Creating an Advocacy partnership between Seeing White Group and Harrison community this summer. 4) Grant writing. See the table below for status reports!

Treasurer's Report: Mike Tarras // The total for the bank account is currently at: $26,175.05 (as of October 19, 2020). Revenue came in $4K above Expense for September! This is really a testament to how well managed our expenses have been. Expenses were $21.5K which is almost $14k below budget. The balance in our bank account continues to shrink, mostly because our significant grants have been paid out. Hopefully our stewardship work in late September and early October will have a measurable impact. Thanks to Pastor Kelly, and Lonna for all their hard work getting these reports out. Full reports are available upon request.

Fellowship and Worship, Music, & Arts: Mary Britt and Jane Friendshuh // The fellowship team gathered on Saturday, October 24th to prepare our annual Soul Food Dinner, which we distributed To-Go style to dozens of families on the 25th as they drove-up or walked-up! The snow and cold didn't stop any of us. The day was made even better as ECLC members drove by to share in gratitude with us for our continued partnership.

Evangelism & Outreach Ministry Report: Pastor Babette Chatman // On behalf of the Evangelism & Outreach Ministry we share the following Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) request from Jess Sunden: "TCC4J is working on legislation for community control of the police through an elected civilian police accountability council. We are seeking community input, and community support. Is there a committee at Redeemer that might be willing to speak with us about this? Is there a contact person you can direct me to? Is there some other way I should be going about this? Please let me know your thoughts." The Evangelism & Outreach ministry is also working closely with RCFL to reimagine the annual Christmas Store for pandemic times. More details and invitations will be forthcoming!

EduYouth Ministry Report: Lonna Field, Jason Hirsch, Anna Kottkamp // As many families in our congregation navigate distance learning, the Edu/Youth team is seeking out your ideas on how your family would like to be supported in faith and connected to Redeemer during this time. Please contact Lonna, Jason, or Anna with any suggestions or comments you may have. Updates: We passed out children’s worship bulletins and/or activity pages at some of the car worships. Working on an Advent partnership for children with ECLC. More to come soon! We are looking for Redeemer members willing to apply for a thrivent action team grant on our behalf. We're starting conversations with Traiveon about planning a retreat-style confirmation for middle and early high schoolers in the spring. We continue to brainstorm ways for families to be involved in worship (e.g., asking families to be a part of reading). Augsburg student & Redeemer attendee Toby is starting to connect with children and youth ministry at Redeemer. And we are partnering with Pastor Babette & RCFL to help envision/support the Christmas store this year.

Service & Advocacy Report: Holly De Souza The Ad-Vote-Cacy Committee has been keeping voters at Cub Foods engaged with our "Make a Plan To Vote" Information. We have had many meaningful conversations with enthusiastic voters who are ready to vote early and hit the polls. The Ad-Vote-Cacy Committee also collaborated with voter registration at the We Win Harvest Festival at Zion Baptist and at the Venture North Garage/Bike Sale with RCFL. WE would also like to celebrate a very successful voter infor-mation Door Hanger Door Hanging Blitz, that through collaboration with ECLC, HNA, and Heritage Park made the impossible possible. 5000 voter information door hangers covered the Harrison Neighborhood and many other parts of the Northside in record time. HUGE thanks to all those who participated! Thanks Bex and Libby of RCFL, and to Maggie Dexheimer Pharris, for helping me get the T-Shirts ordered!

Property Minister Report: Stuart Munk // With EnerChange’s assistance contacted Skyline Heating and Air, a black-owned HVAC contractor with ties to the North Side. Their rep. informed me that, the person who previously had maintained our boiler had not posted a state-required certificate of standard and no log of the boiler’s usage or maintenance, another state requirement, had never been logged. Skyline assured me that they would maintain those records, post their certification, and provide services beyond what had been accepted. Since our boiler has the ability to switch from oil to natural gas we receive incentives from the city of Mpls when we’re able to make that switch during times of high demand. I have informed the exec committee of Skyline’s proposal of a $400 monthly fee for: Routine maintenance of the boiler: professional care of the air & water pressures; Posting certification and maintaining required log; And making sure sufficient oil is within our reservoir allowing us to make the switch. We would receive a reduction on cost for parts and repair work if we agree to utilize Skyline’s services. The last state inspection of our boiler does require some improvements that Skyline could provide. I informed the exec committee that I will check further on these terms and other providers but the company’s owners and workforce being people of color make their offer, in my opinion, meets their/our needs for service and mission. There is one major caveat. The Skyline rep. informed me that they could proved that monthly service for $400. If we do not sign on with them for the monthly checkup, then one option is for one of our members or someone reliable to take a boiler systems 5-day course. That person needs to pass the course, post that result, and then that person with 5 days of training would be responsible for the monthly log, air and water pressures and oil levels. They would also need to be basically on an “on-call” basis. I will continue to utilize EnerChange concerning other options concerning the boiler.
     The rekeying of all doors has been put on hold as I’ve familiarized myself with our using Floyd Medeco keys. I’ve learned that they are the gold standard of keys and that Floyd has strict, proprietary rights over replacement of their keys. Meaning…only they can replace the actual key and only they can work on locks paired with said keys. I mention this because our front door was removed from its hinges last summer and has scraped since its reinstallation. That issue can only be repaired by Floyd as the part scraping is key/lock related. I do know how many keys (of all uses) have been made by Floyd on our behalf. So we can try use that number to cross check who has door access keys. The first locksmith I called could have rekeyed and given new keys at a fraction of the cost, but as we have Floyd product we’re paying for the best and to rekey with them would be cost prohibitive. I’m gathering further information before we proceed and will keep council updated.
    Glenwood House Garage: I have removed all shelving on one side of the garage and spoken with Ian about the eventual removal of the few bikes that remain. In the meantime, I’ve learned that all the boxes on the other side of the garage are related to the orange Nice Ride bikes the city utilized several years ago. I’d been ead to believe that those parts and bikes were all RCFL property but as they’re Nice Ride bikes and parts related to their upkeep and assembly I’ve contacted the city and will ascertain the original agreement and its terms. So far it looks like the city would come and reclaim the boxes of parts, helmets and mainframes, freeing RCFL from the need to create storage for parts that simply aren’t theirs. Again, more info to be obtained and shared at a later time. Meanwhile the door to the garage has been professionally repaired and is reliable and lockable. And while the garage is wired, I’m not sure its electricity is currently operable. Space for two LVC cars is now available and I’ll check on updating the security lights etc. for the space. I am keeping Ian updated as necessary concerning the garage’s contents.  
     I’ve recently made contact with Dave Scharnhorst concerning updated security for the church and the Glenwood House.
     Winter windows will be washed, assembled and placed. The snowblower will be readied along with salt and shovels for the coming winter. Ladies room, on the upper level, the counting room, kitchen will be painted.
     The large, white bulbs in the front entrance have been dusted and washed. Non-slip patches have been placed on the northern steps to the lower level of the church. The kitchen is being cleaned and culled, including the stove top and back splash.