Interim Grace Notes for January 12, 2024
Council Adopts "Covenant of Conduct"
One of the items of business at Monday's Council meeting was the adoption of a "Covenant of Conduct." This covenant is an agreement between members and council members on processing opinions, facts, and complaints. It is a recommended resource for congregations, and is posted on the Northwestern Ohio Synod website. You can view and read the Covenant HERE.
The covenant encourages congregation members to share their thoughts and complaints, but in order for the Council to acknowledge those comments and complaints seriously and possibly take action, they have to be owned by the person making them.
It is not uncommon for council and other leaders to receive "Anonymous" written complaints. Such anonymous complaints, quoting text from the covenant,
create undercurrents that threaten to divide the gathered congregation and disturb its health. Further, anonymous comments can become breeding grounds for gossip and speculation that leads to further division. Conversely, bringing requests, concerns and information to the leadership in a spirit of openness builds trust and creates an atmosphere of accountability and faithfulness.
The upshot of faithfully following this covenant is that anonymous communications will not be heard, read or considered by Council. Council members present at Monday's meeting received a hard-copy of the covenant, and we are considering ways to share it with the congregation.
Funeral for Grace Member and Fremont Manufacturing Pioneer
On Thursday I conducted the funeral for long-time Grace member and patriarch, CEO-emeritus, and former owner of Crown Battery, Lee Koenig. I met Lee briefly after worship at Grace, and visited in the hospital in the fall before he and Caryl returned to their home in Florida. The story of Crown Battery is an amazing and inspirational one of hard work, grit, and determination, growing from a few family employees to an operation with over 200 employees when he retired and sold the company in 1998, with Grace member Hal Hawk assuming majority ownership and CEO. Under Hal's leadership, the company has grown to over 600 employees, with distribution centers in several states and Canada. Lee's death was announced on the website of one of the trade organizations that he and the company belonged to, along with a brief history of Crown. You can read it HERE.
Following the service at Wonderly, there was a luncheon at the Live Edge Center on Front Street. Hal invited me to join him, Diane, and their daughter Megan (Maureen's September wedding at St. John Port Clinton) at their table. Also at the table were former Fremont Ross swim coaches Ron Zwerlein and Art Bucci. With my Erik and Sarah swimmers for Norwalk, it provided for some interesting conversation. I learned through some web searches that the Hawk-Bucci Natatorium at Fremont Ross is named for Hal and Art who provided direction and inspiration for the fundraising.
I returned on Friday morning for the committal and military honors which were held at Wonderly instead of the cemetery. One bit of information about Lee's faith beginnings -- he was baptized and confirmed not at Grace but at St. Mark. Not sure when he made the move to Grace.
Attended First GSB Track for Pastors on Thursday
I've been promoting your participation in a series of Zoom meetings on Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers sponsored by GSB Fundraising, our Stewardship consulting firm. I'm still promoting it -- there is one session per month for four months. You can find more info and how to sign up HERE.
GSB offers a special track for pastors entitled "Stewardship: The Effective Pastoral Leader" - also four sessions. I joined the first session via Zoom today. The theme of the sessions are:
- January 11 – Looking in the mirror: your personal relationship with money
- February 8 – Generosity: Leading cultural change in the congregation
- March 14 – The Pastoral Leader’s role in raising funds for ministry
- April 18 – Money and preaching
Hoping to gather some helpful information and learning from these sessions.
Synod Transitional Leaders Met
I had a second Zoom meeting on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 -- I joined the Synod Transitional Leaders zoom, led by Deacon Sherry Krieger, NWOS staff.
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