Annual Report for 2013

Whoever you are

However you come

You are welcome here

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JOURNEY LUTHERAN CHURCH

ANNUAL CELEBRATION AGENDA

JANUARY 26, 2014

Call to order

Devotions

Reports

Celebration of 2013

Old Business

New Business

Elections

Adoption of Budget

Closing Prayer

Potluck Dinner

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JOURNEY LUTHERAN CHURCH

VISION BOARD MEMBERS

Pastor…Steven Meyer ..................................... 317-5433

President…Leah Wisnewski ........................... 781-8099

Vice-President…Jonah Denson ...................... 792-3174

Treasurer (non-voting)…Jim Conway ...........

Youth Representative…Indiana Hauser ........ 769-7030

Voting Member…Carla Amundson ................ 781-2842

Voting Member…TJ Barth ............................. 780-9685

Voting Member…Houa Moua ........................ 526-2867

Voting Member…John Haese ....................... 783-6299

CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Administrative Assistant Stephanie Kind

Youth Director Amanda (Ace) Aakre

Financial Secretary Doug Myhre

Altar Guild Diane Hoch, Donnie Lee

Choir Director Deb Welander

Faith Formation Amy Denson, Michelle Renkas

Fellowship Team Deanna Hafner, Carole Myhre

Property Team Bob Tracey, John Haese

Outreach Team Kristi Tweed, Dave Denson

Service Team Judy Lindgren, Deb Hoeth

Worship Team Deb Welander, Nancy Haese

MUSIC MINISTRY

Accompanists: Jim & Deb Welander, Julie Gappa, Patty Denson,

Paula Przywojski, Larry & Barb Dalton

Worship Band: Terry Burt, Patty Denson, Julie Gappa, Gus Hauser,

Meredith Hink, Heidi Hodgins, Pastor Steve & Diane Meyer,

Brian Renkas, Deb Sullivan

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STATISTICS

CURRENT MEMBER STATISTICS

194 Average Weekly Attendance

158 Households

417 Baptized Members

303 Confirmed Members

BAPTISMS

Landry Keith Hill (3/17/2013)

Adelaide Josephine Johnson (6/02/2013)

Owen Joshua Genz (6/16/2013)

Lydia Grace Hansen (7/28/2013)

Jaxson Allan Steers (8/18/2013)

Rick Owen Saf (9/29/2013)

Matthew Scott Nordstrom (9/29/2013)

Parker Cole Olson (10/13/2013)

Alexander Charles Olson (12/8/2013)

Samantha Lynn Olson (12/29/2013)

William Wayne Berndt (12/29/2013)

AFFIRMATION OF BAPTISMS (CONFIRMATION)

None This Year…Moving to 9th Grade Confirmation

WEDDINGS

Stephanie Hoefs and Jesse Kind (6/22/2013)

Jessica Moe and Matthew McLean (7/13/2013)

Cassandra Merchlewitz and Bradley Ruosch (9/21/2013)

Patricia Cummings and Robert Ellsworth (10/12/2013)

Anna Olson and Justin Jotham (10/19/2013)

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ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES - JANUARY 27, 2013

Tom Stowers, President, called the annual meeting to order and led the congregation in a prayer at

11:05 a.m. Each member signed in to guarantee we have the required quorum. The meeting was run

following Roberts Rules of Order.

Tom explained the rules around making a motion and a second, followed by discussion and then a

vote. All voting was verbal with those in favor saying “aye” and those opposing saying “no”. If for

some reason the vote is too close, there would be a show of hands.

Annual reports were sent out two weeks ahead of the annual meeting to allow the congregation time to

review and come prepared to ask any questions of the Vision Board, the Ministry Teams or the 2013

budget.

Old business began with a review of following Ministry teams. A brief introduction was given around

each team’s purpose.

Faith Formation – no questions or discussion

Youth Ministry Team

o Tom recognized Ace for going above & beyond. Her enthusiasm has had a positive

impact on the youth in our congregation.

Outreach

o Jonah Denson asked if the Outreach team felt they had enough people on their team and

Kristie Tweed replied “no, that they could use more members”. Anyone interested in

serving on this team was encouraged to contact Kristie.

Fellowship

o It was mentioned that this is another team that can always use more help. Members were

asked to contact Deanna Hafner if they would like to be on the team or would like to

help out for various events.

Service – no questions or discussion

Worship / Music / Alter Guild

o Larry Dalton had brought up the fact that the services seem to be “unbalanced” as far as

attendance. Asked if we knew why that was. Was it tied to just preference, style or

time; or a combination? The Vision Board will review this question further. It was also

mentioned that our upcoming focus sessions and survey would help identify ways we

can improve both services.

Property

o John Haese gave a short presentation on key accomplishments in 2012 and key upcoming

maintenance needs beginning in 2013.

A major under-taking will be to stain the outside of the church.

Other major recommendations will be presented to the Vision Board.

o The congregation gave recognition to the property team for the great job they do in

maintaining our beautiful church.

Tom addressed the congregation inviting members who have not had an opportunity to lead or serve

on one of the Ministry Teams or may have an interest in serving on the Vision Board to be sure they

turn in their time and talent sheets. For team leaders, it was mentioned that Stephanie has a data base

with the time and talent information for each member. If a chair would like to see if there are members

interested in their team, they should contact Stephanie.

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The topic was raised by Kristie Tweed regarding making food for the sick, caring blankets, and visits

to the home bound (previously called the “Sunshine Committee”) as to which team this would fall

under and that it could use more organization. The Vision Board will further review this question to

ensure these ministry needs are being coordinated through the correct team.

A motion was to accept the 2012 Ministry Reports for the record was made by Dale Ruosch and a

second by Mary Tauer. The motion was carried and the Ministry Team reports were accepted into the

record.

Other Old Business

2012 Annual Meeting Minutes Review – there were no questions or discussion

Deb Welander made a motion to accept the 2012 annual meeting minutes without revisions or

corrections with a second from Bill Ratekin. The motion was carried and the 2012 Annual Meeting

Minutes were accepted into the record.

2012 Financial Report Review

o A review of last year’s income and expenses shows we continue to be blessed, given the

Vision Board had very little to go on when preparing last year’s budget. JLC had a

strong finish for 2012.

o There were no questions or discussion.

o Jim Conway was recognized for being our Treasurer. Anyone wanting more details

relating to our church finances is welcome to contact Jim.

A motion to accept the 2012 Financial Report was made by John Peterson and a second by Mike

Schnitzius. The motion was carried and the 2012 Financial Report was accepted into the record.

New Business 1) Tom presented an overview of the proposed slate of candidates for the Vision Board:

o John Haese (3-year term)

o Houa Moua (3-year term)

o Indiana Hauser – Youth (1-year term)

There was a call for other nominations from the floor - there were none.

A motion to accept the new Vision Board nominees was made by TJ Barth and a second by Jim

Conway. The motion carried and the Vision Board nominees were accepted. New Vision Board

members take their office beginning with the February Board meeting.

Tom made a point to say thank you and give recognition to those leaving the Vision Board, for the

current members of the Vision Board and those new members joining the Board. Special thanks to

Forrest Moe, Megan Oliver, and President Tom Stowers who will be leaving the Vision Board.

2) Tom presented an overview of the proposed 2013 Budget and hoped the congregation would

approve it.

Income

Projecting a 3% increase in general giving

Designated Giving – budgeted $12,225 (reduction over last year)

Projected $800 for the year in outside income (weekly AA group)

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Expense

Benevolence will increase ½% in 2013 – if we can make up our negative budget for 2013, we

will give another ½% of our regular giving

Stephanie’s hours increased from ½ time to ¾ time – hoping for full time in 2014

Budgeted compensation for our organist and pianists, and choir accompanist

Plan to continue the part-time Youth Director and hopefully grow this role

Salary increase of 1.5% for Pastor Steve, pointing out that he first offered to forego any

increase for 2013. The 1.5% increase is below the synod scale for someone with his

background and experience, not to mention the workload he carries because of staffing

limitations.

Facility maintenance is up a little

Ministry budget is down from our actual 2012 budget because we used synod outreach grant money

to cover many of the outreach projects.

o After losing the Holmen School District as a tenant, we will continue searching for a renter.

o In addition, we have hired a consultant, Pastor Blair, to help us determine how we can reduce our

mortgage debt vs. continuing as is for the next 17 years in the hopes of saving thousands of

dollars in interest and use that savings to grow our ministry. Any savings from reducing our

mortgage debt would be immediate and is something we would benefit from year over year.

Questions/Discussion:

Have we gone to the bank to refinance? Yes, our loan was refinanced a few years back and when we

were having financial issues as CTK, the bank worked with us on our mortgage loan. Jim Conway

confirmed that we have paid an additional $139/month on the principle. Tom mentioned that our

church building is under a commercial loan and they are very different than a home loan when it

comes to refinancing.

There was a question relating to the 5.5% Benevolence going to the ELCA from Journey. Where

does the money go and how is it used? Mike Schnitizius asked for the floor to share some information from “Stories of Faith in Action” 94%

of our offering stays with us, 3% goes to the Synod (ELCA), 3% goes to church-wide ministries.

Journey Lutheran was able to contribute 106% of its benevolence in 2012 which is incredible for a

new congregation.

The question was asked if the copier monthly use fee was due to it being leased? The answer was yes.

A motion to accept the 2013 budget as proposed was made by Michelle Logan and a second by Diana

Poulin. The motion carried and the 2013 budget was approved.

Pastor Steve was given the floor to comment and share highlights from 2012

and provide a glance into 2013 and beyond:

The year of babies and baptisms

Journey Lutheran video

Added approximately 40 new members

The creation of the Journey Lutheran

Logo and the elements of it

Potlucks / Lenten services

Lutheranism for Dummies

Good Friday Service / Easter

Musical Talent

Folk Dancing

Campfire ministries

Journey’s Got Talent

National Youth Gathering

in New Orleans

Kornfest Parade & Float

Vacation Bible School

Youth Trip – Noah’s Ark

Bike ‘N Build

Youth Band

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Feed My Starving Children

Holmen’s Hope (now an umbrella

under our organization)

Clean-up of our property

Confirmations & blessing of

our Graduates

Pat Hermann’s farewell

Synod Assembly & welcoming

of Journey Lutheran

Outdoor Adventures

Pastor Steve shared that this was truly an amazing story and we should be proud of our

accomplishments given we were still trying to get ourselves organized as a new church in 2012.

Looking forward we should be able to accomplish even more given the progress we made in getting

organized. Our growth in ministry will depend on how successful we will be in reducing our mortgage

debt.

Final words from Tom Stowers:

In closing: Since our incorporation in 2011, Tom stated that it has been his privilege to serve as

President of JLC and it is truly a privilege to be part of this congregation. In leaving the Board, he

personally acknowledged the support and hard work on the part of the ministry teams over the past

year. So many people have given of their time and talent to ensure JLC is a place where all are

welcome and is a people shaped by the Lordship of Jesus and centered on God’s mission for the world.

Tom also recognized Pastor Steve. His dedication, unselfish commitment and giving to JLC is

something we should all aspire to. As Vision Board President, he had the opportunity to work closely

with Pastor Steve and witness first-hand the demands placed on him in serving this congregation.

Under the financial constraints we face today around staffing, the only way he could give more would

be if there were more than 24 hours in a day. Stephanie, Ace, and our ministry teams certainly help

provide ministry relief, however, our vision and needs exceed our capabilities today, and Pastor works

hard to fill the gap.

Finally, Tom asked the congregation to continue to pray for direction, so we can see what “new

things” God has in store for us. Our faith must continue to be open to giving back what God has first

given us, our time and our positions.

Barb Dalton was the winner of the drawing.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Bill Ratekin and a second by Michelle Logan. The

motion carried and the meeting was adjourned. Pastor Steve led the congregation in a closing prayer

and we dismissed into the fellowship hall for a potluck.

Respectfully Submitted,

Carla Amundson, Vision Board Secretary

Youth Director

Sugar Creek Retreat

Trick or Treat so others can eat

Journey Fest

Dave Schroeder disappears

ConFest Event

The Gift of Years – Synod Event

All Saint’s Day

Inter-Generational Christmas program

New Year’s Eve party

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

LEAH WISNEWSKI

Dear Members of Journey Lutheran Church,

The fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia and many people consider 13 to be an unlucky

number. Hotels don’t have a 13th

floor and airlines often don’t have a 13th

row. As a math teacher and

an avowed “number person,” that has always fascinated me. But as I look back on 2013, I can

confidently state that the past year has been a very lucky one for me. I have had the privilege of

serving as the president of Journey Lutheran Church.

The first half of the year was a very busy and exciting time for all of us. With everything that needed

to be planned and accomplished for the Journey Forward campaign, many of us felt as though we were

in the church building more than we were in our own homes. To all of you who helped in large and

small ways, THANK YOU! That process brought all of us together and made us one family.

In the early months of 2013, we learned of the possibility of housing a day care in our building.

Through the hard work and dedication of many of our members, that was accomplished when Wiggles

and Giggles Day Care opened in our education wing in September. Another THANK YOU to

everyone involved.

I was lucky to be able to attend the Church-Wide Assembly in Pittsburgh in August. Along with Pastor

Steve, Bishop Arends, and others from our synod, I experienced a week unlike any other in my life. To

be with thousands of other ELCA Lutherans, praising God and hearing of His marvelous works

throughout the world was thrilling. And to be part of the process of electing our new Presiding Bishop,

Elizabeth Eaton, was very exciting.

2013 has come to a close and we can be thankful for all we have accomplished. Over a third of the

pledges for Journey Forward have come in. Because of these donations we were able to significantly

reduce our monthly mortgage payment and present a $5000 check to Bishop Arends when he visited

us in December. The day care is running smoothly, our budget deficit is slowly decreasing, and we

have welcomed many new members into our church family. But we have much more we still need to

accomplish in the years to come.

Journey Lutheran Church is lucky to have so many wonderful members and leaders who are willing to

do whatever is necessary to be witnesses to God’s presence in our world. Thank you to Pastor Steve,

the Vision Board members, the members and leaders of all our teams, and everyone who serves

Journey in any way.

So, am I lucky? I don’t think so. It’s not luck when God is involved. I am blessed and I pass that

blessing on to all of you. I look forward to seeing how lucky blessed we will be in 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

Leah Wisnewski, President

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PASTOR’S REPORT

I am a little tired, and it is not surprising looking back on the whirlwind of activity of 2013. I won’t

begin to try to summarize it all. You can read the Team Reports to get more of the details, but I want

to highlight a couple of things.

One of the biggest changes this year involved preparing our facility to be the new home of the Wiggles

and Giggles Preschool and Child Care. It is wonderful to have the building busy and being used seven

days a week. It provides a source of income for us, which is very beneficial, but there is also great

benefit in serving the community with a high quality, much needed service.

The other big emphasis was our Journey Forward Appeal (a separate report follows). There was a little

apprehension that we considered a major appeal so early in the life of our young congregation. It was a

huge amount of work that involved lots of people in leading it, which I believe is why it was so

successful. We listened, discerned, celebrated, dreamed, planned, and gave. Not only did we surpass

the financial goal we had set, but we found a unity in working together that bonded us as a

congregation.

It was nice to be in our second year, so not everything was new. But it is clear we are still evolving

and growing into being a new congregation. I am very thankful to our Vision Board for continuing to

guide and shape our ministry according to the principles we identified when we created this church.

We are still figuring out this new leadership model and working at getting everything going.

We added 48 members this year…which means 48 new names to learn. With two services, it is

challenging for everyone to know everyone else. It probably isn’t very realistic that we would. What is

more important is being involved in things outside of worship…that is where relationships are built.

We had great staff, who were good to work with. Stephanie did a great job keeping everything going

and she will be missed now that she and her family have moved. Likewise with Ace, and her work

with our youth. We have had some very talented people who will be difficult to replace. There are so

many volunteers that make Journey the special place it is: people who handle finances, plan worship,

create music, reach out, build faith, create and maintain a welcoming, beautiful space, provide food,

and support dozens of ministries in our communities and abroad. This year has again seen wonderful

cooperative ministries with other local congregations.

God is good and we have been so blessed. Thanks for your part in our journey together.

Pastor Steve

So what is next? Flooring Project

One of the goals we had for creating our Journey Forward Fund was to have sufficient resources so

that when a need for capital improvements would arise, we would not have to go back to the

congregation with an additional appeal. The 20 year old carpet in the sanctuary is well past the end of

its life, so the question before us is, “how do we tackle this project?”

The thinking of the Vision Board was that this topic deserves a special congregational meeting later in

the year, after we are in a healthier financial situation. The project would involve new carpeting in the

sanctuary and more resilient flooring in the narthex and hallway. When the flooring is torn up it would

also make sense to install an induction loop to improve coverage for hearing aid wearers. Final

numbers and samples will be available later in the year for our consideration. The question to start

considering now is: how much of the Journey Forward money do we want to use, and when do we

want to use it? Do we want to wait until we have further reduced our mortgage? Or is this something

we should do sooner than later?

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JOURNEY FORWARD REPORT – Jonah Denson and Jim Welander

On behalf of the Journey Forward Executive Team, I want to express a very sincere and heartfelt thank

you for all of the generous pledges to the Journey Forward campaign. When we embarked on this

journey together as a congregation the campaign seemed like a very daunting task. Being a new

congregation we knew it could be a challenge having a capital campaign so early on in our history.

Through God’s grace we came together and achieved results that will most certainly help us expand

our ministries in the future.

It was very encouraging to see how many of you volunteered countless hours to make this campaign a

success. Hundreds of phone calls were placed and letters were mailed. We held a mission fest that

highlighted all the great things that are going on at Journey. We had several inspirational worship

services that celebrated all that we’ve been blessed with. We put together a devotional book that

continues to draw us closer together as a congregation. We had multiple fellowship events that showed

off our hospitality. The campaign culminated with the commitment Sunday where the fruits of our

labor were realized by a pledge count that surpassed all expectations.

The Journey Forward campaign has already allowed us to make a large mortgage pay down and we

can already see substantial improvements in our monthly mortgage responsibilities. For the first time

since we formed Journey Lutheran Church, we are able to present a balanced budget for the year to

come. We were blessed with the opportunity to send a large gift to the La Crosse Area Synod as part

of our commitment to support missions outside our congregation. We are also able to make payments

towards a reserve fund to help pay for any capital needs that may arise in the future.

Thank you again for your generosity toward the Journey Forward campaign and Journey Lutheran

Church.

Jonah Denson

Journey Forward Executive Team Co-Chair

Journey Forward by the Numbers Goal for three-year pledges $425,000.00

Total Amount Pledged 2013 $448,826.40 (through 109 pledges)

Total Amount Received 2013 $167,576.37

How has the money been spent?

$26,800.00 Kairos Consulting Fees

$ 1,859.24 Expenses for Blair Anderson

$ 3031.54 Campaign materials

$31,690.78 Total cost for the Journey Forward Appeal

$103,500.00 Extra Principle Payments made to reduce the mortgage

$ 5,000.00 Gift to the Synod to support ministries beyond our walls

(5% of the first $100,000 raised)

$27,385.59 Balance in the Journey Forward Account 12/31/2013

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MINISTRY TEAM REPORTS

FAITH FORMATION TEAM – Amy Denson and Michelle Renkas Includes ministries of education from birth through adults

BUMBLE BEES When children are baptized we promise as a congregation that we will help parents with faith

formation for their child. That is why we launched a new ministry this fall for families with

children age birth to three. It is a great support time for parents and a time to get the tools and

learn how we as parents can be more intention in living and teaching faith.

We are very thankful to Ben Sykora and Darren Amundson who have built and finished the faith

chests that we are able to give to families when someone is baptized. We are looking for others to

help in the process of building and finishing the chests. Our goal would be for every family to

have a chest to serve as their home altar and a place to keep the tools needed for faith formation in

the home.

SUNDAY SCHOOL/VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL It has been a fun and exciting year working with the children in Sunday school. We continue to

grow with some new families we have picked up and have a wonderful staff of dedicated

teachers, helpers, and subs that volunteer their time to share the stories of Jesus and the love of

God with the children of Journey Lutheran. There are currently 45 children, ages 3 through grade

5, enrolled in Sunday school. We have continued to use the Augsburg Spark Sunday School

rotational program. Each rotation is 3 weeks long; the children hear the same story told 3 different

ways through a science, art and bible skills and games workshop. We meet each week as a large

group before rotating to our rotations, and have been learning some new and old songs, and plan

to share the songs with the congregation throughout the year.

We again joined Halfway Creek Lutheran Church in August for this year’s Vacation Bible School

(VBS). This year’s theme was Kingdom Rock and everyone, children and staff, had a “royal”

good time! There were about 45 children that met at Journey for 3 evenings of stories, games,

crafts, fun snacks, singing, and movies, which ended with the final evening at Halfway’s outdoor

worship sight for games, potluck, worship, and a movie with the children and their families. We

hope to continue this tradition with Halfway again in 2014.

Thank you to everyone that has volunteered throughout the year with Sunday school and VBS!

Amy Denson, Chair

CONFIRMATION

Confirmation ministry is focused on Wednesday evenings with a variety of formats…workshops,

fellowship, service events, and parent/youth nights as we explore the basics of faith.

YOUTH TEAM

Over the past year, we have been blessed to participate in many amazing opportunities. Our youth

worked hard creating stewardship events for all ages to enjoy, as well as fundraising towards their

trip to North Carolina. We enjoyed BAM, the Chili cook-off, Journey’s Got Talent, and many

other fun events.

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The high school youth group met every other Sunday, talking about faith at a deeper level,

experimenting with prayer types, talking about what it means to be a “good” person, learning

about what it means to be a steward, and having some fun along the way!

The youth also had the opportunity to share a planned worship with the congregation, with the

assistance from the youth band! We thank you for the many opportunities the youth have been

blessed with over this last year and we thank you for those we have yet to experience.

Amanda (Ace) Aakre, Youth Director

ADULT BIBLE STUDY We have a couple of options for Bible Study. The women meet on Tuesday nights for a Bible

Study. It also serves as a good opportunity for fellowship and community building. We have

looked at the books of Ruth, Romans, and Numbers and now are studying “women of the Bible”

All are welcome, you don’t need to know a lot about the Bible, this is where we come and learn.

The men meet once a month (the 3

rd Saturday at 7:30 at Holmen Lutheran) with men from Holmen

Lutheran for a Bible Study led by the pastors. Again, all are welcome.

New this year was a monthly gathering of men called “Theology on Tap” (again it is a shared

ministry of the local Lutheran churches) where men gather to talk about faith questions at the

Holmen Meat Locker…2014 will see the start-up of the women’s version “Theology Uncorked”

FELLOWSHIP TEAM – Deanna Hafner and Carole Myhre

The purpose of the Fellowship Team is to support activities that strengthen our church family,

welcome newcomers, and celebrate our faith in Christ Jesus by gathering together for food, fun, and

fellowship.

Fellowship hours were provided after church services throughout the year. Soup suppers were enjoyed

before the Wednesday Lenten Services in 2013. Thank you to everybody who shared their cooking

skills and pitched in to set up and clean up. The Maundy Thursday service included a ceremonial

Seder or Passover Supper.

Journey Lutheran was the location of the combined Thanksgiving Service followed by a fellowship

hour. Decorated bakery cakes were purchased to celebrate confirmation, graduation, etc.

Throughout 2013, Carla Amundsen was responsible for purchasing for the kitchen, Sandy Tracey was

the treat coordinator, and Carole Myhre and Deanna Hafner were co-chairs of the team. Thank to

everyone who committed to being a team member during this past year and also those who assisted

with Fellowship hours and potlucks. Also very much appreciated are those who contributed treats.

We trust that 2014 will bring more opportunities to gather and share our gifts with current and future

members of Journey Lutheran. We welcome anyone interested in joining the team, or those who

simply want to help on occasion.

In Christ,

The Fellowship Team

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OUTREACH TEAM – Dave Denson and Kristie Tweed

Journey’s Outreach Committee sponsored a Halloween Carnival, which was a community event for

children and their families. Approximately 100 attended. There were games, face painting, a cake

walk, pumpkin painting, and haunted maze created by the Journey youth group. A light lunch was

offered at a minimal cost, and we gave away popcorn and lots of candy for game prizes. All proceeds

covered the cost of the event with the balance going to the youth group. Thank you to everyone that

donated candy, food, cakes, pumpkins, and volunteered their time and talent with setup, clean up, and

working at the event.

The Outreach Committee is currently planning Journey’s next community event, JourneyFest 2014,

which will be held in either May or June. Watch for more information coming soon. We will also offer

a Halloween Carnival again in October.

Dave Denson

PROPERTY TEAM – John Haese and Bob Tracey

The Property Team was extremely busy for the year 2013. It started in the early spring with planning

for a major project of staining the church. During Mission Fest we had a booth promoting our need for

help in staining the church and the response was very good.

As we planned for the staining job, another major project suddenly appeared. A Holmen day- care

provider asked if we would be interested in providing space for a day-care. Discussions with the

provider started and we all stepped back to take a good look at what this would involve for Journey.

After about three months of investigating the possibilities and securing some bids on what this might

cost, we approached the Vision Board with a proposal. The Vision Board carefully considered all the

possibilities and then gave its blessing to proceed. The initial cost of material and labor to make our

education wing code complainant for a day-care was $10,000. The provider would be giving us $5,000

outright, sort of seed money, to put towards any material or improvements that were needed. The

physical changes to the education wing were minor, adding a security door to the main hallway, and

two emergency doors to existing classrooms, along with some more emergency lights for those rooms.

Darren Amundson repainted all the rooms and halls with paint on hand and Jon Lindgren waxed all the

tile and cleaned all the carpets. The biggest project was the adding of 214 feet of sidewalk and a large

enclosed play area with equipment. The play area and fencing took almost two months to complete

while we continued to stain the church at the same time. Both of these major projects would not have

been completed without the nightly help of so many of our parishioners, for this we will be forever

grateful. The best news for this past year was that the day-care (Wiggles & Giggles) opened on time,

the State, the parents, and the staff are very happy and pleased with the facility we have provided. The

day care gave us our first check on September 4,, 2013, and this will help us improve our month to

month cash flow to pay bills.

The staining was completed before the weather became too cold. The staining of the church is

something that has to be done every 6-10 years to maintain the water seal on our siding.

The coming year will bring a new look to the property team. We are going to divide up most of the

outside work into zones similar to what we do inside for cleaning. This will spread the amount of work

out evenly so that one or two people are not spending 30-40 hours a week here maintaining the

grounds during the growing season.

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We now have maintenance agreements in place for both our heating and cooling systems. The age of

both systems warranted this, as we have suffered failures in both systems in the past year.

The coming year will concentrate our efforts on the Sanctuary plans for repainting the walls of the

Sanctuary and cleaning the stone face front wall. We will also look at a permanent place for our

outdoor worship area and what would be needed to enhance this area.

Because we have no paid position that addresses the cleaning and maintenance of our facility, we ask

the congregation to consider checking one of the areas of the Property Team time and talent sheet,

even a couple of hours here and there go a long way to helping us maintain this wonderful building.

John Haese and Bob Tracey, Co-Chairs

SERVICE TEAM – Deb Hoeth and Judy Lindgren

The Service Committee appreciates all the contributions of time, talents, and resources provided to

carrying out the charter of Journey Lutheran to be a congregation that is outward looking, serving

needs locally and globally and that is generous, recognizing we are blessed to be a blessing. We look

forward to continuing God’s work in January 2014. We will continue to live out the Gospel by

performing service to others such as feeding the hungry; visiting the affirmed; clothing those in need;

and creating an overall sense of community in our area.

The following are the many areas of service of our congregation:

Care Bear Lutheran World Relief

Onalaska/Holmen Food Basket New Horizons Giving Tree

Visitation ELCA World Hunger

Caring Blankets Caring Tree

Feed My Starving Children Holmen’s Hope

In 2014, we will add to additional areas of service including participation in efforts to help our

communities meet the needs of Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army. We will also begin to

provide Meals to Members in Need during stressful life events.

We strongly encourage you to fill out the time and talent survey, since this will be used by the Service

Committee to contact members who have an interest in participating in specific service areas. Please

visit the Journey Lutheran website for a complete Service Committee “job description”, including a

list of Journey’s Service Coordinators, and a timeline of service opportunities throughout 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

Debra Hoeth, Co-Chair

Coming in 2014! We are reinventing an old program from the days of Christ the King - We called

it the Sunshine Club. It was a loosely knit group of volunteers willing to prepare meals for

members in need. Because many of you have indicated you would be willing to provide meals,

the Service Committee is reinstating this program and renaming it Meals in Need. Coordinating

this effort is Rita Tabbert. If you and/or your family need a meal prepared due to illness, accident,

or some other reason, please contact Rita. She will arrange for some meals to be delivered to you.

If you are willing to provide meals for those in need, also call Rita and she will add your name to

the list of providers. Rita can be contacted at 608 783-4830 or at ryeske@centurytel.net.

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WORSHIP AND MUSIC TEAM – Deb Welander and Nancy Haese

Our Worship and Music committee’s primary duty is to make sure the Sunday services are planned

and run smoothly so that the worship experience is worthy to praise God. We count on church

members, musicians, and our Pastor to guide the service. The planning of the worship formats are

addressed by the worship committee and the pastor. We are using The Narrative Lectionary (2013-14,

Year 4). This past year our worship settings included ELW Setting 8, Marty Haugen Evening Prayer

liturgy, WOV Setting 5, and ELW Setting 6. To become more familiar with various settings of the

hymnal, we decided to introduce a new setting to the congregation this past summer. We researched

various settings in the ELW and selected Setting 6 (a contemporary setting with more of a gospel style

of music.)

The members of the worship committee make sure musicians are scheduled for each service. We have

four keyboard accompanists that schedule themselves for various Sundays and special services

throughout the year. They are Julie Gappa, Patty Denson, Paula Przywojski, and Deb Welander. Barb

Dalton and Larry Dalton continue to provide instrumental music at our 8:00 am Sunday services.

Worship Band members consistent throughout this past year include Meredith Hink, Diane Meyer,

Deb Sullivan, Patty Denson, Jonah Denson, Julie Gappa, Terry Burt, Bill Ratekin, Angie Ratekin,

Heidi Hodgins, Brian Renkas, and Pastor Steve Meyer.

Our Journey Lutheran Choir provides anthems to enhance the worship experience for the parishioner.

Our choir sings most every Sunday from September through May. The choir is directed by Deb

Welander and accompanied by Julie Gappa. We are blessed and thankful to have a choir that is faithful

and committed to rehearse and share their talents for glorifying God.

Julie Gappa organizes and leads our Journey Young Adult Band. The Young Adult Band has had the

honor of leading music for various ELCA youth gatherings this year including CONFEST on

November 6, 2013. The band has also led several church services throughout the year at our own

congregation, including a special Christmas service on December 22, 2013.

We also recognize that we have many fine musicians that have blessed us with solos or ensembles

throughout the year and especially the Easter and Christmas seasons.

Our committee continues to take on the tasks of planning any special services, scheduling piano and

organ maintenance, update licensing for copyrights, and update Wedding and Funeral policies. We

introduced and ordered Eco-Palms this year. These palms are ordered from a partnership that promotes

environmental stewardship and fair trade. You can read more about them at www.ecopalms.org.

Journey Lutheran also is in partnership with our ELCA Holmen churches. We provide musicians at

various times for the outdoor summer services at Halfway Creek Lutheran and this year we hosted a

combined Thanksgiving Eve Service.

Reflecting on the past year, our worship and music ministries are vibrant, relevant, and continue to

grow because of our many dedicated musicians and parishioners in partnership in order to love and

serve God.

Respectfully submitted,

Debra Welander and Nancy Haese, Co-Chairs

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ALTER GUILD TEAM – Diane Hoch and Donnie Lee

The Altar Guild consists of 14 members. We are responsible for scheduling communion set-up and

clean- up for Sundays and special events, baking communion bread, changing the altar paraments

based on the church year, keeping oil in the altar candles, coordinating seasonal church decorating plus

many more behind the scenes services. Our goals for 2014 are to improve storage for our larger

banners, update our Church seasonal decorations and continue our collection of personal items for

New Horizons. A bin is designated in the Sacristy to collect full size shampoos, lotions, and personal

items needed when moving to their new residences. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful members

to our team. Check us out… All are welcome.

Diane Hoch, Co-Chair

NURSERY – Jessica Pehl

This was the first year of having a dedicated staffed nursery for Journey. I was hired as the nursery

coordinator in early 2013. I have owned and operated a state licensed childcare center for the last 15

years. Although the nursery is utilized, we would like to see more families use it if they need it. Feel

free to use it for a few minutes or for the entire service. The more you use the nursery, the more

comfortable your child will be with me. You can feel assured that your child will be in good hands

when in the nursery. We have seen that the majority of the use during the second service and will be

available from 9:00 am through the end of service. If there are no children in the nursery, I can be

found in the back row. Once numbers increase, I would like to have some volunteer assistants to help

out. If you are interested, please let me know.

Respectfully submitted,

Jessica Pehl

FINANCIAL SECRETARY - Doug Myhre

First, I want to thank all our members and active non-members for your offering contributions this past

year. It is through these contributions that Journey Lutheran is able to grow and expand its ministries.

Next, I want to thank the counting team who has come in faithfully on Monday mornings to count the

weekly offering. Besides me, the team includes: Jon Lindgren, Leah Wisnewski, Janet Kislinger, Jeff

Ilstrup, Bob Tracey, Donnie Lee, Jane Amundson, Karen Latsch, Ken Firl, Nancy Haese, Roger Yeske

and Carole Myhre. Jon, Leah, Janet, and Jeff take turns inputting the information into the offering

tallying program in the computer and the others take turns doing the counting and related tasks. I fill in

where ever needed.

Responsibilities of this position include scheduling and leading the weekly offering counting team,

preparing the weekly income financial reports, recording the weekly member offering in our church

contribution program, interfacing with Vanco (Simply Giving), preparing the annual financial

statements for the members, taking care of the envelope program, and any other related items. I

consider it a privilege to serve in this position. It is one that I enjoy doing.

Some interesting observations on 2013:

Our offerings totaled a little over $223,000.00 for 2013. (This includes the money that came in

through the offering envelopes, loose offering plate money, and Simply Giving). It does not

include funds received from miscellaneous sources.

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Our Simply Giving program grew in 2013 to about 35 units participating. This program

accounts for about 39% of our offering contributions for the year.

In addition, our Journey Forward program brought in over $166,000. Very impressive for a

program that is less than a year old.

Care Bear raised about $6,700 for outreach beyond our walls. Fantastic!

The above doesn’t cover everything but covers some of the highlights. We are truly a blessed church

with a passion for mission. If you have any questions in any of these areas, please feel free to talk to

me about them.

Doug Myhre , Financial Secretary

Fund Balance Dec. 31, 2012 Dec. 31, 2013 General Fund $ 14,955.82 $ 12,014.49 Designated Funds* $ 25,686.96 $ 12,423.96 (see below for breakdown) Journey Forward Fund 0 $ 27,385.59 TOTAL $ 40,642.78 $ 51,824.04

Borrowed from Reserve Fund -$ 6,700.00 -$ 20,000.00

*Designated Fund Balances Reserve Fund $ 1,374.54 (-$20,000) Choir Fund $ 491.24 Memorial Fund $ 921.28 Sabbatical Fund $ 2,705.05 Signage Fund $ 994.37 Stained Glass $ 1,500.00 Sunday School $ 168.87 Synod Outreach $ 1,791.21 Worship Fund $ 2,477.40 $ 12,423.96

Treasurer’s Report 2013 Income 2013 budgeted 2013 ACTUAL Proposed 2014

Regular Giving $225,000.00 $224,269.89 $232,000.00

Designated Giving $12,225.00 $16194.59 $14,550.00

Rent/Grants/etc. $800.00 $12,105.00 $34,450.00

Total Income $238,025.00 $252,569.48 $281,000.00

Expenses 2013 budgeted 2013 ACTUAL Proposed 2014

Benevolence $18,100.00 $18,970.67 $20,900.00

Staff $123,764.00 $123,435.53 $131,450.00

Facility $105,810.00 $100,088.54 $92,150.00

Ministry $23,340.00 $19,447.86 $24,500.00

Total Expenses $271,014.00 $261,943.60 $281,000.00

Net Income -$32,989.00 -$9,374.12 $0

Proposed Budget 2014

Income Regular Offering Income

Miscellaneous Labor Expenses

Undesignated Worship Offerings $232,000

Workers Comp. Insurance $850

Other Income

Payroll Expenses $10

Fellowship Offerings $900

Substitute Pastor $500

Pop Cans $400

Total Misc. Labor Expenses $1,360

Thrivent Choice Gifts $3,200

Facility Rental Income $850

Ministry Resources

Daycare Rental $33,600

Synod Assembly $600

Interest Earnings $50

Synod Conferences $600

Other Undesignated Gifts $2,500

Total Ministry Resource Expenses $1,200

Designated Gifts

Memorial Gifts $500

Office Support

Care Bear $7,000

Consumable Supplies $1,300

Total Income $281,000

Postage $150

Copier Monthly Use Fee $2,000

Expense

Office Equipment $500

Benevolence Expenses

Software $800

ELCA General (6% of Reg. offering) $13,900

Cell Phone $1,000

Care Bear $7,000

Internet Connection & web hosting $1,000

Total Benevolence Expense $20,900

Land Line $1,000

Staff

Total Office Support Expenses $7,750

Pastoral Staff

Pastor's Salary $46,400

Mortgage

Housing Allowance $13,920

Mortgage Interest $35,000

Pension & Health Ins. $26,224

Mortgage Payment $25,000

Employer FICA Tax $4,111

Total Mortgage Payments $60,000

Medical Reimbursement $800

Mileage & Travel Reimburse $500

Reserve Fund Repayment $12,000

Continuing Education $800

$12,000

Books & Publication Allowance $300

Ministry Teams

Total Pastoral Ministry Expenses $93,055

Faith Formation Team

Children's Ministry

Other Staff Ministry

Sunday School $300

Administrative Assistant Wages $20,020

Vacation Bible $300

(1/2 year part time and 1/2 year full time)

Youth Ministry

Employer FICA Tax $1,530

Confirmation $100

Benefits $3,300

Sugar Creek Camperships $1,500

Choir Director Wages $2,100

Chaperone Expenses $500

Employer FICA $160

Youth Meetings $500

Choir Accompanist $1,225

Adult Education

Youth Director Wages $2,600

Bible Study resources $250

Employer FICA $200

Devotional materials $150

Nursery $800

General Expenses

Organist-Pianist $3,600

Milestones $200

Staff Continuing Education $1,000

Bibles & Supplies $200

Staff Mileage $500

Total Faith Formation Expenses $4,000

Total Other Staff Ministry Expenses $37,035

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Fellowship Team

Refreshments $800

Agape Meal $200

Kitchen Supplies $200

Total Fellowship Expenses $1,200

Outreach Team

Advertising $1,500

Material & Supplies $1,500

Journey Fest $2,000

Total Outreach Expenses $5,000

Property Team

Property, Umbrella & Liability Insurance $4,800

Utilities $15,000

Supplies & Maintenance $1,750

Snow Removal $6,000

Equipment & Projects $3,800

Refuse $800

Total Property Expenses $32,150

Service Team

Service Projects $200

Caring Blankets $400

Holmen's Hope $200

Total Service Expenses $800

Stewardship Team

Offering Envelopes $600

Team Expenses $200

Total Stewardship Team $800

Worship Team

Equipment $100

Altar Guild supplies $500

Choir Music $250

Copyrights $950

Special Music $1,000

Piano-Organ Maint & Tuning $550

Youth Band $100

Flowers $300

Total Worship Expenses $3,750

Total Expense $281,000

A couple notes about the proposed budget: Last year was very challenging financially.

We faced a budget deficit of $32,989. Not only

did we whittle down the deficit and increase

our regular giving, but also gave $167,000

above and beyond to our Journey Forward

Fund. That is amazing. This year we are able

to offer a balanced budget which has built in

repayment to the Reserve Fund for the funds

we borrowed from ourselves, to keep the cash

flow we needed for operation.

The biggest changes come with increased

income due to Wiggles and Giggles and

decreased mortgage payments due to the

success of the Journey Forward Appeal.

We are committed to growing our benevolence

to ministries beyond our walls, so we have

increased the percent of our general giving

from 5.5% to 6%.

Salaries did not increase this year (although the

cost of benefits did). In lieu of any increase

Pastor Steve will be taking a little more time

off (one extra day each month).

The budget for the Administrative Assistant is

an estimate because the salary will depend

somewhat on experience, and we are not sure

when the position will be filled. Our plan is to

start the position at ¾ time and move to full-

time as resources allow, with partial benefits

this year and full benefits next year.