At their regular Congregation Council meeting in November the members discussed and voted on several issues of ministry.
FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN SUPPORT
The Haddonfield Council of Churches hosted a Feed My Starving Children mobile pack again at the Haddonfield Middle School on November 15-16 with the goal of packing 100,000 meals. The cost of the packing event is over $30,000 just for the materials and financial support is a big component of hosting the event. With the vacancy of the Haddonfield Community Caseworker not being filled before the end of the year, Gabby Berrios, chair of Social Ministry, moved to reallocate the $1,500 budgeted to support the Caseworker to provide support for the Mobile Pack. The Council approved the motion and also recommended the Memorial Gift Board support the contribution with matching funds at their meeting the following night (which they did at a 2:1 rate).
WEBSITE REFRESH AND UPGRADE
Lynn Block of the Centennial Anniversary Committee and chair of Justice and Peace provided a proposal to update and refresh our website to make it more visitor friendly and improve its functionality. While the Council reviewed a proposal by Evoke Engagement Group the proposal will require funding from Memorial Gifts before going forward. The refresh and upgrade are hoped to be accomplished by Easter 2025.
CHILD/YOUTH PROTECTION POLICY DRAFT
The Council received the first draft of a comprehensive children and youth protection policy recommended by the Christian Education ministry and heavily developed by Jess Arnold, Youth Ministry Developer. The Council will review the draft and provide edits and comments by the December meeting. The goal is to provide safeguards for the children and youth of the congregation with respect to the adult volunteers and staff working with them.
VENMO OR ZELLE AVAILABILITY FOR ELECTRONIC CONTRIBUTIONS
Concern was raised for providing members and guests who wish to contribute electronically to the ministry of Our Savior a means to do so that is easier and more readily available for most potential contributors than our current Simply Giving (offered by Vanco) option. The Congregation Resources Ministry will investigate how this might be a possibility going forward and will have potential options by early in the new year.
