Welcome to St. Jacob's Lutheran Church

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for September:
• Dr. Eric Riesen, President of the NALS visited with St. Jacob’s Sept.26th.
• Good attendance at the first G.I.F.T. Sunday School Class. (Actually, Oct. 3rd.)
• Ladies Bible Study (that Rachel started) is going well.

Council Briefs:
• Robert L. Ziemer has accepted the position of Treasurer for St. Jacob’s and approved by Council.
• Pastor announced that the NALC has approved reinstituting the position of “Elder” in our congregations. At least three individuals at St. Jacob’s will be chosen by the pastor and trained to preside at table in the pastor’s absence.
• We have only three candidates for 2022 Council WE NEED AT LEAST TWO MORE volunteers!

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for August:
• Carroll and Sherrie did a great job filling in for Pastor
• Good attendance at the “farewell reception” for Rachel
• Good to have choir back in the service, welcome to new member Tommy

Council Briefs:
• Building Team received the final drawings on the Parking Lot Project along with estimate of cost increases, and recommends that Council bring the new estimated costs to the congregation.
• New Confirmation Class begins Sept. 12th, 2021 with two confirmands.
• Carolinas Mission Region Annual Convocation will be September 24th -25th at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Gastonia, NC.
• Rev. Dr. Eric Riesen, President of NALS ,will be visiting with us and will preach on Sunday, September 26th. He will lead a discussion in the Fellowship Hall during the Sunday School hour.
• Homecoming Sunday is October 10th, with Pastor Marty Ramey as our guest preacher. There will be NO meal on Homecoming Sunday.
• Pastor Nuottila will be on vacation October 11th through October 25th.
• On Sunday, October 3rd, there will be one Sunday School class for all ages in the Fellowship Hall.
• There will be only one usher on Sundays, and the offering plate will be placed on the table at the entrance of the Sanctuary.

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for July:
• A member returned to St. Jacobs, welcome to Tommy Faulk.
• VBS was a huge success!
• The disaster relief collection was quite successful.
• A lot of members were on hand to congratulate the graduates at the reception following the service.

Council Briefs:
• New Sunday Services Schedule: Sunday School at 9:00 AM and Worship at 10:00 AM.
• Saint Jacob’s Homecoming date set for October 10th .
• We regretfully accepted the resignation of Walt Shealy as Treasurer, effective the end of July.
• We are in the process of seeking someone to accept the duties of Treasurer for St. Jacob’s.
• Team Leaders – we need your budget requests for year 2022 in order to begin preparing the new spending plan.
The Nominating Committee is now seeking nominations for Council for year 2022.

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for May.
• Tape is off the pews!
• It is good to stand and sing again.
• Our services feel more like normal (good!)

COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS.
• St. Jacob’s Church Council will be preparing and serving the meal for VBS on Wednesday evening, June 23rd.
• The Building Team has been delayed due to get-ting certified drawings completed. There are some small changes being made now and the Team will hopefully have finalized drawings in hand soon and can put them out for bids.

1. Attendance is up.
2. Easter gatherings were joyful and well attended.
3. Pews opened up (less restrictions).

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for April:
• Lenten Services and Palm Sunday services were great.
• Easter Sunday attendance was 150.
• Children’s Choir Bells on Maundy Thursday and again on Easter were excellent!

Council Briefs:
• Building Team is progressing with the renovation plan.
• VBS planning is underway!
• The Kibler Genealogy Annual Meeting is planned for Oct. 15th -16th in the Fellowship Hall.
• The TV in the Nursery will be upgraded for viewing the service being broadcast.

Good Things at St. Jacob’s for February:
• Congregational Meeting to Receive Reports
• Dixon’s friend graduated Navy boot-camp!
• Youth did a wonderful job in assisting worship on Youth Sunday
Council Highlights for March, 2021:
• Building Team is making progress on Parking Lot and Renovations
• Looking for volunteers to assist Kelly in the Nursery during 8:30 AM service
• Christian Education Team hosting an Easter Egg hunt on March 27th at 10:00 AM
• Plans underway for VBS on June 21-24, 2021. Volunteers will be needed!
• The OWL program has started up again and more adult volunteers are needed
• The Young Adult Bible Class will begin meeting again in a room downstairs.

St. Jacob’s Church Council met for its regular meeting on December 8, 2020.

Good Things @ St. Jacob’s for November:
• Service music has been great; Sarah is wonderful
• TV installed in Fellowship Hall for overflow capacity
• 258 lbs of food donated to We Care for Thanksgiving
• Sunday School has been a pleasure to have again

Important Notes and Dates:
• Congregation voted to approve Parking Lot/Portico Addition as presented, details to follow. Construction is slated to begin late January to early February 2021, permits and weather permitting.
• Children’s Program has been cancelled due to Virus
• Christmas Caroling has been cancelled due to Virus
• Dec. 21 – Blue Christmas Live Stream, no in person service; online only
• Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve worship (2 services); sign up sheets in Narthex, only 50 people allowed per service
• Dec. 25 – Christmas Morning Worship
• Dec. 27 – Council installation
• Jan 8-9; proposed Council Retreat
• Please check Facebook page and/or Website for updates to church activities and functions

Next regularly scheduled Council meeting is proposed for 8-9 January 2021; verification to follow. Respectfully submitted,

Andrew J. (A.J.), Secretary St. Jacob’s Church Council

Our meeting will be held on Sunday, December 6th at 10 AM. We will not have an early service or Sunday School. Please see the Council Briefs write up on page 5 to see what will be occurring that day.