FRLC Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

2:00 pm MDT/3 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/4:00 pm EDT

            Present: Bohdan, Melanie, Ed, Tom

Check In & Prayer

The Minutes from the May meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report: The checking account balance is $ 1355.51 and there were no out of the ordinary expenses. Thank you to Brian for writing our new 7^th tradition announcement. It has been posted on the website and incorporated into the meeting format and is being read at our Thursday recovery meetings.

            Coordinator’s report He sent out emails with an article and information about the Schwans’ campaign, then found the phone number listed on the email was incorrect. He sent out a corrected version after learning that. He has the material for the next newsletter ready to go.

There has not  been a lot of response to the Schwan’s campaign so far.  He continues to receive phone and email inquiries regarding the FRLC.  The Thursday phone meeting is going well. We received a check from our book publisher for 86 cents!  We have also received about $500 more in donations, which have been forwarded to the treasurer but do not appear on this month’s report.

Lay fellowship: our coordinator has a lot of passion for this project. He plans to develop a business plan and seek funding to support his giving the necessary time to develop it. He has spoken with a pastor who started a recovery ministry in Minneapolis area, although he is not in recovery himself. It was probably the most successful Lutheran recovery ministry in the area; however, the pastor has moved on to another call. Ed and his intern attended this gathering recently. Ed had an opportunity to discuss this project with the Wheatridge representative at a conference for pastors of large churches. Ed pitched the new Fellowship, and initially got the same response as in the grant rejection letter. Ed challenged him and explained it more fully, and felt like they may be more open to considering a new request. He has had conversations with two pastors at “leading” churches in the Minneapolis area who he would like to invite to be on the board for the new group. This could be helpful for grant applications.

Ed’s congregation has begun the call process with his intern. He has also begun the process to bring on another pastor half time, allowing him to cut back to half time also in order to develop the lay fellowship. He shared experiences with the recovery series and Conscious Contact meeting at his church. This summer they may try a drive in movie night showing a recovery movie with Conscious Contact meeting beforehand. They are trying to find ways to keep participants connected with the group and the church.

The board discussed possible nationally known speakers for an initial retreat who would draw people to the event. Suggestions include  Anne Lamott, Nadia Bolz-Weber and Melanie Beatty. John MacDougall was mentioned along with the concern that he might not be a draw to the people who have attended the series at their church. Melanie reported on her conversation with Nadia at a recent event. Her schedule is booked until 2016, although she sometimes does pro-bono events for recover. Melanie will complete the webform to explore whether Nadia would be available at a 2016 date. Ed would appreciate suggestions of anyone who would be a draw for you.

Old Business:

Melanie received a response from Cheryl P. to an inquiry about her progress in disseminating copies of our books to the Lutheran seminaries. She has been taking the time to identify individuals at each seminary to give the books to who will actually get them placed in the library. Her email was forwarded to Board members. Melanie thanked her for her efforts.

Next meeting: July 8, 2015 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm