Present: Beth, Bohdan, Karen, Ed, Tom & Melanie

Check In & Prayer: Karen opened in prayer

Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting MSP to approve.

 

Treasurer’s report Beth discussed the questions donations last month to the Conference vs. the FRLC with Louise. The balances will be reported later. Beth is resigning from her position as treasurer and from the board due to being overcommitted. We thanked her for her service.

 

            Coordinator’s report: His activities on behalf of the FRLC were about the same this month. A lot of his attention has been on developing the new ministry. His congregation approved his moving to half-time as of February 1.

The Center of Addiction and Faith has begun the 501C3 application process, including developing their constitution and bylaws and putting together a board. They have enlisted a website development company to put together a robust website which would house groups like FRLC and RMEC, and offer resources such as videos from conference and podcasts. Their goals include hosting an Annual Conference and possibly regional conferences. They are working on grants and fund raising with an organization that works with new non-profits–Interest Curve Global.

Ed shared that John Johnson the ELCA lobbyist who presented at the 2019 A & F Conference, wanted a copy of the video of Sam Simons presentation. Ed got a waiver from Sam and forwarded it to John. Right after he received it, he was called by Bishop Eaton who asked what the church can do about opioids. His response to her included the work we are doing and we will be mentioned in the materials that Churchwide is developing.

Ed will be hosting a table for FRLC and the Center for Addiction & Faith at the ELCA Rostered Leaders gathering along with offering 12 step meetings. He will be sending information to FRLC members inviting them to stop by.

The next Addiction & Faith Conference will be the end of the 1^st or 2^nd week of February 2021. It will be midweek, from Thursday evening to Saturday morning. Both clergy and vendors will be better served by this schedule. Many vendors take Saturday’s off, so the Friday-Sunday schedule asked them to give up their personal time.

The idea of a cruise in the fall of 2020 is on hold. We need to focus on the vision for the FRLC at this time. Ed has some ideas regarding how we might grow and be a resource to the larger church. In working with others in the field, he has learned that there is a need for support for clergy in recovery in other denominations.

Each person on the call offered their thoughts about opening up the FRLC to clergy from other denominations. We would need to remove “Lutheran” from our name and meeting materials. The feeling was generally positive. Some would mourn the loss of what we have been, but we need a more sustainable model. There was a concern that we have more of a mainline focus. We can indicate this subtly through the language we use. We need to get together as a fellowship to think about this and process it. What ramifications do we need to consider? Options were discussed and we are leaning toward doing it in conjunction with the Rostered Leaders Gathering. Several board members plan to come. Ed will send out an email regarding meeting at that Gathering there to discuss the future direction of the fellowship. This may be an opportunity to leverage our new ministry and reach out to other clergy.

We will also take a group conscious with the participants in the Thursday meetings about turning into the FRLC into an ecumenical group.

We are out of money for the stipend, so Ed is volunteering his time at present. Appreciation was expressed for the recent e-blast he sent out.

 

New Business:

Tom Martin was nominated for treasurer. He agreed to serve.

 

Setting up Zoom Meetings: Melanie will look into doing it. Bohdan will help as needed.

 

 

Ed closed the meeting in prayer.