Check In & Prayer: Anonymous, Arthur, Bohdan, Ed, Melanie, Brian were present. Anonymous opened with prayer.

Minutes from the January Meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report:  Detail will be sent by email. Balance is roughly $2300 in checking account. The bills are paid, no extraordinary expenses. Newsletter bill is paid. Question about how to handle the retreat account.

Coordinator’s report: The Conference planning committee has been very active. There is a committee member who is a CPA and is in recovery who volunteered to handle conference finances. They opened an account at a bank near Ed’s church under the auspices of the FRLC, using the FRLC EIN number. Ed and Arthur are the signers on the account, although Ed cannot write checks to himself. The CPA is overseeing it and will assist in the tax reporting. It was moved to approve this arrangement for the conference and for Brian to close the additional account he began for this purpose. Brian will send the money designated for the conference to Ed to deposit in this account. The recent mailing was for the conference and was paid for out of the general funds. Brian will take that amount out of the conference donations and send the balance to Ed to be deposited in the conference account. Past retreats have been funded by participants, so it makes sense to keep these funds separate. The motion was approved.

We have about $20,000 on hand for the conference so far. There was a mailing to the FRLC to come a day early, stay a day late and help facilitate the conference, also encouragement to give financial support to the conference.  We received a gift from a church for $500 to help sponsor the conference almost immediately. Roger is making personal calls to about 40 FRLC members to follow up on the letter.

We spent $10,000 on promotion, including a full page ad in the Phoenix Spirit https://thephoenixspirit.com/  for June/July, a two month contract with Living Lutheran (July & August) for half page ads and possibly an article to go with them, and an e-blast to the Christian Century email list that went out today. The Minneapolis area Synod is working with Ed on an article, Ed and Gretchen E. are working on an article for Caring Connections, targeting Lutheran Chaplains and others. We wrote grant applications to Thrivent ($5,000) and Minneapolis Synod for $20,000. Ed has filmed two promotional videos which are being shared on FaceBook and other places. The planning committee has been attending many church and recovery events giving presentations and hosting display tables.

We have received a grant for 10 scholarships, primarily for parish nurses, and are working on guidelines for the scholarships. We are encouraging people to ask their church to help sponsor them also.

There is a volunteer working with the conference FaceBook page, and another volunteer working with the hotel and utilization of space. We have over 40 registrations at present. It is amazing, exciting, and we are really feeling the Spirit!

The article in the Living Lutheran on the opioid crisis was noted.

When we get together in the fall, come with ideas on next steps for the FRLC. Is it a new direction or a one-time thing? Please start thinking about our vision for the Fellowship. Could this become an annual event? Is that too much? Do we want to think about doing it regionally? Do we want to approach the ELCA about a position to develop recovery ministry in the ELCA?

Arthur shared his experience promoting the conference at his church. Their Addictions Awareness team advocated for it and the congregation voted to fund some scholarships. It was interested to hear the discussion and to have regular church members discuss it and promote it. Lay people in recovery will give us a much broader reach. This experience could be replicated in other churches—encourage churches to send a couple lay leaders as well as the pastor. A team can have a much larger impact. He suggested a “how to promote this in your congregation” link on our website. We are figuring it out as we go.

Ed will send a detailed list of grants and contributions to the board along with our “break even” number (the number of registrations needed to pay our expenses).

We are appreciative of the good work Ed, Arthur and the planning committee are doing. 

Old Business: September retreat: see above.

New Business:  Next meeting date: Thursday July 5, 12:00 pm MDT/1:00 pm CDT/11:00 pm PDT/2:00 pm EDT

FRLC Board Meeting Minutes

Thursday, January 11, 2018

12:00 pm MDT/1 pm CDT/11:00 am PDT/2:00 pm EDT

            Check In & Prayer: Ed, Arthur, K., Melanie, Brian were present. Arthur opened with prayer.

Minutes The minutes of the December meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report: was received by email. We had some nice donations at the end of the year and are in a much better place financially, with a balance of $  2467.29. God is blessing us richly! Brian will have a year-end report next month. Ed has another $300 to send, including a personal check from a bishop.

Coordinator’s report: Ed has been doing the routine items, mostly responding to correspondence. There was a recent retreat planning meeting that was not well attended. He will be working to pull it back together. He meets with Meredith next week and has a list to work on with her.  He is asking for approval to go live and enter the promotional stage. They are taking Lori Swanson off the conference schedule as she did not respond to the email about the new date. Ed will let her know. The two local bishops will send representatives as our date conflicts with the Conference of Bishops meeting. We are thinking of acknowledging the presence of these representatives but not calling on them to speak. Bishop Lull said “every bishop will want to send someone” and will promote it with the bishops. Ed will be laying out a promotional plan with Meredith. We received $4,600 where were memorial gifts designated to conference, so we have some seed money. There is a graphic artist who is willing to design materials for the event. Everyone on the board will need to register and bring others. Ed is going to challenge us and remind us as a part of the promotional plan. Ed will follow up on the PayPal button for the website. The conference website has a place for people to offer scholarships to help others attend. We could approach congregations regarding providing scholarship money as well. There is a group of spiritual directors from Loyola which Ed’s wife is a part of. They have committed to offer spiritual direction at the conference at no charge to participants. The group is excited to do this!

Our grant writing partner sent information about a national webinar. Drew Brooks, the director of  Faith Partners is one of the presenters. One of our former board members, Al Dungan, was active with this group. Drew met with Ed about the conference and is excited about it. Faith Partners is a possible cosponsor and Drew will be a panelist at one of the workshops. Met with Ed and really excited about it.

Old Business: Melanie sent the grant proposal regarding funding the conference to the Deaconess Community. She will sent a copy to the board. We are asking for $20,000, the full amount of grant support that Ed budgeted for. The Deaconess Community will inform us if we are invited to submit a full proposal by the end of the month.

New Business: Neither Ed nor Bohdan will be here on the scheduled date of the next meeting. We will meet on Thursday, February 15 instead.

Next meeting Thursday February 15, 2018 following the recovery meeting 11:00 am PDT/12:00 pm MDT/1 pm CDT/2:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm

FRLC Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

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

            Check In & Prayer: Brian, Bohdan, Ed, Kirk, Tom, & Melanie were present. Tom opened in prayer.

Minutes from the September meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report There is $647.68 left in our account, which is about two month’s operating expenses. The detailed report will be sent by email. The expenses for the Rostered Leader Gathering have been paid. Information was sent to set up the PayPal account but it has not been confirmed. The website has been turned over to the person working on the retreat and it may have gotten lost in the transition. Ed will send us information when the transition to the new website is completed.

            Coordinator’s report We need a financial appeal and newsletter. T. moved, K. seconded that we send an appeal in a newsletter. It will reduce our balance to one month’s expenses in reserve, but without it there is little chance of improvement. It would help if the board all became sustaining members, giving monthly. The appeal letter will ask for a monthly commitment. A question was asked if an email appeal would accomplish this purpose for less money. The e-blasts reach a small percent of the membership and have not been nearly as effective. An e-blast went out recently and was received by several people. The motion passed. The treasurer will draft an appeal letter.

            The coodinator was contacted by an LCMS spouse asking for support. She found us through the website. John W. (who says hi) has followed up with her. We continue to relevant and needed.

Old Business:

Lay Fellowship retreat: The local planning group has been working with the new person on website and clarifying the focus. The new date is finalized, September 28-30, 2018. Rooms will be $5/night more. All speakers are confirmed with the new dates. This gives us more time to prepare and do it well. We need 100 participants minimum to break even. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul Synod staff think this is doable.

There is a member of the planning group researching grant possibilities and Melanie’s grant writing contact agreed to assist us. Ed and Melanie will discuss how this might work later. We need to go out and start recruiting sponsors.

Our marketing person asked when we want registrations to open and close. We are looking for more information on common practices. Possibly six to nine months in advance? As soon as everything is lined up? It was suggested that we need to have funding in place, to get half of our estimated costs, $20,000-25,000, to pay for marketing and advance expenses. The time is right for this conference—there is a lot of positive interest.

Kirk closed us in prayer.

Next meeting: November 1, 2017 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

            Check In & Prayer: Brian, Bohdan, Ed, Kirk, Tom, & Melanie were present. Tom opened in prayer.

Minutes from the September meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report There is $647.68 left in our account, which is about two month’s operating expenses. The detailed report will be sent by email. The expenses for the Rostered Leader Gathering have been paid. Information was sent to set up the PayPal account but it has not been confirmed. The website has been turned over to the person working on the retreat and it may have gotten lost in the transition. Ed will send us information when the transition to the new website is completed.

            Coordinator’s report We need a financial appeal and newsletter. Tom moved, Kirk seconded that we send an appeal in a newsletter. It will reduce our balance to one month’s expenses in reserve, but without it there is little chance of improvement. It would help if the board all became sustaining members, giving monthly. The appeal letter will ask for a monthly commitment. A question was asked if an email appeal would accomplish this purpose for less money. The e-blasts reach a small percent of the membership and have not been nearly as effective. An e-blast went out recently and was received by several people. The motion passed. The treasurer will draft an appeal letter.

            The coodinator was contacted by an LCMS spouse asking for support. She found us through the website. John W. (who says hi) has followed up with her. We continue to relevant and needed. 

Old Business:

Conference planning: The local planning group has been working with the new person on website and clarifying the focus. The new date is finalized, September 28-30, 2018. Rooms will be $5/night more. All speakers are confirmed with the new dates. This gives us more time to prepare and do it well. We need 100 participants minimum to break even. Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul Synod staff think this is doable.

There is a member of the planning group researching grant possibilities and Melanie’s grant writing contact agreed to assist us. Ed and Melanie will discuss how this might work later. We need to go out and start recruiting sponsors.

Our marketing person asked when we want registrations to open and close. We are looking for more information on common practices. Possibly six to nine months in advance? As soon as everything is lined up? It was suggested that we need to have funding in place, to get half of our estimated costs, $20,000-25,000, to pay for marketing and advance expenses. The time is right for this conference—there is a lot of positive interest.

Kirk closed us in prayer.

Next meeting: November 1, 2017 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm

FRLC Board Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

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

            Check In & Prayer Melanie, Arthur, Kirk, Ed

            Approval of Minutes from July Meeting approved

Treasurer’s report: received by email. Current balance is $1166.33.

            Coordinator’s report: He is putting together a packet to send to Dave to take to the Rostered Leaders Gathering with ten books and “here’s what we have so far” information about the retreat. Everything isn’t confirmed yet but at least people can know that it is coming.

Mostly he has been working on the plans for the conference. He is negotiating the contract with the hotel to reduce our exposure, trying to get it as low as possible. The hotel said it is easier to add numbers and services than subtract them. There will be less meals included in the registration, although we would need to have Friday dinner and Saturday lunch included since the keynote speakers are scheduled to present at those meals.

The Minneapolis and St. Paul Synods have agreed to be sponsors. Both bishops will speak at the event. Fairview Health Services of Minnesota has agreed to be a cosponsor. They are an interfaith organization and asked if it was strictly a Lutheran event. Our keynote speakers include a Lutheran, a Christian of unknown denominational affiliation and a Muslim and the disease is not limited to Lutherans by any means so he said it is not strictly Lutheran. This expands our potential reach. The Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is putting out a white paper on addiction, so we are inviting her to speak also.

The board was invited to look at the website and give feedback. It is www.addictionandfaith2018.org While it is a work in progress it looks really good! Ed has had to make some decisions and set the early bird registration price for $288. Hotel costs will be in addition to registration. They will be about $95/night and you can have as many people in a room as you want for that price. There were several questions: would there be a price without meals? We don’t know yet but since the keynote speakers are at the meals it seems unlikely. An option for clergy that don’t want to miss Sunday morning? They could just take in the keynote speakers. The registration is not operational yet. Ed will let us know when it is ready.

There will be a barrage of publicity when it is all ready, including the ELCA pages on FaceBook, e-blasts and a newsletter.

There will be a retreat for the FRLC before and after the main event. There will be separate publicity for this part. It will begin Thursday night with welcome, dinner out and a 12 step meeting. On Friday, there will be breakfast together then we will go over retreat assignments, have some free time, then begin work at the Conference. We will be looking for people to do tasks like registration, ushering, and so forth. The FRLC event will continue Sunday following some free time. We will debrief the conference, have the annual business meeting and begin planning our next steps. Recovering clergy who are willing to do this will have a significant registration discount for the conference, possibly $200. And pastors who don’t want to do this are certainly welcome to pay the full price and attend the conference.

Old Business:

Lay Fellowship retreat and newsletter were covered in the above discussion.

PayPal button on website: Kirk will follow up and see if the treasurer would like his assistance.

New Business:

ELCA Rostered Leaders Gathering Affinity Group: there was discussion and no decision on how to pay the $245 registration fee for Dave.

Next meeting: September 6, 2017 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm

Present: Roger, Bohdan, Brian, Kirk, Ed

Everyone checked in. Roger opened the meeting with prayer.

Minutes from May & June Meetings were approved.

Treasurer’s report: Not a lot to report. The email with the detailed report will be sent soon. There were no out of the ordinary income or expenses. The current balance is $1163.62.

PayPal button on Website – Brian looked at a few sites but hadn’t made progress. He will set up a PayPal account as a non-profit and get the information to Bea. Kirk can help after his vacation is over at the end of July.

Coordinator’s report: He has mostly been focusing on the 2018 retreat. The planning group has been meeting weekly. Roger is on it from the board. Ed sent the contract with hotel. Some of us did not get it, so he will resend it to Bohdan & Melanie. Please review it asap—it will be discussed at the meeting tomorrow. Three key note speakers have contracts, some have been paid a deposit. The retreat website is ready to launch. It will allow for registration online. He is getting event insurance from Church Mutual to cover any liability. The bishops of the Minneapolis & St Paul Synods are in support of the retreat. The planning group is working on the workshop plans. Publicity will begin soon. We will have a newsletter next month that will have the information on the retreat. Ed will let us know when we can look at the website and give feedback before it goes out to the public. It would be helpful if a couple of us could register also to test it before it goes out to the public. There will be a reduced rate for “early bird” registration. All of the board members are asked to get ten people to register. Request that we all think and pray about who to invite to the retreat and get ten people. The focus of the retreat is broader than an AA event, including how we might respond to the opiate crisis and tools for recovery ministry for churches. We would like to get CEU’s for health care professionals if we can find someone who can help us do it.

Old Business:

Newsletter: It brings in income but covers the cost not much else. The Coordinator suggested doing an appeal for more significant gifts of a couple hundred dollars. We concluded that the appeal could go in the next issue with the publicity about the retreat and ask for support that we might continue to do the kind of work that is leading to the retreat. We could announce the PayPal option in the newsletter. There will be a link on our website to retreat site and an invitation to support the FRLC. Ed is thinking that the person who is doing the retreat website might be willing to take on the one for the FRLC later.

New Business:

Expenses for ELCA Rostered Leaders Gathering: Dave C. is attending. Ed asked him to make a specific request for financial support which has not been received. Melanie will email him with information about our finances and let him know we would consider a specific request if received by the August board meeting.

New schedule for the Thursday Meetings: Melanie is working on it. It will be complete by

the end of July.

Next meeting: August 2, 2017 2:00 pm MDT/2 pm CDT/1:00 pm PDT/3:00 pm EDT 12:00 pm