Congregational Life and Outreach Committee Minutes

Tuesday, August 11, 2009  7:00 p.m.

 MINUTES

Present:  Carissa Brealey-Rood, Cindy Tafoya, Larry Felhauer, Pat Felhauer, Donna Mathis, Kathy Story

 NOTES:  (1)  There are no minutes from the July CL&O meeting, as we were locked out of the building at our scheduled meeting time.  We met informally outside to coordinate all immediate business/events, but did not take minutes. (2)  Carissa Brealey changed her last name and is now Carissa Brealey-Rood.  New e-mail address is Carissa.Brealey-Rood@gdc4s.com

 Meeting opened and closed in prayer.

 1.      Blessing of the Backpacks

a.       Will take place this Sunday during the 10:30 worship service.  Larry will coordinate with Robert McPherson about someone taking photos.

b.      Backpack tags will be handed out to each child. 

c.       Ice cream cups will be handed out during fellowship hour.  Larry will make a quick announcement at the beginning of service.  We plan to provide ~100 ice cream cups. 

d.      In Betweeners are hosting fellowship and ice cream will be in addition to the regular snacks/drinks.

2.      Visitors’ Gift Bags

a.       Pat and Larry reported that the bags are ready and they will be leaving six at each door with the greeters starting this week.

b.      Larry will print out signs to hang up that say something to the effect, “First time visitors, please see usher for your free gift.”

c.       Eventually we’d like to train all elders, deacons, greeters, etc. on receiving these guests.

d.      Larry will send an e-mail to everyone on Session asking that they be prepared to visit with newcomers and wear a name tag.

3.      Las Cruces Bulletin Magazine

a.       We all looked over our new ad in the first edition of the Las Cruces Bulletin Magazine.  It looks wonderful!

4.      Fall Events

a.       We currently have no events on the calendar for the rest of the year. 

b.      Kathy Story suggested we host a Thanksgiving dinner on or around November 15^th and invite college students from the university.  We will look into advertising in The Round Up, flyers on campus, contacting David Sallee at The Bridge, etc.

c.       Perhaps a back to school ice cream social?  Good idea, but maybe not enough time to put together and get the word out?

d.      World Communion Sunday on Oct. 4^th

                                                                           i.      International potluck right after church

                                                                         ii.      Breads of the world and tablecloths for communion during worship (need to coordinate with M&W committee)

5.      Past Events

a.       July summer movie:  Bedtime Stories.  Rusty reported we had attendance of ~15 people, which is very good for this event.

b.      August summer movie:  Inkheart. Locked out of church/cinema.  Had to send one grandmother and her three grandkids home disappointed.

6.      Church Website

a.       Larry spent 2.5-3 hours visiting with Alex Burr about giving our website a facelift.  We believe an up-to-date and welcoming website is critical to outreach.

b.      Alex shared several very good ideas on how to improve the website, but expressed frustration that no one gives him anything to post on the website to keep it current or gives him specific suggestions for improvements.  CL&O would like to see each committee take responsibility for a regular (monthly?) contribution.

c.       Alex also suggested we get our own site instead of having Zianet continue to host ours.  The general consensus of CL&O is in agreement with this.  For what we pay Zianet, we could have our own independent site.  Larry will invite Alex to an upcoming committee meeting so we can discuss our options in greater detail with him.

7.      Reviewed Budget

8.      Reminder:  We’re responsible for prayer/devotional/snacks at the upcoming Session meeting.  Carissa will provide devotional, Larry will provide snacks, Donna will be out of town.

 Submitted by Carissa Brealey-Rood

August 17, 2009

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Last update 2009-08-18 22:18:22