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2007 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

What a wonderful and busy year 2007 was! In preparing the agenda for our Annual Congregational Meeting Part I, I was reminded of how busy it was by the number of meeting minutes which needed to be approved:

- our congregational meetings Part I and Part II from 2006
- our meetings for the purpose of calling Pastor Jeff as our Associate Pastor
- the meeting to discuss the cell tower: My thanks to Tom Blehl for his help in reviewing the contract from Sprint/Nextel. Unfortunately, following that meeting I was informed by Sprint/Nextel that they no longer needed our property; they were going to negotiate directly with Progress Energy for the installation of the necessary equipment to the existing utility pole.

We have a lot of momentum going into 2008 from our efforts throughout 2007. This will be the second year of working with our Strategic Plan. The first year was new to us as we worked through the plan and completed quarterly ‘report cards” which were communicated to the congregation via the Salem Spirit and website. During our second year we should be able to put more of an emphasis on meeting our goals versus writing reports. Making more of a connection with each member of Salem through the Outcomes of our Strategic Plan is a major goal for us this year; Discipleship, Assimilation, Service and Hospitality.

I encourage each member of Salem to make a concerted effort to become involved this year. Your Mission Team along with the standing committees will be actively involved in looking for your participation in “sprinter” type projects versus “marathon” events. We will be actively searching for committee chairpersons as well as committee members. Come join us!

We continue to be blessed with a Spirit driven and passion filled staff along with dedicated and caring lay leadership. I thank God for each and every disciple who calls Salem home and for your involvement in the Mission and Ministry of our Lord here at Salem and also throughout the community and beyond.

In my report last year I talked about the challenge of staffing the nursery. I would like to thank Cori Adkins for coming forward and volunteering her time over the past 5 months in organizing the nursery space and developing a volunteer network to staff the nursery. I believe this ministry is vital to the growth of Salem, and encourage all of our members (with or without children) to consider becoming a volunteer in this effort. Please contact Cori or myself if you are interested.

The danger in listing highlights or thanking individuals is the possibility of missing something or someone, but with that in mind I would still like to mention just a few of the highlights from 2007:

• The gift of new bathrooms from the Erfurth family.
• The gift of having our church sign painted and refurbished.
• The gift of new choir robes from Maria Martins.
• A continued emphasis on the Word and Sacrament in our worship services.
• The many baptisms and weddings.
• The continued organization of existing space.
• The quality leadership of and work from all of our standing committees.
• The volunteers from our church family who are involved in many community organizations.
• The volunteers from our church family who work tirelessly and faithfully behind the scenes throughout the church.

Thank you, one and all, for your love of the Lord and for your church home…Salem Lutheran Church!

Yours in Discipleship,
Eric Schubert, Mission Team President