Council Update

Greetings Oak Knoll!

I’m still experiencing the excitement of a truly beautiful Easter celebration, following an equally beautiful, but reverent Holy Week. I am so grateful to all who made it happen. Of course, our pastors, but also the dozens of volunteers who pitch in to make it perfect: the ushers, the readers, the prayer leaders, the communion servers and preparers, the folks who decorate the sanctuary and of course, our wonderful musicians. What beautiful music we heard all week!

At our council meeting on April 15th, Pastor Jay led us in an asset mapping exercise. This allowed us to explore all the wonderful things about both the Oak Knoll community, and the neighborhood that surrounds us. It allowed us to think about more ways we can connect with that neighborhood, building on our already successful neighborhood meals.

Speaking of that, our next Neighborhood Meal will include a bubble party on May 7th. We need volunteers and financial support to make it a success. We hope many of you can join us to help, but also to party and blow some bubbles!

Led by Clay Haapala, the council continues to work on guidelines for interacting with  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should they choose to enter our church or our preschool. Next steps will include discussions with key staff members. The Council also discussed adding an additional support to our music program. There is money already in the budget for an eight hour/week assistant for Matt Cerar. Matt has been doing double duty for some time now. Do any of you know how hard it is to direct a choir and play the piano or organ simultaneously!? Matt and Pastor Jay will begin the hiring process for this position soon.

Council will take a little break in May and plan to have a combined May/June meeting on June 11th.

I hope you all find time to enjoy the spring weather that I’m hoping is just around the corner. See you in worship!

Warmly,

Marget Schmidtke, 2025 Congregational Council President