Though rescheduled due to inclement weather, the Great Room at St. Andrew was filled for a Member’s Meeting on January 27, 2019. Attendees enjoyed lunch together after which the meeting was convened by Glen Harvell, Chair of our Board of Directors, who introduced Board members who were present and gave thanks for those who completed their terms of service.
Pastor Hricko gave an overview of St. Andrew’s growth in membership and worship attendance during the previous year and offered three specific reports:
- HOWARD COUNTY MISSION – The community-building Bible studies continue in Ellicott City with more than 50 total participants and an average weekly attendance of about 25. The group has also supported some local food drives to make our presence known. While we currently lack adequate staffing to move forward with worship opportunities and other ministries, we have been blessed by the spirit of the gathering group, which will adjourn during Lent and resume after Easter.
- ETHIOPIAN OUTREACH – Pastor Hricko introduced Mengeshe Gella, who will be serving as an outreach intern at St. Andrew for one year which began on February 1. Mengeshe recently graduated from Concordia College-New York with a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership. The internship is part of his continuing education. In the coming months he will be leading programs and facilitating adjustments to our mission strategies for reaching members of the Ethiopian community around St. Andrew. Pastor Million will continue to offer pastoral care and support. With the discovery of our Ethiopian members’ affinity for our 11 am service, the Amharic service has evolved into a prayer fellowship gathering for those who attend.
- CENTER FOR CONTEXTUAL LEADERSHIP – Pastor Hricko applied for and received a $10,00 grant for St. Andrew from the Kern Foundation, with which he will facilitate a feasibility study and the potential development of a large grant proposal to fund the academic programs of Concordia College-New York coupled with leadership development experiences for cohorts of Christian students in Atlanta, Georgia and also here at St. Andrew. The coupling of academic study and leadership development for service to the church is known as the Center for Contextual Leadership. Progress on the development of the vision will be reported to the Board of Directors and to all members of St. Andrew as the discernment process continues.
Two additional reports were made at the meeting:
- CALL COMMITTEE – Stan Jackson represented our Call Committee, which has been focused on a process for calling a new seminary graduate of Concordia Seminary-St. Louis to serve as our Associate Pastor. As Stan indicated to attendees, Pastor Hricko traveled to the seminary to interview four candidates, after which two were subsequently interviewed via Skype by the Call Committee. The Call Committee made a prayerful recommendation for action by the voting members of St. Andrew on March 3 and 4.
- FUNDING THE MISSION – Treasurer Bruce Winter offered a financial review and update of our Christian stewardship and management of God’s resources during 2018 and thanked members for their faithful and generous support of our mission and ministry. He also outlined the possibility of significant upcoming financial challenges this year that might include added pastoral salary expenses; the anticipated reset of our church mortgage rate; and major commitments to new initiatives related to the Howard County mission, Ethiopian outreach, and much needed parking expansion at New Hampshire Avenue, as God leads us.
Questions, comments, and prayer concluded the Member’s Meeting. More detailed information is available from Glen Harvell, Pastor Hricko, or any member of the Board of Directors.