Annual Meeting 2020

12-1pm Sunday, February 2 | Advent Lutheran Church

Overview

What will we vote on?

1. Approve 2019 Annual Meeting minutes (coming soon)

2. Approve 2020 Budget - Learn more >

3. Elect Council Members: 2 new nominees, and 2 returning - Read their bios >

4. Re-Extend Call to Deacons Adolfo and Carlos - Learn more >

5. Accept Immigration Welcome Center grant - Learn more >

What else will be presented?

1. Strategic Planning & Ministry Updates (To celebrate! Learn more >)

2. Two Partnerships: AMMPARO & Emmaus Collective (Learn more >)

3. A proposal to review and update Advent’s constitution to current ELCA guidelines (To be introduced, and voted on at a later congregational meeting. Learn more >)

4. A proposed schedule of finance & building meetings for 2020 (To take home, give feedback. Learn more > )

What if I have a resolution to add?

Do you have something you’d like to add to our meeting agenda? Please submit any resolutions here as soon as possible, and no later than Sunday, January 26. This will allow at least one week to translate materials and plan our meeting schedule intentionally.

 Details

2020 Budget

Join us to review our draft 2020 Budget at our Financial Update Meeting offered at 10am & 12pm on Sunday, January 19. This is an opportunity for all members to ask questions and provide feedback. The congregation will vote on an amended budget at our official Annual Meeting at 12-1pm Sunday, February 2.

Council Nominations

Council is the leadership body of Advent Lutheran Church. They meet monthly to make decisions and guide the direction of the church. Council is made up of our pastors, and 10 Advent members elected for up to two 3-yr terms. Learn more about the constitutional responsibilities of church council >

The Nominating Committee recommends the following slate of candidates:

• Miriam Sitz Grebey to serve a second three year term

• Michael Hammett to serve a second three year term

• Hans Kriefall to serve a first three year term

• Damaris Maclean to serve a first three year term

Read full Nominating Committee Report

Miriam Sitz Grebey | 2nd term as Council Secretary

1. How did you come to Advent?

I started visiting Advent in the fall of 2014 when I moved to New York from my home state of Texas for graduate school. I lived in the neighborhood at the time, and Advent was the second or third church I visited in the city. I found the community remarkable for its inclusiveness, authenticity, and faithfulness in supporting its ministries and members, and I became a member in December of 2014. My husband James and I have lived in Brooklyn for the last several years; although our commute to church is a little longer, our roots in this congregation remain strong.

2. What has church membership meant to you?

Being a member of Advent makes me feel like I have a home in this city, which can be an overwhelming place, at times. It makes me feel like I have a family here, even though my family of origin is a few thousand miles away. And membership has definitely felt like a two-way street, in a really nice way; I know I am supported and welcomed by church leaders and fellow members, and I also enjoy being able to contribute my time and talents in a meaningful way here. I am a born-and-raised Lutheran, but I feel much more deeply connected to Advent than any other church I've attended in the past.

3. Which Advent ministries have you been active in?

My most longstanding involvement has been food-related: I've cooked a meal for the campus ministry LaMP every few months since joining Advent, and James and I help out at the Food Pantry as often as we are able. I was part of the Financial Stewardship Task Force in 2016, then joined the Church Council as secretary later that year. On Sundays, I'm an occasional lector and usher.

4. What interests you about participating in the Church Council?

A few years ago when I was asked to join Council, I remember feeling a little hesitant and unsure. What did I know about anything it takes to keep a church running smoothly? But I felt like it was my responsibility to say yes, to do my best to learn and work and give back to our community in this new (to me) way, trusting that it was where God wanted me to be for a while. 

Being a part of this group has taught me much about leadership and balance — both of which are challenging pursuits on their own, and perhaps even more so in the context of a church, where our first and foremost mission is to welcome all people to experience and live out God’s love. I have learned from the excellent examples of our pastors and lay leaders about how one must strive for balance between day-to-day operating concerns and long-term goals, and, most importantly, how to attend to the practical while remaining firmly rooted in the spiritual. 

I feel very grateful for having had the opportunity to serve as Secretary of the Council these last three years, and would be honored to continue in this role for another term. 

Michael Hammett | 2nd term as Council Vice-President

1. How did you come to Advent?

I started attending Advent when I moved to NYC for graduate school in 2014. During my first visit, I was immediately asked if I was interested in being involved in the Chorale. It was the first church I visited, and it instantly felt like home.

2. What has church membership meant to you?

Advent has been family to me while I've been in NY. It's diverse, vibrant, loving, and accepting of me and has encouraged me to grow. Church membership means being a part of the body of Christ, participating in that family, and working with that family to further the work of Christ in our community and world. 

3. Which Advent ministries have you been active in?

I have participated in the Advent chorale and am currently the co-leader for the Advent 20s/30s group and the vice-president of the congregational council. During the visioning process, I have been a member of the research group. I have also volunteered with the community kitchen in the past (the 20s/30s group volunteered as a group) and led volunteering for the Christmas tree sale in 2018. 

4. What interests you about participating in the Church Council?

Advent is in the midst of its visioning process, discerning not only what our vision is, but how we might best implement out vision and calling in the world. I feel called to be a part of that process and to help lead during this time. I also think it helps the council to have the voice of somebody younger (in this case, a current graduate student) who will be called upon in the future to implement Advent's vision. 

Hans Kriefall | New Council member nominee

1. How did you come to Advent?

I was looking for a Lutheran church in my neighborhood, the Upper West Side, one with intelligent preaching and a vibrant liturgy. I felt at home at Advent from my first visit.

2. What has church membership meant to you?

A faith community, a learning opportunity -- both professional and theological, service opportunities, and artistic nourishment. 

3. Which Advent ministries have you been active in?

Recently or current: Chorale, Assisting Ministers, Visioning Team. At various points in my membership: Church Council, Stewardship, Financial Secretary, Treasurer, Property, Food Pantry manager, Flowers. 

4. What interests you about participating in the Church Council?

I'd like to help Advent manage its next period of transition. I'd like to help council become a valuable resource for feedback, leadership, and improving Advent's experience for our congregation, and a source of action for realizing the goals of the leadership and membership in concrete, recognizable ways. 

Damaris Maclean

New Council member nominee

1. How did you come to Advent?

I first came to Advent because I live nearby, and I knew the pastor from serving on the board of Lutheran Ministries in Higher Education with her. She invited me to join. That was in 2005. 

2. What has church membership meant to you?

Being a member of Advent (and other churches) is to have a connection to a community of believers and of friends. To have a sense of belonging with other people and a common goal of knowing the love of Jesus. An opportunity to use the power of numbers to make the world a better place, as Jesus taught us. Being a member of Advent helps me to feel grounded in the neighborhood in which we live, and I love to bring my family to church to learn the same traditions and stories as I learned growing up, as well as to develop new traditions and experiences. I am grateful to have this community in my life. After a personal tragedy, a member of our congregation told me that when her friends asked what they could do to help her, she told them to find a community of faith that would hold them during a time of need. I have seen Advent hold its members over and over in both crisis and in joy. We humans, we Christians need a place to be held and to hold one another.

3. Which Advent ministries have you been active in?

I have served on the council for two terms, including two years as the president during a major period of transition including the departure of our long-term senior pastor and the mediation process with Broadway UCC. I’ve been an assisting minister, a Sunday School parent, sung in the choir, and served on various committees. 

4. What interests you about participating in the Church Council?

Advent is at an important crossroads; there is great potential and many possibilities for our church. Our pastoral leadership is strong without any anticipated changes in the coming years (though we await the arrival of a pastor for our Latinx ministry), we’ve gone through a thoughtful and extensive visioning process, and so we are poised once again to shift our attention to the needs of our building, our neighborhood, and our congregation. The council has an important role to play in working with our Pastor and staff on both operational and future-oriented conversations and decisions.

Renewing a Call to our Deacons

Deacon Carlos and Deacon Adolfo are called staff members at Advent. Every year, the congregation needs to vote to re-extend this call to our deacons. Deacon Carlos and Deacon Adolfo are key leaders throughout the ministry of our church, and especially for our Spanish-language worshiping community.

Immigration Welcome Center Grant

Advent has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the Metropolitan New York Synod toward basement renovations that would help our current social ministries grow into a holistic immigration welcome center, which could be part of our Community Center in our strategic ministry plan! At our 2020 Annual Meeting, we will vote on whether to accept this building grant. Here are more details:

How did this come about?

From Jan-Sept 2018, Council was engaged in conversations about options to address our growing capitol repair needs. In March 2018, Pastor Danielle and Pastor Gary became aware of this grant, and it seemed like an opportunity to secure significant resources, should the congregation decide go down the path of renovation. At the time, we had many growing ministries around immigration — counseling, after-school, language classes, food ministries — so they applied with a proposal to bring all of these together in a more functional space.

How does this connect to our strategic planning process?

The synod agreed to hold the funds last year, as we engaged in the process of listening and distilling Advent’s mission, vision, and strategy. If the 2018 grant proposal proved to be inconsistent with Advent’s mission and ministry plan, we could choose to forgo the grant. However, the process showed that immigration continues to be a ministry that is valued by our congregation and Gospel-led. From one Advent member in a Listening Group: “Raising our voices and supporting the weak is needed in our neighborhood. We can see families fighting: their immigration status, literacy, language barrier, poverty, disdain, shyness.” Our strategic ministry plan (Sundays, Small Groups, Community Center) includes providing holistic resources, accompaniment, and advocacy for immigrants as part of our Community Center. Thus, if we decide to go to route of renovation, this grant will be an incredible resource in making this ministry reality.

Can we accept this grant while we still haven’t decided what to do about our building?

Yes. If we decide to raise funds toward renovation, we’ll have $200,000 to start towards basement renovation work. If we go a different direction, we can simply give the money back to the synod.

Is there any reason NOT to accept this grant?

We can’t think of any. It’s a wonderful resource to have on the table as we explore our building options. It is still consistent with our mission, vision, and ministry plan moving forward. If we go a different direction building-wise, we can give it back.

Resources:

• The original grant proposal

• Extension request letter

• Strategic ministry plan overview

• Advent’s renewed Mission & Vision

Have a question?

We’ll answer all questions in the FAQs section at the bottom of this page as soon as possible.

Details

(Non-Vote Items)

Strategic Planning & Ministry Updates

We’ve had an active, and transformative year at Advent! Check out our renewed Mission & Vision created through our 9-month visioning process, our Strategic Ministry Plan shared at our Vision Retreat on January 11, and our Ministry Updates shared by ministry leaders. We’ll be briefly recapping and celebrating all of these at our Annual Meeting.

AMMPARO & Emmaus Collective

We’ll also share more about these two organizations, and invite the congregation to affirm our continued partnership and support of them. Council is empowered to approve these partnerships, but we want to make the congregation aware of them, and invite all to affirmation to affirm these partnerships which Council believe are Gospel-led and reflect Advent’s Guiding Principles. It’s not an official vote; it’s a symbolic one. Here is more information about these organizations:

AMMPARO

The word “amparo” in Spanish means the protection of a living creature from suffering or damage. The ELCA’s strategy to Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO) was envisioned after witnessing the plight of children who are forced to flee their communities because of complex and interrelated reasons, including chronic violence, poverty, environmental displacement and lack of opportunities in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Due to our connection to companion churches in the region, including companion synod relationships, and existing ministries in the U.S., the ELCA is well-positioned to help ensure that these vulnerable children are protected.  

In a holistic, whole church response that connects international and US outcomes, the ELCA has developed this strategy based on the following commitments:

• Uphold and guarantee basic human rights and safety of migrant children and their families;

• Address the root causes of migration in countries from Central America’s Northern Triangle and Mexico and the treatment of migrants in transit; 

• Work toward just and humane policies affecting migrants in and outside the U.S.; and

• Engage as a church body with all of its companions, affiliates and partners to respond to the migration situation and its causes and to advocate for migrant children and their families.  

As brothers and sisters in Christ, the ELCA is called to bear witness to the conditions affecting so many communities and to work to find solutions that will acknowledge the humanity in all of God’s children. Join us in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and families.

The Emmaus Collective

What’s Emmaus collective? Its a map of our online directory of churches that are on the way to, or working on, dismantling white supremacy in their church culture. We are not saying they are done or totally safe, we are saying these are churches who are naming and claiming they that are doing the work. We offer Christian communities a starting point, and accountability to creating and sustaining anti-racist spaces. Dismantling white supremacy and the constructs of "whiteness" is a lifelong journey so we offer accompaniment on that road.

A Constitutional Update

Advent’s constitution hasn’t had an update in many years. Council will introduce that we are beginning a process to review and update our constitution to current ELCA guidelines. The updated constitution will be presented to the congregation and voted on a later congregational meeting.

A 2020 Schedule for Finance & Building Conversations

There has been so much excitement and energy around our Mission & Vision, our Vision Retreat, and our strategic ministry & outreach plan. One of the remaining questions we’ve heard most is, “When are we returning the building conversation?” Now that we have renewed our Mission & Vision and clarified our ministry strategy, we are ready to re-approach this conversation from a place of purpose and faith. At our Annual Meeting, Council will share a propose schedule for these conversations in 2020, and invite your input on how we continue this journey together. You will have time to take the information home, and share feedback and questions in the following weeks. Meanwhile, our strategic spatial and financial teams will gather information and explore possibilities in the coming months, guided by our mission and ministry plan, and share an update in March.

FAQs

Once we receive any questions, we’ll post the answers to submitted questions here.