On Sunday, October 10, 2021, following worship (around 11:15/11:30am), LifeBridge will hold its annual Congregational Voters’ Meeting.
Information and agenda items are below and will be updated as needed until the meeting.
We will live-stream the meeting on the YouTube Channel for any who would like to view it.
AGENDA
Call to Order
Opening Prayer
Approval of Minutes
Minutes of the January 10, 2021, Special Voters’ Meeting is available below or as a PDF here.
Attendees
| Mary Abbott-Gray – Treasurer | Collin Dwigans – VP/Staff | Brackston Nutt – Staff |
| April Treybig – Secretary | Jesus Sanchez – Elder | David Walker – Elder |
| Scott Heitshusen – Pastor | Giles Montgomery – Elder/Staff | Congregation |
| Alan Boehm – Elder |
Collin calls the meeting to order.
Pastor Scott opens in prayer.
Motion was made to approve the minutes from the last voters meeting. Motion was seconded. The ayes had it and the motion passed.
David Penner gives details about the Sealy Pregnancy Resource Center, its history, and its purpose. David presented a proposal for Pregnancy Center’s new building. Pat gives insight as to what the plans are for the building and what they will be able to accomplish with the added space. Open discussion and questions were answered regarding the building and the effects it will and will not have on LifeBridge.
It was moved to lease the land to the Pregnancy Center. The motion was seconded. The ayes had it and the motion passed.
Pastor Scott presented a Synodical request to add a year to the current 2019-2022 triennium. A motion was Giles made the following motion (as requested by the Synod, with wording from them):
“Shall the Synod add a year to the current 2019–2022 triennium, allowing districts to hold their conventions in either 2021 or 2022, and moving the upcoming national Synod Convention from 2022 to 2023? [Thereafter, the triennium cycle will continue forward from 2023 in three-year increments, as before (i.e., with district conventions held in 2025, 2028, etc., and Synod Conventions held in 2026, 2029, etc.).]”
Motion was seconded. The ayes had it and the motion passed.
Collin closed the meeting in prayer.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded. The ayes had it and the motion passed.
Nominating Task Force Presentation & Elections
Need for Feedback – “Term Limits of Board Members”
The Problem
The By-Law dealing with term limits of those serving on the Management Team or Elders is vague. Consequently (and somewhat unknowingly), it has been interpreted differently over the years as evidence of who has been or can be elected to serve at different times.
Specifically, the sentences:
Management Team and Elders shall be limited to two consecutive terms…[An] appointed individual shall serve until the term for that particular position expires.
By-Laws, Article I.B. Approvals and Terms of Office
The question arises: “When someone is appointed to fill the remainder of a term for someone who vacated the office (moved, stepped down, etc.), is that person eligible to be elected for one more term or two?”
The Implications
If an appointed person serves out a portion of a term and are elected for another, they would end up only being able to serve less than two terms. That is, they would serve one term and one partial term. [Theoretically, if they were appointed a month before an election, they would only be able to serve, say, 25 months.]
If, on the other hand, someone who is appointed to fill a vacancy is still eligible to be elected to two more consecutive, full terms, they would still be under the requirement as they have not served more than two consecutive terms; merely two full and one partial terms. [Theoretically, if appointed on the first month after an election and subsequently elected to two more full terms, they could end up serving a total of 71 months.] But this would still be less than 3 terms.
The Consequences
We have had some who have served a partial term and one full term and it was deemed that they can’t run again because they were “term limited”.
We have had others who have served a partial term and two full terms before being deemed they have maxed out their terms. [In fact, some nominations below as well as some currently serving fall into this category.]
In addition, being a smaller congregation, we consistently have challenges filling elected positions. The current language in the by-law could serve to exacerbate this issue even more over time; disqualifying good, willing, and experienced candidates.
Current Election Information
Each year new officers of LifeBridge are needed due to vacancies.
This year the following positions are open and need to be filled:
- Congregational President (Position Description – President)
- Congregational Secretary (Position Description – Secretary)
- Congregational Treasurer (Position Description – Treasurer) Still needed from last year.
- Three (3) members of the Board of Elders (Position Description – Elder)
Click to the right of each above for a description of the position, including duties, qualifications, limits, etc. Please read through those position descriptions prior to nominating someone for a position to make sure the person meets the requisites.
Any voting member of LifeBridge may nominate or be nominated for each of these positions (with the gender restriction for those serving on the Board of Elders), with the stipulation that the prior approval of the person being nominated must be secured. (That is, if you are going to nominate someone, talk to them first and get their approval.)
Self-nominations are acceptable.
You may nominate by filling in the form below. Or, if you would prefer to not do so via the form, please email both the LifeBridge President and Vice President your nominations.
Current Nominees
- President: None
- Treasurer: None
- Secretary: Sherri Santoro
- Elder Position 1: Wayne Heitshusen
- Elder Position 2: Giles Montgomery
- Elder Position 3: Brad Biss
- Daniel Cardiff has offered to help in any position except President.
Nominations from the Floor
Staff [via video] & Ministry Reports
Pastor
Worship: Collin Dwigans
Children: Stacy Wills
Youth: Giles Montgomery
Trustee: John Scott
Outreach: Angie Wolfe
Sealy Pregnancy Resource Center – Update
Sealy Christian Food Pantry – Update
Board Reports
President: David Pacher
Head Elder: Alan Boehm
Treasurer: Mary Abbott-Gray
15%
One of LifeBridge’s Foundational Principles is “to give 15% or more of the Church’s income for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.”
The following is a summary of what LifeBridge has given away for this effort since 2015!
We praise God for the honor and privileged of helping and serving others!
