• Since the previous board meeting, the chairman and the senior pastor have met with the chairman and CEO of Probitas to discuss church rent as well as the annual dividend from Probitas. The church rent will be increased and the dividend from Probitas will also be increased with the corresponding amount, starting from 2020. The following year, 2021, the church rent is increased according to the actual CPI, Consumer Price Index, and the church will be compensated every three years with the amount CPI has increased during this period in the form of increased dividends from Probitas. This matter will be informed to the members at the congregational meeting in November.
• Work is underway concerning the recruitment of a leading pastor to the Swedish speaking ministry. The Board will return to this issue as soon as possible, hopefully before Christmas.
• The board decided to abolish the payment system for Sunday church coffee in all worship groups. The reason for this change is that the payments bring a limited amount of money to the church and that today the cost is far too to administer the coffee fee. Worship service visitors will be informed that from now on the coffee fee will be included in the collection.
• The Equmenia Church’s (official translation: (Uniting Church in Sweden) Stockholm region has held a meeting with the advisory board. All congregation in the region were invited and the Immanuel Church was represented by the Chairman of the Board, Stephen James, and Vice Chairman, Emma Darelid. Some of the issues discussed were:
How does a diverse congregation function? Challenges, sources of joy, language…
What happens when a congregation grows? The Västerortskyrkan in Vällingby was taken as an example.
The Uniting Church in Sweden´s international work was highlighted. It is required that every member of The Uniting Church in Sweden gives 470 SEK annually for the work to go around.
The church fee (previously called church tax, when Sweden had a state church) was highlighted as one of the pillars of the church’s economy. There are congregations in Stockholm region where 90 percent of the members give their church fee. In other parishes the figure is 0 percent!
The meeting with the Stockholm region advisory board is a good opportunity to reach all congregations with information on what is going on in the region.
• Our congregation wants to promote and encourage active democratic participation, for example in the congregational and the annual meetings. How can we create greater commitment? At the next board meeting Ulla Marie Gunner will report on the work done by the Democracy and Participation Group.
Reports
The chairman of the Equmenia Association, Tobias Olsson, has visited the Swedish Council and talked about the children’s activities in connection with the 11 o´clock Swedish language service. Some of the issues that were discussed were: How should we work with the new Sunday school? How to create a long-term perspective, to find more voluntary staff? How to reconnect with the parents who disappeared when the structure changed in the children’s ministries?
• Administrative Manager, Mats Engen, reported good financial results up to September. Gifts and collections are getting closer to the target and are now SEK 77,000 below budget. There is good hope that the budget will be reached before the end of the year.
• The Finance Committee reports that everything iswell! An apartment on Östermalmsgatan is sold and brings in money to finance the new website and a renovation of the Waldenströmsalen. The rest will be managed by the our management company, IFAB.
• The Communications and Collecting Committee:
We will now take new steps towards increased digitalization. With the new website, which is expected to be ready by the end of the year, follows measures that will change the way of our communication. The Home page and the digital newsletter will form the basis of communication. Folders, posters and handouts are being replaced, as far as possible, by digital displays, inside and outside the church. The worship service agenda will be on the display in the sanctuary. All this will be phased in gradually. And for those who do not have access to computers, the calendar will be available in printed edition.
• The Human Resources Committee reported that they are currently working on issues concerning pension and labor law. There is a development in society concerning these issues at large and it is important that we as a congregation can and will do right.
There were positive reports from both Probitas and IFAB.
• The next board meeting will take place on November 21. The main issue will then be the Congregation’s budget for the coming fiscal year.
Other questions:
In a letter from the board of the Equmenia Association, the congregation is asked to guarantee 50,000 SEK as a contribution to the congregation’s winter camp. The Board asked for a budget for the winter camp and will return with a decision.
In 2024, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Immanuel Church. Peter Dobers introduced this and asked the board to start thinking about a vision linked to the anniversary.
Översättare och tolkar sökes
Vi är välsignade med många språk i vår församling.
Just nu behöver vi:
• en samordnare för tolkning och översättning.
• översättare av texter svenska-engelska åt båda håll.
• tolkar svenska-engelska för gudstjänster och församlingsmöten m.m.
Intresserad? Kontakta Cathrin Sjöström