CONGREGATIONAL PROFILE OF:

St. Paul Lutheran Church
727 South Second Avenue
 Alpena, Michigan 49707
Phone: 989/356-1658
Fax: 989/356-3206
Web Site: http://www.stpaul.org

Mission Statement based on Matthew 9:35-38:
To be an expression of God’s compassion in our community and beyond

Chairperson of Call Committee:

John Diamond
306 Parson Street
Alpena, Michigan 49707
Home: 989/354-4677
Office: 989/358-7005

Chairperson of Congregation and Church Council:

Jeff Hoeksema
1015 East Golf Course Road
Alpena, Michigan 49707
Home: 989/354-7509

January 22, 2002

Dear Pastor,

Following the format of the ELCA’s CONGREGATIONAL MISSON PROFILE, we present our current congregational status along with our hopes and dreams for years to come. We pray that in your review, God grants you discernment so that you may know if He is calling you to be in our midst or if He has other plans for the talents that He has entrusted to you. May God bless you in your study and contemplations.

Call Committee
St. Paul Lutheran Church – Alpena, Michigan

PART I – CONGREGATION INFORMATION

Three significant events or developments in church history

While there were many significant events in our rich history, we have listed three time periods where both physical and spiritual growth were evident:

In 1871, “Evangelical Lutheran St. Paul’s Congregation” was established in Alpena and quickly grew to 641 baptized members by 1907. Several buildings were used in the early days, but after a devastating fire in 1923, a new sanctuary was built in 1925 and it continues to be our place of worship today.

Approximately 30 years later, another flurry of activity took place. In the mid 1950’s the men’s group of the church purchased 200’of frontage on Lake Huron just six miles south of Alpena to be used as a picnic grounds. Around this same time, residences across the street from the church were purchased and razed to establish a large parking area. A three floor educational building, including classrooms, offices and kitchen facilities, was added to the church structure in 1962.

In 1988, a Renewal and Renovation Committee began to establish a plan to renew and renovate our current structure so that it could continue to be a facility focused on spreading the Good News. The Renewal and Renovation Committee has since organized funding and volunteers for numerous building improvements. No debt has been incurred during this project. “Attachment 2” provides details regarding this project. (Not included in web posting)  As the work to the physical structure started, a VISION FOR THE 90’S AND BEYOND was established and became a working document with 1, 3, 5 and 10 year goals.

Our congregational history through the 1930’s is “Attachment 1”. (Not included in web posting)  (An effort is currently being made to complete this document to a current status.)

Three previous pastors

	Pastor Daniel Deutsch will be retiring in June of 2002. Dan has been our lead pastor since December 20, 1998, and also served as an associate pastor of our congregation from September 1995, (with Pastor Ron Bessert as senior pastor) until the time he was called as our lead pastor in 1998. Things have run smoothly in the congregation under Dan’s even-keeled leadership. He helped enhance St. Paul’s caring ministry, especially through launching our Stephen Ministry program. The letter announcing his retirement is “Attachment 3”.
	Although not ordained while serving at St. Paul, Leslie Nye had a significant and positive impact on the ministries of our congregation. She was our pastoral assistant from July 1999 through June 2001, while Pastor Deutsch recovered from illness. Leslie is a lifelong member of St. Paul’s. Her gifts of caring and grief ministry enabled her to connect especially well with our shut-ins and those who have lost loved ones. Leslie left us to accept an intern position with St. Matthew Lutheran Church just 10 miles from Alpena. She is currently enrolled in Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary’s TEEM program, which allows her to move toward ordination while completing most of her coursework at home and serving as an intern. Her announcement can be heard here.
	Pastor Ron Bessert was called as Senior Pastor in February of 1987. He accepted a call to Christ Lutheran Church in LasVegas, Nevada, in October of 1998. Ron strove to innovate and re-energize St. Paul’s. He started two new worship services and took a number of key lay leaders to conferences at Community Church of Joy in Phoenix. Under his capable administration, the renovation of our facilities and several new ministries were begun. His letter of resignation is “Attachment 4”.

The most significant conflict in the past 20 years

During the past twenty years, our congregation has had no major conflicts. There have been some personality conflicts among pastoral staff and tensions surrounding changes in worship and education formats, but nothing that has split or shaken the congregation. Areas of concern are typically dealt with quickly and taken in stride.

Comment on the current ELCA Congregational Trend and Demographic Report

These reports are “Attachment 5a” and "Attachment 5b".   Based on our review, they are reasonably accurate, but items to update/note are:

Our Trust and Endowment assets are currently at $491,652. Please see “Attachment 6” for additional details regarding this fund.

The significant drop in membership in 1995 was due to an update of records that found a number of people belonging to other congregations.

With the addition of a pastoral assistant during the time we did not have a second pastor, little financial impact was noted because part of the salary for an associate pastor was used to finance the pastoral assistant position. During the year that we had two pastors and the assistant, the budget ran tighter than usual although all bills were paid.

In addition to ELCA benevolence, for the past several years we have supported a variety of local charities with approximately $6,000 per year ($500 per month designated at each monthly Church Council meeting).

Congregation Constitution and By-laws

The Constitution and By-laws are attached as “Attachment 7” (Not included in web posting). These documents were last updated in 1992 as part of a regular review and update process.

Location of church members

15% within 1/2 mile
23% within 1/2 - 1 mile
35% within 1-3 miles
27% more than 3 miles

Nearly all members drive to the church, while only a very few utilize public transportation or walk. With our significant shut-in population, our pastoral assistant started a transportation program one Sunday per month. However, since her departure, this program has been dissolved because of a lack of organizational effort.

PART II – MINISTRY PRACTICES AND STRUCTURE

Worship

Worship is centered around four weekly services:

Saturday, 5:30 p.m.: This service was started about 10 years ago with a contemporary, Country-Western tone and was intended to bring more people to worship with something unique and appealing. It did have limited success and the Country-Western tone became intermittent. This did become a useful service for those working shifts or struggling to attend church in the morning because of health reasons. In the last five years the Country-Western tone has been completely eliminated and it now uses a mixture of the informal format from the Sunday 9:15 service and also traditional formats.

Sunday, 8:00 a.m.: A traditional service utilizing both the green and blue books of worship. This service has been at this time for over 40 years.

Sunday, 9:15 a.m.: An informal service utilizing a liturgy obtained from Augsburg’s “Words for Worship” CD-rom and other sources which are printed in the bulletin. Pastors lead worship from the center aisle and do not wear vestments at this service. Originally a songbook entitled “Master Chorus Book” was used to provide simple, easy to sing songs, but that has been discontinued and hymns now come from the green and blue books of worship. This service was started in the Spring of 1989 as a means to attract people that were dropping off their children to Sunday School and leaving. Original attendance was about 20 people per service, but by the end of 1989 it had grown to about 100 people. Just this year we have started a family worship service during this time on the first Sunday of the month. There is no Sunday School on that Sunday. The format is more contemporary than the other Sundays and utilizes a worship team to lead worship.

Sunday, 10:30 a.m.: This service used a traditional format at this time for over 40 years, but then in 2000, we experimented with a more contemporary family worship format. That was too much change too fast and now it is much like the Saturday, 5:30 p.m. format.

An adult choir of about 20 members sings at various services on Sunday mornings. The St. Paul Quartet also provides special music during worship.

A monthly healing service was started in 1996, by Intern Naomi Hawkins. After she departed, it was discontinued, but was then started again by Leslie Nye, our pastoral assistant. It had built to about 20 people per service. However, since Leslie’s departure, it has once again been discontinued.

During the summer, the worship schedule changes to Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Last summer an adult study was held at 9:00 a.m. every Sunday and was well attended.

Other special services are held through the year including Lenten services and Thanksgiving Eve services.

Please see “Attachment 8” for a recent week by week worship attendance report.

Education

Sunday School is offered on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. from fall through spring. A traditional grade by grade classroom setting is utilized for pre-school through grade 6. No 7th through 12th grade programs are offered at this time. Attendance is approximately 70 students per week with about 90 enrolled. The Education Committee is now reviewing other options to this format including a rotational model, but whatever the choice, it is intended to be offered at the same time. The first Sunday of the month there is no Sunday School classes and children are encouraged to worship with their parents and generally about 40 children attend.

Catechism classes for 7th and 8th grades are held every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. during the school year. There are currently no Sunday morning educational opportunities for these students.

A Saturday morning Bible study has been recently started for high school age youth. Currently one to five students attend.

Adult Bible study is offered on a intermittent basis on Sunday mornings with attendance ranging from one to 10 people. A study on the book of Revelation was offered through the summer of 2001, and had attendance in the early sessions of 50+ people, tapering to about 20 people toward the end.

A Vacation Bible School program is offered for one week during the summer. Last year it drew 115 students and had a 60 person support staff. A rotational learning format is used that focuses around one theme per day which ties into the week’s theme. In the past several years this program has significantly expanded. Nearly all materials for the program are donated.

Our Stephen Ministry program offers regular training to caregivers.

There are two WELCA circles meeting on a regular basis. Bible study is regularly a part of their sessions.

A seniors’ group has a Bible study every other Monday that averages 10 to 12 people.

Weekly daytime Bible studies are offered from time to time.

Evangelism

In the past few years, there has been no organized effort to make calls on inactive members or to encourage guests to return to worship and consider membership. An Outreach committee is currently working on this issue. A media advertising program was initiated a few years ago, utilizing funds from the ELCA Identity Project, but was discontinued when the grant ended.

Special ministries

Members participate with a local soup kitchen on a monthly basis. Blood drives are co-sponsored from time to time.

Service ministries, community involvement and ecumenical partnerships

A Stephen Ministry program was developed in the past two years. When Pastor Dan and his wife Mary Lou leave, there will be nine caregivers in this program and three leaders. Referrals are sparse at this time, but the numbers are starting to grow. Two caregivers are planning to attend leader training in 2002.

A prayer chain of 16 members is organized to offer up prayers of support for those in need.

Once per month a prayer group meets to learn more about prayer and to pray for our congregation and community.

We have sponsored Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs for many years by allowing them to utilize our facilities. Several of the leaders of these groups are members of our congregation. Pastor Kurt is the Cub Master for the Pack.

Food is collected annually for our food pantry, which is used throughout the year for those in need.

A Good Samaritan Fund is available for use at the Pastors’ discretion to help those in need.

Our congregation supports and participates in “Call Us for Help”, which is a centralized community resource for charities, including churches. It is housed in the Michigan Works office in downtown Alpena and allows people to better access charitable organizations in times of need. It also reduces abuse of the charities by those who jump from one to another asking for more and more assistance.

Funeral luncheons are provided to the family and friends of the deceased.

Blankets are made and sent to those in need through LSSM.

Several joint ministries are offered in conjunction with Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA), which is only three blocks away. Some of these such as catechism classes and Vacation Bible School have continued, while others such as a high school youth group have not been successful.

Staffing and Volunteers

Full Time
Lead Pastor – Dan Deutsch
Pastor – Kurt Jensen
Office Manager – Linda Connon

Part Time
Secretary – Jackie Stanifer
Janitor – Dave Hamann
Cleaning – Ruth Robb
Music Director – Sandi Sims
Organist/Assistant Music Director – Marvis McNeil

Executive Committee-Church Council
President – Jeff Hoeksema
Vice President – Bill Schwartz
Treasurer – Don Urban
Secretary – Dana Panknin

Brief biographies are “Attachment 9”.  

There are too many volunteers to mention by name or responsibility, but this is a sampling of some their activities: altar guild, assisting ministers, choir, offering counters, coffee hour sponsors, greeters, musicians, lectors, ushers, acolytes, Christmas Bazaar group, cooks and others who help with several annual dinners, maintenance and landscaping people, office help of all sorts, Sunday School staff, Vacation Bible School staff, various committee members and many others. We are sure that they are not thanked enough for their time and efforts so as part of this profile we offer our THANKS!

Premises

We are blessed with facilities:

Sanctuary that seats approximately 350 people
Prayer room / chapel
 Fellowship hall that can seat about 150 people for dinners
Extensive kitchen facilities
Educational building with classrooms and offices
Gymnasium
Much of premises are handicap accessible, including two lifts
Large paved parking lot
Picnic grounds on Lake Huron within 10 miles of the church

Insured value of church premises is over $3 million.

Much updating has recently been done as noted in “Attachment 2” and more is planned, as additional funds are available.

There is no outstanding debt.

Stewardship Practices

The 2002 budget allocates $36,500 (about 10%) to ministries beyond our congregation.

Budgeting is done by looking at the previous year’s budget and considering future plans.

Members were recently asked to complete a pledge card and seal it in a self addressed stamped envelope. Those were collected, remained sealed and placed on the altar for the upcoming year. At that time will be mailed back to the members as a reminder of their commitment.

A time and talent survey was conducted in the past year. Plans are being made to utilize those gifts as fully as possible.

Spending Plan

A copy of the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 actual spending reports and the 2002 budget are “Attachment 10”. (Not included in web posting)

Synod and churchwide activities in which members (non-clergy) have participated in the past two years

Attendance at some WELCA events

Synod assembly in Lansing, Michigan

Although we do not have an active LYO program, a youth member from our congregation, Abbi Kasubowski, sits on the NW Michigan District LYO Board.

How we partner with our synod and national churchwide activities

Our congregation supports these bodies through benevolence and accepts leadership from them. Because our synod office is over four hours away, participation on its boards and committees is prohibitive to many members.

Five members have become pastors, including one who served as a missionary in New Guinea, which was sponsored by our congregation. Leslie Nye, who has been a life long member, is currently pursuing ordination. Another member, Aaron Werner, is currently completing undergraduate work and strongly considering attending seminary. We also have a Seminary Fund to assist members who pursue these studies.

PART III – MISSION IN THE COMMUNITY

Age and gender of the community

Community Characteristics

Alpena is a small city located on the shores of Lake Huron in the northeast corner of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is the “hub” of a multi-county area, which draws people for things such as shopping and health care. Because of this, Alpena is able to offer many things that most cities of this same size cannot offer . The population of Alpena County is approximately 31,314 with the city proper having a population of over 11,000.

The employment base in Alpena is made up of several significant components:

The services industry makes up the largest part of the employment picture, representing 24.3% of the county’s employment. This group includes many retail stores, accounting firms, law offices, restaurants, banks, hotel/motels, and many other functions typically found in a small city. The largest employers in the community are Alpena General Hospital and Alpena Public Schools who also fit into the services industry.

Jobs in retail and wholesale trade make up the second largest component of the employment base with 22.7% of the jobs.

Manufacturing provides the third largest segment of employment, representing 14.2% of area jobs. These companies range in size from several employees to several hundred employees. Most of these businesses are managed from Alpena and are not remote manufacturing locations. Several have their world headquarters in Alpena.

Alpena offers a “Class A” size school system (which several years ago passed a $27 million bond issue for two new schools, renovations to existing buildings, and technology improvements). Alpena Community College offers a variety of associate degrees, including a registered nurses program. In addition, they offer several bachelor and master degree programs in conjunction with other universities. The college also houses the World Center for Concrete Technology.

Alpena General Hospital has grown to be an excellent regional health care facility with 146 beds for acute care. The area is served by 90 physicians, representing 24 medical practice areas. Areas of care include medical/surgical, pediatrics, obstetrics/women’s health, orthopedics, pain management, sleep disorders, behavioral health, rehabilitation services, occupational health, kidney dialysis and community education to name a few. A cancer care center has recently opened in partnership with the University of Michigan, which eliminates long journeys for cancer patients.

The Alpena County Regional Airport has regular air service provided by Northwest Airlines (operated by Mesaba). Charter services are also available through Aviation North. The airport also houses the Combat Readiness Training Center of the National Guard which is used by many Guard units from all over the United States.

Alpena is located on the shores of Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay, which provides a variety of water-oriented activities such as fishing, diving on many shipwrecks, and sailing. Numerous large inland lakes also provide these types of activities. Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay has recently been designated as a national underwater preserve because of its many shipwrecks. The area also boasts numerous outdoor activities including cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, camping, golfing and hiking.

The Jesse Besser Museum offers many interesting displays and features. In addition they have a planetarium with regular shows. Alpena Civic Theater (volunteer) and Thunder Bay Theater (professional) have productions running year around. The Thunder Bay Arts Council, Community Concert Series and Alpena Community College regularly bring entertainment to the area. The Thunder Bay Recreational Center offers indoor tennis and an exercise center. The Center is currently constructing a new indoor ice arena for local hockey, speed skating and figure skating utilization. A skateboarding park has also been recently constructed in the city and is heavily utilized. Scenic bike and footpaths run throughout the community and are being regularly expanded and improved. Many youth sports leagues are available including soccer, football, basketball, baseball and hockey. The Alpena County Library offers numerous activities throughout the year. The Northland Library offers services for the visually impaired. Local Internet providers are readily available with high-speed internet access recently launched. Several festivals are held during the summer promoting the area’s tourism: Lighthouse Festival, Brown Trout Festival which includes an art fair and many other activities, Posen’s Potato Festival and Rogers City’s Nautical Festival.

The area has an excellent quality of life, which provides a great place to raise a family. The crime rate is low. Most people operate on a presumption of trust and are friendly. This community is probably best summed up by saying it is a “big little town”. This is not to be confused with being a “little big town”.

Please see “Attachment 11” for additional information regarding the community. (Not included in web posting)  These websites are also suggested:

www.alpena.net
www.alpena.mi.us
www.alpenaschools.com
www.alpenacc.org
www.agh.org

 

Trends in our community which should be addressed by the congregation in the next five years:

Many in our community remained unchurched. Many “belong” to a local church, but have not been active in years.

Locally we see evidence of the same problems as other parts of the nation: alcoholism, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, and the troubles of broken homes.

Community ecumenical cooperation

Our pastors actively participate in the Lutheran-Anglican-Roman Catholic group (LARC). This group is made up of St. Anne’s Catholic Church, St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. John’s Catholic Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Grace Lutheran Church, St. Paul Lutheran Church and First Congregational Church. Some of our members attend special events that are offered by this group.

The Alpena Ministerial Association is a broader based group than LARC and it provides area pastors a time to share information regarding programs and a time for fellowship.

One local church is currently remodeling a downtown building for teen outreach on an ecumenical basis and is seeking non-financial support from local congregations. This is a first for the Alpena area.

A number of churches participate in a Tre Ore service on Good Friday each year.

PART IV – WHERE IS GOD LEADING US?

Congregation goal setting in the last four years

Annually the Church Council gathers for a one-day retreat to reflect on our ministry and discuss where God is leading us. For the past two years, the agenda has been more workshop oriented, involving congregational issues of the time. For the 2001 and 2000 retreats, the main focus was staffing because of Dan’s illness, Leslie’s assistance and Kurt’s arrival. In addition, much time was spent discussing worship schedule and format. In 1999, there was discussion regarding goals set the previous year, but new goals were not set. In 1998 there was a comprehensive goal setting session. See reports for each of these years as “Attachment 12”. (Not included in web posting)

The current mission or vision statement of the congregation

The last comprehensive 1-3-5-10 year goal document was established in the Spring of 1993 and titled VISION FOR THE 90’S AND BEYOND. See “Attachment 13”. (Not included in web posting)  This document needs significant review to consider the progress we have made and the failures we have encountered. After that review, a new comprehensive document needs to be established by thorough congregational input and study, so that a clear congregational focus can be gained on how to better become a church for others and not a church just for ourselves. Each year thereafter, a complete review should be conducted of our progress and specific actions planned to move us closer to being an expression of God’s compassion in our community and beyond.

The top three mission priorities for the congregation that hold the most promise for development of our ministry

1. Evaluate progress and failures in alignment with the VISION FOR THE 90’S AND BEYOND. Based on that review and a comprehensive input gathering process, establish a new document to center our efforts.

2. Based on step one, plan and encourage the training of lay people for strategic positions that will be critical to achieving our goals. Pastors’ continuing education must also be pointed directly toward being equipped or preparing to equip others.

3. While we need to evaluate our current situation, it is very clear to us that we will need to significantly improve our efforts in ministry toward the 13 to 35 year olds. This has been discussed and emphasized on a variety of occasions, but the efforts and results have been disappointing in recent history. We see this as completely unacceptable as we move forward and must be addressed as significant area of potential growth.

What is your congregation excited about?

We see that we are approaching an exciting time of transition. Pastor Dan is leaving behind a solid and healthy congregation. Pastor Kurt has been here for just two years and is sinking in his roots and spreading his wings. We are seeking a new lead pastor to guide us into a new era. It is time to re-evaluate our mission and vision and set new 1-3-5-10 year goals. Current programs such as our dynamic Vacation Bible School, elementary education, the once per month family worship and Stephen Ministry show great promise and enthusiasm. We have a great staff and a well-equipped facility, which will help us move forward into the future that God is laying out before us.

In summary:

The congregation of St. Paul Lutheran Church is stable and peaceful.

As strengths, we are at peace with one another; our finances are in order; we enjoy well-equipped and well-maintained facilities. We care for each other very well through Stephen Ministries, prayer groups, funeral luncheons, etc. There is a “core” of members and staff keeping us running like a well-oiled machine. We are thankful for this and do not want to stop any programs or ministries we currently have in place.

However, there is another side to our stability. We have, to a large degree, become “maintenance Christians”, if those two words can even be used together. A small core of members and staff handle many tasks and functions associated with ministering to our members. We are grateful for their devotion and commitment. However, to fulfill our mission of, “Being an expression of God’s compassion in our community and beyond,” we need to gradually expand beyond this group, de-stabilize, get uncomfortable and make our church a place for others. We especially need to focus on the involvement of those 13 to 35 years old, who are notably missing from our group. Core group members will need to be willing to accept help from others and not feel threatened. We need to be as grateful for new hands to help, as much as we are for the hands that have been helping for years. We need to equip everyone through training, which is organized to achieve well-thought out goals and objectives consistent with our mission.

Our 1-3-5-10 year goals have stagnated which has left us in a maintenance mode. Many committees and work groups reflect this in their work since long term, mid-term, and short-term objectives are not before them for focus and accountability. Goals need to be re-evaluated and re-formulated as they were in the VISION FOR THE 90’S AND BEYOND. When this was done 8 to10 years ago, programs grew in areas of need, innovation was smiled upon, and growth in weekly worship attendance (which is only one measure of activity) grew to about 400 people per week from about 300 in previous years. Since we have slid into a maintenance mode, our worship attendance has reflected this, being down approximately 40 people per week.

In summary, we need a visionary staff leader who will recognize and maintain our current strengths while helping us to:

REDEFINE OUR MISSION AS GOD’S PEOPLE THROUGH LONG, MID AND SHORT TERM GOALS;

EQUIP AND ENABLE PEOPLE TO CARRY OUT THAT MISSION;

EXTEND THE MINISTRIES OF ST. PAUL’S (ESPECIALLY THOSE AIMED AT AGES 13 TO 35) TO REACH OTHERS WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

May our Resurrected Lord Jesus walk behind us to protect us, in front of us to lead the way, beside us to be our companion and with us to give us love and life.

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
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