
St. John Council Lutheran Church
April 25, 2025
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
In preparation for the vote on Sunday, the Council wanted to provide the Congregation with the results of the survey, an additional opportunity to address any remaining questions and/or concerns in regard to the vote and the potential Merger, and the procedure for the vote. Each of these is addressed below.
Yours in Christ, the St. John Council
1. The Results of the Survey.
The results below are the “raw” numbers of the surveys. The surveys, and the comments made on the surveys, were made confidentially so none of the comments will be shared.
Please Note: The “Voting Members” numbers are approximate as, due to the confidential nature of the surveys, the Council was unable to determine the exact number of Voting Members.
Option A – St. John/San Juan Join the new Merged Church:
All Members: 43 Voting Members: 28
Option B – St. John/San Juan Continues as an Independent Congregation, but Sells our Current Facility and “right sizes” to a Different Facility/Location:
All Members: 13 Voting Members: 10
Option C – St. John/San Juan Continues in the Present Location with the Present Ministry Plan:
All Members: 14 Voting Members: 10
2. Opportunity to Address any Questions/Concerns.
Pastor Otto and Jeff Abrahamson will be available for anyone who wants to meet at the Church on Saturday, April 26, 2025 to address any questions or concerns that congregation members have in regard to the vote on Sunday and the proposed Merger.
Please contact either Pastor Otto, or Jeff Abrahamson to schedule a time to meet:
Pastor Otto: 651-360-9560 (call or text)
Jeff Abrahamson: 612-616-9050 (call or text)
3. Procedure for the Vote on Sunday.
The voting process on Sunday will involve two phases.
The first phase will include all members of St. John, age 18 and over – both men and women. The totals of the first phase will then be counted and announced.
The second phase will include only the voting members, with the voting members being encouraged to vote how the majority of the congregation voted in the first phase to implement the will of the congregation.
The votes of the voting members will be counted, the results will be announced, and the leadership will briefly address the next steps moving forward based on the results of the vote.
Please Note: The vote is whether we at St. John intend to join in the ministry plan with the Merger with Pilgrim, St. John’s Minneapolis, and Mount Olive. If any one of the four Churches votes not to join the Merger, the M4M Committee would need re-evaluate the potential Merger, and what that newly proposed Merger would look like. We, as St. John, would then hold further discussion in regard to any newly proposed Merger, and would hold a vote in regard to whether to move forward with any newly proposed Merger.
We will provide the results of the other three congregational votes to our members as quickly as possible, and expect to be able to provide them to the congregation by next Sunday, May 4, 2025.