A Message from Rev.Tim
Pastor’s Page July 2008
Dear Members and Friends,
I hope this newsletter finds you happy and healthy and surviving the heat of summer! The wheat harvest is in full-swing, and the summer vegetable gardens are too! May we remember that we are called by Jesus to be harvesters in our heavenly Father’s vineyard! Who will you reach out to this week to offer the sacred gift of Christian hospitality and inclusion to?
Update on “Nothing But Nets” Challenge
The response of the church and also the larger community has been inspiring! As you probably know, the project’s goal is to raise as much money as possible to purchase malaria mosquito-preventing bed nets for poor children and families in Africa. This project began in 2006 and continues to this day in its effort to eradicate malaria from the continent of Africa. It is administered by the UN Foundation, with all administrative cost being born by other sources.
Here is a quick snapshot of our results so far:
Week of Contributions Miles Walked
May 25 $ 40.00 3 miles
June 1 $ 670.00 9 miles
June 8 $ 840.00 16 miles
June 15 $ 1102.00 30 miles
June 23 $1182.00 51 miles
These numbers are accumulative. That means that as of June 23 I still had 69 miles to go, and we will reach our dollar goal with only $18 more! Fantastic! There is additional money raised by Selena Manche by selling handmade jewelry for Nets, and the tremendous offering the children have raised at Vacation Bible School to help with nets! There are two primary goals at work here: 1) to give everyone an opportunity to contribute a $10 bill to save the life of a child, and 2) to get as many people as possible to understand the campaign and why its important. The philosophy that is present goes like this: “every life is of equal importance in the eyes of God.” If someone asks you, “Why should we do this?” just tell them “Because we can, and because we care. It’s the kind of people we are, touched by the love of God.” We’ve had checks come in from contributors from all over town because of the newspaper coverage of the campaign, and one of the working groups at the hospital is raising money to add to our offering. Thank you to everyone who has helped and is helping!
Dream Team created at Church Council, June 25th
After much discussion about the need to update our church building in many and various ways, the Church Council decided to take action. The need for improvements in the furnace had been identified for several months. The Technology Task Force has met and made recommendations for the sanctuary. The dreams of improving the Sunday School rooms on the upper level, and the large meeting room upstairs have been in the discussion for months. The desire to make major improvements in the west entry way and the bathroom facilities has been known for some time.
In response to these several needs of maintenance and improvement, the council decided to form a “Dream Team” to lead us into the future. Each committee of the church will have the opportunity to select a delegate to the Dream Team, and some additional members will be chosen at large. The Dream Team is charged with listening to the needs of the congregation and planning the means and the methods of taking us where God wants us to go! They will take a comprehensive look at the “big picture.” They will be the ones who dream the dreams of how we can reach our goal of a growing and thriving congregation, equipped and resourced to Sow the Seeds of God’s Love.
Where this will all lead, only God knows! But thanks be to God for giving us the courage to move forward! If we stand still, we will surely watch the future pass us by! One of my favorite laypersons likes to say, “Why are we surprised when get the same results doing the things the same old way we’ve always done them?” This is our opportunity to leave our lasting mark of improvement on our facilities. What will we do, that the children and grandchildren will be thankful for?
May God bless you this new month!
Pastor Tim Ault-Duell
620-662-1898 Office
620-200-2501 Pastor
email: Pastor