A Message from the Executive Committee

Our year-to-date expenses, through October, continue to be slightly under budget. However, One Fund giving in the month of October was down by almost 8% from last October. Overall, our YTD operational expenses exceeded non-restricted revenues by $49,119.

We are heading into that season, December, in which giving often spikes upwards as people fulfill their giving objectives. As mentioned last month, we have some extraordinary items needing attention at the Mission campus, especially the repairs to the HVAC system, repair or replacement of the accessibility system on the main entrance, rusty emergency exit doors from the Fellowship Hall, replacement of fire alarm control panel, new ceilings, among other maintenance and repairs that arise with an aging building.

Just to give you one example of those costs, the first bid received on replacing the accessibility system on the main entrance came in at $10,000. Other bids are being sought before we make a decision on what to do. So, our sustained support will be critical even after the normally generous giving period of December.

Volunteers

Our church office supervisor, Gretchen Hollman, would appreciate assistance. A lot of church support activities that were covered by several volunteers fell by the wayside as a result of Covid, with Gretchen picking up many on her own. It’s time for us to return to some sense of normalcy.

These activities include: refilling and maintaining pew packets at each campus, managing messages on the electronic sign, helping with offering counting for the Mission campus, managing the delivery of flowers to homebound and ill members, and someone to be a backup person for website posting (this would require someone tech savvy and training).

As you can imagine, having one person cover all these is quite a load. So, we are seeking volunteers who can cover one or more of these items under Gretchen’s direction. The time commitment for any one item is not substantial and most of the items can be done from home. If you can contribute to the support of the church in any of these activities, please contact Gretchen.

There is a continued need for communion assistants, lay readers, and ushers at all services. If you have an interest in any of these assignments or other areas that interest you, please contact Gretchen in the church office.

And don’t worry about being overwhelmed with the duties. Volunteers have control over the specific dates and times in which they serve. So, you can serve as little or often as you like. Every little bit helps.

Projects around the church:

We still seek financial or creative assistance for a project at the Shawnee site for a graphic inside building proclaiming our mission, “A Community Following Jesus.” We would prefer a banner or some other type of hanging artwork as opposed to a mural painted on a wall.

If you have ideas on how to accomplish this, or a creative concept you would like to share, please submit your ideas to Pastor Luke or your favorite EC member.

As always, please seek out and get to know your EC members worshiping alongside you.