AND ARE WE YET ALIVE?

And are we yet alive? That question is the title of a Charles Wesley hymn, #553 in our hymnal.

My answer to the inquiry is, “Platte Woods United Methodist Church is indeed alive!”

I am made aware of our aliveness almost every morning and afternoon as the Sunbeam children with their parents in tow report for class, and as the Parents Day Out children begin their time at the church.

I was made aware of our aliveness this past Tuesday evening as some 300 women attended the Christmas Tea. Participating as a server for the event, I got caught up in the grandness of the evening.

I was made aware of our aliveness last night at the Wednesday at the Woods and the Gingerbread House Auction. Having crafted one of the houses, I held my breath that somebody would bid on my creation. Thanks to the kind souls who so bid! By the way we served dinner to 158 folks with the auction raising some $1,600 for the kitchen.

I was made aware of our aliveness in the latest reporting of pledged support for the 2009 church budget. As of this morning we have received $1,008,142 of pledged support in 282 pledges. This is some $81,500 more in support and 10 more pledges than for this year. What is most impressive to me is the 83 new pledges we have received.

I was made aware of our aliveness in the end of November statistics. Our average worship attendance for the year stands at 793, compared to 772 in 2007, up 21 folks (almost 3%). Support of the church budget through the end of November totals $1,337,668, compared to $1,205,550 in 2007, up $132,118 (almost 11%).

And are we yet alive? My answer to the inquiry is, “Platte Woods United Methodist Church is indeed alive!” Thanks be to God for the vitality and energy of our community of faith!

COFFEE, COOKIES AND RADICAL HOSPITALITY

Have you been enjoying the coffee served here at Platte Woods Church? Did you know we now use only FAIR TRADE coffee? In particular, we use the Green Mountain Coffee brand of Fair Trade coffee. Use of Fair Trade coffee is being done at the suggestion of the church’s JPEG Committee.

What is Fair Trade coffee you ask? Quoting from the Green Mountain Coffee Web site (www.GreenMountainCoffee.com): “Fair Trade guarantees farmers a fair price which means they can afford to feed their families, keep their kids in school and invest in the quality of their coffee.” The Green Mountain Coffee folks go on to explain:

Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development. Fair Trade helps family farmers in developing countries to gain direct access to international markets, as well as to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace. By learning how to market their harvests, Fair Trade farmers are able to bootstrap their businesses and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to higher family living standards, thriving communities and more sustainable farming practices. Your choice to purchase Fair Trade Certified™ coffee empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

Speaking of Green Mountain Coffee, several weeks ago I was invited to officiate at my nephew’s wedding in Rhode Island. Shirley and I drove to the Ocean State via way of Vermont. While in Vermont we visited the Green Mountain Coffee Company’s headquarters in Waterbury, Vermont. Waterbury is also the original home of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. We visited those facilities as well. Both organizations are examples of companies doing business with socially and environmentally responsible business practices as a core value of their business model.

Speaking of coffee, did you know we served coffee and cookies to the some 1200 folks who voted at Platte Woods Church in last week’s general election? Jeff Denton coordinated the provision of approximately 80 dozen cookies (954 to be exact) and 5 pots of our 100-cup coffee brewers. Thanks to Jeff and all those who baked cookies.

Coffee and cookies are part of Platte Wood Church’s “radical hospitality.”

SUPPORTING OUR CHURCH

Dealing with church finances is always a challenge.

Asking Platte Woods Church members and constituents to make a formal financial commitment to support the ministry of the church allows the Finance Committee to develop a plan for how we are going to pay the bills. Then by carefully reviewing the income received the Finance Committee is able to responsibly conduct the business of our church.

Filling out a commitment card is an indication of the financial support intended to be provided by an individual or family. Certainly there are circumstances in which financial positions change in individuals’ lives. In such cases the church understands changing the commitment intended for the church.

The fall commitment card process has been a focus of our church during October. Commitment cards for 2009 have been received and continue to arrive.

Thanks to the dedication and generosity of the Platte Woods Church family we so far have received the following commitment for 2009:
258 commitments equaling $967,893 (as of 11/6/08)
75 new commitments
57 increased commitments

How does this compare to last year?
$41,189 more in commitments than 2008
75 new commitments received
57 commitments increased from 2008
14 fewer commitments received than 2008 (as of 11/6/2008)
91 commitments from 2008 have not yet responded (as of 11/6/08)

The Finance Committee will soon be finalizing the 2009 budget given these commitment results.

So, THANK YOU to those who have provided commitments to the Platte Woods Church. For those still contemplating making a commitment for 2009, please give serious consideration to contemplation. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Dealing with church finances is always a challenge.

A SUNDAY OF EXCITEMENT -- PART TWO

The electricians found the cause of the problem in the sanctuary – a ballast for one of the fluorescent lights failed, began to smoke and burned out. The ballast has been replaced. The lights are back on. We are ready to resume worship of Almighty God in our sanctuary.

We are not sure why a circuit breaker did not trip and shut off the electricity before the ballast began to burn. We will be checking that issue out.

We found out our sanctuary does not have a smoke detector. We are checking on what it will take to install one.

Although we had an orderly and uneventful evacuation of the building, we are also going to work on improving our emergency procedures in case we have need to respond to like emergencies.

Although inconvenient for our past Sunday morning activities, may we use this incident as a learning moment to better prepare ourselves for dealing with this kind of circumstance if such should happen in the future.

A SUNDAY OF EXCITEMENT

As you may be aware, this past Sunday the 11:00 a.m. worship service was interrupted by smoke in the sanctuary. Ten minutes into the service Pastor Steve suggested the sanctuary be evacuated. As a matter of safety the whole church building was cleared and the day’s activities canceled.

The smoke smelled electrical and seemed to be coming from one of lights in the sanctuary ceiling. The Fire Department was called. Steve also called Larry Fagan, electrical contractor who has a long history and familiarity with Platte Woods Church. Larry responded immediately, coming to the church with one of his company’s electricians. After investigation by the Fire Department and Larry, it was determined the building would be OK. However, it was suggested the lights in the sanctuary be left off until the condition could be checked out.

Monday morning Larry and an electrician again visited the church. We turned the lights on to see what would happen. Nothing happened. Larry suggested the following:

• First, one of Larry’s electricians would check out the lights in the ceiling to see if insulation was placed too close to the light, causing excessive heat buildup and a potential fire hazard.
• Second, Larry is arranging for a mechanical lift to be brought into the sanctuary on Wednesday or Thursday, so as to check on the fluorescent lights above the soffits on the sides of the sanctuary. It could be one of the light ballasts malfunctioned.
• Third, we are arranging to have the furnaces servicing the sanctuary checked to make sure the furnace wiring is not the cause of the problem.

We will have completed all of the above actions by Friday morning. We will let you know the outcome of the investigation. At this time we are planning to hold worship services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, as well as Sunday School.

This has been a learning opportunity for our church community. We accomplished evacuation of the church building in an orderly and efficient fashion. However, we need to develop and post emergency procedures for evacuating our property. At our staff meeting this morning we discussed this issue. We certainly want to provide the safest possible environment for our collective activities! Working with the Church Trustees, we will develop emergency plans for this and other challenges we might face in the future.

And so I give thanks to God no persons were injured and no property damaged. Indeed, it was a Sunday of excitement!

ANOTHER NEW LEARNING

Learning how to do a BLOG has been a lot easier than I thought. The hardest part has been to remember how to get into the blogging program. Once in the program the challenge is to remember how to make sure the composition gets posted.

Now Jennifer Simms has introduced me to another new bit of technology – online surveys. I have seen online surveys and have filled them out. However, I never thought I would be part of developing such a survey. Now I learn we have the ability to do online surveying.

Yesterday, Jennifer posted a survey Pastor Steve and I, with Jennifer’s help, put together. It will be interesting to see the results.

A little background on the survey – As you might be aware we are in the process of developing the 2009 Platte Woods Church budget. We have talked with and received requests from most of the groups in the church. In developing a church budget it is fairly easy to come up with number of dollars we would like to spend. What is vastly more challenging is to determine what resources our members and friends provide for us to use. That is why churches conduct annual stewardship programs. The challenge is to determine if our expected income will meet our expected expenses for the coming year. During the remaining Sundays in October, our pastors will be addressing the issue of stewardship and how we use the resources God has provided for us.

What particularly complicates our process this year is the economic circumstances we are experiencing. We know the movement in the stock market. We hear the job statistics. We experience price changes, especially at the grocery store. We pay varying prices at the gas pump. We wonder where the economy is going. At the church, we begin to wonder how all the economic forces are going to impact the support we receive.

Thus a short, four-question inquiry on the subject of stewardship.

You may participate in the stewardship survey by going to http://www.plattewoodschurch.org/pages/pageshow.cfm?pageID=158.

Thanks in advance for your input.

INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING TIMES!

Yesterday (Monday, September 29), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777 points, the largest one-day decline in the history of this esteemed financial icon. Yesterday the United States House of Representatives failed to pass the so-called “bail out of Wall Street” legislation with conservatives and liberals joining forces to defeat the proposed bill. Yesterday Mike Cole, Platte Woods Church Staff-Parish Relations Committee Chair, sent our staff an article suggesting challenging economic times call for non-profits (including churches) to work strategically in order to meet budget goals.

Yesterday’s events once again reminded me we live in interesting and challenging times.

I don’t know if the 777 number has any special meaning. I do not believe in numerology. Some folks might read something mystical into the 777 point decline experienced by the Dow Jones. About all I read into that number is that it is a big number which undoubtedly had a negative impact on my retirement savings. The 777 number reminds me we live in interesting and challenging times.

I don’t know if the failure to pass the “bail out of Wall Street” $700 billion legislation has any special meaning. I listened to the pundits on NPR, as well as the FOX News Network. It is fascinating to hear how the left wing and the right wing together defeated the proposal. Now there is talk of renewed cooperation to craft amended legislation. Such behavior reminds me we live in interesting and challenging times.

I don’t know if the economic condition we presently experience has any special meaning to our church. I do not know how it cannot. We know our church’s ability to do the work of God is dependent on voluntary contributions. Our church is always challenged to wisely use our financial resources. Doing so during periods of economical upheaval reminds me we live in interesting and challenging times.

What I do know is we are part of an extremely carrying and sharing Christian community. No matter what the external numbers tell us, we will survive and even thrive. As the financial indicators have ups and downs, so will our congregation. Yet as we do ministry in the days and weeks ahead we will find we live in interesting and challenging times. God help us make the most of the opportunities which are ours.

CLASS MEETINGS

John Wesley, the spiritual founder of the Methodist movement, was a proponent of CLASS MEETINGS. It is my understanding that in the early days of Methodism, all of Wesley’s followers were expected to participate in class meetings. A major purpose of the class meeting was to ask participants, “And how is it with your soul?” In other words, class members were asked, “How are you doing?”

This past Sunday, Mike Cole, Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) Chair, and I met with the Seekers Sunday School Class. I think it is appropriate to say that Sunday School classes in part serve the same role as Class Meetings did in John Wesley’s time.

Mike talked about the role of the SPRC in providing guidance for the staffing of the church, and I specifically talked about my job as Executive Pastor. Then Mike asked if there were any questions. And there were questions which for the most part seemed to be, “And how is Platte Woods Church doing?” Those questions sounded much as I imagine an old time Class Meeting would have sounded except the discussion was around the well-being of our church.

This Thursday evening, September 25, 7:00 pm, Pastor Steve is hosting a gathering at which he will talk about the upcoming financial commitment program, when members and friends of the Platte Woods Church will be asked to support the church for 2009. Steve will also receive questions about what and how the church is doing.

If you have any questions or concerns about Platte Woods Church, or if you are interested in what is planned for 2009, Thursday evening’s gathering is an opportunity to find out what is happening. It will be a time when Steve will speak to the “How are we doing?” question. In good Wesleyan tradition we will have an open Class Meeting to discuss, “And how is it with the soul of our church?”

I hope to see you there.

IT'S HARD TO TEACH OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS

I hope to prove that colloquialism wrong!

Although the newest member of the Platte Woods United Methodist Church staff, I think I can claim the title of being the "old dog" on the staff. For me it is better to be the “old dog” than not being at all!

As the newest staff member at the church, I have lots to learn. Foremost on my learning list is trying to remember the names of all the folks who participate in the life of Platte Woods Church. And a long list of folks it is!

Second priority on my list is to learn what an Executive Pastor can contribute to enhance the ministry of Platte Woods Church. Pastor Steve and Mike Cole, Staff Parish Relations Committee Chair, have been most helpful, patient and kind as I make the transition into this new position. Members of the Platte Woods staff have been most tolerant of my coming into their midst -- especially Lori Smith, Director of Finance and Development and Kenny Harper, Facilities Manger.

Also on the list is learning to BLOG. Some time ago I thought I used to know something about computers. Somehow technology moved a lot faster than I did. So, I am now learning about the blogging world. What an amazing communication tool blogging is! Jennifer Simms is doing her best to help my learning curve.

My goal is to use this space and your time to share some of the measurable accomplishments of Platte Woods Church on a timely basis. For instance, this past Wednesday evening (September 11) 191 folks enjoyed a spaghetti dinner during Wednesday At The Woods. This was the largest attendance ever at the Wednesday night event. Also, over $1,100 was raised during the Pie Auction which will go into the Kitchen Fund.

Old Dogs – New Tricks – Technology – Ministry in our midst. It is an interesting world God has gifted to us!

As you have comments or questions, please drop me a note, or even an e-mail.