Friday, May 28, 2004
Help Wanted & Job Wanted
In an effort to connect people with ministries that need doing, we have posted a list of "ministries in search of ministers" and another list of "ministers in search of ministries" on the web. This way we can easily update them and church members can easily access them.
Our hope is that no church member will go "unemployed" and that no ministry will go begging for want of someone to do it.
Please click the links on the sidebar to check out the two lists.
Our hope is that no church member will go "unemployed" and that no ministry will go begging for want of someone to do it.
Please click the links on the sidebar to check out the two lists.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
The Importance of the Greeting Ministry
Greeting people who come to worship on Sabbath morning is one of the most important ministries in the church. As it has been said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression!" A warm, friendly greeting that says, "I'm really glad you're here! Welcome to our fellowship! You're important to us!", is a crucial experience for members and visitors alike.
To read a good article on this important ministry, click here.
If you would like to join the Greeter's Ministry, click here and send me an email (which I will pass on to the folks who lead the Greeter's Ministry.)
To read a good article on this important ministry, click here.
If you would like to join the Greeter's Ministry, click here and send me an email (which I will pass on to the folks who lead the Greeter's Ministry.)
Friday, May 21, 2004
A Letter to the Church Family...
Dear friends:
Like a house growing gracefully older, our church facility requires ongoing maintenance that is handled within the annual budget as well as periodic needs for major repairs and improvements that cannot be funded from the budget. Most recently, the roof and cooling/heating system of our wrap-around classrooms has come to our immediate attention.
The lower roof (the portion over the classroom addition) has been leaking for some time. Water under the rubber roof is destroying the roof underneath. The rubber roof has failed, primarily due to flashing and seam failure. While the membrane itself has a 20-year warranty, that does not apply to this kind of damage. The roof needs to be repaired sooner rather than later in order to prevent further damage, and summer is the best time to do it. We need to dry it out and install a new seamless system that will permanently seal all flashings and the leaks associated with them. The roof, therefore, is priority number one.
Last spring we noticed that the cooling tower located in the outside “pit” at the east end of the building was leaking. This unit supplies air conditioning to the “wrap-around,” i.e., all the classrooms and fellowship hall. The unit had started to rust and, as you know, rust is a terminal problem. The professional advice was that we could probably get through the summer of 2003, but we should address this as an “urgent” repair and not wait for it to become an “emergency,” i.e., loss of air conditioning to all of the building except the sanctuary. While no one can predict just when total failure will occur, it is probably best to get this done during the summer months as well.
Now for some encouraging news. We are presented with an opportunity which is too good to pass up. As you know, we are endeavoring to improve our capabilities for video/computer presentations and recording in our Sanctuary that would enable us to communicate better to the visually oriented generation that is emerging in our younger population. This project would be in 3 phases: Phase 1 has already been completed with the installation of our screens. Phase 2 includes the purchase of two 10,000 lumen projectors (a vast improvement over our present 2300 lumen projector), the upgrade of our sound booth to house an improved audio board and recording equipment, the installation of a system by Questron to automate lighting, screens and projectors when video is used, and the installation of better lighting for the stage area. Phase 3 would add 4 remotely controlled video cameras and a video editing station to record services digitally. Technology can be expensive when you do it correctly, but our church has always opted to buy and build for the best and future use.
Thankfully, the Kettering Medical Center Network is willing to share costs in this if we will share the use of the equipment with the hospital/network, especially for the October KMCN Mission Conference (for which they would have to rent audio/video equipment if we don’t have it—which is what they had to do last year). This lowers our costs but means that Phase 2 needs to be complete by early fall so the bugs can be worked out in time for Mission Conference. The relationship between the church and the hospital has always been one of mutual support and cooperation, and it is a pleasure to partner with them in gaining the capacity to provide the more image-rich environment that communicating the gospel in our culture requires.
At the Town Hall meeting on May 10, the church approved a recommendation from the Finance Committee to undertake a program to raise funds for these three church projects:
ROOF REPAIRS — $100,000
COOLING TOWER replacement (air conditioning) — $30,000
AUDIO/VISUAL improvements (Phases 1 & 2) — $100,000
This means that we would launch a $230,000 fund-raising program and do it on the following schedule:
• By August 31, 2004 - $180,000 (roof, cooling tower, and audio/video Phase 2 completed)
• By August 31, 2005 - $50,000 (audio/video Phase 3 completed)
Starting now, you will be hearing a lot about these three projects. You can, of course, give to all of them, some of them, or none of them – it’s your choice – but we are hoping that you will choose to donate to the entire project so they can all be accomplished as quickly as possible. The Finance Committee will, of course, make the allocations of funds received as the carrying out of the projects necessitates. Watch for information in the bulletin, in Intercom, here on the Blog and other places. If you have questions, please direct them to me or to Russ Wetherell (Finance Committee chair) or Tom Peebles (Facilities Committee chair) or to Dan Stevens (Facilities Committee staff liason).
As I’ve said before, the good news is that the King of the universe has given us more than enough money to meet the expenses of the gospel enterprise. The bad news is that the money is still in our pockets. But the history of this church is that whatever is necessary usually gets done with quality. Please gather your family around to pray for a word from God as to what He would have you and your family do for this project.
A project commitment card will be provided so that you can designate your contributions to the project(s). To give to the total project, make your gift to Facility Improvements 2004. To contribute to any individual part of the project, designate which part after the above title.
Sincerely,
Dave
David VanDenburgh, D.Min.
Senior Pastor
PS We are also hoping to make some needed changes in the kitchen, i.e., new cabinet doors, countertops and flooring. While this wasn’t presented in time for Town Hall approval, we’re hoping some funds will come in to address these needs. If you wish to designate funds for this project, mark your envelope, Kitchen Updates.
Like a house growing gracefully older, our church facility requires ongoing maintenance that is handled within the annual budget as well as periodic needs for major repairs and improvements that cannot be funded from the budget. Most recently, the roof and cooling/heating system of our wrap-around classrooms has come to our immediate attention.
The lower roof (the portion over the classroom addition) has been leaking for some time. Water under the rubber roof is destroying the roof underneath. The rubber roof has failed, primarily due to flashing and seam failure. While the membrane itself has a 20-year warranty, that does not apply to this kind of damage. The roof needs to be repaired sooner rather than later in order to prevent further damage, and summer is the best time to do it. We need to dry it out and install a new seamless system that will permanently seal all flashings and the leaks associated with them. The roof, therefore, is priority number one.
Last spring we noticed that the cooling tower located in the outside “pit” at the east end of the building was leaking. This unit supplies air conditioning to the “wrap-around,” i.e., all the classrooms and fellowship hall. The unit had started to rust and, as you know, rust is a terminal problem. The professional advice was that we could probably get through the summer of 2003, but we should address this as an “urgent” repair and not wait for it to become an “emergency,” i.e., loss of air conditioning to all of the building except the sanctuary. While no one can predict just when total failure will occur, it is probably best to get this done during the summer months as well.
Now for some encouraging news. We are presented with an opportunity which is too good to pass up. As you know, we are endeavoring to improve our capabilities for video/computer presentations and recording in our Sanctuary that would enable us to communicate better to the visually oriented generation that is emerging in our younger population. This project would be in 3 phases: Phase 1 has already been completed with the installation of our screens. Phase 2 includes the purchase of two 10,000 lumen projectors (a vast improvement over our present 2300 lumen projector), the upgrade of our sound booth to house an improved audio board and recording equipment, the installation of a system by Questron to automate lighting, screens and projectors when video is used, and the installation of better lighting for the stage area. Phase 3 would add 4 remotely controlled video cameras and a video editing station to record services digitally. Technology can be expensive when you do it correctly, but our church has always opted to buy and build for the best and future use.
Thankfully, the Kettering Medical Center Network is willing to share costs in this if we will share the use of the equipment with the hospital/network, especially for the October KMCN Mission Conference (for which they would have to rent audio/video equipment if we don’t have it—which is what they had to do last year). This lowers our costs but means that Phase 2 needs to be complete by early fall so the bugs can be worked out in time for Mission Conference. The relationship between the church and the hospital has always been one of mutual support and cooperation, and it is a pleasure to partner with them in gaining the capacity to provide the more image-rich environment that communicating the gospel in our culture requires.
At the Town Hall meeting on May 10, the church approved a recommendation from the Finance Committee to undertake a program to raise funds for these three church projects:
ROOF REPAIRS — $100,000
COOLING TOWER replacement (air conditioning) — $30,000
AUDIO/VISUAL improvements (Phases 1 & 2) — $100,000
This means that we would launch a $230,000 fund-raising program and do it on the following schedule:
• By August 31, 2004 - $180,000 (roof, cooling tower, and audio/video Phase 2 completed)
• By August 31, 2005 - $50,000 (audio/video Phase 3 completed)
Starting now, you will be hearing a lot about these three projects. You can, of course, give to all of them, some of them, or none of them – it’s your choice – but we are hoping that you will choose to donate to the entire project so they can all be accomplished as quickly as possible. The Finance Committee will, of course, make the allocations of funds received as the carrying out of the projects necessitates. Watch for information in the bulletin, in Intercom, here on the Blog and other places. If you have questions, please direct them to me or to Russ Wetherell (Finance Committee chair) or Tom Peebles (Facilities Committee chair) or to Dan Stevens (Facilities Committee staff liason).
As I’ve said before, the good news is that the King of the universe has given us more than enough money to meet the expenses of the gospel enterprise. The bad news is that the money is still in our pockets. But the history of this church is that whatever is necessary usually gets done with quality. Please gather your family around to pray for a word from God as to what He would have you and your family do for this project.
A project commitment card will be provided so that you can designate your contributions to the project(s). To give to the total project, make your gift to Facility Improvements 2004. To contribute to any individual part of the project, designate which part after the above title.
Sincerely,
Dave
David VanDenburgh, D.Min.
Senior Pastor
PS We are also hoping to make some needed changes in the kitchen, i.e., new cabinet doors, countertops and flooring. While this wasn’t presented in time for Town Hall approval, we’re hoping some funds will come in to address these needs. If you wish to designate funds for this project, mark your envelope, Kitchen Updates.
Another blog you might be interested in
Now that you have experienced a blog, you might be interested in checking out a blog I discovered that originates in Iraq. The blogger is an Iraqi dentist. His take on what is happening in Iraq is first-hand and very interesting. The list of other blogs linked to his blog is also very interesting, including some blogs by some of our own soldiers who are over there. To check it out, click here.
