January 20th, 2008 - Sunday Worship / Congregational MeetingAs Mary and I arrived for the second service Larry greeted us with a little story about a musical request he made in rememberance of Martin Luther King. His request was granted during the offering at first service and Take My Hand, Precious Lord was played. Larry was particularly struck by Liz's singing during first service.
According to his biographer, King's last words on the balcony where he was shot were to musician Ben Branch who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play Take My Hand, Precious Lord in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." Then friends inside the motel room heard the shots and ran to the balcony to find King on the ground.
Per King's request, his good friend Mahalia Jackson sang this favorite hymn of his at the funeral.
David and Kelly played it during the second service as well. Craig and Janice sang it sweetly.
Pastor Dayle gave a sermon that referred, at some points, to the upcoming congregational meeting we would have after the service and the budget coming before us. She preached from 1 Corinthians:
I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ). God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
She emphasized that we are enriched in every way with discourse and knowledge and that we are not lacking in any spiritual gift. She suggested that Creator was in “stagnant” water with our giving as a whole and how God stirs us to “living” water with our ministry.
The congregational meeting that did follow the service was the longest I have attended. There was contention about the budget. Last year, because of reserves from the sale of property to the county, the congregation passed a deficit budget. The reserve was spent last year so we passed a budget that assumes giving will go up 21% from 2007. Pledges were up 23% from last year but the amount pledged is not near what is normally given.
According to his biographer, King's last words on the balcony where he was shot were to musician Ben Branch who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play Take My Hand, Precious Lord in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." Then friends inside the motel room heard the shots and ran to the balcony to find King on the ground.
Per King's request, his good friend Mahalia Jackson sang this favorite hymn of his at the funeral.
David and Kelly played it during the second service as well. Craig and Janice sang it sweetly.
Pastor Dayle gave a sermon that referred, at some points, to the upcoming congregational meeting we would have after the service and the budget coming before us. She preached from 1 Corinthians:
I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ). God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
She emphasized that we are enriched in every way with discourse and knowledge and that we are not lacking in any spiritual gift. She suggested that Creator was in “stagnant” water with our giving as a whole and how God stirs us to “living” water with our ministry.
The congregational meeting that did follow the service was the longest I have attended. There was contention about the budget. Last year, because of reserves from the sale of property to the county, the congregation passed a deficit budget. The reserve was spent last year so we passed a budget that assumes giving will go up 21% from 2007. Pledges were up 23% from last year but the amount pledged is not near what is normally given.
The question is when and if we will need to make hard, significant choices about our expenses or if it is feasible to bring our giving up significantly this year.
We passed a resolution from the Endowment Committee to create an Endowment Fund that will allow us to manage money more effectively. We also elected Craig and Sara to go to Synod Assembly this year and we agreed there should be a Fall Carnival as Outreach ministry to the community.
We passed a resolution from the Endowment Committee to create an Endowment Fund that will allow us to manage money more effectively. We also elected Craig and Sara to go to Synod Assembly this year and we agreed there should be a Fall Carnival as Outreach ministry to the community.
Gretchen spoke about a year of discernment we will enter in 2008 to explore becoming a Reconciling In Christ congregation. This involves making an Affirmation of Welcome that specifically addresses gays and lesbians.
She spoke eloquently about why this Affirmation of Welcome was necessary. She spoke warmly of the welcome she received recently as a new member of Creator. She imagined how different that welcome might have been if she were of a different race, economic class or sexual identity.
It may not even be a question of welcome but for gays or lesbians to have the courage to walk in the door, not knowing if they will be welcome because of all the exclusions and marinalizing the church performed openly in the past. Currently the ELCA's refusal to recognize homosexual clergy is not a message of acceptance.
It was a powerful, moving presentation.
It was a powerful, moving presentation.
Paul next gave a presentation about Solar energy. He wants Creator to explore the possibility of installing solar collectors on Creator's roof to take advantage of tax incentives that may likely disappear in 2008. This would be done together with a number of churches in partnership with a corporation.
He wanted everyone to be clear this would not be anything that would affect Creator's budget but might be gifted by individuals. The understanding is that this would have no effect on what they planned to give to the church. This would be one demonstration of Creator's commitment to stewardship of the earth.
He wanted everyone to be clear this would not be anything that would affect Creator's budget but might be gifted by individuals. The understanding is that this would have no effect on what they planned to give to the church. This would be one demonstration of Creator's commitment to stewardship of the earth.
The Holy Spirit is moving through this congregation in many ways.
posted by Gary at
4:06 AM
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