REMARKS TO THE CONGREGATION

The Church Council appointed a task force in late January/early February to deal with budgetary matters. There was a gap between pledged receipts for 2013 and the proposed operating budget for the church. The pledged receipts form the base of the operating budget; the leadership of the church, both lay and pastoral, wants to be good stewards of the resources that have been promised to do the work of God in this congregation and operate FUMC /Open Door.

The finance committee had met multiple times to finalize the 2013 operating budget but the gap between receipts and expense still existed and they asked the Church Council for guidance, which is how this task force came into being. Membership on this task force included: leaders from Staff Parish, Lay Leaders, Trustees, Finance Committee, Stewardship, pastoral staff, and representatives from multiple program and ministry areas.

The task force shared their work with the finance committee which then approved the budget recommendation to the March 25, 2013 Church Council meeting, which then voted and approved the 2013 operating budget for FUMC/Open Door. Information about the budget was mailed in a FAQ format to everyone. Likewise, the Just a Thought or Two in the bulletin and email spoke in detail about the budget.

You all know about the announcement last week of Mary Cartwright’s new appointment, and we know that God is guiding her ministry and how well and faithfully she has served us. However, she is leaving here because our budget does not allow us to continue to support 3 elders in full connection. Likewise other personnel reductions and closing of the building on Saturday are being done to allow us to live within our means. Weddings and funerals will be held as scheduled.

At the same time, personal giving is for the most part increasing in our congregation; but the availability of outside sources of revenue such as the rent formerly received on the post office property are no longer available. We do not have a large unrestricted endowment that spins off income for operations: we currently live out of the offering plate. We want to become debt free and want to begin to provide for the long term financial sustainability of this worshipping congregation.

The decisions made about the budget are about "right sizing"  the congregation’s expectations. None of this has been easy and hard decisions have been made. Remember that this has been and will be a difficult time for our staff both those who are leaving and those who remain; whatever is changing for the congregation is changing many times over for the staff. Please pray for them and be gracious when things change. These changes will mean that more volunteers from the congregation will be needed to step forward and take on more responsibility as it relates to a variety of activities/ ministries associated with FUMC/Open Door.

There are many, many good and God-led things going on here. We will see the construction and dedication of the long awaited Courtyard/ Labyrinth/Columbarium and the clearing of the old post office building this year. We will begin to plan for a future renovation of our sanctuary and contiguous spaces.

Our children, youth and college age ministries as well as our small group life are growing and alive. The breadth and depth of our outreach ministries are nothing short of phenomenal. Our worship and music ministries are vibrant and our faith is alive. God is calling us forward and in taking these steps we are preparing ourselves to move forward stronger than ever.

Thank you, May the grace of God be with each of you.


E.G. White
Chair, Budget Task Force

FLESH AND BLOOD & STONE AND MORTAR NEWS

(Please read all the way to the end of this article. If you miss this you’ll wish you hadn’t!)

When you read the book of Acts, which is a history of the early Jesus community, it is sometimes a challenge to keep track of all the developments, issues, and movement of people. When God is at work things have a habit of happening… of changing.

We have major news about the flesh and blood side of our life. Members of our ministry/team are changing.

Pastor Mary Cartwright has been appointed, effective July 1, 2013  as lead pastor of Nashville UMC over in Brown County by Bishop Michael J. Coyner and the UMC Cabinet (10 District Superintendents meeting together). Mary has been a blessing to FUMCB/The Open Door. Her new appointment is a great “fit” for her gifts and graces, but she will be missed here. Watch for details about a farewell for Mary later in the spring.

Our church staff is moving from having 3 full time ordained pastors to 2 full time pastors with a part-time local pastor or retired ordained pastor. This reduction in our staff is happening because of the reduction in our operating budget.

Also, we will be saying “goodbye and blessings” to Darren Wright in June as he and Tish relocate to Nashville, TN following her graduation from law school. Darren has provided outstanding leadership to our senior high youth ministries and has partnered with Travis Jeffords to lead our Jubilee College Ministries. A search committee is beginning to work. Our commitment to youth and young adult ministries is sure.

Finally, on the people side of things we thank Cindy Lonnberg for her faithful work in the area of communications/newsletters. Her position was eliminated effective April 1st as we worked to bring our budget in line with expected income.
 

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Now here is big news on the stone and mortar side of things: this Summer we expect to remove the old post office building from the lot on 4th street AND to break ground on the long-delayed courtyard project.

Things are moving more quickly on the demolition of the old post office building as bids have been received, our Trustees have secured a city permit to move forward, etc. As a result, that project may start several weeks before we break ground on the courtyard project.

Long term plans for the lot have yet to be finalized. In the meantime, we will have the existing parking area to use and our plan is to have sod/grass where the current building stands.

Soon after we begin clearing the lot across the street we’ll have a party and break ground on the courtyard/ labyrinth/columbarium/peace garden. The contractor on the courtyard project will be able to use some of the old post office lot for the storage of construction materials.

The good news continues: the cost estimate on demolition of the old post office building is significantly below previous estimates. Also, we will NOT be going into debt for either project since we have the funds in hand right now to begin the work. (Thanks to a great team of lay leaders who have stepped forward and donated approximately $100,000 in 2nd mile giving to help take the old post office building down!)
 

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Acts 9:31 refers to the early Church and says it “had peace and was being built up.” Please keep your church in prayer as our staff members leave and others come, and as some long delayed physical projects move forward.

See you in worship this Sunday!

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark

PLAY LIKE YOU'RE LOVED

As we continue our conversation this week on what it means to be Easter people, I wanted to share with you a touching story that has come out on the heels of the NCAA tournament. Scott Nagy is head coach for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Jackrabbits turned some heads this year qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the 2nd straight year with another Summit league championship and an undefeated season at home.

The really interesting thing about the Jackrabbits is their unique team motto. Unlike other teams with mottos such as “Play Angry,” “Louisville First,” or “We On,” Coach Nagy’s motto for the Jackrabbits is “Play like you’re loved.”  When asked what the motto means, Nagy said, "what I want our guys to know is that family, teammates, and coaches love them and that you don't have to perform in order to know that you are loved."

Maybe we should take a cue from Coach Nagy. His team speech just prior to the conference championship game that sent them the NCAA tournament ended with this: "I want you to play like you're loved. Play freely. Love isn't dependent on your performance. No matter how you play, you are loved. Play with that in mind."

Isn’t that what it means to be an Easter people? Isn’t the beauty of the tomb being empty that the death, darkness, and junk we hold onto in our lives was conquered so that we could live in God’s love for us? Isn’t that what Paul meant in his letter to the church at Ephesus writing, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

As you go through this next week know that you aren't charged with earning God's love. Your challenge is to believe it, accept it, and revel in it…to live in the knowledge of acceptance and forgiveness, of being made new in Christ, and to pass it along to others you encounter. Discover and embrace the freedom and joy that is found when you start to “play like you’re loved.” 

-Darren

START DANCING

It seems like every 6 months or so there's a new video on the internet that everyone's watching. Right now, it's the 'Harlem Shake'. There are thousands of different versions of the video, some of which have over 70 million views. If you haven't seen it yet, your kids definitely have. Each of the Harlem Shake videos lasts about 30 seconds and contains the same formula.

They begin with a group of people in a room acting very serious (or, what we usually call 'normal'). Then one person, out of nowhere, starts dancing. They're swinging their limbs (or sometimes thrusting their hips...I won't get go in to too much detail about that), and yet everyone else goes about their same routine - completely ignoring their charismatic and spontaneous peer. 15 seconds later and BAM!, everyone  is moving, shaking, gyrating, twisting, and jumping in their own way. A room of complete joy and freedom and movement!  It's pretty great.

They're also videos we all identify with. Haven't we all felt trapped by the rigidity of life? Haven't we been unaware of what's happening around us because we're blinded by routine, by work, by the past...afraid of change, of failure...of death? As we celebrate this Easter season, we remember that Jesus' resurrection is a sign of God's insistence that the world is not a place where humanity is destined to be bound up and shackled. Our story does not end in death and misery...our story ends with dancing. Jesus may have been the first one to get up out of His grave, that first person in the room to start dancing while everyone else is frozen in their fear, but God tells us that in the end, Jesus won't be the only one celebrating at the party.

I wonder in this season - what would it mean for us to start dancing? What would it look like for us to live with freedom and spontaneity and a joy that gets us up out of our chairs and dancing with God? What would it mean for us to really come alive in Christ? What would worship look and feel like if we were dancing and smiling and shaking for a God who promises that the final word is not death - but life?

Love wins,

Travis Jeffords

Open Door Worship Leader
Jubilee Co-Coordinator