Month: November 2009

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Thank You

thanksJenny and I want to take the opportunity to thank Faye Millen and Becky Griffiths  for providing us with a great performance for special music yesterday. We love it that some of the best musical performances in town can be heard during regular morning worship at First United Methodist Church.

We also want to thank everyone who showed up yesterday for the hanging of the greens. Everyone was exhausted when the work was done, but the work was done well and the chapel, sanctuary, and lobby look great.

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Voice of the Day: Blessed Fruits

This nation is affluent and has more than it needs. The realization that what we have is a free gift can deepen our desire to share this gift with others who cry out for help. When we bless the fruits of the harvest, let us at least realize that blessed fruits need to be shared.
– Henri J.M. Nouwen, from his book The Genesee Diary

voice-mic

Via Sojourners:

This nation is affluent and has more than it needs. The realization that what we have is a free gift can deepen our desire to share this gift with others who cry out for help. When we bless the fruits of the harvest, let us at least realize that blessed fruits need to be shared.

— Henri J.M. Nouwen, from his book The Genesee Diary

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Consecration Sunday Statistical Results

Statistical Report on Consecration Sunday Results
A total of 62 giving units (husbands and wives or single persons) completed Estimate of Giving Cards this year.
A total of 33 of these giving units reported increasing their financial commitment above their last year’s amount.
A total of 122,949 was committed.
Based on giving records from the last twelve months, we can expect to receive $123,853 during the coming year from people who have consistent giving patterns during the past twelve months but are not present today.
Based on the amount of cash offerings in the last twelve months, we can expect to receive roughly $5,700 during the coming year from that source.
This gives us a grand total of $252,502 in anticipated giving in 2010.
Giving to our general operating budget and trustees maintenance fund from these sources during the last twelve months was $231,302.47.
That’s an increase of  $ 21,000   or  9%.

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Mark Twain popularized the saying: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, lies condemned to hell [not exactly Twain’s phrasing], and statistics.” Please keep that adage (and the fact that God did not call me into ministry because I was skilled in the compilation of statistics) in mind when reviewing the following:

A total of 62 giving units (husbands and wives or single persons) completed Estimate of Giving Cards this year.

A total of 33 of these giving units reported increasing their financial commitment above their last year’s amount.

A total of $122,949 was committed.

Based on giving records from the last twelve months, we can expect to receive $123,853 during the coming year from people who have consistent giving patterns during the past twelve months but are not present today.

Based on the amount of cash offerings in the last twelve months, we can expect to receive roughly $5,700 during the coming year from that source.

This gives us a grand total of $252,502 in anticipated giving in 2010.

Giving to our general operating budget and trustees maintenance fund from these sources during the last twelve months was $231,302.47.

That’s an increase of  $ 21,000 or 9%.

On behalf of Coffeyville First United Methodist Church, Jenny and I want to extend a hearty thank you to everyone who participated. Your faithfulness enables the continuation of  your church’s many ministries.

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Hanging of the Greens Scheduled

christmas-ornamentsWe’ve scheduled the Hanging of the Greens for Sunday, November 29, 2009 at 4 pm. “The Hanging of the Greens” is just another way of saying that we’ll be decorating the church for the Advent and Christmas seasons. Everyone who is willing is invited to come and lend a hand.

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Church Conference Reminder

calendarsmall

A gentle reminder that District Superintendent Janet Maxwell will be here on Tuesday, December 8 to meet with the PPR Committee at 6 pm and to convene the Church Conference at 6:45 pm. All members are urged to attend the church conference, guests are welcome, but are not eligible to vote.

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The Conversion of the Purse

GivingIn my sermon last Sunday, I shared a quote commonly attributed to Martin Luther: “There are three conversions necessary in the Christian life: the conversion of the heart,  the mind, and the purse.” I then shared my own conviction that the first two are never complete without the third.

To me that conviction is at the heart of the rationale behind Consecration Sunday. Faithful stewardship of our finances, including the portion that we render back to God through Christ’s church, is a necessary component of spiritual maturity. Indeed, I’ve come to believe that the single best indicator—not determinant, but indicator—of the level of a person’s maturity in the Christian faith is their giving.* Growing ever more faithful in our stewardship of the resources God has entrusted to us is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition of continuing to mature in our faith. Consecration Sunday serves to remind us of the necessity of giving—not for the sake of the church, the body of Christ, as a whole, but for our sake, as individual members therein. By helping to prompt growth in our giving, Consecration Sunday helps us, as individuals, to grow and mature in our faith.

I am learning to preach, to teach, and to talk about financial stewardship without embarrassment or apology. I’m learning to proclaim the necessity of faithful stewardship without worrying about what people (especially first-time visitors) will think. I’m not there yet, but I draw closer every year.

*There are other indicators, of course. Other disclaimers: I believe it’s possible that there are people who are growing spiritually, but still giving sparingly. I believe that there are people so wealthy that even a very high level of giving does not require much sacrifice and therefore may not indicate spiritual maturity. I’m quite certain that there are people who practice giving at a high level, but are not spiritually mature. In addition, I should note that our financial support is not the only way we are called to contribute to the cause of Christ and that the mix of time, talents, and treasure may vary from one faithful person to the next. We are called to give of what we have, not of what we don’t.

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Hurry Home

Driving to Braum’s to get some milk this morning I heard “Hurry Home” by Jason Michael Carroll on the radio. I was immediately reminded of the parable of the prodigal son, in large part because of the refrain:

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, I still love you.
It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, you can still come home.
And honey if it’s you, we’ve got a lot of making up to do.
And I can’t hug you on the phone, so hurry home.

I think I feel a sermon coming on.

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Hunger a Growing Problem

shoppingcart

The lead paragraph of a recent article in the Washington Post really got my attention:

The nation’s economic crisis has catapulted the number of Americans who lack enough food to the highest level since the government has been keeping track, according to a new federal report, which shows that nearly 50 million people — including almost one child in four — struggled last year to get enough to eat.

Later on, this paragraph got my attention:

The report’s main author at USDA, Mark Nord, noted that other recent research by the agency has found that most families in which food is scarce contain at least one adult with a full-time job, suggesting that the problem lies at least partly in wages, not entirely an absence of work.

These two paragraphs, along with the rest of the article served to powerfully remind me of the importance of the food pantry. If these are the numbers for the nation as a whole, I can scarcely imagine what they must be for Coffeyville.