| Greetings to you and peace
in the name of Jesus Christ! |
| I have several things on my mind right
now as I sit down to get this newsletter article out to
you. First, I have much gratefulness
for your care and concern for me upon the final illness
and death of my father and also for the outpouring of
love and help for Mark Robin after his car wreck. Mark
is slowly healing and your help in keeping Mark and Heather
in food and medications and lots of other things they
needed during this time has touched them and me. What
a great light you are to the world! |
| Second, I’m
thinking about where we go next as a church. We’ve
certainly had a challenging summer and it seems like energy
is a little low right now. That is OK—we all need
a Sabbath rest, and this may be our time to do that. In
this quieter time, however, there are two groups with
mighty tasks in front of them. Those groups are the Building
Committee and the Lay Leadership Committee. Both are meeting
nearly weekly now as they seek to be faithful to the tasks
before them. |
| A number of years ago, I made a phone call
to the office of the church where my family and I attended.
I spoke with one of the pastors and said, “I believe
God is calling me to teach Sunday School this year. Is
there a place for me to serve?” There was a shocked
silence on the other end of the phone. Then the pastor
said, “You are the first person who has ever called
and volunteered to teach Sunday School. We’ve always
had to beg people to do that. Thank you.” |
| This experience came freshly to mind last
week as I sat with the members of the Lay Leadership Committee
as we sought to hear God’s voice concerning those
who will be asked to serve in key leadership positions
in the church for the next one to three years. In the
United Methodist Church, there are three administrative
committees which must be staffed by wise and mature disciples
of Jesus Christ. |
• First is the Staff-Parish Relations
Committee which oversees the work of the
church staff and also consults each year with the
District Superintendent concerning the appointment
of the current pastor.
• Second is Trustees: that
group of people charged with caring for all church
properties and who also are the ones who are empowered
to enter into any contractual relationships necessary
for church functioning.
• Third is Finance which oversees
the fiscal life and health of the church.
|
| In the next few weeks, some of you will
be asked to consider serving on one of these committees.
We ask that you take the time to pray about the request
and then give your answer as God leads. The Spirit of
God is trustworthy and will give you wisdom. |
| But a church does not function on administrative
committees alone. In fact, one that does is not a healthy
church at all, for the focus sits solely on survival,
not on thriving, healthy, joyous growth. There are multiple
other areas where we are asking those who have the interest
and passion to make that phone call to the church office
or send us an email or say something on Sunday morning. |
| Here are some options: |
| Do you have a special care about
the underprivileged and often unnoticed in our community?
Would you like to lead the drives which help provide school
supplies and Christmas gifts and the meeting of multiple
other needs in the name of Jesus? What about welcoming
new members in the community and inviting them to church?
Or calling our visitors and offering a welcome and listening
ear to them? Or being part of the greeting team that shows
such loving hospitality when people enter our doors? If
so, our Outreach and Evangelism Ministries need you. |
| Also, organizations not directly connected
to our church but which are necessary for the good of
our community need your help and time and talents. Meals
on Wheels right now needs some extra volunteers. Rod Barthold
can give you more information if you are interested there.
|
| Do you remember how much you liked
Sunday School as a child and want to help others experience
such joy and fun? Is there a special teacher
who dramatically influenced your life and you’d
like to do the same for others? Do you have a special
interest in helping to form and give guidance to adult
Bible studies and home groups and covenant groups? Then
our educational ministries need you. |
| Do you have organizational and
administrative gifts? Maybe you are not a teacher
or community organizer, but you are gifted with administrative
tasks. How about helping to track attendance and bring
to our attention those who have not been at church for
a while? Or re-organizing the church filing system and
helping to make sure our paperwork is up to date? Or volunteering
to help copy bulletins and newsletters and help with mailings?
Or learning to maintain our church website and expanding
the already growing ministry there?
We especially need someone to serve as volunteer coordinator
who can help care for and nurture and organize the many
volunteers needed to keep the church functioning. |
| Do you like to phone people?
We need loving people who can check on our shut-ins and
help make sure that each week we have people lined up
to serve as ushers and greeters and communion servers.
|
| Do you have a gift for publicity?
We need to keep the Krum UMC very visible in the community.
Can you write articles for the newspaper or create flyers
to post around town or make a video to put on U-Tube?
|
| Do you have the gift of cleaning
and straightening things? We need people to check
kitchen and classrooms and restrooms before and after
the services to make sure each area is left clean and
tidy and properly stocked for next group who will be using
the space. |
| Do you have the gift of hospitality?
How about helping to coordinate the first Sunday lunch
and special needs meals, such as those for funerals? |
| And these areas don’t even
touch things that might be on your heart where you’d
like to make a difference. A good and healthy
church, which I believe we are, seeks to support you to
do what God is calling you to do. What is the tug on your
heart and time and mind and finance? Where do you believe
you can make a difference in the world in the name of
Jesus? Let us know and let’s see what we can do
to nurture birth and life to these ideas. |
| See you in church. |
| Christy |
| The Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas, Pastor, Krum
UMC |
|
| Questions or comments about this article?
Please contact me at christy@krumumc.org
or phone the church office at 940-482-3482. |
|
