Updates from the April 26, 2022 meeting
The United Methodist Women’s Creative Directions Circle held their last official meeting in April. They will gather in May for a final luncheon. This group of women has been together for over forty years. We celebrate their faithfulness and all that they have contributed to UMW and our congregation!
The Staff Parish Committee (SPRC) is pleased to announce that a joyous celebration of Rev. O’Kegley-Gibson’s ministry will take place on Sunday, June 5, 2022.
The Finance Committee reports that at the end of March, with 25% of 2022 behind us, we have received 30% of expected pledged giving and 20% of expected non-pledged giving. Overall, receipts from all sources of income represent 27% of our expected income. Most budgeted expenses are at 25% or less, with the obvious exception of the Trustee’s spending $97,555 on a new chiller.
Greg Smith reported our Reconciling Ministries Core Committee, which Council gave permission to form last November, has developed a discernment process tailored for FUMCOR to determine whether our congregation would like to join the Reconciling Ministries Network. The RMN is a grassroots organization of >44,000 members and >1,300 reconciling ministries dedicated to trying to mend (reconcile) relations between the UMC and LGBTQIA+ community. Their proposed discernment process laid out a campaign of education, prayer, sharing, discussion, and then voting. The Council approved the Committee’s process. Look for more information coming soon.
“FirstKids Worship” has taken the place of Children’s Church and lasts for the full length of the 11 am worship services. Children who are in Kindergarten through 3rd grade will spend this hour in free play, singing songs, and participating in a short Bible story lesson. Our Children’s Ministry team is excited to provide this ministry once again, but they need volunteers to help.
We are excited our nursery and children’s Sunday Schoolnumbers continue to grow and that more and more families return to in-person worship! Easter was wonderful with over 40 kids in attendance for our Easter Egg Hunt! In response to the growing number of children in the nursery, Trustees has approved using room 205 (immediately next to the current nursery) for children’s activities on Sunday mornings. The room will remain available for adult meetings and activities during the week.
The Recovery Ministry Committee announced their a major kickoff event, set for Sunday, May 22 at 3 pm. They will be showing “Tipping the Pain Scale,” a feature documentary film following individuals grappling with addiction and their journey to develop new, innovative, and often controversial solutions to the problems of recovery.
The Missions Committee has distributed $35,080.93 in the first quarter (37.9% of its annual budget) to local charities (25,080.93), Central America (4,000), Africa (3,000), and other global ministries (3,000).
The Children’s Ministry Team is so excited Vacation Bible School will soon be here that they wrote original curriculum! Space Trek: Exploring God’s Love for the Universe will be June 13-16 from 6:30-8:30! For this event to be successful, we need as many adult helpers as possible. Contact Shelby Fowler to volunteer!
The SPRC and the First Steps Child Development Center Board is pleased to announce that Ms. Sara Norman has been hired as the next full-time Executive Director of First Steps! We look forward to her leadership of this vital program.
The Enduring Gifts Committee agreed to fund approximately $1350 for paraments for the Altar Guild and $1080.78 for a newsletter tabbing machine.
Our Helping Hands group, under the able leadership of Mark Diemer, continues to assist homebound members with yard work and small tasks such as changing light bulbs.
All parents are encouraged to participate in our upcoming FirstParents event on May 19. Matt Holder and the Recovery Ministries team will provide the program.
After a drop in the number of meals being picked up during the Community Meal, there has been an upsurge. Currently, 140–150 meals are being served each week. Jean Keil has done a phenomenal job organizing our excellent volunteers
XYZ, the luncheon program for Seniors, is looking to resume in May.
New member Melanie Hutsell’s novel, The Book of Susan, is being published by Paraclete Press. The book addresses the challenges of living with bipolar disorder. In recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness month, Melanie will lead a book group on her novel.
Edna Earl Donaghe, a church member who resides at Canterfield is continuing to mail birthday cards to all our members. We are getting donations of cards; more are always welcome.
Our second annual “Red, White, and Bluegrass” concert will take place on Saturday, July 2 and feature “Seth Mulder & Midnight Run.”
The United Methodist Women’s Christian Homemaking Circle met on April 5 with Cara Weigel presenting “Three Moods of Easter,” exploring three different Holy Week experiences.
The FUMCOR Young Adult group continues to meet each Sunday at 12:30 pm at Bud’s Farmhouse Coffee. Their next outing is a Dollywood trip in May. If you or family/friends in their 20’s to 30’s would like to be a part of this group, let Pastor Seth know.
Our Parish Adult Choir would love to welcome new members! If you have ever sung in a choir or would like to, please plan to join us on Wednesdays from 7-8:30 pm in the Music Room. Read music? Great! Don’t read music? No problem!
The Recovery Ministry is currently hosting a monthly Narcan distribution event with ASAP of Anderson on the second Wednesday of every month.
Many of our 9 new Stephen Ministers are now working with Care Receivers. Rev. Jenny is discussing the possibility of our Stephen Ministers performing occasional hospital visitation.
Work on rebuilding our broken chiller (which supplies air conditioning during the summer months) has begun and should be ready for Sunday morning.
We continue to celebrate our 5 youth confirmands that made the decision to join our congregation on Easter morning!
Likewise, we continue to celebrate our our first ever Adult Confirmation Class. Eight participants met weekly throughout Lent to learn about faith, doctrine, tradition, spirituality, and The United Methodist Church. Four persons were baptized on Easter morning, while three of them were confirmed and joined the church!