Busy Night for the church
Tonight our church had the winter voters meeting. During this meeting we vote for the new budget and elect half of the church council. And since this is the time when the whole congregation is together, it is the time to bring up new business. Needless to say this is a long meeting.
But, first things first. Sarah had volunteered to do kid sitting during the meeting. This was mentioned several times in church to get those with kids to come to the meeting. Unfortunately, this very afternoon, Nick comes down with a fever of 102. There is no way he's leaving the house. Which, of course, means that there is no way that Sarah can leave the house. Thus I had to scramble to find someone at the meeting who I could ask to work for Sarah. Luckily, I was able to convince a member of the youth group to fill in.
As for the meeting itself, other than the hour that it took to get the budget squared away, there were two things of interest. First, I was elected secretary of the congregation. Now since I was running unopposed, you can tell how inviting such a position in the church is. Yet, I'm glad to be back on the council.
Second, and far more remarkable, is that the congregation agreed to allow our unused parsonage to be made available for temporary housing for disaster relief victims or refugees. Since November, I have been the point person for this project. And I didn't think the congregation was going to approve this.
This year the parsonage was used by our vicar, however, we could not afford a vicar this year. This particular piece of property has been a contentious white elephant. We have it free and clear, but the home is so old that to use it for anything other than a house would be to expensive. It sat unused for two years, was used by our vicar who just left, and was about to go dormant again. Many people wanted to do things with the building, but without new funding, nobody's plans could really go beyond pipe dreams.
Added to that, the congregation is alittle skittish and slightly zenophobic. The neighborhood is turning Hispanic, but the congregation has made no effort to attract them to the church. I have heard, on more than one occasion, that newer immigrants would not be a positive addition to the church.
But, apparently my presentation (and the Holy Spirit) must have won enough of them over to give this a try. Also the fact that the Gospel reading two weeks ago was Matthew 25 didn't hurt. The only limitation they put on me is that we are trying this through March and re-evaluating it then. Luckily, World Exodus Service called me on Friday with a possible need. I hope to get this rolling as soon as possible.
But, first things first. Sarah had volunteered to do kid sitting during the meeting. This was mentioned several times in church to get those with kids to come to the meeting. Unfortunately, this very afternoon, Nick comes down with a fever of 102. There is no way he's leaving the house. Which, of course, means that there is no way that Sarah can leave the house. Thus I had to scramble to find someone at the meeting who I could ask to work for Sarah. Luckily, I was able to convince a member of the youth group to fill in.
As for the meeting itself, other than the hour that it took to get the budget squared away, there were two things of interest. First, I was elected secretary of the congregation. Now since I was running unopposed, you can tell how inviting such a position in the church is. Yet, I'm glad to be back on the council.
Second, and far more remarkable, is that the congregation agreed to allow our unused parsonage to be made available for temporary housing for disaster relief victims or refugees. Since November, I have been the point person for this project. And I didn't think the congregation was going to approve this.
This year the parsonage was used by our vicar, however, we could not afford a vicar this year. This particular piece of property has been a contentious white elephant. We have it free and clear, but the home is so old that to use it for anything other than a house would be to expensive. It sat unused for two years, was used by our vicar who just left, and was about to go dormant again. Many people wanted to do things with the building, but without new funding, nobody's plans could really go beyond pipe dreams.
Added to that, the congregation is alittle skittish and slightly zenophobic. The neighborhood is turning Hispanic, but the congregation has made no effort to attract them to the church. I have heard, on more than one occasion, that newer immigrants would not be a positive addition to the church.
But, apparently my presentation (and the Holy Spirit) must have won enough of them over to give this a try. Also the fact that the Gospel reading two weeks ago was Matthew 25 didn't hurt. The only limitation they put on me is that we are trying this through March and re-evaluating it then. Luckily, World Exodus Service called me on Friday with a possible need. I hope to get this rolling as soon as possible.
posted by Peter Young @ 10:49 PM
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