The New Church Year has begun. The final pieces of the Church Leadership Puzzle have been put into place. The Deacons have met and chosen their leaders and they selected the new team leaders. These team leaders have been busy recruiting their team members. If you have not been asked, then go to the one who is leading the ministry you are excited about and volunteer. Below you will find the Deacon Teams and their new leaders. The new Deacon Officers are: Chair – Judy Bendle, Vice-Chair – Margaret Robinson and Secretary – Nancy King. This also fills out the positions on the Church Council and the Ministry Leaders Teams. Those names are listed below as well.

Deacon Teams

Grief Support Ministry Team – Nancy King Visitation Team – Donald Leggett and Linda Pickering
CABC Orientation Team – Beverly Wong Mission Outreach – Rosa Coleman Spiritual Support Team – Annette Bryant and Margaret Robinson
Partnership Ministry Team – Rosa Coleman and Nancy King

Church Council

Pastor – Howard Germany Deacon Chair – Judy Bendle Trustee Chair – Doris Wollett Treasurer – Melanie Hickman Church Clerk – Gloria Lucy

Ministry Leaders

Pastor – Howard Germany
Minister to Families – Claire George Mission Outreach Team Leader – Rosa Coleman Director of Bible Study – Nancy King Deacon Vice Chair – Margaret Robinson Music Coordinator – Lee Germany Nominating Committee Chair – TBA

Make plans to attend the Bi-Annual business meeting on October 13. We will begin promptly at 9:30 in the Fellowship Hall. If you have an item to be included on the agenda, please give that to our Moderator, Doris Wollett or Pastor, Howard Germany by Wednesday, October 9.

Howard

September begins a new church year and with this new year we begin living into our new structure in earnest. The Church Council has had several meetings. They are preparing for the first Semi-Annual Business meeting. By the way the date has been changed to October 13th due to Allen and me being away on the 6th. The meeting will take place during the Sunday School hour. We will begin promptly at 9:30 AM. All members and regular attenders are encouraged to attend. Both groups are allowed to speak and vote.

The Ministry Leaders will meet on Wednesday, August 28 to work on a coordinated calendar for the new church year. The Theme for the year will be: “Love In Action.” Hopefully we will be planning events that help us show God’s love in concrete ways.

The Deacon’s will meet on Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30. They will elect officers and choose new Deacon Team Leaders. September 8th the Deacons will be recruiting team members to assist them with their work. Please find them and volunteer to help.

The new Sunday School year is also beginning. I hope that many of you will make a renewed commitment to study God’s word with a small group of people each Sunday. There are plenty of options for the adults. I hope you will find your place. We are also doing some regrouping of our children and youth classes, so I hope our children and youth will make an effort to attend and give the new classes a try.

Howard

Our church held its last Quarterly Business meeting in July. The reason it is the last one is not because we are going out of business but because we are moving to a Bi-Annual meeting in the Fall and Spring. We will meet on Sunday mornings during the Bible Study Hour. The first of those meetings will be held on Sunday, October 6th. We took care of some important business in that final meeting.

We elected three deacons to begin service on September 1. These individuals are: Linda Pickering, Rosa Coleman, and Annette Bryant. We will be scheduling an ordination service in September or October.

We also re-elected most of our church officers, the one change is in Historian. Lori Robertson is step- ping away from that responsibility and Donna Adams has agreed to take it on. There is a new position, Music Coordinator. My wife, Lee Germany, has agreed to take it on. The responsibility is to coordinate the Music program of the church, including special choirs, the calendar of the Saints Alive and Handbell Choir, and any special music. She will continue to work with Allen and others to get the work done. The other change is the position of Moderator. The pastor will no longer serve as Moderator of business meetings. Doris Wollett has agreed to serve in this role.

We also elected our first team leaders. They are as follows: Shepherd Team Leader – Judy Bendle; Sanctuary Readiness Team Leader – Sandy Beale; Media Team Leader – Russ Gathright; Building and Grounds Team Leader – Steve Brown; Fel- lowship Team Leader – Gloria Lucy; Special Events Team Leader – Lynne Lilley. The Nominating Committee is still seeking a team leader for the Tally Team.

In August, there will be sign up sheets in the Fellowship Hall for everyone, (members or attenders) to pick the team you want to be a part of. If you are not sure of the responsibilities, talk with one of the team leaders. They will also be recruiting team members. For this new structure to work, we need people to volunteer where you want to serve.

Howard

The new Constitution and Bylaws as well as the new Operations Manual were approved by church vote on Sunday, June 2. We are now transitioning into the new order. There will be some overlap. For instance, we will have our final Quarterly Business Meeting on Wednesday, July 17 for the purpose of approving the Nominating Committee Report. That report will mostly consist of electing Team Leaders so they can begin the process of enlisting the members of their team for the coming year. We will also elect 3 new Deacons at that time.

The first Bi-Annual Meeting will take place during the Sunday School hour, the first or second Sunday of October. The Church Council will meet soon and make a decision on the date of that meeting. At that time we will hear Finance Reports, as well as reports from various teams about the work they have been doing.

There will be a time of transition and learning as we work into our new structure. Be patient and allow for some flexibility as we move forward. It will take some adjustment, but in the end, we will have a simpler structure with fewer meetings, but hopefully, more ministry being performed.

Howard

Summer is here! May was a month of extremes. Lows in the 40s and highs in the 90s. Rainy cool weather followed by hot and humid weather. Now Memorial Day has come and gone. School is almost out and graduations are on the horizon. All of that tells us that summer is here!

We do not have any active church members who are graduating from High School this year. If you have a relative that you would like us to list in the Sunday Bulletin on June 9th who is graduating from High School, College, Technical School or Graduate School, please get the information to Brenda by Monday, June 3rd.

With summer comes a change in the church schedule. We will not meet on a regular basis on Wednesday evenings this summer. There will be a committee and team meetings that will take place on Wednesdays. The first of those is our Deacons Meeting on Wednesday, June 5th at 6:30 PM. Pay attention to the calendar for other meetings.

Wednesday, June 12 we will have our first of three “Picnics at the Park.” They will all begin at 6 PM. You are encouraged to bring whatever you want to eat. This is not a “covered dish” or a “shared meal.” You eat what you bring. The picnic meal will be followed by whatever fun you want to bring. It can be an activity or a board game or go for a walk or sit and talk. In June we will meet at Dorey Park, in July at Three Lakes Nature Park & Aquarium and in August at Osborne Landing. There will be no decision made about the weather. You will decide for yourself if you want to come based on the weather on the day of the Picnic. We will meet on June 12, July 10th and August 21st.

Finally, I encourage you to dress casually for worship this summer. It is going to be hot and we all need to dress for the weather. Dress modestly, but comfortably for worship. Most likely we will meet in the Fellowship Hall in July and August to save on AC. A decision will be made on that and we will announce it in the July newsletter and on the church website.

Have a great Summer.

Howard