Sullivan UMC—J. Michael Smith
Today is National Dress Up Your Pet Day
Okay—I have a problem with this. As a cranky old preacher, I would like to point out that God tells Adam to name the animals, not dress them up. And while God himself makes clothes for Adam and Eve (as they get ready to leave the Garden of Eden), animals are left free to roam the earth in their birthday suits. From the caterpillar to the kangaroo to the cockatoo, I say, let the animals strut their stuff.
I am willing to give in, however, when it comes to those domestic dogs that have been so overbred over the years that they can’t tolerate the cold unless we gussy them up. But since dogs, stereotypically, have absolutely no shame anyway, (as opposed to cats—who have their own personality disorders), I suppose even God is up for a good laugh should you decide to decorate your pooch today.
My schedule this week:
- At the church today10-5 and tomorrow (Thursday) 9-5
- Available by phone, email, or text anytime: 217-898-3148, jms754@gmail.com
Insider news:
- We had our first Church Council meeting of the year last night. In attendance: Bill Workman, Susan Connor, Kendall Brettschnieder, Mike Smith, Bob Lane, Lois Shuman, Erica Lehman, Chip Hagen, Yvonne Workman. The meeting was primarily taken up with a presentation I gave on how the tasks of the Church Council according to the Book of Discipline (The rulebook of the United Methodist Church). I also introduced an alternative way of organizing for the church’s ministries, (previously the Nurture, Outreach, and Witness committees and the Ministry League) which I will be sharing in this post next week.
- The Council received the treasury report current as of January 12, 2026: The General Fund balance was $50,080. Rule of thumb: a church with our annual budget ($260,000 for 2026) needs to aim for averaging a $52,000 in the general fund—in order to avoid cash flow crunches which can occur due to erratic patterns of giving (some people give only once a year) and inconsistent monthly expense totals—which fluctuate both seasonally and monthly. The General Fund is sound right now.
- Our average monthly budget need for 2026 is $21,600, with a weekly average need of $4,490. Our income this past Sunday (unofficial report) was a little over $4,000.
- Our reserve accounts are currently a little over $40,000—money held in savings to be used for any building improvements, repairs, emergencies or unexpected operating expenses. Rule of thumb: given a church with this size membership and the buildings (church and parsonage) we own, that figure should be closer to $100,000. Any contributions to that savings fund will be appreciated.
Finally, my apologies for getting two emails from me one day—and none yesterday. (Bruce Hecht is calling today a doubleheader.) I ran into a glitch trying to get yesterday’s mailing out—and had no Plan B in place. So Yvonne came to the rescue and helped me get TWO of them out today.
Repertoire 