Sullivan UMC—J. Michael Smith
Pastor Caught in Flagrant Grammatical Misconduct
I throw myself on the mercy of the court. In yesterday’s post, I wrote, “If you have someone who is homebound or lives in a facility that is important to you, please arrange to take me to visit them.”
Unfortunately, this is a congregation full of school teachers. Such sentences grate on an educator’s ear. Therefore, allow me in sincere repentance and deep humility to offer both an apology and a revision:
“If you have someone important to you who is homebound or lives in a care facility, please arrange to take me with you to visit them.”
If you’re not into the English language all that much—I’m not apologizing to you. You already know what I meant.
Hours Next Week
I will be in town all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Please contact me to get on the schedule if you have any matters you want to talk about—or if we have not yet had an informal time to get acquainted.
Guitar Missing
Pastor Mike the First was here yesterday looking for a guitar that somehow escaped its case and is hiding somewhere in the church. We hope. Please let us know if you find it. There is NOT a $1,000,000 reward for turning it in—but perhaps you can get him to play a song of your choice on it.
Income Report
Last Sunday’s offering was $3,477 for the General Fund. Our average weekly need is $4,990.
Road Map to This Year’s Church Organization
The following bureaucratic departments have been RETIRED: Administrative Council, League of Ministries, Nurture, Witness, and Outreach.
The NEW system has only two fundamental parts: the Church Council and the Bridging Table.
The Church Council is organized for efficiency: a group of less than 15 people who manage the various capital assets of the church: property, money, human capital, data capital, technology, cultural capital, social capital, platform capital, etc. The Council members are assigned to care for all the functions of the trustees, finance committee, staff parish relations committee, and nominations and lay leadership committee. The Church Council and its administrative subcommittees are in full compliance with the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church.
Members of the Church Council are:
- Bill Workman, chair
- J. Michael Smith, pastor
- Chip Hagen (trustees)
- Trevor Poe (trustees)
- David Sowers (trustees)
- Bob Lane (finance, staff parish relations)
- Susan Connor (finance, nominations, staff parish relations)
- Kathy Booker (staff parish relations)
- Erica Lehman (staff parish relations, nominations)
- Dennis Ozier (staff parish relations)
- Kendall Brettschneider (staff parish relations)
- Yvonne Workman (finance, nominations)
- Karen Reed (nominations)
- Lois Schuman (nominations)
The Bridging Table is a process rather than a set group. Anyone can participate in the Bridging Table.
- It is a frequent gathering, as needed, often more than once a month
- of people who want to organize programs that we have done in the past
- of people who have new ideas
- of people who lead small groups in the church
The Bridging Table has three functions:
- Connect—with people with needs and dreams
- Calendar—reserve a time and a space for the program
- Capitalize—work with the church council to get the funds, materials, spaces, data, communication platforms, etc. that our programs need
The Bridging Table (we pray) will help foment a culture of collaboration, joy, generosity, and mutual support among all the people who are serving God and neighbor through our church.
Each gathering of the Bridging Table will last an hour and focus on no more than two ideas, groups, or events.
The Bridging Table is where we will be asking everyone the following questions (sometimes in different ways—depending on the ministry under consideration:
Questions to be thinking about for every group, ministry, program, event, new idea, etc.:
- Who are you serving? Name names.
- What do the people you serve have in common? (holes in their lives, burdens, dreams)
- Among those whom you serve—what changes have taken place in their lives in the last year?
- What is your process for listening to the people you serve?
- What concerns do you have for your group or program or idea? Where are you being challenged?
- Who are your next ten new participants?
- How many people partner with you in putting on the program?
- What is your plan to listen to potential new participants?
- What capital resources do you need from the church (funds, space, equipment, supplies, pastor’s time, staff time, data, communication platforms, other human resources, etc.)
- What is your guiding Bible story for the group, project, or event? (How are you seeking to be like Jesus?)
- What fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) are you focused on at any given time?
- What expressions of nurture, witness, and outreach are present in your program or small group?
Remember, this BRIDGES process is an experiment intended to help us improve unity, communication, and fruitfulness in all we do in the name of the church. We are all learning together, and there will be times of confusion and times we need to go back to the drawing board. So—relax, chill, take a deep breath, have some fun, think, ask questions, challenge the pastor—and let’s see what we can all learn to help our church grow, heal, and become stronger.
People who attended the first two “informational” BRIDGING TABLE sessions: Ann Wheeler, Bob and Teresa Lane, Lois Shuman, Yvonne Workman, Esther Nelson, Laura Elder, Dennis Ozier, Chris Martin, Merll and Susan Connor, Mackenzie Hoss, Roger and Janet Roney, Mary Ann Hecht, and Kristen Blakey. Feel free to talk to any of them for more information. Or talk to me!
Repertoire 