Annual Meeting Sunday
Don't forget - the Annual Meeting is Sunday after worship! If you don't have the hardcopy of the Annual Report at your fingertips, you can review and read it HERE. The Zoom link is posted in Just Three Things.
Happy Groundhog Day!
Perhaps you have seen this story. If you haven't, here you go.
Can anybody tell me what Easter is all about?” asked the Sunday school teacher. The kids had been particularly restless and goofy that morning, and she was hoping for one good Bible lesson before they all went home.
One little hand shot up into the air, and the teacher gratefully called on the eager child. “Yes?” she said. “What is Easter all about?”
“Easter,” the child said confidently, “is the day that Jesus rose up from the grave …” “Yes?” the teacher encouraged. “And came out of the tomb …” “Yes?” she prodded. “But then he saw his shadow and went back into the tomb for another six weeks!”
Aaargh! So close. And yet, so far.
Today is Groundhog Day, when a fictional furry rodent is said to climb out of his hole in the ground, and if he sees his shadow, we all supposedly get another six weeks of winter. It’s a 137-year-old legend, told in the U.S. and Canada, and according to Wikipedia, delivers accurate weather results about 35-40% of the time.
Let's hope this is a correct year for the not at all fictional Buckeye Chuck and Punxatawney Phil, neither of which saw their shadow today.
Congrats and Prayers for Maureen and Duane
Much joy, celebration, but also concern for Maureen and Duane this February. On Wednesday, Maureen celebrated her birthday, and yesterday, Maureen and Duane celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! Congrats on these milestones, and we wish many more for you. Prayers also, as Duane goes in for major surgery on Wednesday, which will be followed by up to a week in the hospital, and then continued recovery at home. You are very much in our prayers!!
Getting Packed
Well, not really. But I will need to soon. My United flight (nonstop - yayy!) to Denver departs Sunday at 8:35 am. Then a 2-hour afternoon van ride from the airport to the Winter Park Mountain Lodge. First session is Sunday evening, then sessions Monday through Thursday in the morning and evening, and during the day up the mountain for skiing. I fly back to Ohio on Friday morning, and should be back home by late afternoon. Looking forward to a good week. For more info on this unique continuing education event, you can go HERE.
Pastor Paul Will Cover On February 7, 8 and 9
With both Maureen and I out next week, Pastor Paul has agreed to cover any emergencies that may arise on February 7, 8 and 9.
Organ Will Soon Get MIDI Connection to SOS
Our SOS (Substitute Organists Service) has really gone a long way in getting us through the interim to a new organist. The next step is to "map" the MIDI interface which we have on our organ to work with the SOS app on the iPad that I have been using to play digital tracks of an organ playing through the sound system. The new method will have the SOS actually playing our organ. Greg Jess is our point man for this process, and has been diligently and enthusiastically working to get this connection made. We will receive special cables to program the MIDI and connect to the iPad, and a special program installed on Greg's laptop will enable an SOS connection to "map" our organ so the service can play the right notes.
Sunday Organist Candidate Will Play on February 18
I received a phone call yesterday (Thursday) from a person interested in the Sunday organist position, and possibly also the choir director position. She has agreed to play for the Sunday service on February 18 in a substitute role, with the hope that she would be hired as the regular Sunday organist. She is a professional musician who (found this on the web)
has served two large Presbyterian congregations as Music Director/Organist over the last thirty-five years. She knew from an early age that her calling was church music. (She) holds a Bachelor's Degree in Organ Performance from Occidental College in Los Angeles and a Master of Music degree in Church Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
She will be sending a resume, which I will forward to Executive Committee. I have been working on job descriptions and employment agreements for these positions, which I will share with Exec on the 12th.
A reminder that the weekend of February 17-18 is also our Saturday organist Hyo's first time playing. With our candidate playing on Sunday, we will have no need of SOS and the iPad. Yayy! If our candidate is indeed hired, we will continue to retain SOS (soon playing our organ) to use for Lent Midweek, Holy Week, and other special occasions.
"A Time to Rest" is Theme of 2024 Synod Bible Study
"Our focus this year is to receive and practice God's sacred gift of rest." You can learn more about our synod's 2024 theme HERE. The linked Bible study was created by the entire ministry staff at NWOS.
Healthy Congregations Facilitator Training Continues
On Thursday I attended the third of seven weekly two-hour Zoom sessions to receive training as a Healthy Congregations Workshop Facilitator. This week we learned more about Bowen Family Systems and how it applies to congregational life, and then how to lead Workshop Two of the six that are in this series. The title of the the Workshop 2 is "Healthy Congregations Respond to Anxiety and Change." From the intro to the Workshop manual
These Workshops enable participants to
- Gain a renewed sense of purpose and mission
- Cultivate strong leadership capacities to challenge the congregation
- Learn how to develop healthy patterns of living together in community
- Learn to focus on strengths, resources, and options for the future
- Boost confidence in responding to challenges and opportunities
- Learn how to lead calmly and with thoughtfulness
- Reflect theologically about relationships
- Move the congregation toward healthy functioning
All congregations, including Grace, could benefit from one or more of these workshops!
Links for You
- Where Your Heart Is A newsletter from ELCA Stewardship Support
- LIFT Notes
- Just Three Things
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