Weekly Announcements from Pastor Valerie Brown-Greenly, Senior Pastor
Dear Friends,
We’ve certainly had some warm, humid and hot days; it definitely feels like summer. I hope this finds you well, and that you and your family are looking forward to the days of summer, travel, and time with family and friends. Here at church, we’ve been working on the building, continuing our re-opening plans, and setting up for fall programs and a return to ‘normal.’
Our gardener guests have been working in the Peace Community Garden, and several weekend activities continue on Saturday mornings! Be sure to take a walk in the garden and greet some of our gardeners. It’s been an amazing time and it will be an amazing summer! Special thanks to Dawn Pape and “We All Need Food and Water,” and to our Garden Board for all the extra energy and dedication in making this season a successful one.
I had a long visit with the members of our Finance Team last evening. I want to share with you what I’ve heard and how you and I can make a difference right now. Our members and friends have done an excellent job of keeping us on point financially these last months. As we approach the beginning of these summer months, the Finance team has taken note that we have fallen a bit behind in our regular, weekly financial gifting and giving. This is not an unusual trend, but one we should address before we fall behind and have to use our line of credit.
As of the end of May, we have used $5,000 on our line of credit. We believe the total is more than that, as we had a bill come in for the new HVAC unit which had to be replaced this Spring. The Men of Peace financed a substantial amount of the first half of this bill, and now that the project is complete, we need to manage the second half of the payment; at least an additional $10,000. This amount has been paid to the company, but I believe it will in some way effect the amount on our line of credit.
Regular giving is trending down. This is not unusual, as giving trends are a bit lighter in these months leading into September. So, why do I bring this to you? I think it’s possible that we work together to overcome this trend now, keep the use of our line of credit to a minimum, and place ourselves in a good financial position by September. Just because something always happens, doesn’t mean we need to allow it to happen.
It would be wonderful for those who can afford it, to give an extra financial gift, above and beyond regular giving. I am not making this request to anyone in our midst who has lost a job or anyone who is struggling to make ends meet. I am not making this request to the unemployed or the underemployed. I am making this request to those of us in the church who are able to do so. I personally believe we can change the things that have always been a ‘trend’ and move forward in a stronger financial position.
In the months to come, we have several projects, events and important activities we will be enjoying and working on together. For instance, our young people will be fundraising in preparation for the National Youth Gathering next summer. Our church will have a major celebration in December. You might remember that, because of COVID, we did not celebrate our 60th year as a church; we will do so in December. I have been working with staff to renew and re-energize many of the activities and events which have become standard over the years. We are using this post-covid time to make changes and move forward in new and creative ways: in other words, we are taking what we learned during COVID as opportunity. There are a lot of possibilities on the horizon for our work together, and for the care of the facility.
Here are some of the general items that I want you to be aware of this week. For the next two Sundays, we will have coffee/fellowship following our 10:00am worship. Remember, for the time being, we are still masking in worship. That means during the worship time, we remain masked. You may unmask at your tables to enjoy fellowship. Please be cognizant of using your mask as we want to continue to guard the safety of those who are unvaccinated and for our young families with children under 12, who cannot be vaccinated. Thank you for your patience with this.
The funeral schedule:
Marion Wood service on Wednesday evening, June 16, at 6:00pm
Visitation at 5:00pm
Ron Rist service on Friday, June 18, at 11:00am
Visitation at 10:00am
Pat and Carl Ramberg service is on Thursday, June 24, at 11:00am
Visitation at 10:00am
Please call the church office if you plan on attending, as we plan for food preparation for these services. Please continue to keep these families in your prayers.
The first orientation meeting for the National Youth Gathering for youth and parents is Wednesday, July 7, at 6pm. Please plan on attending if your child(ren) intend to participate. This meeting will last less than an hour, and will outline some of the events and fundraising opportunities as we prepare for July 2022.
Thank you for your donations to the Food Shelf. We are ready for our food distribution on June 22. Please pray for our member families, school families and community families who receive these donations. Items needed: child/youth friendly snacks and meals.
The handbells are going to be traveling to South Dakota in early July for refurbishment, tuning and upkeep. Thank you for your donations toward this project. The Ringers of Peace Bell Choir is such a blessing. We look forward to our bells returning from South Dakota by late August or early September.
I hope you have a good week. God bless you…Take care…Be safe…
Pastor Valerie
Cell: 612-280-6493 Email: [email protected]
Church: 763-757-4459 Email: vbrown-greenly@
GET OUTDOORS WHILE GIVING BACK
Kids and adults of all ages, experience, and abilities are welcome!
Learn about gardening through hands-on volunteer experience
Produce from our “giving gardens” will be given to the volunteers who help maintain the gardens and/or donated to area food shelves.
The lead gardener, Dawn Pape, is a licensed teacher who has served as a Master Gardener volunteer for over 20 years. She is also trained in teaching the Jr. Master Gardener curriculum. If possible please call, text, or email Dawn to let her know you’re coming so she can make sure the brief lesson and garden activities are age-appropriate.
Learn more: weallneedfoodandwater.
Where? Here at Peace
When? Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9:00-10:00am, starting June 16, weather permitting