February 1, 2019
For as long as I can remember since becoming pastor of the Main Street UMC I have heard a variety of people express the same concern- "what can we do to attract and retain more youth and their families in our church?" Last year a sub-committee of the Staff Parish Relations Committee and the Education Committee met over the course of many months to consider what the staffing needs of the church are as we enter this new era in the life of the church. Out of this time of exploration and reflection came the proposal to create two new positions in place of the former Director of Christian Education position that had served the church so well for over 30 years. One position would focus on youth and the other on intergenerational ministry. Once approved by the Staff Parish Relations Committee and the Church Council we began to advertise these positions and are pleased that the Coordinator of Youth Ministry position has been filled and the Coordinator of Intergenerational Ministry has had some serious interest expressed in it.
Recently we formed a Youth Advisory Council consisting of youth, parents, other church adults, along with our youth group leader, Joe Dechene, and Karrie Lam, our Coordinator of Youth Ministries, and myself. We had an excellent turn out for the organizational meeting and will be meeting monthly to plan youth related activities including a youth mission trip that we hope will take place in July. Karrie brings both enthusiasm and new ideas to our youth ministry program and we look forward to her leadership in this area for the foreseeable future.
As the article on the "loaves and fishes" program found below indicates we are asking those who have a passion for the work of youth ministry and a concern for the youth of our church and community to step forward in supporting this position. Already we have witnessed a generous response that indicates that we are ready to "put our money where our mouth is"! Thank you to everyone who has given to this end. We trust that we will see many fruits from this new ministry and staff position.
I would ask you to pray for our youth and for Karrie and Joe as they work closely in ministry to, for, and with them. Please feel free to offer to them your ideas, your support, and your time as well.
In Pursuit of a Vision for our Youth,
Pastor Rich
WORSHIP AHEAD
2/3 The fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Scripture: First Corinthians 13:1-13
Theme: The Superiority of Love- What place does love have in how we live out our faith as individuals and as the church? The apostle Paul is clear that love must have a central place in any expression of faith that is authentic and true to our calling as Christians. Paul goes on to define what love looks like in very practical terms. Dare we give love a central place in our lives and ministry?
OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEEK
At our most recent Church Council meeting we talked about how we might better highlight some of the opportunities for service that are available through the church. A suggestion was made that maybe we could have an "opportunity of the week". This will now be a new feature in the weekly e-mail blast so look for these wonderful opportunities and see if there is something that sounds inviting to you.
This week's opportunity involves the Ham and Bean Supper that will take place tomorrow evening, Saturday, February 2nd. We can always use more waiters, servers in the kitchen or with clean up. If you would like to volunteer please give Joyce Tagliaferro a call at 889-5707 or just show up by 4:15 to help with the dinner or 6:30 to help with clean up. Thank you in advance for your support.
Will you be our Valentine?
Shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/02-0263867 and AmazonSmile donates to Main Street United Methodist Church.
Scout Display
February has traditionally been the month that Main Street celebrated Scouting Sunday for boys and sometimes also girls. For decades BSA Cub Dens, Cub Packs and Boy Scouts Troop 6 were a part of life at Main Street. Many Eagle Scouts have come out of Troop 6. To continue our 150th celebration, a display about scouting at Main Street will be out in the first floor lobby. If you have any memorabilia, boy scout or girl scout, that you would be comfortable sharing just for the month, please be sure your name is on it and leave it in the church office or give it to Pam Breniser. Be sure to stop by and take a look as the display grows.
Leaders of the Church
It is time to submit your annual report for 2018 to the church office. Deadline is February 14.
Finance News for February
Hello, Joe from Finance committee. For February I want to get your ideas for fundraising. Our 2019 operating budget (general fund) is just about $450,000. As I described in previous columns in more detail, most of that money goes towards salaries, facilities, and missions. It keeps the place open which is the basis for all the volunteer work we do.
Of that $450,000 we estimated $8900 or 2% would come from fundraising. You may be asking, "Why do we obsess over 2%?" The answer is that it's still $8900! Our operating budget is so tight, that when we get to the end of the year and we are short $8900, it really hurts! Such a shortfall would force an unpleasant adjustment to our services.
Our principal fundraising is our ham and bean dinners. Admittedly it takes a lot of work to put on these dinners (and clean up afterwards) but it does contribute considerably. Hopefully we will continue with those dinners as part of an overall fundraising approach.
What other fundraising ideas can you think of? Ideally it would provide sufficient funds for our ministries and missions, without taking so much effort that fundraising takes away our focus. Some ideas that come to mind are concerts, pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, and ethnic events. For each of these events we would need a leader to organize and rally the team. If you feel like leading one of these fundraisers, please see Pastor Rich.
Not all fundraisers would are in keeping with our core values as a congregation and might not be allowed and some fundraisers we cannot do in the United Methodist Church.
For example we could not sanction gambling related fundraisers. We also could not allow businesses to permanently set up on church property, with the intention of us taking a cut. While we had advertising in the program for our 150th anniversary, we shy away from paid commercial advertising on the property. Any fundraising idea would have to be in line with the message of our church.
Please let us know your ideas, and more importantly, if you want to lead a new fundraiser.
Thank you, Joe Dechene
December 2018 Finance Snapshot
Thanks to all—Bills and Mission Shares Were Paid in 2018
General Fund (GF) as of 12/31/2018
Income Received: $408,379.03
Income Budgeted: $372,611.00
Expenses Paid: $406,233.68 ($3,106.53 organ, $36,196 partial boiler pmt.)
Notes on General Fund:
- Current on payments due to providers
- Mission Shares paid in full for 2018
- Donation received to pay snow plowing through April – Thank you
- GSOP membership paid
- Thanks to help from many of you, we had some cash to carry into January 2019 and as of Jan. 29, 2019, we are current on payments due to providers and paid mission shares in full
- Balance of boiler invoice will be paid in February 2019 using designated funds
Heart of Nashua 1 & 2 (GiF)
Total Received (2013-2018): $1,729,264.33
Total Paid Out Using HON Funds (2013-2018): $1,721,673.98
Loan Received For HON Construction: $358,343.45
Balance Due on HON Loan: $292,000.00 (as of 12/31/18) ($280,000 as of 1/29/19)
Your continued support is appreciated.
Mission News
Christmas Thank You: Thank you for making Christmas special for several of our new refugee families. The tags disappeared quickly from the tree, and every child received four very generous gifts. Twenty-four of our refugee families received gift cards for Christmas dinner shopping. Funds and gift cards also went to the Nashua Children's Home so that special items could be purchased for the children in residence there. Thanks also for bringing in household items for new families. We have used our supply, so if you have pots, pans, dishes, silverware, glasses, bowls, or linens to restock our shelves, please bring them in!
We will be celebrate again with a banging of pots by our youth on February 3, Super Bowl Sunday. Several of the youth have volunteered with our third Sunday at the Nashua Soup Kitchen, so they really know where the money goes! In addition to money dropped into the soup pots, our food pantry at the Nashua Soup Kitchen will also benefit from "Soup to Go" offered by the Missions Committee on Super Bowl Sunday. We have heard rumors of chili and vegetable soups, but we will give you updates or you can sniff out the details that morning.
College Box Collection
It's that time of the year to remind our students away at college how much their Main Street family loves them by sending them a box filled with goodies! The education committee will be packing boxes on March 17. Some ideas are small candies, power/energy bars, gum, etc. This year we are asking again that the congregation refrain from donating chips or other items packaged in similar bags, or liquid items that may leak. We are trying to find the most efficient way to ship the items while avoiding food getting smashed on the way. Thank you for helping us with this annual way to keep in touch!
**If you have a student in college, please let us know their current mailing address! Email me with their address. markm196114@msn.com
Thanks,
Mark Morrissey
A Simple E-Vote Can Help Families in Need
The Front Door Agency has been nominated to potentially receive $5,000 from the Bangor Savings Bank Community Matters More Foundation, but we need your help to get the most votes! Voting takes place online at www.bangor.com/cmm between Feb. 1-28. A gift of $5,000 to the Agency can provide child care and college textbooks for a single mother enrolled in college so that she can become financially independent. It only takes a minute to vote and costs nothing. Each person can only vote once, so please share this with family and friends. Thank you for your support! For more information about the Front Door Agency, please visit www.frontdooragency.org.
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