As I begin my fifth year as the pastor of Salem, I am grateful for this congregation I serve. What a great adventure! And now we continue our exciting journey. We have just approved a building project and elected a Building Committee.

While that group has already begun work, we know it will take some time to put the pieces in place before we break ground. One of those pieces is a capital campaign to raise money for the project. In addition to the money we raise ourselves, Salem likely will receive gifts from our brothers and sisters around the Iowa Conference. This offering is known as a Builders Call.

United Methodist Builders have been an important part of building churches all around the Iowa Annual Conference, helping new congregations buy land or build their first church facility and providing funds to help older congregations update their facilities, build new additions, and expand their ministries. Two churches are selected for the Builders Call each year: one in the spring, and one in the fall. This is what it means for us to be connectional. As United Methodists, we are connected to one another around the world. This connectionalism enables us to accomplish great things. So when one congregation builds, all the other congregations do what they can to support that. We are bound together in mission and ministry. We share the joys and burdens with one another.

Our Leadership Board has already been in discussion with conference leaders. When we have a specific building project to share, again a Builders Call likely will be made for Salem as we build a new facility. Since this is an offering, there is no way to know exactly how much Salem might receive. Over the last five years, however, each Builders Call has ranged from $43,000 to $47,000.

I am sharing this good news with you because the spring Builders Call has been made this year for the First United Methodist Church of Ames. Our brothers and sisters at Ames First are building an addition to their downtown facility so they will have the much needed space for their free meal ministry, free medical clinic, youth and adult meeting areas, and space for other organizations as they reach out to the Ames downtown community. If you would like to give an offering, more information about their building project is available in the church office.

When Salem applies for a Builders Call, one of the questions asked is whether we support the Builders Call. It is hoped that those congregations that receive a Builders Call offering are also givers, supporting other congregations. Therefore, we have the opportunity to give towards another congregation’s building project twice a year, in the spring and fall. And one of these times one of those likely will be for Salem.

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