I'm Back and Salem Has a New Vision
I went back to work after my open heart surgery on February 9. It was wonderful to be welcomed back so warmly. I was surprised by and grateful for the celebration of my successful surgery, my return to Salem, and my birthday!
Coming back means getting up to speed on all the things happening with Salem, and we have a lot going on right now. Salem is on the move!
Finances. Our Treasurer, Linda Curson, does a fantastic job, along with the entire finance team. She told me that we ended 2013 in the black with more than $7,000 over expenses. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity in your stewardship. This year we intend to get back to paying our apportionments in full. That will be $45,000 in 2014. Our apportionments reflect our missional giving to support the general church (Bishops, general agencies, etc.) as well as ministries and missions beyond our local community. You can see exactly where our apportionment dollars are working at http://www.iaumc.org/calculator/viewyear/2014#. Be sure to choose “Cedar Rapids, Salem” from the drop down menu. If you don’t have Internet access, let Sharon know in the office and she’ll print a copy for you.
Building Project. Our building project was approved unanimously by the East Central District Building and Location Committee. It also needs to be approved by the Bishop and Cabinet, and we need to have a Church Conference for our congregation to approve the building project, cost, and financing. Our Church Conference will be Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 pm. This is an open meeting. Everyone is welcome and members are allowed to vote. We are still hoping to break ground this spring!
HCI. Last September we underwent our Healthy Church Initiative consultation. This was a big deal for the church. We heard our strengths and weaknesses, and several prescriptions were given to us. We were also given aggressive timelines in which to accomplish these prescriptions.
While we have begun work on the prescriptions, we’re also able to renegotiate the timelines with our coach, Rev. Mike Morgan, from Marion First UMC. This has been necessary as our consultation was followed by our Salem Rising Capital Campaign, Advent and Christmas, and then my six week medical leave for my surgery.
Therefore, some of the work will not happen as quickly as originally scheduled, however, we have begun working. Regarding our roadmap for the future, we concluded the Season of Prayer, seeking God’s direction for our future. This was our preparation for the Day of Visioning on March 9. There, our coach lead us to articulate clearly God’s vision for us. We asked, what does it look like for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done right here and now? This is Salem's new vision:
Further, our Discipleship Pathway and Leadership Development team that I lead is reading the book Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley. This year we will create and implement a pathway for intentionally making disciples of Jesus Christ who transform the world.
Finally, the Community Outreach team has already begun meeting. They are making plans to get us outside the building and reach out to the people around us. There first project is a community Easter Egg hunt on April 19 at Salem. While this team plans and implements these outreach events, it is imperative that all of us participate. If we who are a part of Salem don’t go out and engage the new people at these events, it will be a waste of time. We have to be present to engage the newcomers, build relationships, and invite them to be a part of Salem.
It’s good to be back. It’s going to be a fantastic year. There is such blessing ahead. God is good! All the time!
Coming back means getting up to speed on all the things happening with Salem, and we have a lot going on right now. Salem is on the move!
Finances. Our Treasurer, Linda Curson, does a fantastic job, along with the entire finance team. She told me that we ended 2013 in the black with more than $7,000 over expenses. Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity in your stewardship. This year we intend to get back to paying our apportionments in full. That will be $45,000 in 2014. Our apportionments reflect our missional giving to support the general church (Bishops, general agencies, etc.) as well as ministries and missions beyond our local community. You can see exactly where our apportionment dollars are working at http://www.iaumc.org/calculator/viewyear/2014#. Be sure to choose “Cedar Rapids, Salem” from the drop down menu. If you don’t have Internet access, let Sharon know in the office and she’ll print a copy for you.
Building Project. Our building project was approved unanimously by the East Central District Building and Location Committee. It also needs to be approved by the Bishop and Cabinet, and we need to have a Church Conference for our congregation to approve the building project, cost, and financing. Our Church Conference will be Tuesday, April 1 at 7:00 pm. This is an open meeting. Everyone is welcome and members are allowed to vote. We are still hoping to break ground this spring!
HCI. Last September we underwent our Healthy Church Initiative consultation. This was a big deal for the church. We heard our strengths and weaknesses, and several prescriptions were given to us. We were also given aggressive timelines in which to accomplish these prescriptions.
While we have begun work on the prescriptions, we’re also able to renegotiate the timelines with our coach, Rev. Mike Morgan, from Marion First UMC. This has been necessary as our consultation was followed by our Salem Rising Capital Campaign, Advent and Christmas, and then my six week medical leave for my surgery.
Therefore, some of the work will not happen as quickly as originally scheduled, however, we have begun working. Regarding our roadmap for the future, we concluded the Season of Prayer, seeking God’s direction for our future. This was our preparation for the Day of Visioning on March 9. There, our coach lead us to articulate clearly God’s vision for us. We asked, what does it look like for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done right here and now? This is Salem's new vision:
connecting people
building community
transforming lives
through Jesus
Finally, the Community Outreach team has already begun meeting. They are making plans to get us outside the building and reach out to the people around us. There first project is a community Easter Egg hunt on April 19 at Salem. While this team plans and implements these outreach events, it is imperative that all of us participate. If we who are a part of Salem don’t go out and engage the new people at these events, it will be a waste of time. We have to be present to engage the newcomers, build relationships, and invite them to be a part of Salem.
It’s good to be back. It’s going to be a fantastic year. There is such blessing ahead. God is good! All the time!
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