With sadness and much love we send Glenn & Pat Stoll off with our blessing as they move to their new home. Glenn shared, "We’ve been contemplating moving for some time, and two weeks ago we purchased a house with an acreage between Elizabeth and Parker. Assuming that everything goes according to the plan, we’ll close and move in mid-September. . . . When things get back to “normal” we’ll come back for a personal goodbye." They have been so generous with their time and resources for our congregation. They have been our amazing hosts for the “Church at the Ranch”. Glenn has led our Men’s Group for several years, as well as being on Trustees. Pat has often contributed to special events and projects throughout the years. In addition, they are two people full of grace, kindness and the true light of Christ.

Our United Methodist denomination, as part of their "United Against Racism”, initiative is encouraging members to pray, educate themselves, have conversations around, and to actively work for civil and human rights.

Our Church and Society team has been leading us in this, and will be launching a weekly Zoom study "A Journey towards Racial Justice." on Thursday mornings from 10-11am beginning on September 17th.

The group will select weekly an online article, video or website to review and then discuss.  Members and visitors are encouraged to participate, and are free to drop in whenever your schedule allows. Please register with the church office or contact Carolyn Hohne to be included on the contact list.

These are now in the narthex. If you would like one mailed to you, please reply to this email. Upper Room is also available online in digital format, if you prefer that, please reply to this email and request access.

I serve on the Finance Committee. We meet monthly to review the financial condition of the Church and to plan for the future.

I am happy to report that our ongoing ministry is strong. Total income is down through July as a result of the Corona Virus. The Church leadership has responded by reducing expenses even more. The net result is that we are almost $20,000 ahead of plan year to date. The reason the Church is on solid financial footing is you and your generous giving.

Because we are stable, we have been able to:

The Finance Committee also leads our fundraising. While we had had to change course a bit, we have continued to raise money. The recent peach sale raised $1,004. Please let us know if you have other ideas for fundraising during a pandemic.

The Finance Committee is looking to the future. Planning is beginning for the 2021 budget and stewardship drive.

The Church will continue to monitor things closely. No one knows what the future will bring. As a junior member of the Finance Committee I am impressed by the work done to keep the Church solvent.

In summary, the Church is financially strong, and the reason is you and your giving.

From 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Sincerely,

The Women’s Wednesday Bible Study will resume this fall. They will read Adam Hamilton’s book “Unafraid” Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.

This is a timely topic with all that is going on with the pandemic and the upcoming elections. There will be two options:

1. In person on Wednesdays @ 9:30am starting 9/23

OR

2. On Zoom on Tuesdays @ 9am starting 9/29

Please contact the church office to sign up or for any questions.

Family Promise has leased an 11-bedroom home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in order to expand their shelter capacity. While the space is fully furnished, they need help to stock it with household items, toiletries, cleaning supplies and food. They also have daily volunteer slots available for folks who are willing to prepare a meal and deliver it to the home at 6pm, as well as a weekly slot for grocery shopping/delivery.

If you can provide any household items, etc., you can bring them to the church office during office hours. If you can provide a meal, you can contact Jo Ann Dunn at 303-503-5978 or joannandpem@aol.com.

Direct client touchpoints at the EChO Job Center are up 75% from 2019 and no longer is it just the service and hospitality employees that are feeling the impact of COVID.

The Chief Financial Officer of an international tradeshow production company took a 40% pay cut in April to help improve the company's bottom line. On August 1st she found herself unemployed as tradeshows continue to be cancelled across the globe. Despite being no stranger to technology, she found the unemployment claims systems difficult to navigate and engaged the services of the EChO Job Center. While her claim for unemployment was approved 4 weeks ago, she still has not received any benefits. Individuals experiencing issues with their claims must schedule a phone appointment with the unemployment office. The earliest phone call appointment she could make was for October 16th.

This woman has savings and is not relying on unemployment to pay rent, utilities, or groceries. Many of our clients are not this fortunate. Many live paycheck to paycheck and waiting on "the system" to process their joblessness claims leads to food insecurity and housing insecurity.

Employers are calling employees back to work, but for many who used to work 40 hours per week, they are being called back for a fraction of their normal hours. This interrupts their unemployment benefits and requires human intervention by a state employee to adjust the benefit amount. This adjustment can take up t0 3-4 weeks after contact. Meanwhile, no benefits are paid.

Requests for rental assistance, food and other living expenses are up as clients wait on their claims. To respond to the increase in requests for help, a second client advocate has joined the Job Center. This improves our capability to provide job related services, as well as referrals and resources to other EChO services.

Thank you to Diana Aldridge for sending this image our way. :)

Visit us on the web:  www.evergreenumc.org