Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

       Welcome to the Pastor’s Post! This will be a weekly enews where I will be sharing what’s going on and what may be coming up soon!

Worship:

I wanted to let the congregation know that the Worship committee is still reviewing all the feedback we received with the Worship, music and media survey we did a few months ago. Trying to sort it all and discern it all has been a challenge for us, but we are working on it! Here are a few things we are discerning in Worship & Music committee:

* Modernizing the music for the Praise team.

Pam and I have been discussing this and as you may have already noticed, we are attempting to make the music more modern. We will continuing to attempt to make the Praise service a little more modern and updated. As you know, we have begun projection before each most services and are researching what the investment would be to add additional projection for both sides. This will be a long range goal due to cost. It will take some time for us to get there! We are also investigating updating the camera for live stream and the sound system. Until then, we will maintain a weekly single video to introduce worship for the Praise service. I also occasionally like to include images or video clips in my sermons from time to time.

* Updating the bulletin.

Many of you commented on being OK with transitioning to an all black and white bulletin to save us some printing cost. We will make this transition soon. We will also be transitioning to printing only lyrics not the music in the bulletin.

* Baptismal Font

As you've probably already noticed, the baptismal font was moved back to the rear of the church. I made this decision due to the Sunday we did the Epiphany blessing for the church, which including blessing the font. I decided to leave it there for now. At some point it may again be moved, especially if we have a baptism.

* Banners

Due to the need to use the wall for projection for the second service, you may see us finding other locations for the banner. This may mean that you may see them also used in the narthex. Thank you Sharon Bost for making sure they are hung.

Pastoral Care:

       Thanks to those who welcomed me into your homes for visits during the time I did the house blessings! It was a nice opportunity to get to know many of more better!

Just a reminder, I am open to visiting with non-members. If you have a friend who is "sitting on the fence" about going to church, let me know, and I'd love to have coffee with them to discuss our church or religion in general.

And finally, you don't have to be sick to schedule a visit with me! If anyone would like to just grab a coffee and talk, just call me or Mel to schedule. Mel now has access to my entire schedule.

Congregational Care (In Reach)

Kelly Burleson is now the chair of this committee. Some of the things we are discussing is being more intentional about caring for our members! Kelly may be calling you or visiting with some. She is also going to be assisting me in taking communion to our shut in's. If you're interested in assisting with visiting our shut-in's and taking communion, please let me or Kelly know. We'd love for you to join our team.

We have also added a new "mini-ministry" for those who are willing to make a casserole or some sort. We will be keeping a few in our freezer for any family dealing with any crisis or family loss. If you'd be interested in making a casserole, please contact Kelly.

Outreach

I have been researching about the possibility of offering some community classes, like chair yoga for seniors and possibly Tai Chi. What I'd like to know is whether people would be interested in these type classes. To get some feedback, please check yes or no on the questions below. I will share more information as it becomes available.

Yarn Angels: After speaking to some of the yarn angels and to ensure we maintain stock, we will be blessing the blankets once a quarter so that this coincides with whenever they meet.

New Welcome Desk: The new welcome desk arrived this week. We will be using this in the narthex and visitors will begin receiving a gift bag and some information about our church. I will be inviting one of the greeters to man the desk as people enter the building. We hope to eventually transition into offering an optional electronic check at the desk or on an app. More information will be shared soon.

It is my prayer that we continue to grow and learn together. There are many things I am still learning and adjusting to. I simply ask that if you have a problem, please come and discuss them with me.

Together, it is my hope that we continue to be called, gathered and blessed to be a community and instrument of grace for all sheep of the Good Shepherd.

Always a servant of Christ,

Pastor Rosy <><