“A Season of Change”
As I talked about in our special announcement in April, our congregation is preparing for a new phase of our church’s life as we say goodbye to Pastor Beverly and welcome a new local pastor – all in the midst of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. But during this “season of change”, our congregation is stepping up to the challenge!
Here is just some of the good news:
- We continue produce and post weekly video blogs and sermons by Pastor Beverly on our Facebook page and our website to feed your spirits. The response to these is so positive that we intend to continue video outreach even after we return to physical services in June.
- Your generous giving has allowed us to keep our church operating even without face-to-face services. Our Treasurer Jim Marks and Financial Secretary Barbara Justice are doing excellent work in tracking and managing our finances.
- We are adopting new technologies and software that improve our capabilities while reducing expenses. We are in the midst of changing from the old technology phone system to new technology cellular system and converting from the CCB management software to a new software product. There will be some hiccups as we transition, but our software transition team lead by Jennifer Hocking is working through the issues.
We still have over another month until we can meet together again, but the Board and Pastor are already planning for the reopening. To reopen in a manner that keeps our congregation safe, we are looking to use The Grove for our initial services which provides a better space for social distancing. There are many specifics in terms of sanitizing, masks, changes to our worship, and other issues that we are working through. And of course, we will be planning a special celebration to thank Pastor Beverly for her service to our church!
I am also working with our District Superintendent Susan Landry on the appointment of our new local pastor which should be announced on May 17th. So indeed, this is a “season of change”.
Yours in service,
Steve Justice – 2020 NFUMC Board Chair
