January 2012 Message
January 2012 Message
Dear Church Family:
2012 is upon us. Benjamin Franklin once stated that one should “be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man [or woman].” This certainly seems to be prudent advice from one of our founding fathers. I will try to adhere to Franklin’s advice and I hope you do the same.
So many things have happened this past year: Pastor Paul started his ministry at Our Redeemer on July 1. Karen replaced Judi as secretary. Our Redeemer has continued its outreach activities and assisted in improving the lives of many people in the community. In addition, our church and its members hosted and participated in many events. Council members and I will go into greater details in our annual reports to be published in February, but suffice it to say, 2011 was a very eventful year at our beloved church.
Despite the many positive developments for our church in 2011, I want to include a challenge to members in this month’s message. The challenge to members is to help our church improve in the following three areas in the coming year. They all concern the operation of the church in one way or another.
KEEP SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK COMING
First, I want to thank all of you who have come forward these last 18 months with suggestions about how to improve our church. After Pastor Dave’s retirement, as a lot of work was ahead of us regarding the call process and church matters, many of you did come forward and either took on leadership positions and/or came forward with many suggestions. I thank you again for doing so. As with everything in life, some things worked, other things were less successful. However, the important thing is to keep thinking about ways to improve our church, especially when it comes to our church operation/administration, outreach, worship services, and programs and activities. Your church leadership is interested to hear what you have to say and I hope you feel that we have created an environment this past year in which everyone feels comfortable to bring forward ideas and suggestions.
Now is not the time to become complacent, but rather to be creative and let your church leaders know about what you like about Our Redeemer, where we can save money, and suggestions for improvement. Surely, we will not be able to please everyone and not every idea can or even should be used, as some ideas may be good in theory, but turn out to fail to deliver their promise under scrutiny. However, please keep thinking about new ways (especially ones that have proven to work elsewhere!) of improving the church and share them with your leadership. We did a good job with this in 2011; please continue thinking about these matters in 2012.
IMPROVE COMMUNICATION
Besides thinking about suggestions for improving the church, I also challenge every member of the congregation, especially those of you in leadership positions, to work on improving communication within the church. The Council President (and in his/her absence, the Vice President) is charged with the responsibility to coordinate the activities of the church committees and groups and I take this part of my role very seriously, more so probably than any of my recent predecessors. If committees or groups are planning a meeting or event, let the Executive Committee members know what is going on before the activity or event takes place. This will help prevent any conflicts between different events that are being planned to take place on the same day and time. Also, I ask Committee Chairs and group leaders to properly inform the congregation in a timely manner about upcoming meetings and events, through the church bulletin boards, our newsletter, emails, etc., to maximize attendance. Some committees and groups have done a good job with this, but based on my experience this past year all Committees and church groups can improve on this.
I think I speak for all Executive Committee members when I say that I’d rather be copied on one or two additional emails or approached at church one or two more times each Sunday, rather than find out about something after it was planned or just before it is to take place. A lack of communication often leads to unnecessary conflict or discord, because the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.
I also ask the congregation not to “assume” that something was brought to my attention or to the responsible Committee Chair. If you see a maintenance issue, let us know. If doors are left unlocked, or the light is left on overnight, or something looks strange as you drive by the church, call or email me, or another church leader. If the problem continues to persist, tell me again. We are all humans and with our busy lives things get lost in the shuffle, but eventually we will correct it.
JOIN A COMMITTEE OR MINISTRY
Lastly, I want to challenge members to join a committee or any of our ministries in 2012. The committees and ministries of our church are at the heart of church life and the operation and continuation of the church depends on them. This coming year, Council will make a concerted effort to let members know what our committees and ministries do, in order to raise the understanding of each committee, group and ministry. A relatively small number of members are currently actively participating on committees and just having limited participation on committees presents serious problems for the future of our church.
Joining a committee will help you understand your church better and I believe will make your church experience more rewarding. You may even get to know members you have not interacted with before or learn more about members you already know. By participating in a Committee, group, or ministry, you assist directly in the operation of the church and shape its future.
We need everyone’s talent to make us the best church we can be in the coming year and for years to come. Let us take Ben Franklin’s words to heart not only in our private lives, but also here at church and let each new year find Our Redeemer to be a better church. May you and your families have a happy and healthy 2012 and may God bless all of you.
Yours in Christ,
Gerrit
Gerrit B. Smith LCOR Council President
gerritbsmith@aol.com
Home: (804)526-2186
Cell: (804)896-4492
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