March 25, 2024
Previous letters have emphasized the work of Church Committees and the leadership of people in getting tasks done. This letter is deliberately not like that. The things mentioned in this letter involve groups or all of us. 2024 will probably be an “All of Us” year. It has been a joy to see so many people step forward already, and I hope this spirit of working as one will continue throughout the year.
At the Church Council meeting Tuesday, there were several discussions about involving members who have stepped back from in person involvement. Council members were asked to go through the Church Directory and identify every one they knew. From that list they were asked to identify folks they have not seen in church or at a church event recently. The conversation shifted into what we, as a congregation, can do to either help folks become engaged again at St. John’s or perhaps at another church. One thing that was pointed out is the large number of members who are homebound, and that many members of the congregation assist in visiting and ministering to them.
We also had a conversation about how best to welcome prospective members into our church family. In both conversations, many good ideas were presented from the entire Council. These will be ongoing discussions at Council, in many of our Church committees, and with the congregation as a whole. This is our Christian community!
Steps are being taken to update our church website, in particular, to be able to quickly inform someone who clicks on the Home page about who, what, and where we are, and how to join us for worship. Pastor Tom attended the Congregation Resourcing Event on Saturday the 16th and came back with very useful information. Typically, if someone doesn’t gain access in three seconds they move on. Also, pictures slow down loading time significantly. The update will address those two challenges in addition to mapping our ministries once people stay at our website.
The lighting project is complete, mostly! Thank you to the many members, male and female, who helped make this project a success and ahead of schedule. We now have safer and brighter lighting in our sanctuary. All the work originally contracted has been done, but in the process a few dimly lit spots were identified. No final plans to fix them have been made. More will be shared when a solution is figured out.
The church organ renovation is almost here! The company is awaiting the parts and expects them shortly. Thank you to everyone who made a special commitment to enable this project. Now the biggest challenge- how do we celebrate this restoration?!
Finally, a course of action to repair the roof and the electrical work around the Tower has been finalized. This project was included in the church budget this year. This is a warm weather project (if it gets warm).
Dave Kromphardt
Church Council President