Pastor's Mid week reminder for 8/17/10
This entry was posted on 8/17/2010 6:49 PM and is filed under Mid-Week Reminders.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all
his benefits...' Psalm 103.2
Having
benefits these days means having coverage for health, retirement, and
disability. Blessed is the person who does indeed have such benefits!
But that's not what the Psalm is referring to. Because it goes on to
enumerate these incredible benefits of the Lord: forgiveness, healing,
redemption, steadfast love and mercy, goodness, justice, grace. These
are all God's pure gift to us, and they help to define what our lives
can be all about: blessing others with these same qualities, advocating
for those who are poor, oppressed, hungry, and homeless, those who are
often forgotten by society. The church which follows Jesus as Lord of
all life is at its best when it combines its powerful spiritual message
of God's grace to all the world in the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus with a joyful desire to love the neighbor in concrete, practical
ways. Below is yet another of those ways we can be about making God's
love and care real for suffering people:
H.O.W. is a
coalition of Salem area churches that contribute items to help the
homeless. Redeemer is entering into that partnership, and soon you
will see large boxes in the entry way that are labeled for your
contributions of: clothes, coats, shoes...camping equipment you no
longer want or use, including sleeping bags...blankets...and other
basic survival items. These items do not need to be perfect, just
usable. So scour your garage and your closets for these things.
Questions: contact Jonet Schutz.
90 DAY FINANCIAL EVALUATION TO BEGIN
IN SEPTEMBER: Like many churches, our offerings
are not keeping up with our expenses. Recently our Audit Committee
expressed concern about our financial condition. At its monthly
meeting last evening, our Church Council decided to do a periodic
evaluation of our finances and inform the congregation of our status.
This evaluation will be done by the Financial Committee as a way of
improving communication within our congregation and making suggestions
about where we may need to cut expenses, depending on the financial
status of the budget.
STEWARDSHIP OPPORTUNITY
will be coming your way in the next six months from our Board of
Stewardship. This is part of the desire of the Stewardship Board and
the Council to increase practical stewardship education in light of the
financial strain being felt by many families as well as our
congregation. Please look for more details as they are offered in the
newsletter and other venues.
PASTOR VACATION: Diane
and I will be vacationing in Europe during the month of September. We leave on August 28th and will return October
1. During our absence, the congregation will be well
served by two experienced pastors: Rev. Gary Borges and Rev. Ken
Ollek. They will lead worship on Sundays and be available for
emergency pastoral care during the week. The Board of Elders will do
hospital, homebound, and special facilities visitation. They will also
be available to help with any spiritual guidance or counseling. Bob
Kosta, our Lay Deacon, will oversee this pastoral care.
DATES AND EVENTS TO NOTE ~
Thursday, Aug
20..................Newsletter deadline
Friday - Sunday, Aug 20-22......Church Campout at the
coast
Aug 28 - October 1...............Pastor and Diane in Europe
Monday, Sept 6...................Labor Day:
Church office closed
Saturday, Sept 11................Habitat Build
For a complete calendar of events
please see the weekly bulletin and the master calendar on the wall near
the church office.
