#MM321 - Dear Church, Can you see it yet? If you squint a little, can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Though Lent still swells ahead of us, the light of resurrection dawn is not far off. In John’s Gospel, we are reminded that Christ directs our sight towards the renewal God brings, which more often than not is focused on our life together as a beloved community. Jesus brings us back into this place of love, again and again, no matter how many times our vision gets focused on life's less-than-helpful things. What does such a “regathering” look like for you (and for us) this week?

• Bulletin for this coming Sunday: https://bit.ly/MARCH15thBulletin-MLC26

• Jim Burghart Memorial – March 27: Visitation at 10:00am and service at 11:00am. Hors d’oeuvres at Judson Manor from 2-4pm.

• Easter Lilies: If you’d like to give flowers in honor of a loved one, please use the flower envelopes (blue with white flowers) in the pews. The suggested offering is $20 per flower. The ordering deadline is Palm Sunday, March 29.

• Stuffies Donation – Now thru Easter: Clara and Annette Lenz are collecting stuffed animals again! We will be collecting through Easter and this year they will stay local at the Canopy Child Advocacy Center. Look for the Stuffie Box in the church gathering space!  

• Midweek Lenten Vespers: (Holden Evening Prayer) Mar 18, Mar 25 (7:00pm).

• Slow Down Sundays - Now thru March 22: The Connections Team invites you to join us for Slow Down Sundays. This is a time of Lenten fellowship and connection after worship each Sunday in the Gathering Area. Slow down together as a community! Stay as long as you're able, as light lunch hors d'oeuvres will be provided. These will be in lieu of Wednesday midweek soup suppers this year.

• Lenten Personal Care Item Drive - Now thru Mar 29: The Lenten Drive will benefit the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM). They are requesting that the congregation donate the following items: towels, washcloths, bar soap, body wash, shampoo (travel size), lotion (travel size), toothbrushes, and toothpaste (travel size). Please drop off contributions on the table by the rear entrance of the church. Thank you for supporting Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.

• Easter Vigil – Saturday April 4th at 7pm: we are gathering around an open fire outside at Messiah as we hold vigil and follow the light of Christ into the Easter dawn. Come join with 5 other partner congregations as we engage this rich, celebratory, (mostly indoor!) musical service together, moving from death to life in this holiest time of the year. The liturgy features a series of creatively-told Hebrew scripture stories from each of our neighbor churches, a combined choir, and Holy Communion. We expect a large crowd and a brief reception afterwards will make it a night to remember. 

Dear Church,

I hope this letter finds you well in the new year. As most of you are aware, Messiah has gone through some changes lately as we adjust our staffing to fit our budgetary commitments for 2025. I would like to take a moment to update you on the status of some of the different positions and how we can use your help as a congregation moving forward. 

First, Sheryl Trost volunteered to step down from the Community Faith Facilitator position in favor of focusing on Christian Education with our Sunday School program. While this will take her away from the Connections Team leadership, this has yielded a salary savings as part of the revised budget. The Connections Team will continue their mission with the existing committee members. 

Second, we parted ways with our long-time Custodian, Steve Newcomer. While we have really appreciated his years of service, the required budget cuts made it difficult to sustain a dedicated custodial position. Snow removal will continue under our current contract and the Council has an action item to explore lawn care alternatives. For inside the church, we've contracted with a professional cleaning company that will be in twice a month for a thorough review of the church. This new schedule will require a bit of an adjustment so I'd like to empower the entire congregation to take action to keep our church and building clean if you see an opportunity to do so. 

Third, the Council has authorized the search for a Property Manager/Rental Coordinator position. This new position will help coordinate the property and maintenance activities at the church as well as providing a meaningful focus on generating revenue from our outstanding facilities that will help support our congregation and mission into the future. The job description will be available in the church and online if someone you know is interested in this exciting opportunity. 

Finally, the rest of the church staff took a small pay cut so that we could maintain the important positions that directly affect worship. You may see changes to our bulletin, order of service and music presentation. I'd encourage you to reach out to the Council with any questions about these changes as we navigate our budget for 2025 and beyond. 

In order to better keep the congregation in the loop, I've started posting financial information and the Pastor's report on the bulletin board in the hallway outside the library. In addition, the new job posting can be found there as well. 

As always, your church council is available to answer any more particular questions. 

Best, 

Ben Johnson / Church Council President