#MM302 – Dear Church, Come be gathered for All Saints Sunday this weekend as we celebrate the beloved witnesses in the faith who have preceded us in death, even as bittersweet as such remembrances may yet be. We also will be lifting up three young members who are celebrating their first communion. May we together be joined in the eternal feast of God’s love!

• ✝️ Bulletin for this coming Sunday: https://bit.ly/NOV2ndBulletin-MLC25

• ✝️ Thanksgiving Food Drive – November 2 thru 23: Benefitting the Tri-C Eastern Campus Food Pantry. Please put food donations on the table in the back lobby (sponsored by Social Ministry).

• ✝️ Poinsettia Plants: Poinsettias will be purchased to decorate our church. If you would like to purchase one in memory of a loved one, red-flower donation envelopes are in the pews. Please clearly print your name and the name of the person(s) being remembered with this gift to the church. The cost is $10.00 per plant. Orders must be in by Sunday, November 30.

• ✝️ Men’s Fellowship Lunch – November 12: Our Men’s Fellowship Lunch takes place on the second Wednesday of each month; 12pm at Vicinato Pizza, 5080 Mayfield Rd. Please join us if you can!

• ✝️ Interfaith Thanksgiving Service – November 23: 3pm at Messiah. All are welcome.

• ✝️ Greening of the Church – December 6: Please join us on Saturday, December 6, at 10am to decorate our church for the Christmas season. There are plenty of assignments for all types of ability especially the ability of fellowship. While we are generally working only a couple of hours, we appreciate whatever amount of time you can spare. Please also remember we will need to de-green the church and this will be on Saturday, January 3 at 10am.

• ✝️ Annual Congregational Meeting – December 7: Immediately following worship. We will vote on the 2026 budget and elect council members.

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