The Spirit - October 5, 2023

THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER

As we prepare for Fall Break next week, I find myself filled with the gratitude and blessings of Sabbath—a divine gift that offers us rest, renewal, and deeper connection with God. The scriptures are full of wisdom of our need for Sabbath. Not only does God take Sabbath after creation (Genesis 2:2-3), but we are constantly reminded of our need for rest. The prophet Elijah once shouted at God, “I am so mad! I want to die!” God gave Elijah some food and suggested a nap. Elijah slept, ate, and decided things weren’t so bad (1 Kings 19). We can never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack—true Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a precious oasis in the midst of our busy and hectic lives—a day set apart for communion with our Creator and for nurturing the bonds of fellowship within our community. It is a reminder of God’s love for us, a time to pause and reflect on God’s faithfulness, a chance to find solace in God’s presence, and something for us to be truly grateful for.

As you may be aware, our church is working at building our joy in God’s faithfulness and goodness. The Ministry Team is exploring ways that we might build up the joy of our congregation and train ourselves to be more grateful for all of God’s goodness. Sabbath is one way in which we can do this very thing. Sabbath is not merely a day of physical rest, but a call to enter into God’s spiritual rest—a rest that transcends the weariness of our bodies and rejuvenates our souls.

Jesus declares, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). It is in Christ we find true rest, a rest that brings peace to our troubled hearts and quietness to our restless minds. It can be difficult to find such rest in our world today. It can even be difficult to find such rest in our church. There seems to be a never-ending amount of work to be done and fewer and fewer workers. However, true Sabbath is a blessing and gift from God.

As we embrace the Sabbath rest for our wearied lives, let us remember to delight in the Lord and find joy in God’s presence (Isaiah 58:13-14). Let us use this sacred time not only for physical relaxation but also for spiritual rekindling. May our Sabbath be an opportunity to dive into God’s Holy Prescense, to pray earnestly, and to worship wholeheartedly. May Sabbath be a chance to reconnect with our loved ones, to share stories, laughter, and love. I pray you each find Sabbath that helps you to extend grace and compassion to others, mirroring the love of Christ and finding deep, abiding joy in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

Peace Always,

Rev. David Clifford

 There is a subtle spirit stirring within the church’s leadership that is worthy of attention— an expressed desire to take the church beyond the setbacks of the COVID years and return to a time of joyful gratitude, the kind of joy expressed in such Biblical verses as “Make a joyful noise to the Lord”. You can see this desire in the president’s “State of the Church” message delivered a couple Sundays ago and reprinted in this edition of the Spirit. Re-read the pastor’s message on the first page of last week’s edition of the Spirit and find the same focus. The Ministry Team spent months exploring a book about the necessity of gratitude and joy in the life of a Christian community and members have begun the discussion about how such principles can be used in our own Christian community.

To date, neither the Board nor the Ministry Team have made a formal decision about what to do with this energy, but there exists a strong commitment to work toward leading the congregation back to an affirmative atmosphere—the kind that drew most of us to this church in the beginning. Members of both leadership groups have voiced ideas about first steps and long range visions. It does seem that recommendations about how to do this will be forthcoming from both groups in the near future.

But, in the meantime, there is little to report about decisions made by either the Board or Ministry group during their September meetings. In its meeting, the Board explored the possibility of offering leadership training to the congregation. Their vision was the kind of training that can help participants focus on the joy and positivity that already exists and lead to ideas about how to revive that spirit among us. The topic will be discussed again at the October meeting.

The telephone tree was the other major topic of discussion. After reviewing several alternatives, board members concluded that the systems currently in existence are too expensive for the budget of a small church. Indeed, the pastor’s review of how other churches handle communication with members found no church using a telephone tree. The board will continue discussion about how to best communicate with the congregation at its October meeting.

The Ministry Team finished exploring The Other Half of Church with its message that joy is central to the growth of a Christian and to the health of a Christian community. Members began the discussion of how to use this principal in the ministry of FCCH and will continue that discussion at its October meeting.

 Positive Happenings at FCCH

By Nic Womack

 (Last month, our board president, Nic Womack, presented a “state of our church” message to the congregation. We publish that message for the benefit of those who were unable to attend worship service that Sunday).

- Our bounce back following COVID (we should probably mention our survival of COVID-a number of churches had to close down because of the pandemic): This also includes our attendance numbers. Rev. David shared with the board that the average Christian Church in America right now worships with less than 50 people on any given Sunday. We are averaging about 70. That puts us above average. The other number shared with the board was that the average Christian Church in America right now is seeing about 50% worship attendance as compared to pre-COVID numbers. A conservative pre-COVID average attendance for us was 100. That means we are at 70% of our pre-COVID numbers. Again, we are above average. (None of these numbers include our online attendance).

- We are seeing new faces and families joining us for worship repeatedly.

- There is more enthusiasm in the life of our church.

- There is more Positive Energy and better attitudes (this is probably connected to the point above).

- There is less division among the church.

I would highlight with this point that since COVID we have made major significant changes to our worship service and church leadership structure. Either one of these things could have turned into a major fight. I have heard horror stories about churches having to close after making such changes because of the fall out. But this was not the case for us. We navigated these changes well and smooth and seem to be stronger because of them-we also believe that these changes are the foundation for the shifts we are seeing in ministry.

- There is a lot of fear around our financial situation, but there are significant positives to highlight. We are thankful that those who have come before us did the work to set us up for such a time as this, with our permanent fund. Two things of great news connected to our finances. 1. We have not had to withdraw as much money from our permanent fund as we had originally thought when the congregation approved the 3-year plan last year. 2. We have increased our giving outreach; we have not lowered it through our financial fears (which is common for churches). For example, in the midst of all this First Christian was able to raise $10,000.00 to help Jefferson Elementary purchase and install their new playground and our church sent $22,000.00 to Week of Compassion for the tornado relief efforts in Western KY and the flooding relief efforts in Eastern KY. This number put First Christian Church of Henderson in the top 100 churches nationwide for its stewardship to Week of Compassion in 2022.

- Jada has recently decided to take on a rebuilding of the youth program. This will be a major rebuilding process that will not happen overnight.  Please be patient and supportive. THANK YOU, JADA,

-FRUITS of CHANGES typically take 5 to 10 years to produce outcome.

-Negativity breeds and can consume people. There will be negative things happen in a church as always, and we will deal with them. 

BUT at FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH GOING FORWARD WE WILL NOT FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVITY.

WE WILL TELL OUR POSITIVE STORY TO OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.

-HAPPINESS WILL Breed AS WELL

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD  -- THANK YOU!

                     October is Minister Appreciation Month

There will be a reception before worship on October 22 @ 9:00 a.m.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Rev David’s Bible Study, Singing the Lord’s Song. This study of songs of faith starts Wednesday, Oct 18

 @ 6:00 p.m.  

The FCCH board will meet Thursday, October 19 @ 6:30 p.m.

The Ministry Team will meet Tuesday, October 24 @ 6:30 p.m. We ask that all team members mark their calendars and attend this ministry journey.

  During the Bazaar Pumpkin rolls will be available! We have a signup sheet outside Rev. David office, please sign up if you are interested in purchasing one of the pumpkins rolls during the Bazaar on November 4.

Women of the Bible” study October 31 @ 3:00 p.m.

The CWF will not have the monthly meeting in November.    

Teen Sunday School class:  Join FCC Henderson’s Youth ministry team for our Teen Sunday School class. Jada will lead this five-week class as we explore mental health topics and tools that are vital to growing teens. We will meet for 

five Sundays starting after Fall break, October 15th, at 9:30a.m., before worship. This class welcomes all middle school and high school students.  

 October Stewardship Sermon Series:

 The Enemies of Gratitude

Series Overview: This series is an opportunity to teach gratitude by calling out the things that keep us from being truly grateful. In each sermon, we see how a misplaced focus prevents us from seeing all the blessings that are right in front of us. This series could connect us to the work the Ministry Team is doing.