THOUGHTS FROM OUR SENIOR MINISTER

I was lamenting recently to someone about how hectic and overwhelming my schedule has seemed lately as the church is trying to get started into 2023 with a strong foundation and this new governance structure. If fact, as I pointed out in frustration, I am having meetings to discuss the meetings that we are trying to have. It is all too easy for us to allow the mundane parts of our lives to distract us from the joy and beauty of God’s Holy Spirit at work among us. It takes persistence and on-going dedication to work ourselves through the tedious parts of our lives. However, we can often be aided in this work by recognizing the Spirit of God among us.

My son often reminds me that we call the church governance body a board because the meetings are so boring. He has never been to a church meeting, but seems to understand them quite well. A trap I found myself falling into these past weeks is to begin thinking that we are merely spinning our wheels in the muck and mud of the tediousness of work and life. However, God Spirit is among us.

I recently heard our Regional Minister share a story of one of our church’s Elders. This particular Elder recalled feeling lonely and desolate during the height of the COVID pandemic. She even remembers being in her congregation’s sanctuary when all the lights were off and even the stained-glass image of Jesus was dark. As she shared, she remembered feeling as if she would never find the light again. As she prayed for the hope of Christ to be reawakened in her soul, she was reminded that Christ’s light was within her.

The season of Epiphany is a season in which we remember and search for the light of Christ. In the midst of the long, dark days of winter, we certainly need to be reminded of Christ’s light. Even in the midst of everyday mundane tasks, Christ’s light and spirit shine upon us. As we were taught growing up with that wonderful children’s song, we must let our little light shine. I encourage each of us to find the strength of that Elder Dr. Gillett talked about—strength to continue to seek out the hope and light of Christ in our lives no matter how mundane, boring, or dark our world might feel.

I encourage you each to join me next week as we kick off our Bible Study over the Gospel of Matthew. I know, first-hand, how difficult it can be to add one more meeting to our already hectic and busy schedules. But even in the midst of our chaos and hectic lives, the light of Christ is shining bright for us to follow. If only we can turn ourselves to that light and find the strength to take one step closer. I pray that this upcoming class may be just the encouragement, fellowship, and learning that will help us each take one step closer to the everlasting light of Christ.

Peace Always,

Rev. David Clifford

 Joint Board and Ministry Team Meeting

Last Sunday, the church’s Board and Ministry team met jointly to discuss and plan for the work of 2023. Earlier, Board Chairman, Nic Womack had expressed the Board’s intent to focus support this year on the Ministry team as it grapples with how to organize for its work in the new structure approved by the General Board late in 2022. This meeting was the first combined meeting of the church’s two separate leadership groups. The conversation consisted primarily of communication and the sharing of ideas. No firm decisions were made. Ideas will be explored and developed more fully during the upcoming months. Meeting topics included: the Board’s vision for how the Ministry team will operate; tasks and duties of both the Board and Ministry team; formation of the task force to respond to the church’s financial situation and goals for 2023.

Vision for Ministry Team. Team members will operate much as they have in the past—recruiting, and building their own teams to focus on a specific aspect of the church’s ministry. The vision also calls for the Ministry team to work cooperatively to translate the Board’s annual vision into goals and objectives for ministry. The Senior Minister will play a strong role in deciding the team’s goals and is ultimately responsible to the board for the results of ministry. The vision, however, continues to be one in progress and could change as the church’s leadership works with it during the year.

Duties of Board and Ministry Team. Duties, as well as expectations of members were distributed to the group in written form by Rev. David Clifford. This document had been crafted by members of the transitional board during 2022. Duties of the officers of the Board were the same as those submitted to the congregation before the change in organizational structure.

The Ministry team, as a part of the church’s leadership separate from the Board, had less specifically defined roles. During 2023 the Ministry team will continue to work on developing the structure within which it will work. The document reviewed by Rev. Clifford addressed the responsibilities of the team as follows: “The Senior Minister, in consultation with the Board Chair, is authorized and directed to form “Ministry team(s) composed of lay members of the church, of his choosing, to assist him in the performance and furtherance of the mission of the church.”

Task Force Formation. Last year, when the board sought permission to withdraw money from the permanent fund, it assured the congregation that a task force would be formed.to investigate options for remeding the operating fund shortage and vision for the future of the church. That task force will be appointed in coming weeks. While Sunday’s meeting discussed the formation of this task force and some things it might consider, no decisions were made.

Goals for 2023.   It will be later when the board actually chooses goals for this year. But in preparation for that task, the joint group engaged in a brainstorming session and chose several questions that could guide development of the goals. These include: What has God called us to be? What is our “brand“? How do we wish to be known by others? What groups of people that we are not now reaching do we need to reach? What changes to our physical plant, staffing and organizational structures will we make in order to make room for more people?” The meeting did not result in decisions to change anything. It was a chance to communicate between the two groups and develop ideas for working together this year. As specific changes are made or discussed, they will be communicated to the congregation. As these discussions begin, members of the congregation are encouraged to share their own ideas with Board members or Chairman Nic Womack.

                                                                      Congratulations to Grae Hopgood

                            Congratulations to Grae Hopgood for  being selected as the South Middle  School Fiscal Court Judge's Scholar.                                                           Grae is the daughter of Gabby  Ludwig. Continue to pursue excellence in all you do Grae!        

                                                                       Upcoming Events

Bible Study

Rev. David Clifford will be teaching a Bible Study focused on the Gospel of Matthew on Wednesdays at 6 pm, starting January 25^th and going until May 31^st. The Gospel readings for this year’s lectionary text come primarily from Matthew’s Gospel. This class will be an opportunity to dive deeper into many of the readings you will be hearing in worship this year. It is based on a study written by Warren Cater. Over the course of this class, we will focus on the unfolding plot of Matthew’s Gospel, the context in which the Gospel was written, and the Gospel’s role in our own faith formation. We hope you will consider exploring the Gospel of Matthew with us.

New Year, New Member?

Rev. David Clifford is in the process of setting up a New Member class at First Christian Church. This will be a one-day (or evening) class in which we explore what it means to become a member of First Christian Church. We have a number of new faces at First Christian and would like to invite anyone who has not yet joined our church to sit in on this class. There is no requirement or expectation to join the church if you take this class. We are merely exploring what membership at First Christian looks like, some topics of discussion will include: our denomination and church history, church structure and polity, what membership means and how to join, and how our church has been changing the past few years. We would love to have some discussion around how you can help us accomplish our called ministry together. Please contact the church office if you are interested. We will set a date and time for the class once we know availability of all interested parties.

Same Podcast, New Format

Rev. David Clifford and Jada Hamby have been working on making the Monday Morning Preacher podcast a live-streamed event. On Monday, January 9, they launched their first MMP Live discussion from the church’s Facebook page. If you have not yet checked it out, we encourage you to. You can find the discussion over baptism on the video section of our church’s Facebook page or on the “Mon-Sat” tab on our church’s website. Be sure to stay up-to-date with the newest MMP discussions by following us on Facebook. 

Sprinkles of Joy

Carl Bryan (above with wife Evina) joined FCCH on December 4^th , 2022. Carl and Evina coordinate the Senior Saints Program.

                                                                           Welcome Carl to FCCH!

•   Don Pangle prepares to leave the church parking lot to help Christian Community       
•   Outreach deliver commodities to residents at Redbanks.   

     

ANOUNCEMENTS

FCC Board meeting is tonight Thursday, January 19, @ 6:30 p.m.

Your year-end contributions/tax information are on their way out. If you have not received your statement by January 22, or have questions about your statement please contact the church office.

An Elder Shepherding Meeting is scheduled for January 23 @ 6:00 p.m. We need all Shepherding Elders here for this meeting.

The Christian Women’s Fellowship will be collecting toothpaste and toothbrushes throughout January

for the Christian Community Outreach.

The CMF will host their annual “All Church Breakfast” Sunday, February 5 at 8:30. All members of the church are invited to come out and share in this great time of fellowship and food.

   Epiphany Sermon Series: New Year, Same Promises

A Six-Week sermon series focusing on God’s promises.

Series Overview: “New Year, New You”: this is the message we get from pop culture, year after year. We vow to make changes to our diet, exercise habits, or lifestyle, but in spite of those resolutions, most things stay the same. This may be cause for disappointment, but there is some consistency we can celebrate. God’s promises to us do not change with the calendar or the latest fitness trend. Rather than focusing our energy and attention on making (and in all likelihood breaking) promises to ourselves at the start of a new year, let’s spend the first part of the new year appreciating God’s unbreakable promises.