THE BUSINESS OF CHURCH by Emilie Congleton, Board Treasurer

I never gave much thought to all that goes on behind the scenes each week to bring our services and gatherings together. Things seem to happen so effortlessly and without fan fare. It was such an honor for me last month to be part of the preparation for the luncheon to thank our numerous volunteers for all your wonderful service over this past year. In sending out the invitations, it was enlightening to discover that nearly two-thirds of our membership actively participate in some way to make our church function as our spiritual home. Our loving volunteers help in the office and bookstore, with the Sunday and Wednesday services, as practitioners, teachers and board members, with hospitality in the kitchen on special projects, and so many other endeavors.
Our church operates smoothly because of the generous gifts of time and efforts of so many people. In so giving we are each blessed by the satisfaction of participation with our church family. I encourage everyone to take part in whatever way you are drawn to express yourself. I appreciate all that you have done and look forward to working with each of you in the future. Thank you for being part of our Sanctuary for Spiritual Living family.

With love and gratitude,

Emilie Congleton

FROM OUR BOARD PRESIDENT

Can you believe that by the time you receive the March/April issue of the Spirit Expressed Newsletter in your homes, Spring will be near. It is amazing how fast time seems to pass. As I observe how our roses are beginning to show their new leaves, I am intrigued by how rapidly our seasons change. It seems as though it was only yesterday when we were caught up in the Christmas spirit. And we are now preparing to celebrate Easter. Life is good!

We are blessed to have such a magnificent newsletter to keep us informed of all of the events that are taking place around our church. Our two month calendar surely allows us the time to plan for various events that we are planning in our own lives. As you read your newsletter I am sure that you will find the articles, written by people that you know, are so interesting. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and Rev. Kris we want to thank you for all of the excellent articles and prayer treatments that you writers submit to be printed. Our thanks are certainly extended to Rev. Karen Rice in gathering all of this information for our Spirit Expressed Newsletter.

Words cannot express our gratitude to Carl Bennitt for the many years that he has printed our newsletter in his print shop. This is another of the fantastic services that Carl has so graciously given to our church. I have always considered Carl to be a giant among men. As one of the founding members of our church, we are so fortunate to have Carl still contributing to our community in such a spectacular way. Thank you Carl for this extraordinary gift to us. To all of our church family who have submitted articles or announcements to Spirit Expressed Newsletter,
we are grateful to you. As you can see, it is by all of us lending our talents that makes us the fabulous church family we are.

The Board of Trustees met recently to establish the budget for the year. We discussed the goals that we will want to accomplish. Our projections are reasonable and certainly within our means. Your pledges for the year are an important part of this process and allow us to discuss each item on the budget. Again, on behalf of the Board, we thank you for all of your support.

This month I will shine our spotlight on Sue Holland. Sue is such a dynamic lady, with personality PLUS! She is forever busy doing amazing things around our church. One of her many contributions has been accepting the leadership role for our greeters and ushers. She has changed the roles and has recruited new members to serve in both positions. The beauty of recruiting new members is that they can become involved in serving in such a wonderful way and it allows them the opportunity to get to know our church family. As I meet new members it is so good to hear them say that Sue has already spoken to them about serving. Once you are a part of Sue's organization, she continues to refine it by coming up with new ideas. To illustrate my point, each Sunday morning immediately after church, her group will pick up their little baskets to replace envelopes, newsletters and other materials that have been used by our congregants. We are aware that Sue has retired as a school teacher, and she has certainly used her skills in organizing her ideas and recruiting new members to want to work with her. On behalf of the Board, Rev. Kris, Rev. Karen and our entire church family, we thank you for your remarkable service that you so lovingly give to our church. We are also grateful for the exceptional group of volunteers that work with you. We applaud all of you! Our community continues to be held high, simply because of the standards that you have set

With a Joyful Heart,
Wilvesta Morgan Jr.

Women's Focus Group News

New Officers - Election results for the new officer's of the Women's Focus Group were announced at the last meeting. The new President is Practitioner Student Corinne Gomez. Pat Bunner is moving into the Vice President position, and Jill Roberts will hold the office of Secretary and Treasurer. We are grateful for fresh energy these women bring to the success of the group.

Doing Good in the Community- A part of the funds raised during the Women's Focus Group Fashion Show and Tea were given to the Coalition for the Homeless, which we have continued to support with our hygiene collection basket in Harmony Hall. Irene Kubu, Executive Director, wrote that the money was appreciated as they are struggling to keep the cold weather shelter open as well as their other services as the expected FEMA funds have been delayed.

Women's Mini Retreat - Twenty-five women came together on January 26 for a day of sharing and reconnecting to each other. The day was filled with joy and laughter as well as meaningful discussions on how we are connected to the earth and each other. Thanks to all who participated in this annual event.

Our next Women's Focus Group meeting will be held Sunday, January 13th at 12:30 p.m.,directly after service.

Copyright 2004 ESGV Church of Religious Science.
Please email comments and questions to the webmaster.
HOME