November 11, 2014
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
It was a great privilege to host last night’s Charge Conference for the congregations of Alta-Schaller, Hinton-Merrill, Marcus, Aurelia, Sutherland-Larrabbee, and Hostein. It was especially gratifying to hear the many positive comments about our new kitchen and dining hall from the large crowd of attendees, and I was pleased by how the technological capability of our new audio/video system enhanced the experience for everyone.
Thanks to the many folks from our own congregation who attended, and for the good work we did in charting a course for our future ahead. And for those who didn’t make it, the following is my Pastor’s Report, celebrating another great year of putting God’s love into action.
Pastor’s Report
St. Paul’s UMC Charge Conference
November 10, 2014
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”
This year marked a significant moment in the life and history of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, as we finally returned to a fully restored and renovated Kitchen, Shuldt Dining Hall, and Feller Lounge following the devastating fire of 2012. After many long months of planning, pondering, watching, and waiting, we can rejoice that our campus is not only back to normal, but better than ever before, and prepared to serve the mission of this church for years to come.
But there is even more to celebrate: Following the four-fold mission statement of the church adopted in 2008, we give thanks for another great year of putting God’s love into action.
WORSHIP: We worship with joy, because Christ is among us and deserves our praise.
St. Paul’s continued to offer vibrant and vital worship services that attract people of all ages. Our music ministry is as strong as ever, with the Bell Choir and Chancel Choir served by faithful volunteers and the capable direction of Joe Vannatta. Our children’s choir sings faithfully once a month, thanks to volunteer director Crystal Samsel, and the Memorial Committee recently purchased a new set of children’s handbells, which debuted during our recent Children’s Sabbath. Our Christmas Eve service drew the largest crowd any one of us can remember, with over 450 in attendance, and we look forward to the capability of offering closed circuit, overflow seating in the Dining Hall for even larger crowds.
Overall, worship continues to be the work of the people, with faithful teams of volunteers serving as lay liturgists, children’s sermon providers, greeters, ushers, musicians, and audio-visual support.
We have experienced several sermon series throughout the year, the highlight of which was an extensive exploration of the life of Joseph, which carried us through Epiphany and Lent. Others included “Hearing God,” “Alive,” “The DNA of the Church,” and “The Kingdom of God.”
DISCIPLESHIP: We grow in our faith, practicing every day what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
We give thanks for our dedicated Sunday school teachers who provide excellent care and ministry to our children every week. Last Spring, they offered a wonderful end-of-the-year Sunday school celebration to conclude a great year of ministry, and worked very hard to offer another terrific Vacation Bible School, serving over seventy-five children in our community. Our senior high students are once again fortunate to be served by Craig and Monica Schmidt, and their wonderful Wednesday night “Teen Time” program. They continue to see strong, active participation, with over twenty youth attending per week, many of whom are invited friends. They went on their annual Ski Trip, did their December missions outing to the Midwest Christian Children’s Home, and helped with our recent Ingathering.
Many of our adults continue to be actively engaged in small group discipleship opportunities, with our Friday morning men’s group, a Thursday night Bible study led by Jenny Burroughs, three active United Methodist Women’s Circles, and our wonderful Sunday morning Adult Class.
FELLOWSHIP: We care for each other as an encouraging, supportive, and growing family.
One of the major developments in the area of fellowship and membership care is the recent revision of our membership directory. This painstaking process, coordinated by Andrea Cook and a few of our volunteers, involved a detailed audit of our entire membership record, dating back to the earliest years of our church. They were able to reconcile our membership books with our new computerized church database, enabling us to modernize the way we keep track of all of our congregational information. This culminated in the production of our most recent church directory, which will serve our congregation for some time to come.
We can also celebrate another good year in gaining church members. We added twenty-one new members, by Profession of Faith (7), Transfer of Membership (9), and Confirmation (5). After accounting for members that we lost through death and transfer, we saw a net overall increase in membership this past year.
Membership care continues to be a high priority for this congregation. Our Visitation Team continues to link lay visitors with shut-ins and homebound persons. They distribute audio recordings of the service and a bulletin to members, and check on them for pastoral and personal concerns. We are grateful for the wonderful team of visitors who make these connections every week.
This has continued to be an important church for providing funeral services and ministry to grieving families. Since the last Charge Conference, I performed sixteen funerals, most of which were for people who weren’t members of the church. Our Funeral Luncheon Team continues to provide an amazing level of generous hospitality for families grieving the loss of loved ones. With great grace and efficiency, they provided wonderful luncheons throughout the year. Thanks to Phyllis Parrott, Jean Anderson, Shelley Lenz, and Linda Rutter for their coordination.
Finally, St. Paul’s remains an epicenter of care for people seeking wholeness and health. We now host several Alcoholics Anonymous groups throughout the week, as well as Moms on Meth, Narcotics Anonymous, and a weight loss group. The church also hosts a monthly gathering of the Foster Care Review Board.
SERVICE: We share with others to meet their physical and spiritual needs, and invite all people to faith in Christ.
There is no doubt in my mind that this congregation takes seriously its call to put God’s love into action. The recent closing of the Tyson production plant in town prompted tremendously generous giving by our congregation, raising over $1,500 for our local food pantries, the Ministerial Assocation, and the Salvation Army. That is coupled with another terrific bell-ringing effort last December, where we raised over $3,500 for the Salvation Army, 90% of which stays in town to help local people in need. Our Ingathering effort produced a record number of kits that were distributed to people all over the world, and we have donated hundreds of shoes to our ongoing Soles4Souls collection program. The sum result is that we once again achieved Third-Mile status in the Conference’s Rainbow Covenant Missions giving program. Thanks to Carolyn VanAmberg and her team on the Missions Committee for prompting our giving and raising awareness of these worthy causes. And of course, we give thanks for the amazing work and constant vitality of our United Methodist Women, who raise money for ministries to children, women, and missions around the world through projects such as the recent Election Day Luncheon and Bake Sale.
We rejoice in the faithful stewardship of the people of St. Paul’s. We have been blessed with a remarkable year of financial giving, ending the summer with income ahead of expenses for the first time in recent memory. Giving continues to be strong and on pace to end the year once again in the “black,” which of course includes paying our apportionments in full.
THE FUTURE:
But the best news of all is that our future together looks even brighter. With our campus back to normal, we look forward to the return of the Great Cherokee Pancake Day Race this February, and the hosting of several events for the community and the district. We can also turn our focus on the repayment of the debt related to the renovations to the kitchen and dining hall, and our Trustees and Finance Committee have a solid plan to aggressively pay down that debt in a short period of time. 2015 will see a new roof for our sanctuary, finally addressing the numerous leaks in our ceiling with a solution that will fix it once and for all. Our Administrative Board has just approved goals for next year that will expand our small group offerings, explore the addition of a Christian Education director, extend care to our less active members, and extend hospitality to community groups through the use of our new kitchen and dining hall. And we will keep a watchful eye on further progress to be made on renovations for energy-efficiency in the Education Wing, according to our long-term strategic plan adopted six years ago.
It has again been my deepest privilege to serve as your pastor, and I give thanks for all that we have been able to accomplish together. We trust in the movement of God’s Spirit as we claim our mission of putting God’s love into action by transforming lives, improving the community, and changing the world.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
COMMITMENT SUNDAY AND ANNUAL THANKSGIVING LUNCHEON NOVEMBER 23
Mark your calendars to join us for our annual Thanksgiving meal after the service on November 23. You will not need to bring any dishes to share, as turkey and all the fixings will be provided, and a free will donation will be accepted. That is also the day for us to bring in our commitment cards for the upcoming year, as part of our Commitment Sunday celebration.
To view past editions of the Mid-Week Message, visit http://mdevega.blogspot.com.
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