Week 13 – Inch by Inch, Row by Row

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Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
Till the rain comes tumbling down.

~ Songwriter David Mallett

When I was little, my grandpa Padre always had John Denver records playing in the background—I spent many afternoons listening to those songs, playing cards and doing jigsaw puzzles with him. Today, as I was thinking about our Capital Campaign, this song started playing in my mind—in this Campaign, WE are sowing seeds for the future. And sometimes our progress is measured one inch at a time, but every gift and every pledge helps our garden grow. We ask for God’s blessing and we pray that Our Home will be fertile ground for faith and love and hope to grow in all of us, in our families, and for all who follow in our footsteps.

Peace & Blessings,

Kaki McGeary, Campaign Co-Chair

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If you haven’t yet made a pledge, can you help make our garden grow?  If possible, please return your pledge by May 15th (unless you are still waiting for a visit!). 

 Stop by our Campaign table in the Fellowship Hall to drop off pledge forms, pick up extra forms, ask questions, schedule a visit, or just say hi.

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Save the Date!

Ice Cream Social & Campaign Celebration

Sunday, June 3  (following single 9 a.m. service)

Please join us to celebrate our wonderful Faith Formation volunteers, Campaign volunteers & all the blessings of this Capital Campaign.

And, of course, join us for sprinkles & hot fudge!

Stay tuned for more details.

Week 11 & 12 – Behind the Scenes

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Happy Spring! Here’s a sneak peek at what is going on behind the scenes in our Capital Campaign… While the Steering Committee has been busy planning and visitors have been reaching out to connect with everyone in our congregation, our Trustees have begun the bidding process for two of our Capital Campaign priorities—the roof and the parking lot/new vestibule/new ADA bath off Fellowship Hall.  We will have more news about the projects to share with you soon!

Thank you to everyone who has made a Campaign pledge so far…we are very grateful for your support. With your generous gifts, we have received  $708,786 in pledges…86% of our base goal and 65% of our stretch goal!

If you haven’t yet made a pledge, can you to help us reach the top?

Every single pledge, of every size, will be valued and celebrated. This is OUR HOME and OUR FUTURE…we are truly in this together! Our hope is to have remaining pledges in by May 15 so that we can wrap up the Campaign at a special celebration on Sunday June 3. We hope everyone will participate in some way in this important time in the life of our church.

If you have already had a visit, and haven’t returned your pledge form yet, we ask that you please do so at your earliest convenience. If you need a new form or have further questions about your pledge, please don’t hesitate to contact one of us. This month, we will have a Campaign Table in the Fellowship Hall where you can drop off pledge forms in sealed envelopes, ask questions or just say hello.

If you haven’t been contacted about a visit, and would like to schedule one, please contact Maureen Evans or one of us. We would love the chance to hear why this church is important to YOU, and how it has made a difference in your life.

Yours in faith & friendship,

Kaki & Dave

May 2018 Church Council

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May 1st, 7:00 pm – Marvin Lounge

  1. Opening prayer – Rev. Simon
  2. Changes to the agenda
  3. Approve April 3, 2018 Council Meeting minutes
  4. Approve April 22, 2018 Special Meeting (by-law changes) minutes
  5. Capital Campaign Update and Tracking item 15
  6. June 10th Installation for Rev. Simon (3-4:30)
  7. Receive any reports or feedback from recognized groups of the church
    1. Heavenly Pantry, Heavenly Cents, Nepali Church, Called to Care, Craft Fest
  8. LCDC – Member in Discernment Status for Josh Sharp (plans for Council tracking)
  9. Scout activity,  jamboree on June 9th: 30 young men for 3 hours, – Trustees
  10. Finance feedback: Request from Children’s Preschool and Enrichment Center to not pay
    rent or utilities for the two months they will be shut down this summer.
  11. Volunteer to explore options to provide paid (Church subsidized) car/van service for
    several people who cannot drive themselves to Church.
  12. Thank you committee chairs for minutes and/or reports (late is way better than none)
    – Continue to cc Maureen, Mark, Josh, Jen and me on minutes/reports. I will forward a
    few I received for May without all of us on cc.
  13. Adjourn
  14. Tracking item: Church evacuation and safety plans
  15. Tracking item: After work begins, process for regularly communicating construction
    plans to groups using the Church (*)
  16. Tracking Item: Committee sign ups for Ushering:
    • Ushering Month
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • June
    • July
    • August
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • December
    • Committee
    • Church Council for Annual Meeting
    • Christian Education
    • Deacons
    • Capital Campaign
    • Confirmation
    • Hospitality
    • Music
    • Pastoral Relations
    • Missions
    • Stewardship
    • Nominating
    • Trustees

(*) No representative available from Trustees for 5/01 meeting, report received that Trustees:
– finalized plans for Capital Campaign projects for 2018.
– Will move forward with the roof repairs, parking lot improvements and, if time permits, the outer shell of the
new vestibule.
– Expect to choose contractors by 5/15 and have construction dates for June meeting.

Approved meeting minutes are available from the church administrator.

May 2018 Spirit at First News

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May 2018 Newsletter

Week 10 – Signs of Spring?!

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Is anyone else ready for winter to be done? This picture was taken a few weeks ago, but some snow still remains. For much of the winter, this massive snow pile blocked our church sign from most angles. Replacing and re-positioning the sign is just one of the projects this Capital Campaign will make possible. Even without the snow pile, our sign is difficult to see unless you are standing right in front of it. Making the sign be perpendicular to the road will make it visible to passersby in both directions.

Speaking of signs…we have a beautiful new Campaign sign hanging above our front door at the church, and our Campaign thermometer is on our front lawn so that everyone can see our progress toward reaching our goal! Thank you to Lester Nutting for making this beautiful sign, and to John Burnett for help with installation. Can you help fill up the rest of the church, and “fill the heart?”

A Very Good Sign…

We are thrilled to share the news that the Hoehl Family Foundation awarded our church a $20,000 grant…$10,000 designated for the Capital Campaign and $10,000 designated for our Food Pantry mission! This grant was a wonderful affirmation of the incredible Food Pantry ministry, and is just one more demonstration of how the Capital Campaign is helping our church in ways we never could have imagined.  We are so thankful for their generous support of the Campaign AND the Food Pantry, and for their faith in our church’s ability to make a difference in our community. That’s a very good SIGN!

The Food Pantry will use the $10,000 to replace two aging and inefficient freezers, improve storage in the gym, and add a small window air conditioning unit for the storage room in the hottest weather to prevent the freezers/refrigerators from overheating.

The Capital Campaign Steering Committee is pursuing other grant opportunities, although they are limited because many local foundations and businesses will not make grants to religious institutions. Most of the funding for our Capital Campaign will be from individual gifts. We are currently working on a grant application to the Vermont Arts Council, which has an interest in funding accessibility-related projects in cultural facilities. There are a few other potential grant sources with deadlines later in the year. We will keep you posted!

Sowing Seeds of Friendship…another sign of Spring!

One of the most important goals for this Campaign is to help people feel even more connected to our church and one another…after all, this is Our Home! Visits are available to everyone in our faith community, not just church members.

If you haven’t had a visit yet, and would like to have the chance to meet with one of one of our trained “Campaign Visitors,” please let us know! Visitors are people who have volunteered to meet with folks to talk about the Church, listen to stories about what it means to our members and friends, and answer any questions about the Campaign before confidential pledges are made.

We want you to know that the home visit is NOT about asking for specific amounts of money – that is for you to decide and the details of your pledge are confidential. We believe you will enjoy getting to know someone better (or making a new friend), while you learn more about this important step we are taking together in the life of our Church. We hope you will say YES to a visit!

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to Co-Chairs Dave Johnson or Kaki McGeary.

Week 9 – Wow!

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God is great! Did you feel God’s love in Fellowship Hall last Sunday when our congregation came together to officially kick off the Our Home, Our Future, Our Time Capital Campaign?  We did! Special thanks to Cathy Shearer and her team of volunteers for making the kick-off so much fun – Myrna Doney, Phyllis Willey, Beth Warren, Betsy Weischedel, Sue Conti, Jim Glatz, Rob & Maureen Evans, Allison Wermer, Tom Shearer, Josh Simon & Mark Mendes. And thank you Lester Nutting for making our beautiful thermometer!

On Sunday April 8th, we announced that we have raised $650,000 of our $822,000 goal…79 percent! And the number keeps growing. For the latest updates on our progress, be sure to visit the Capital Campaign page on our website at www.fccej.org (there is a Capital Campaign tab at the top, far right). Special thanks to Andrea Sharp for her excellent work on the website. (Please note that the next fundraising update will be after April 22nd due to travel schedules.)

Everyone should receive a special mailing about the Capital Campaign this week. Inside you will find information about the Campaign, the many restorations and improvements we are raising money for, and details on how you can help support the Campaign. We hope you will take some time to review the materials and think about what Our Home, Our Future, Our Time means to you and your family. If you didn’t receive a mailing, please contact the church.

A word about visits…

One of the most important goals for this Campaign is to help people feel even more connected to our church and one another…after all, this is Our Home! Everyone in the church will have an opportunity for a group or individual visit with one of our trained “Campaign Visitors,” people who have volunteered to meet with folks to talk about the Church, listen to stories about what it means to our members, and answer any questions about the Campaign before confidential pledges are made. We want you to know that the home visit is NOT about asking for specific amounts of money – that is for you to decide and the details of your pledge are confidential. We believe you will enjoy getting to know someone better (or making a new friend), while you learn more about this important step we are taking together in the life of our Church. We hope you will say YES to a visit!

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to Co-Chairs Dave Johnson or Kaki McGeary.

Peace & Blessings!

First Congregational Church of Essex Junction, 1 Church Street, Essex Jct., VT 05452 | (802) 878-5745