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.

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 8^th, 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 22^nd 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!

We hope everyone will join us this Sunday April 8^th for the all-church Capital Campaign Kick-Off Celebration. We will make a very exciting announcement about how much money the Campaign has raised to date and unveil our special Campaign “thermometer.” PLUS we will have food, a scavenger hunt and children’s entertainment by the Big Blue Trunk. Please remember that we will have only one service that day (at 10:15), with the party to follow from 11:15 to 1 p.m.

One of the most important goals of the Campaign is building an even stronger church community, so we hope that ALL AGES will come to celebrate this important milestone in the life of our church…together! Come…see what God has made possible!

This Kick-Off marks a big milestone in our Capital Campaign. Up until this point, we have been quietly raising funds from an initial group of church members. Now is the time for the entire congregation to come together and help us reach our goal! Be on the lookout for a special mailing about the Capital Campaign in your mailboxes next 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.

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

Peace & Blessings!