Categories
Church Leadership Journal Joy Notes

The Celebration Begins

Our Celebration Theme and Logo

The preparations have been exhausting, but the result is clearly worth it.   Many people have pitched in to accomplish a prodigious amount of work in the last week in preparation for this weekend at Community Wesleyan.  

Makeover fever hits the sign garden

Cindy Center took on some of the outside gardening and asked Vicki Hilleges to help.  Vicki in turn recruited her daughter Nicole and husband Doug to finish the complete redo of the landscaping surrounding our church sign.  It looks awesome.   Cindy and Vicki also resurrected the old planter between the pines, the first time it has been plated since I have been pastor here.   Mike and Pat had lots of help in setting up for the dinner and it looks gorgeous with everything in purple and gold.   Fran recruited help too and the Meet and Greet reception  tables were a visual treat as well as being loaded with goodies.   Here at the parsonage,  JoAnne had help in  preparing for the open house from Mikayla, Kim O. and Kathy Dunn.   

Picture mother lode discovered

A picture treasure trove was discovered just this past Sunday.   Suddenly the history drawer had more pictures and notebooks in it than it had in years.  This required a huge amount of hustle to resort pictures for the slideshow, fill more photo albums, and prepare the rest for appropriate filing.    JoAnne headed up this effort with help from many.  To Amy LaForte fell the task of actually putting the mounds of pictures into photo albums.     Judy Pazdzierski and JoAnne created the photo record for 50 4 50 Ministries.  JoAnne supplied the pictures and write-ups and Judy did the scrap-booking.     The third photo project has been the slide show.   Anne Kipping and JoAnne were working hard on it but discovered they needed a PowerPoint expert to help bring their whole vision together.  Josh Basile joined their effort and supplied the expertise and the finishing touches.

First evening of celebration is a big success

Nothing like hugs from friends — Many hugs at the parsonage open house this afternoon and at the meet and greet time at church afterward.   Saw many I have not seen in years.  Many are returning tomorrow.   Founding pastor, Rev. Tom Boghosian and his wife and former pastor Rev. Ed Crandall and Lois were here.   In addition to these, tomorrow we expect to see Rev and Mrs. Wolfe and our D.S., Rev. Wayne Wager and his wife.   After the conversation time the concert/praise and testimony time was attended by more than one hundred people.   It was a joyful time.  

Categories
Forward Look Journal

50th Anniversary Kick-off

The balloons were out.  The cake was cut.  The atmosphere was electric.   Today it is official; Community Wesleyan Church in Kirkville is entering a season of celebration.     Check out the KNN pages for pictures from today’s dinner (http://www.kirkvillewesleyan.org/anniversary-kick-off/pictures-from-kick-off/category/1.html).

Our Celebration Theme and Logo

This is a crucial time in our church’s history.   

It is a moment when we remember the faithfulness of God in helping our congregation in the struggles of the past.  It is a time when we confess together as we sang together in worship this morning, “Your grace is enough for me!”   The song is based on the word of Scripture, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Co 12:9 NIV).     We also sang of God’s faithfulness.  This is also a point when we look forward to what God is going to do through our church in the future until Jesus returns.   

This is a big season for me and my wife personally too.