We appointed Matt Baunach to the vacant position of Youth Pastor. Being a lay employment rather than a placement, the Uniting Church processes allow for the Church Council to make this appointment. Matt is a young man who is currently in formation as a Minister of the Word. Matt will be employed by our congregation for 20 hours a week, working in our youth area. He will primarily be responsible for ensuring that our congregation is providing opportunities and is committed to growing faith amongst youth. This includes those whose parents worship at Emmanuel and others from the community. This will also include developing transitions between our groups to help youth as they grow older. Matt will be involved in the Friday night youth groups and the evening worship service. He will be available to assist the leadership of the Brigades and the youth and young adults explore groups. Please take the time to make Matt feel welcome.
The Church Council also started a process to consider the future needs and uses of the church building. Our building is one of the tools that we use to achieve our purpose. For almost 20 years we have used it for worship, study, service, fellowship and play. But now it is starting to show signs of its age. Carpet and pews are stained, tired and worn. The inside needs painting. The décor is dated.
A task group has been formed to look at what we do with the church into the future. Since the building was built the way we do church has changed and the needs that we have for the church building are consequently different. This group will be engaging an architect to come up with an overall development plan. This will be guided by some initial parameters that the building needs to multi-purpose, contemporary and highly durable. At important stages in the process the group will consult with the congregation in general and with specific groups.
We are looking toward 2016 when our building will be 20 years old. To honour the foresight of those who have led us to this point in our journey, we are going to stand on their shoulders and look further into the future.
The Church Council also approved the congregation’s budget for 2014. It is exciting to see that based on pledge information provided last year, our level of giving allows us to maintain a balanced budget that generously meets all our expected expenditure. This budget will be presented at our congregational meeting on Sunday 30 March.
There have been 31 people nominated for Church Council. Those who received at least 2 nominations have now been contacted. Please pray for their reflection of the call of God on their life. names of those who have accepted nomination will be presented on Sunday 9 March.
No comments:
Post a Comment