Stewardship

In the months leading up to our Stewardship Sunday on November 4, 2007, our congregation will hear from several members of the congregation.  Their messages will appear on this page.

Stewardship Moment from the Board of Trustees

by Kate McGivern, chair

July 29, 2007

One morning last week there was a pool party in our parking lot. The little ones who attend “That’s My School II” were splashing in wading pools, playing with buckets of water and laughing. It was a great gift to see them! Recently, “That’s My School II” underwent a rigorous inspection for license renewal as a childcare facility. The school passed inspection, with some conditions. The inspectors left Erin, the school owner, with a list of repairs that need to be done before the license renewal can be official.

Erin’s list of repairs includes patching walls, removing lead-based paint and painting window sills and storage spaces. Many of those items were taken care of during the June clean-up day hosted by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees will finish the remainder of the jobs very soon. 

“That’s My School II” is our major tenant, but not our only one. We fill our building each week with members of the Korean Baptist Church and the Gillbott UCC Church, and the Kids International Weekend School. From September to June, teachers from the Roosevelt School rent some parking lot space. Our tenants provide us with income of more than 100-thousand -dollars each year, about one-third of our income. Just as importantly, our church has a presence in the River Edge Community and, a building that had stood relatively empty 5 days a week, is now brimming with activity like pool parties. 

Wear and tear comes with activity. Think about your own house. Does this happen to you? Every time a project gets started in the McGivern house, another project gets in the way or becomes an emergency. It seems like nothing ever gets finished. This is what happens to older buildings and this is what’s happening to our church. The Board of Trustees has been promising you a new floor in Fellowship hall for years. The project is all ready funded yet it can’t go forward because of water issues. The water issues are being addressed. Soon, the big trees on Continental Avenue will come down which will help with clogged gutters and foundation problems.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the pear trees at the back of our parking lot broke in half. Fortunately, no cars were parked near the tree so no damage was done. Quick action by a couple of your trustees brought a tree removal company to take care of the broken tree and its companion which was also crumbling. The trees were taken down; wood removed and stumps ground all in the matter of an afternoon. 

I’ve just mentioned a couple of things that the Board of Trustees deals with on a regular basis as caretakers of the church facility. Every week there are calls about light bulbs, or air conditioning, or trash to take out. Yes, we even take out the trash on Sunday nights! 

There is a wealth of riches within this congregation. There are experts in construction, air conditioning, finances, education, and engineering among us. These people give their time and talent on a regular basis....after a long day of work, during their lunch breaks, even on Saturday....in person, by telephone or email consultation. These people don’t send us bills for the time they’ve spent. They don’t charge us for the work they do on our behalf. Often, they don’t even ask to be reimbursed for equipment or supplies. These people are a great gift to our church.

When my daughters, Laura and Jane, were little, I had the great gift of being home with them full-time. When people would ask my husband what I did, he’d tell them I was a fire-fighter. They would get very impressed until he explained that I put out the little fires at home so that they wouldn’t grow into big fires that he would have to deal with at the end of the day. In many ways, the Board of Trustees is like that. Board members spend much time and talent taking care of small problems so that they don’t become huge issues for the rest of the congregation. But not every problem can be solved with duct tape and glue, sometimes real money is needed for a more permanent fix. So, just like a fire department, run with volunteers who are willing to give time and talent, there is still a need for treasure to keep the trucks rolling. The decision to do or not do a project within the church building is dependent upon your generosity.  

In the fall, when the Board of Trustees puts together the 2008 operating budget, it won’t be very exciting. We will try very hard to keep it balanced, to not spend beyond what has to be spent to maintain the basics of our church. This means that very little major work will get done, very small raises will be given and we’ll continue to put out the little fires, praying that a big fire does not erupt. The real excitement will come after the November Stewardship Campaign when the pledge totals show that you, the members of the First Congregational Church of River Edge, have decided that

• your church building is worth working on
• your church staff is worth paying
•  your church programs are worth supporting

When this happens, it will be my greatest pleasure to call a special meeting of the Board of Trustees to rework that 2008 budget and I’m willing to say that it will be the trustees’ greatest pleasure to attend that meeting. So I thank you in advance.

Stewardship Moment from the Board of Deacons
by Alice Rushforth, chair

September 16, 2007

 
Welcome to First Congregational Church of River Edge, United Church of Christ.  Before we begin our worship together this morning I would like to tell you about your church’s Board of Deacons. 

According to our Bylaws the Board of Deacons shall, in conjunction with the pastor:

(a)    have the general supervision of the spiritual life of the Church, conduct of worship, administration of the sacraments, and the use of the sanctuary.

(b)   Provide for a substitute for the pulpit during the absence of the pastor

(c)    Provide for the election of a pastoral search committee, when necessary, for the calling of a pastor

(d)   Recruit and train church members to identify and welcome newcomers

(e)    Provide an association delegate

(f)     Serve as the search committee for an interim pastor.

 
Now I’ll tell you the rest of the story.

At the first meeting of the new term each deacon volunteers for a job.  One of these jobs is taking care of lemonade on the lawn, or should I say, lemonade on the sidewalk.  Julia Gilson was in charge of that job this past summer and wasn’t it delicious?  Tell her how good it was when you see her sometime.

 
Another deacon duty is arranging for the flowers on Christmas and Easter.  Marge Rupp has done that for us this past year.  In addition she is the Altar Guild representative.  At the moment she is trying figure out why the candles are burning down so quickly.

The deacons are also responsible for having greeters on Sunday morning.  Adria Brown is the recruiter and makes those calls for greeters.  If you are interested in being a greeter call Adria, she would love to hear from you. 

Tom Harrington represents our church at the NJ Association meetings.  The Association meets on a Saturday about 3 times a year.  Although Tom is the official representative anyone can go to the meetings to talk with others about their church programs, joys and concerns. 

One of our busiest members is Vic Babington, Sr. He’s the one who fills all those little communion cups, prepares the bread and buys the supplies for coffee hour.  One of Vic’s challenges is to figure out just how many communion cups need to be filled on communion Sunday.

Another deacon responsibility is setting up ushering teams for Sunday morning worship.

Brenda Hartley is always looking for people to be ushers.  Speak to her if you would like to a part of this team.

Marilyn Aub sends cards to those who are ill and prepares for food to be sent to the families of our members who have passed away.  Please call Marilyn if you know of someone she should send a card to.

Deacons also serve as representative to boards and committees including Memorial, Leadership, Church Council, Stephen’s, Woodruff, and Music.

In August two members of our congregation were the lay preachers during Pastor Paul’s vacation.  When I asked Wayne Placek and Jim Berrie to preach they both agreed to do it right away without any reservations.  And, what a good job they did.

During the next few months the deacons will be working to have someone cover for the time Pastor Paul is away on sabbatical.  We have discussed our needs and priorities and we are preparing this information to discuss with a candidate for this job. 

Check out the Amistad poster in the Parlor and follow the ship’s journey.  We have been changing the pictures and articles on the poster as the ship travels along the coasts of Europe and Africa and then back to North America.

 
As you can see, your deacons have been very busy.  We have taken our jobs, as listed in the by laws, very seriously.  We have seen a lot of changes in our building this past month; and we’re lookin’ mighty good.  Let’s work together to support our church.  Tell your friends and neighbors about us.  Let’s keep the flame burning, our spiritual flame that is, IT’S WORTH IT!

Stewardship Moment from the Board of Christian Service

Beth Shuler, chair

September 29, 2007

Look around you, do you feel the excitement?  Do you see the many changes that our church is undergoing?  Thanks to your generous financial support and the hard work of the members of the Board of Trustees and other hard working members of this congregation we can see the results of your generous gifts to our church.  Many physical improvements have been made including the installation of the new floor in fellowship hall, trees removed, new gutters and drainage systems and a newly carpeted and refurbished library is in the works. Your pledge dollars to our local church also continue to support our minister, administration staff and many other important programs that your church offers.

But our church is not merely a building where we gather to worship.  We are a vibrant Christian congregation committed to reaching out to our neighboring communities and helping those around us that are less fortunate.  As Jesus told us we are to love our neighbors and one way our church is able to show Christ’s compassion and love to our neighbors is through your financial support to the Second Miles funds.  

As chairperson of The Board of Christian Service I see first hand where the money you pledge to Second Mile Funds is allocated to and I feel very pleased that our small congregation can reach out to so many worthwhile organizations.  Each month from April to December, members of the Board come together and make important financial decisions regarding the distribution of the 2^nd mile funds. Each organization is researched by an assigned board member before contributions are made and voted on to assure their legitimacy and worthiness.  Currently we are supporting about 50 organizations including Peter's Place, Shelter Our Sisters, local and International Habitat for Humanity, Gilda’s Place, Salvation Army, and Inter-Religious Fellowship.  The  Second Sunday Program for our Mentally Challenged Adults is also financially supported through the Second Mile Funds. 

We also support three main seminaries, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Andover Newton Theological School and Bangor Theological Seminary that are committed to educating and strengthening leaders for congregations of the United Church of Christ and other denominations.  One of our Previous Pastors, Rev. John Danner was a 1980 graduate of the Bangor Seminary. 

Perhaps the most rewarding and fulfilling part of our mission is the “hands on efforts” that the Board of Christian Service is able to assist with.  We have been involved for many years with being a host church for the IRF Overflow program for the homeless.  On 5 or 6 nights in January and June our fellowship hall becomes a makeshift shelter for people who have no permanent place to call home.  Many of you have volunteered over the years to provide food or be a overnight host for our guests and have helped make the program  a success and many of our guests have commented on how welcomed and comfortable they felt being here.  The Overflow program is funded through the Second Miles Fund and a dedicated Board member handles all the logistical details to make our Overflow nights run as smoothly as it does. 

The Board of Christian Services also coordinates the collecting and distribution of food donations to the Center for Food Action (CFA).  We truly appreciate your generosity to our on going food collection and special food drives.   I am told by our board members that every single time they personally deliver the food that is collected on a monthly basis to the CFA distribution center they are greeted warmly by the volunteer staff who work there.  They are very appreciative of the contributions we are able to provide to those who need a little extra help in making ends meet in a very high cost of living area. 

Recently our church joined the ranks of other UCC churches to becoming designated a Global Mission Church.  The money donated to the Second Mile Funds make up about half of our churches mission dollars and through your contributions our church has been able to provide mission services and financial support to many worthwhile organizations and programs, some that I have just mentioned.

We on the Board of Christian Services appreciate your past contributions to the Second Mile Funds.   We look forward to your continued support so The First Congregational Church of River Edge can continue to be an effective source of outreach within our local and worldwide communities.  Together we can help spread the love and message of Jesus Christ to all mankind.

Stewardship Moment from Tom Harrington

Member, Board of Deacons

October 14, 2007