Good day siblings in Christ,
There is Bible study today at 7:00 p.m. on Google Meet. The topic is antisemitism and Christianity. If you cannot make it tonight, you can watch a lecture version on our Facebook or YouTube site tomorrow.
The National Quilting Day is coming up on March 16 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. We hope you can pop in or invite a friend who enjoys quilting to meet the crew. Our quilting group is made up of both members and community members. You do not have to be a part of the church to join.
The service for Barbara Henninger is on Palm Sunday, March 24 at 1:00 p.m. with a luncheon to follow.
Holy Week services are:
- Maundy Thursday, March 28: Service at 7:00 p.m.
- Good Friday, March 29: Service at 7:00 p.m.
- Easter, March 31: One service at 10:00 a.m.
A final item is from the Council:
Good day Our Saviour members,
The Council gathered recently for a retreat to decide where we should focus our attention for the next few years. There were 3 main places:
- To continue to connect with our neighbors and serve the surrounding community.
- To spruce up the inside of the church building removing old art, painting walls, throwing items out, and giving things a fresh look.
- To get a sense of how the congregation feels about Our Saviour and its mission.
For the third point, the Council identified three possible ways of gathering the opinions of the congregation and wanted to see what method the congregation felt the most comfortable with. If you could select one of the options below, it will help us make that decision.
Option 1: Use an outside organization named Holy Cow! to gather and analyze the data. Metro NY Synod is encouraging congregations to participate with this survey group. The cost would be approximately $500 and would allow us to connect with all of our mailing list and those who worship online with us. Answers are given anonymously online (paper can be an option, but paper answers would be needed to be input by another person into a computer) with the analysis done professionally where our congregation is compared to other congregations our size.
Option 2: Have a series of small group listening sessions with members of the council. A series of questions will be asked and conversations will be held for a couple of weeks. Pastor Johnson would not sit in on any of the sessions and feedback would be given directly to council members. A Zoom option would be offered to those who worship online with us.
Option 3: Use an anonymous suggestion sheet in the bulletin. A sheet would be placed in the bulletin a few Sundays and input would be placed in a box. A council member will tally the feedback given and answers shared at a council meeting.
If you could choose one answer by the end of next week, it will help the council make a decision.
Thank you,
The Church Council