Hello
Emmanuel,
2015
was a very good year in many ways for the church. Giving was at an all-time high both in the
general operating budget and in the renewed building fund program. Emmanuel exceeded the goals in both areas, a
reflection of the faithful giving that Emmanuel has shown throughout the years.
In
2015 we saw an addition 15 new members and 5 baptisms. Also, for the 1st time in at last
7 years, a membership audit was conducted in which 22 members were removed from
the roles for various reasons, 5 of whom passed on to the Lord. Our current membership stands at 164.
The
Circle Chart continues to go around and around as each area of ministry has
been able to look back and see various degrees of the development of disciples.
Passionate Worship
– While 1st time visitor numbers stayed consistent (1.4 first-time
visiting households per Sunday), worship attendance plateaued for the 2nd
time in the 14 years of Emmanuel (the other time was in 2011). However, there were many highlights including
the Easter cantata; receiving of confirmands; Blessing of the hands for
teachers and caregivers; St. Johns Day for the Masons; Promotion Sunday for the
Sunday School kids; and several others.
Faith-Forming Relationships
– 2 new Small Groups were added to our existing 23 groups. A new short-term class was offered (Grow),
which was developed to be a follow-up class to Roots. Sunday School experienced a lot of changes
among the teachers and we had to re-arrange how to utilize the ever-growing
need for more classrooms (we added a Jr. High class). Thanks to the help of the adult Sunday school
class, we are able to make it work (until we need to add another class… ugh!).
Risk-Taking Mission and Outreach
– as usual, too much to mention here.
The highlight, however, was when Emmanuel helped 99 kids for Christmas
through the Angel Tree program. This was
about 20% of all the kids that the Salvation Army program reached out to in
Clermont County! The Traveling Food
Pantry; cooking classes sponsored by UC Clermont; Jackson Area Seed ministry;
Matthew25 medicine bottles, Saul’s shoeboxes, etc; continue on as usual.
The
new events were exciting to watch develop as well. James Pollitt traveled to Columbia to help a
missions team continue to rebuild a church in a very oppressed village. He and Paula McCollum are traveling there
again in February to continue the work.
Also, Emmanuel implanted their 1st annual National Night Out
event at the Batavia Township Park to recognize the men and women who serve as
law enforcement or first-responders of the community. Finally, a dinner was served in November to
raise funds for Inter Parish Ministry.
All three of these new events are expected to be implemented again in
2016.
The United Methodist Women’s
group continued to play a very significant role. Events such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Yard
Sale, Boo Bash, Grill Outs, Car Show, Breakfast with Santa, etc; bring lots of
awareness to the community that there is a church on the corner that wants to
connect with them and invites them to be a part of who we are as Christ’s
servants.
Radical Hospitality
– The landscaping work continues as we watch the corner change in appearance
with all the construction taking place.
The consistency of providing coffee (and even food at times), greeters
and ushers on Sunday mornings has helped visitors feel welcomed. This team has been a support for other
ministries that need help in the area of serving food. Hospitality has also help run the church’s
birthday celebration.
Compassionate Care
– Many hospital and nursing home visits continue to take place. With there being several deaths in 2015, the
team was busy with funeral dinners as well.
Also, Emmanuel was able to see to unique needs of individuals in the
church who found themselves unable to care for themselves. It’s wonderful to see this team show love in
so many creative ways.
The
support teams of Staff-Parish Relations,
Trustees and Finance worked hard to make sure resources were available to
the above teams to get much needed ministry accomplished. The Finance team is installing a complete
overhaul to their record-keeping system.
Some other things to look for in 2016 is a focus on Emmanuel’s
facility. The building is showing some
wear and there are resources allocated to see to those needs. So be on the look-out for new paint jobs and
some re-decorating. There will also be
changes on the corner as Old 74 is to be widened. The short-term inconvenience will be far
outweighed by the additional parking the veterinarian will be allowing us to
use on Sunday mornings once all the dust is settled.
Some
changes in leadership have also taken place for 2016. Tiffany McGuire will lead the Compassionate
Care Team. Joan Sexton is now the chair
for Trustees. Russ Bowman will be
leading the Outreach Team. Also, Ivy
Hill has stepped back for the treasurer’s spot after 7 years of service. A new treasurer will be announced in the
coming weeks.
The
challenge for 2016 will be to focus on the worship experience. While growth has continued in all other
areas, worship is truly at the center of all that we do. Leadership will be looking at how to make
worship as relevant, authentic and excellent as possible so that others will
most easily be able to connect with God.
If
you have any questions you can call the church at 732-1400 or email Pastor Joe at pastorjoe@emmanuel-umc.com.
