It’s almost October as I write this. My how this year has passed! Our Charge Conference will be held on Sunday, October 27 at 4:30 p.m. here in the sanctuary. Charge Conference is when we evaluate the ministry of the church in the previous year, set the salary for the pastor in the coming year, approve any members who the SPRC feels are called to service as a Certified Lay Servant, Certified Lay Speaker, Certified Lay Minister, or for candidacy for Ordained or Licensed Ministry. It will be a joint charge conference with the other churches in the Chattanooga Valley Ministry Network which are Simpson UMC, Ft. Oglethorpe UMC, Flintstone UMC, and St. Elmo UMC.
All of the committees that have input in the charge conference process have either met, or their meeting is scheduled to occur soon. The Lay Leadership committee has made its recommendations for leadership in the coming year. I will be in touch with all the folks who are nominated to ensure that they are willing to serve. My goal is to put together a leadership team that will help us move smoothly through the coming year as we navigate questions like “how is God calling us to minister to the Rossville community?”
I want to thank David Kammerdiener for his leadership in music for worship. You missed a treat if you weren’t here on September 22. Saxophonist Fernando Guadarrama was our special guest musician. With David’s accompaniment, we were treated to a blessing of excellent worship music.
Coming up in October: 1) Our coat drive for the head start program is off to a good start. There is a list in the Hospitality Center of sizes that are needed. We will announce in the bulletin and online when we will be ready to receive the coats, and 2) We will once again participate in the community Trunk or Treat that will take place on McFarland Ave. on Halloween. Last year over 1000 people participated in this fun family event.
I just want to remind you that you can listen to (most of the) Sunday morning sermons right here on the website. Just click on Sermons at the top of the page and click on the appropriate sermon in the page that shows up. If you have access to Apple Podcasts (or the Google equivalent) you can subscribe and be notified when the latest sermon is posted. Also, if you want to make a monetary gift to McFarland, you can click on the giving tab, fill out a form, and use your credit/debit card or bank account (via ACH) to make a contribution to the church. It is quick, easy, painless, and you should immediately receive an acknowledgement of your gift.
Every day I give thanks for the blessing of serving as your pastor. McFarland UMC is a special place with special people. Let’s keep moving toward our goal of “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Blessings,
Pastor Wayne
