Greetings Topeka First UMC,
I hope that you are having a great week!
This has been a busy week here at the church! The carpet was installed in the Celebration Room, the Morris Family Hearth Room & Library floors are in the process of being refinished, and the thresholds at both sides of the library are being modified to reduce trip hazards. All three pastors spent Monday - Wednesday at the annual Orders and Fellowship meeting for clergy in the Great Plains Conference. It was a great few days, worshipping and learning with friends and colleagues.
Important: because of the refinishing of the wood floors, those individuals needing to use the elevator will need to enter from the single glass door by the playground. We will have someone stationed at that door to open it for you. The ramp is not available for use. The doors to the Morris Family Hearth Room & the Library will be closed as the two rooms are inaccessible until late next week. If you don't need to use the elevator, please enter through the normal Celebration Room doors.
While we pastors were out of town, Lori & Shawna made a list of 89 areas of the church that could use some dusting! The dust from the remodel traveled throughout the church and we could use some help cleaning each area. It's way too much for one person but together we can get it all cleaned up quickly. There will be a white board near the Celebration Room that has each area of the church that needs attention. If you're available anytime Monday, Oct. 27 - Thursday, Oct. 30 from 9 - 4 pm, or Saturday, Nov. 1, 8 -11 am please stop by the church to help. We have all supplies needed & most areas need deep dusting & glass cleaning. We'll even be moving the pew cushions and dusting the pews. Talk to Shawna or send her an email to let her know when you can help
I hope you are making plans to join us on Sunday! We are continuing our "Finding Joy" sermon series as shift focus this week to finding joy in community. Throughout the bible, there are many instances of the community showing up for each other, and also examples of communities falling short. On Sunday, we will look at joy in each other and being the healthiest community of joy, possible.
Our annual Trunk-or-Treat event. From 2 - 4 pm our parking lot will be filled with people from the community. You can be a part of this event by coming and handing out candy, or by bringing candy on Sunday morning.
***I encourage each family to click this link and select a Sunday to greet and hand out bulletins!***
If you enjoy reading scripture and saying prayer, please use this link to sign up to be a liturgist at the 10:45 am service. Only two more spots are open:November 9 & 16. If you have questions about being a liturgist, see Shawna.
Blessings, Pastor Brad
***I'm resending the information we sent out yesterday in case you missed it:
Next Tuesday night, October 28, at 6 pm, we are holding a Special-Called Church Conference to officially vote on moving from the current committee system to the Simplified Accountable Structure (One-Board System). Every member of the church is welcome to vote and participate in the meeting. In person attendance is required to vote. District Superintendent Rev. Jenny Collins will lead the meeting.
Attached with this email are links to 4 documents:
- A flow chart diagram describing the new system and defining Ministry Teams and Work Groups.
- The Guiding Principles document that sets the ground rules for how the newly formed Leadership Council will function.
- The Leadership Covenant that will be signed and adhered to by all members of the Leadership Council.
- Blake Bradford, author of the book," Mission Possible: A Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness," has a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section in his book. If you have questions about this new system, this FAQ document might answer your questions.
I invite all members to review the attached documents, let me know if you have any questions, and be in prayer as we prepare for this Special-Called Church Conference next Tuesday at 6 pm.
