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November 2009 LINK

In This Issue

• Pastor's Notes
• Presidents report
• Linking the People of Faith
• Birthdays and Anniversarys
• Preschool
• Umbrella Talks
• Learning Center Updates
• Sharing Faith
• Social Ministry
• Youth
• Affirmations
• Schedule
• Serving This Month

Pastor's Notes

In the end, there is always God.

Some people would call that a fall-back position, the last chance for rescue when all else fails. That's the way we sometimes look at things, as if we've got one plan, the really good plan, and then there's the one we keep in our back pocket just in case all of our planning is foiled by forces beyond our control and we have to do something else to survive.

As if only forces beyond our control could ever spoil all of our splendid plans.

So we have a second plan, usually less appealing, certainly less grand. They usually involve settling for less; if the pro football career doesn't pan out, I'll take speech communications and be a broadcaster, or business or finance, I won't be a star, but I'll get by. That's wisdom in the world, that's sound planning and you read in the papers all the time about sports stars who never were who end up with nothing because they didn't have a back-up plan, they failed to consider the odds and so when the odds fell on them, they had no recourse.

So we plan and we scheme and we figure and we plot to get what we want, to be who we want to be one day and we invest in that while putting a little o our attention, often too little for the eventuality of things falling apart.

So now that so many things have fallen apart, now that so many forces beyond our control seem to have essentially dismantled our world, where can we turn? People are all getting together and putting "Plan B" into operation since "Plan A" has gone awry. Some are even going to church.

When all things go awry, there is always church. Maybe the church's own language is a little but to fault for this. the Psalms say "God is our refuge and strength, a present help in time of trouble" and "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and "Savior, When in Dust to You" as if the time to turn to the Lord is in the time of direst distress. 

You can, this has always been true, in time of trouble God is a great source of strength, after all, who else can promise you that you'll get through? Who else can promise that in the end, you'll come out alright? In times of trouble people have always turned to the Lord, that's where we get old saws like "there are no atheists in foxholes" and "death-row conversion" because in their most extreme moments, people will finally have the rest of their pride stripped away, they'll lose the hubris and the self-centeredness and finally be able to surrender to the power that created them, and they are healed.

So God is a good back up plan, when the plans we make fall apart, we can turn to God, right?

Since this is the season of rebirth coming up, and it is a time of beginnings, what if we, as a community, began with Christ in each of our doings and in each of our days? What might that look like?

Family, Church and Christ. It sounds like a better place to start, a better foundation than final refuge, a place to grow from, not a place to hide in. This Christmas let’s extend our families to those around us who might need a place to grow from and who might celebrate a source of strength in bad times. Let's try and see if we can find in everyone around us a family, a long lost cousin or sister.

As we gather with our own families, both our biological families and also our brothers and sisters in Christ, let us fling the doors wide and demonstrate in our joy and our hope that the Lord, our newborn King is not only a place to go when things fall apart, but a place to start when you put things together.

In Thanksgiving for all that we have,

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Presidents Report

In the spirit of thanksgiving here are some suggestions:  

Make your church council thankful by volunteering to be nominated as elections are coming up very soon.  Don't wait to be called  ---- ACT NOW !  

Be thankful you have a pastor who makes house calls (hospitals,too) .  It is a service he does well and often.  

Let us not forget to say thank you to the many members who work to make our Sunday services complete.  Everything from the flowers on the altar to that cup of coffee you enjoy is provided by a caring person of your congregation.  

Our youth need to recognize the efforts of their Sunday School teachers, Children's Church leaders, and those who take responsibility for the group activities for all ages. We, as a congregation, are most gratful.  Working with the young requires faith in yourself and them.  Patience is an added asset.  

What we donate through Social Ministry is an important part of giving, and no thank you is required.  It is enough to know that we have helped our community and are thankful that we are able to do so.  

November 11th is Veteran's Day.  It is an opportunity to acknowledge all who have served our country.  The parade in Petaluma is a good activity for that day.  

Thanksgiving is November 26th.  Enjoy your traditions and be thankful for all God's blessings.  

Don't forget to view the preschool web site : 
faithlutheranpreschool.com David Bessonen did a stellar job.

 Here's a favorite quote:   I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.            -Ettiene De Grellet  

Mary Lou Christian

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Linking the People of Faith

**Joanne Lantz with daughter-in-law Debbie, flew to Chicago.

**Pastor and Debbie won first prize for best costume at the Harvest Fair Grape Stomp.

**Karen Casper is recuperating at home from shingles which is postponing her surgery for knee replacement.

*Ruth Bell stayed overnight at memorial hospital for tests.

**Faith Parson spent 10 days at Paulin Creek Lodge “checking it out”.

**Ruth Thompson’s Jimmy was married on October 3rd at First Congregational Church.

**Gin and Pat Fleming visited his Aunt in Albion.

**Lucia Stolpp was in the hospital for two days

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Birthday's and Anniversary's

Anniversary's

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Preschool News

Holiday Cookie Dough orders are starting and runs Oct 16 to Nov 6. . See "Cookie Dough" **person** after church to place your order. (**John Hall, David or Cynthia Bessonen, Mary Lantz, or Blythe Babb**) You can pick up your orders Sunday, Dec 13th.

Preschool Christmas Program will be Thursday. Dec.10th @ 6:00 pm. This year the church choir will join in the Christmas carol sing along and Santa will be there for hearing children's wishes, passing out candy canes, and pictures.

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Umbrella Talks

We have challenging decisions to make over the next 10-12 weeks about stewardship, leadership and the outreach of this congregation.

Why all of this theatrical staging? We’re trying to get your full attention while we work our way through these decisions.

We want to get you thinking and talking. For one thing, we’re inviting all of you to give input and ask questions within a series of five minute umbrella talks. Think of the umbrella as representing the future of this congregation.

If you have a topic that is important to you and to the future of this congregation - - come up and take a turn under the umbrella.

Personally I think the most important choice we get in life is: whether to be active or passive: If you’re active – you have a direction in mind and you try to get there – If you’re passive – you make the best of what comes. There is no doubt in my mind that God calls us to be ACTIVE

Let’s choose our direction carefully and start by understanding where we are –

Here are some indicators and observations that should help:

Have you realized that we are two weeks into our 50 th year as a congregation? According to the book of Ruth (1 st service 10/16/60). I didn’t say we have reached our 50 th anniversary, that is the first day after 50 years existence. Whether beginning or ending our 50 th year - - it is a great accomplishment! We have so much to build on a carry forward!

In the category of not so great – we need to recognize that average worship attendance has been declining steadily for the last 7 years. The aggregate decline is 37% - - - however we have a glimmer of improvement. 2009 YTD has an up tic of 4%. However, to keep it real, a convincing sign of recovery would probably be several consecutive years of increases in range of 6% or more.

A major effort of the last couple of years has been our focus on community outreach through the preschool program. We will have a construction-ready plan for the new building by mid December. We will be asking for approval of this project at the 2 nd half of our annual meeting in January. Moving ahead with this project would be a game changer for this Congregation. (Both in good ways and scary ways) There will be lots of detailed cost information to share. Some of it under this umbrella and more in information packets sent to your homes.

The financial basis for this big project is our HOF campaign. Contributions are, in general, on track to reach the $345,000 adjusted amount pledged over the three years beginning June 2008. However there are signs of softness. Among the 48 pledges, 25% are late in making their indicated gifts for 2009. December 2009 is the midpoint of the 36 month campaign.

In other news - - Regular (offering envelope) contributions to the general fund are in steady decline - - reversing a pattern of modest growth (~2%/yr) established through 2005. There was a one-time gift that raised 2007 but the overall pattern has been a decline beginning in 2006. Comparing 2007/2008 there was a 8.1% decline. Comparing 2008/2009(as currently projected) will have an additional 10% decline. There were 83 giving units in 2007. There were 72 units in 2008 and 73 units in 2009 (to date).

Looking even closer and comparing individual gifts between 2007 and 2008 we find: 17% made no change, 48% decreased their gifts and 34% increased their gifts.

Comparing individual gifts between 2008 and 2009 (projected) we find: 21% have made no change, 44% have decreased their gifts and 35% have increased their gifts.

8% of giving units are projected to have increased their giving in both 2008 and 2009.

16% of giving units are projected to have decreased their giving for both 2008 and 2009.

We did not look at individual giving records to be judgmental . We did so to measure the reality of our situation and to be realistic about the full impact of our difficult economic circumstances.

We will use at least one future umbrella talk to cover the proposed 2010 budget and prepare ourselves for choices that may be required.

There is a sign up sheet in the Narthex for future umbrella talks. Please consider coming forward, we need to communicate and consider our choices carefully if we are going to get the most from our 50th year and
beyond.

-S. Norton

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Learning Center Updates

We have applied to Thrivent and to the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA for the additional funds we will need to complete our project. These are the only likely sources of funds that we know of and it will be interesting to see how we are viewed by each group. Our eligibility will be judged by looking back five years and projecting forward by the same amount. In general the loan officers are trying to judge the health and vitality of the Congregation so they are reviewing annual reports in addition to looking in detail at the financial reports for the general fund, preschool operations and the capital campaign.

Our Architect is finalizing construction drawings at this time. The next step is to submit the drawings to the City for the detailed approval they require prior to issuing a Building Permit. This process, called Plan Checking, usually requires some substantial discussion and changes to either the design or the scope of work and is expected to take at least 30 days to complete. We had been considering asking for construction bids during the same time frame in which the plan check process was being completed but we now feel that would not give us the best result. Therefore we now expect to invite bids about mid November with a closing date of mid December. This schedule now anticipates starting construction in early spring, at the discretion of the contractor, with occupancy not later than August 2010.

Funding Status ( HOF at 10/18/09)

Total Gift Commitments: $352,960 – (no change from July report)

Balance on hand (gifts received less expenses to date): $ 109,521

Commitments (unpaid obligations):

Architect Phase II remainder of fixed fee - $7,087

Civil Engineering Documents/Grading Plan - $9,300

Electrical Engineering Documents/Design - $2,210

Landscape Architect and presentation, Parker Smith $1,365

Structural Engineering/Documents $7,720

Subtotal commitments: $27,682

Spent (payments made):

Architect Phase I (complete) – $10,492

Architect Phase II - $13,413

Civil Engr. – (Site survey/Entitlement complete) $6170

Electrical Engineering Documents/Design - $2,790

Landscape Architect – (Initial Plan/Hearing) $1585

Mechanical Engineering Documents/Design complete $2,000

Soils Engineering – RGH (complete) $4,600

PG&E Engineering Deposit $2,500

Structural Engineering/Documents $980

City of Santa Rosa (use permit and hearing fees) $5377

Maraizon – Project Rendering (complete) - $1,200

J.C. Meserve – arborist evaluation - $540

Miscellaneous - $258

Subtotal payments: $51,905

Members of the working committee are: Ruth Bell, Pastor Carnahan, Mary Lou Christian, John Hall, Chuck Hammond, Rose Knight, Sue Michaelsen, Steve Norton, Hans Stocklin and Laura Tighe.

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Sharing Faith

* WE WILL HAVE OUR ANNUAL  WINTERFEST , ALTHOUGH THE DATE HAS NOT BEEN SET YET.  HOWEVER NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOU TO START PLANNING.  THIS YEAR WE WILL HAVE A SILENT AUCTION, BUT WE WILL ONLY BE AUCTIONING OFF HOMEMADE ITEMS.  THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO USE WHATEVER CREATIVE TALENTS YOU HAVE AND DONATE THAT CREATION TO THE AUCTION.  WHETHER YOU BAKE, SEW, MAKE JELLIES & JAMS, QUILT, CROCHET, KNIT, DO NEEDLE WORK, ETC. ETC., YOUR DONATION WILL HELP RAISE MONEY FOR A YET TO BE NAMED "CAUSE" AND ADD TO THE FUN.   OR IF YOU WOULD RATHER, YOU MIGHT WANT TO PUT TOGETHER A "THEME BASKET" TO BE AUCTIONED OFF. (FOR EXAMPLE, MOVIE NIGHT, OR A SPORT BASKET).

The Sharing Faith Committee wants to thank everyone who came and enjoyed this year's Oktoberfest.  Even though the attendance was small, the fun and fellowship were enormous!  The band was exceptional, and so was the food.  Special thanks go to Troy Anderson and Chuck Hammond--husbands that went beyond the call.  And an extra special thank you to Larry Zech who stepped in and ran a great Beer Garten.
See you next year.

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Social Ministry

The November Social Concerns Offering will be for Senior Advocacy Services. Using a core staff and an extensive volunteer network, this group actively works to help seniors and the disabled. There are three program areas:

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program provides frequent, unannounced visits to the 4000 residents living in nursing homes, residential care and assisted living facilities in Sonoma County. This work is primarily done by trained and licensed volunteers working under the direction of a small professional staff. These visits help to insure that resident’s rights are protected, that they are treated with dignity, that they are free from abuse and that they are receiving quality care. Ombudsman services are free.
The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) provides free and unbiased counseling to seniors and their families to help understand Medicare benefits and rights, supplemental health insurance and HMOs. These services are available by phone or in person during a private office appointment.
The Residential Care Counseling Program provides comprehensive information and support to individuals and their families who are considering a move into housing that offers assistance with activities of daily living or medical assistance. When you have lived independently for 50, 60, 70 years and a change is needed for you or a loved one, finding an unbiased source of information and advice is a wonderful benefit.

Finally, I can personally attest to the honest, frugal and hardworking nature of the folks who provide these services. I’ve been a volunteer ombudsman for sometime and I hope you will consider making a donation. Envelopes are in the pew racks and any gift received during the month of November will apply.

S. Norton

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Youth

Our October activity was lunch at Round Table pizza and a visit to the Pumpkin Patch. We went through the corn maze – picked pumpkins. A fun time was had by all!

NEXT UP _SERVICE PROJECT -THURSDAY NOVEMBER 19TH

We’ll be working at Elisha’s Pantry 3pm – 5pm Contact Council Youth Liaison Helen O’Donnell

PH# 328-4416 or E-mail ibhaod@gmail.com

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Affirmations

Helen O’Donnell for lowering her budget

Mary Lantz for coming to council meeting on her anniversary.

David Bessonen for all his hard work on the preschool website.

Judy Lindberg for her years of service in the Altar guild.

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Schedule

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Serving This Month

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