A Mystery No Longer

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-12

SERMON POINTS/OUTLINE

Churches often use “insider” language and act as though there are insiders and outsiders. Scripture is clear that God expects the people of God to be a blessing and to invite people in. There are signs that RUMC is moving away from the insider/outsider mindset and language.

The church council’s vision for 2016 centers around 2 specific hopes:

  1. More of the worshipers at RUMC will engage in leadership, activities and spiritual growth.
  2. Family ministry at RUMC will be a ministry of the whole faith family and will make it possible for participants to build relationships that will help them to engage more fully in the life of faith and faith family.

As men, women and young people build relationships, new groups will form for spiritual growth or exploration of interests.

  1. Vital statistics:
  2. 2015 Year-end financial information:
  3. 2016 Stewardship information:
  4. Attendance

Though attendance has declined over the last 12 years, the losses have slowed.

Consistent with church statistic studies, people attend less frequently than was true 20 years ago. While weekly attendance varies a good bit, the number of people who come “regularly” stays fairly stable. We can account for about 315 “regular” attendees.

Praise God for the spiritual growth evident in many of our worshipers!

A Guide for Daily Reading and Meditation

A Prayer for Every Day: God of promise and light, open our eyes today, that we may see your light in the darkness. Open our hearts, that we may perceive your promises of justice and righteousness fulfilled in the babe of Bethlehem. May we, like the Magi, have a star to guide us on our journey quest to find the one who will truly set us free. May this time of worship bring us closer to you, that the good news of the birth of light and love will transform our lives and the life of our faith family. Amen.

MONDAY

At Epiphany we tell the story of outsiders who recognized that Jesus was divine – the Son of God – worthy of our worship. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary also defines epiphany as:

(2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking

(3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

At RUMC, our leaders’ Epiphany story is that we recognize our need to live out our faith in some new ways, fitting for the 21st century.

We as a congregation often say that we want to grow and we long to have young people and young adults with families as part of our faith community. In order to make space for new people, we will need to adopt Paul’s attitude and wisdom as he expressed it in Ephesians 3: 1-12:

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Paul understood that this was a huge shift for people of faith. In verse 6 (highlighted above), he explains that it is his calling to help both the church and the Gentile world understand that Jesus came for both the insiders (Israel) and the outsiders (the rest of the world) so that the world would be one as the Body of Christ. Faith practices – the inside language, the Law, things as basic as the requirement of circumcision – had to change in order to fulfill that vision. All of that is to say that the leaders of our congregation understand that we, too, must make room for those who seek God in this place, bringing new ideas and new expressions of God’s grace.

TUESDAY- Our Financial Picture

We ended 2015 with a shortfall of about $13,000. All of the administrative and ministry areas did a great job of holding expenses throughout the year, but our income fell short of what was projected. The overwhelming support for Imagine No Malaria ($8,559.62 to date) shows that we have a generous congregation and it is hoped that this generosity will continue to support the missions and ministries of Reisterstown UM Church in 2016.

The church council agreed early on that we would keep the budget as close as possible the same between 2015 and 2016. However, after much discussion and careful deliberation about where our church is headed, there were some items that were increased and others that were decreased. One example is that consideration was given to some budget items that have other revenue streams, so some of those budgets decreased. On the other hand, there was deep discussion about the fact that some of our staff has not had a raise in 3 or more years, so the staffing budget was increased slightly. The council also decided to maintain funding in the budget for increased staff hours to support the area of young adult and family ministry. Though this may still be a dream, the council is praying that our financial picture will continue to improve to the point that we will be able to add this staffing component in the middle of 2016. We feel strongly that this is a much-needed step for the growth of our congregation. While some of these decisions do not signal growth, it is responsible budgeting, and I am grateful to the finance team for their careful approach to our financial life together.

WEDNESDAY - Our Stewardship

The Stewardship Campaign for our 2016 Ministry budget was very positive, and we want to thank all of you for your prayerful giving to God through RUMC.

  • $367,845 were pledged for 2016, an increase of 6.2 % over 2015.
  • Twenty-nine families pledged in 2016 who did not pledge in 2015 and thirty families were able to increase their pledges for 2016.

We have a number of giving units who do not usually pledge and several who give to specific ministries. We thank everyone who gives! Based on giving in 2015, we can report to you that a number of those households increased their giving this past year.

Please note that if you wish to pledge for 2016 and haven’t had an opportunity to do so, it’s never too late.

Finally, we are grateful to the Turnbaugh Trust for the amazing bequest that has made several new programs possible. In this past year, the Turnbaugh Trust Team has awarded grants for av equipment for the Sunday School; devotional materials for our senior adults; study books for 3 church-wide studies/sermon series; support for the preservation of RUMC’s historical records; youth ministry support for ROCK; CPR training materials so we can offer training to our preschool staff, church members and community; and a special program for the middle and high school students in our community.

As many of you know, we have filed a request with the court in Florida to broaden the terms of how the bequest can be used. Specifically, we have requested that a portion of the proceeds that we receive may be used for capital projects. Although it is taking quite a long time to come to closure, we are hopeful that the courts will rule in our favor because the trustees of the fund (named by the Turnbaughs) do not object to the terms we have proposed. Given the age of our buildings, this change will be extremely helpful to us as a congregation as we replace systems such as heating and air conditioning or address the need for new roofs, etc. While we do not expect the trust to fund all of our capital needs, wise use of some of these funds for this purpose will relieve some of the pressure on our budget.

THURSDAY - Our Attendance

Attendance on Sundays has been declining over a number of years, and the last year was no different. The slippage has slowed, and for that I am grateful. I have been looking at a couple of things: the average number in worship and the number of individuals who come to services. The first number (average attendance) is very easy to wrap our heads around.

Thirteen-Year Attendance Averages

2003 – 3392007 – 291 2011 - 242[1]2015 – 209 (214 omitting icy Sun.)

2004 – 3242008 – 267 2012 – 250

2005 – 293[2]2009 – 245 2013 - 231[3]

2006 – 291[4]2010 – 228 2014 - 217

In 2003 average attendance was 339 with 4 services every Sunday. Note that the biggest changes from 2005 to the present correspond to a decrease in the number of services as well as when there is a change of pastor, including an up-tick for the 2 years that Rev. Cochran was here.

The second attendance fact is harder to gauge, but I have done a little work in looking at the numbers of people who attend “regularly.” There are about 315 that I can identify who attend regularly, but “regularly” means 1 to 2 times a month, not 3 to 4 as the measure once was. Those 315 have been fairly stable since I arrived in 2013, even though there were several families who left just before I arrived. I have no idea how many “regular attenders” there were in the years prior to my coming to be your pastor. Please note that this pattern is consistent with most mainline churches across the country. It is the prayer of our leadership that this congregation will join the few that are growing in numbers and in depth of spiritual life!

It is my hope that as we focus in 2016 on building stronger relationships among family groups and form some new small groups around age and life stages, more of our visitors will find it easier to engage in the life of the congregation. We have quite a few visitors! Just recently, one of the young adults who has been worshiping with us for about 18 months told me that she has begun to feel like she is part of the faith family here. We talked about how it takes some time for that relatedness to grow and develop. She told me that people have begun recognizing her and asking how she’s doing. Having a place for people to get to know each other provides a very different environment – an environment for relationships to develop – unlike worship where it is difficult to get to know others.

FRIDAY

This week’s “devotional” study guide has focused on the statistical facts of our life together. Today, spend some time considering the God facts of our life together, asking yourself these questions:

  • Where do I see God working in the life of RUMC?
  • How has my relationship with God changed over the course of the last 5 years and how has my church made that change possible?
  • What are my hopes and dreams for this congregation?

And now, spend some time in prayer:

  • For the church
  • For your pastor and church leaders
  • For those that God is sending to be part of our faith family

Remember that if you want to talk about any of the information in this guide or about your thoughts or concerns, the pastor and leaders of the church are willing to talk with you!

~ Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

Reisterstown UMC

January 3, 2016

[1] New pastor, Steve Cochran, began July 1, 2011

[2] In 2005 there were 4 services each week through Father’s Day, 2 services during the summer and 3 services from Sept through the end of the year. A new senior pastor began July 1, 2005, Carol Yocum.

[3] New pastor, Vivian McCarthy, began July 1, 2013

[4] From 2006 to 2009, the number of services changed several times: 2006 – 3 services all year; 2007 2 services all year; 2008 3 services through May, 2 services from June through December. Beginning in 2009, there have been 2 services except for special Sundays.