Notes from the Pastor
It has been a while since I’ve written for a congregation’s annual report but a couple things about these reports never change—we are able to pause to take a look back and to peer into the future. I will leave it up to you—the reader of this report—to determine how successful my portion of this document is in meeting those goals.
I am also hindered by my lack of time with you. It has only been since June when my wife and I have joined you in ministry. You pretty much know our history before arriving at Grace: marriage, honeymoon(s), and wrapping up my ministry in New Jersey. One thing remained consistent throughout the first months of 2014 for me: it was the Lord who led me through those days and He continues to do so throughout the remainder of my life.
After our arrival, I thought it was important that I get to know you as well as I could. That is why I came to your homes (as of this writing, there are two homes where I have not yet come but I’m working on it!). Barbara and I wanted to meet with you, learn about you, and begin to get some ideas as to what you, the members of Grace, see for the future of the congregation. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with everyone and we will do it again this year. During the warmer weather months we will let you how we will proceed with this year’s visitation.
Besides the every Sunday worship services, there were official acts that I performed on behalf of the congregation. Our Lord brought unto Himself the souls of two dear members, Jim Moore and Irene Murray. Pastor Haydon assisted with Jim’s funeral and Irene’s service was conducted back at her home congregation in Missouri. It was my privilege to visit with Irene regularly at her Peach Tree residence to share God’s Word and provide for her the sacrament of Holy Communion. We celebrate the good news that two more souls have been brought safely home for all eternity.
I also officiated at the wedding of Ryan Harris and Heather Unger at Grace in August. We pray the Lord continues to bless this couple as they make their home in Fayetteville.
Coming back to Arkansas has permitted me to become reacquainted with many pastors throughout the Mid-South District. It is a joy to be part of the Fayetteville circuit and to join in the celebration of ministry in Northwest Arkansas. Mission opportunities continue to abound in our corner of Arkansas and we pray for guidance from our Heavenly Father in serving Him wherever He has need of us.
The mission of our own congregation is a major concern of all of you—and me too. This past year saw a goodly number of long-term members make the decision to leave Grace to move in new directions. This type of mobility is not unknown to you since most everyone who is a member has come from miles away to settle in Holiday Island. I expect that someday each one of you will also be confronted with the decision about whether or not to move closer to your families. That’s what happens in a planned retirement community.
In the meantime, we can get a little queasy about friends leaving and no new couples (or families) coming to join Grace. Please remember, the growth of Grace is in God’s hands. He will bring “home the harvest” as He sees fit. That doesn’t mean we can sit back and just wait for His actions. No, He wants us to be active in reaching out to those in our community and those who visit us from afar to let them know of the Lord’s love through Grace congregation. It takes some work on our part and we will work together on our mission efforts.
The spring of 2015 will bring a thorough examination of Grace’s mission and ministry by means of the Mid-South District’s COMPASS process. We will be led to take a closer look at what works and what doesn’t work through the various avenues of ministry at our congregation. I pray that one year from now, we all will have a different outlook concerning what God has in store for Grace and how each of us will be a part of the changes ahead. Please pray for this process in your daily prayers.
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Finally, thank you from Barbara and me for how you have welcomed us and made us feel right at home with you. All of you do an outstanding job in making contact with those who are new to Grace and we are the beneficiaries of your love and attention. Please, don’t ever stop doing that! We look forward to many years with you. May the Lord continue to bless each of you and our congregation in 2015.
Last notes from
Pastor Emeritus
For many years I have written Annual Reports and I look forward to not writing them in the future. However, because I served as interim pastor the first part of this year, I feel I should make some notes.
The first part of the year we prepared for the sending of a call for a pastor for Grace. We had done a lot of work in preparation for this call during the previous year. We had wonderful work from our members. My involvement was mostly in terms of prayer for this procedure as it was not proper to get involved. Nevertheless, I tried to support those who did the work and I was impressed with their diligence.
When it was time for a call meeting, Rev. Lampe asked Rev. Stan Jones to direct the process. Rev. Jones did a fine job for us. As a congregation, we were blessed by God when He directed us to call Pastor Herring and when he accepted the call. Pastor Herring has worked diligently to find direction for the future of our congregation. Many of the things he is doing now are things I thought about, but did not try to start because I knew someone else would come soon. Though I hoped these would be done, I did not want to start something a new pastor would find did not meet his vision for our congregation. I mention this because I want you to know that I fully support where Pastor Herring is leading.
I was asked to head the District Constitutional Committee. I am still in that position to serve our District. It has been an interesting time if not a particularly exciting time. If you do not understand that, I can give you a dozen or so constitutions to read and you see how exciting they can be. I have been in a position because of this to offer some advice to our people as we look into the revision of our own constitution. Actually, periodical review and revision of Constitution and Bylaws is a good idea.
After Pastor Herring came, I was asked by the congregation to serve as an Elder. I thank you all for giving me this privilege to serve. It has been good to sit on the other side of the desk – so to speak – in this service of the Lord.
I have attended pastors’ conferences of the Circuit and the District. Emeriti are asked to come to these events. While much of the information is not really applicable to those of us not serving a congregation, some is interesting and educational. It is also a time to renew ties with old friends.
In keeping with a promise I made over five years ago, I am giving an update on my prostate cancer situation. It has been almost six years since the first diagnosis and all my PSA reports have come in good. While the doctor is pleased – so am I – he says we need to continue monitoring things as this type of cancer has been known to make a return after a long time – rare but possible. I thank all for their prayers and concerns for me. If anything changes, I will let you know.
Statistical Information
Grace Lutheran Church
2013 2014
Attendance
Total on Sundays * 1936 1802
Average on Sunday 38 36
Total for Special 324 282
Average for Special 27 23.5
Total for all Services 2260 2084
Average for all Services 33 33.6
Total communed 876 853
Average per Communion Service 36 34
Highest Sunday Attendance 65 45
Lowest Sunday Attendance 26 19
Highest Special Service Attendance 60 48
Communicant Members December 31 55 53
Baptized Members December 31 61 59
* 2013 = 51 Sundays; 2014 = 50 Sundays
Membership Changes
Called Home: Transfer Out:
James Moore Bob and Gerri Jennings
Born: November 25 Hope Lutheran Church
Died: June 25, 2014 Republic, Missouri
Irene Murray Loren and Shirley Zimmer
Born: October 1: 1926 St. Peter Lutheran Church
Died: November 1, 2014 Wentworth, South Dakota
Elder Report for 2014
It's been a significant year with many memorable moments, some joyful and some heartbreaking. Christ, as always, has seen His church through another year and He will continue to see us through this next year. Thanks be to God.
We began the year with the continuing work of the Call Committee. Fortunately we had two well qualified applicants to choose from. God, assisted by Pastor Jones, led us to call the gentleman in New Jersey, which must have been the right call as he accepted our offer. Rev. Herring had to finish some items in Jersey, so he wasn't able to transfer until the June time frame. But, that was OK. This allowed us some time to prepare for the transition of Rev. Haydon to the "Emeritus" status. We had a nice well attended and well locally supported reception to ease him into his "retirement", and transition from pastor to elder (no break there).
District President Dr. Rev. Paavola conducted the installation service for Rev. Herring in which many of Herring's former associates from his Fort Smith days were in attendance. Even his former FS organist, who now attends Salem was present. He and Barbara transitioned well into the Holiday Island life style. And, soon he began asking questions of why we do things
Change continued to came to us. Some, the changes in the conduct of our divine service were easy and positive. Others, like the passing of Deacon Moore were hard. Jim will always stand out as someone special in our hearts. We look forward to seeing him again in heaven. We had other difficult changes - a number of our members felt it was time to relocate closer to family. Such is life in a retirement community – as hard as it is we will always see this type of change.
Now that the new guy was in town Council proceeded with its plan to change our system of governance in order to make it easier for members to assist in our various ministries. A new form of Council was installed with a new idea for direction of the church. We are now on that path and will receive assistance from the District. We pray that we are on the path that God wants us to take in order to strengthen our church and to be of service to the community. This is Christ's calling to us. Let us pray we are faithful to His call.
2014 Trustee’s Report
The year 2014 was a mild one for the Trustees compared to 2013 when we started the year with the theft of all of our air conditioning units. Following is a partial list of our accomplishments:
☧ Help with moving the Herrings into their new home
☧ Repaired our old vacuum (Oreck) and bought a new vacuum with attachments (Dyson)
☧ Maintained the church building and grounds (mowing, window cleaning, church cleaning, minor repairs etc.)
☧ Purchased and installed two new comfort height toilets for the main restrooms
☧ Replaced a broken window in Pastor’s office
☧ Had one of our stone benches engraved in memory of Deacon James Moore
☧ Purchased a new cordless phone system
☧ Reworked some of the old fluorescent light fixtures in the basement to allow use of more efficient bulbs
☧ Took one bid on repair and repaving the lower road. Postponed any work to 2015.
☧ Completed splitting and removal of all the wood remaining from the major 2013 storm
We started 2015 with our facilities in relatively good condition. Thanks to all who helped our efforts!
Submitted in
the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Grace Lutheran Church Trustees
Ladies' Guild Annual Report
The Ladies' Guild of Grace Lutheran had somewhat of a quiet year in 2014. Sadly, our numbers have dwindled over the past couple of years, so that limits the number and size of our activities.
All women of Grace Lutheran are members of the Ladies' Guild, whether or not you can attend the meetings and participate in the activities. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month. We do not meet in June, July, and August. In 2014, our officers included President Peg Messick, Vice President Norma Rix, Secretary Lisa Bennett, and Treasurer Dianna Mancuso. Thanks to these ladies for their service to the Guild. In 2015, our officers will be President Barbara Herring, Vice President Bernie Haydon, Secretary Lisa Bennett, and Treasurer Dianna Mancuso.