Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Church stuff

I got a new desk chair this week. The old one had lost its padding a long time ago. I also decided that maybe a short, arm-less chair might be better than the high-back executive type chair. And I think it is. I sit up straighter, and it's not so tempting to nod off while reading since I can't really kick back anymore. Plus it spins nicely. And not only was it on sale, but I used a $10 off coupon also!

Last Saturday Adam came and I helped him install a video camera in the sanctuary with a tv monitor in the nursery. We had to order another section of wire, but once it's hooked up we can have live audio/video of the worship service in the nursery. It will be in black & white, because we got a free b&w camera from the police department. The only thing we had to buy was the tv (Adam got it really cheap) and the cables. I am hoping that not only will this allow the nursery workers to not miss anything on Sunday mornings, but I think it will also be nice for the kids to see what's going on. I have no interest in live streaming the services though. I'll save that post for another day.

Jane and Shelley have started painting at the mission house. They got one coat on the living room, hallway, and small bedroom, and touched up the master bedroom. I have to admit, I've been a little disappointed that more people haven't gotten involved with the mission house. It seemed everyone thought it was such a great idea, but there doesn't seem to be much interest in it. Just the way it goes, I suppose.

I am in the midst of restructuring my contract with the church council. It expires at the end of this month. It doesn't look like we will have the new one done before this one expires, but that seems to happen just about every time we do this. At this point we've decided to keep the same basic format, but there will be some changes that will hopefully be in everyone's best interest in the long run. This stuff always makes me nervous, even though there's never really been any reason to be. I think I am mostly nervous just because you never know when a misunderstanding may arise. At any rate, it will be nice to have it done.

Sunday we had a baptism during the morning worship gathering. We had just had 5 people do it a couple of months ago, and right after that a high school girl asked if she could still get baptized. She shared with me some of the things going on in her life, and of course I was ecstatic. Then she had foot surgery and we had to postpone it for awhile. I hoped it wouldn't dampen her enthusiasm, and it didn't. She read her testimony before she was baptized and it was outstanding. I was really glad she shared. She's one of those kids who never says much, and I was proud of her for pouring her heart out before her church and family and friends. Perhaps the best part was how she shared that she didn't really have a dramatic conversion, and therefore never really thought it was any big deal to give your life to Christ. But once she made that decision she realized just how big of a deal it really was for her, and just how much it had changed her life. Anyway, it was a happy day for me. I only wish more people had been here to hear it.

This week I've been cutting, pulling, and spraying weeds at the church. The grass isn't growing much, but the weeds sure are. And I am always bewildered about whether I should do this or not... because every now and then someone else will do it. But then they won't for a long time. I hate to ask if they're going to again, because I don't want them to feel like they 'have' to. But at the same time I don't know why they do it once and then don't do it again. I don't know. It's probably not the right thing to do, but it's usually easiest to just do things like this myself.

I have yet to start my new office hours. It's so hard to break old habits, and to start new ones.

Last night we went to the Three Rivers Festival, and we ran into some people from our "other church." It was really nice to actually see some people we knew, and to hang out with them and actually feel like we were included in a group. We even found out that one of the guys who shows up sometimes is actually from Rapid City, SD. His family lives there, and he lives in a hotel in Fort Wayne most of the time. He's just here for work and travels back and forth every couple weeks. Someone who used to comment on my blog is from near Rapid City. Anyway, it was nice to get to know some of these folks better.

Just had the Building & Grounds guy here to meet with a carpet guy about a quote for carpet in the church basement. We were originally planning on doing some major work to update the basement, but I'll just be happy if we can paint and carpet at this point. New light fixtures would be nice too. What we really need is a new building. This one was built in 1881, and I think we've just about gotten our money's worth out of it.

Peace out; and in.

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