Intensive Journaling Workshop will be held the First United Methodist Church.  There will be a 2 day workshop in April and another one in May.  Please contact the church office for a brochure.

The Deacons Food Closet provided assistance to 670 families (2396 people) in 2007.  Donations are always welcome to the Food Closet.

Upper Room Devotionals are available for adults and children at the church

Shop Rite Gift Cards benefit the church with 5% of their value.  Contact the church office to obtain them.  Available in $25 and $50 denominations.

We will be celebrating our 150 Year Anniversary in 2013. Right now we are in the process of forming a committee to plan the events for this celebration, and collecting memoriabilia that will be displayed throughout that year. 2013 may seem a long time away but it actually only gives us four years to plan the many events that will make this the wonderful celebration we know it will be. Everyone who would like to participate contact the pastor or any elder.

Vacation Bible School was held in July and was, as it has been every year, a fun and educational event for all who attended. This year's theme was Outrigger Island. The kids sang tropical songs, played games, enjoyed great snacks (including pizza and McDonald's), had fun making crafts and learning about our Lord. This year we added computor games which were a big hit. Thanks to everyone who made Vacation Bible School a big success.

Congratulations to our Debbie Ganci who graduated from Union Theological Seminary this past spring, completed her Clinical Pastoral Education this summer, and is now preparing to petition the Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry to be certified ready to receive call. All of our prayers and our joys go out to Debbie at this momentous time in her life.




Special Meeting Held

On February 4, 2008 a special meeting was held to which all congregation members were invited. Seven members gathered with the pastor to do some preliminary work on what our next major funding project would entail. It has been ten years since our last one, and some new needs have shown themselves to us in the last decade.
What follows is a brief rendering of what we have seen. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list. We know that many of you will still have suggestions. Please share them with us now. We plan on doing a good job, which means that when we come to the congregation with a final report it will have the best figures with the best people we can provide. Adding projects at that time would be difficult. One thing was very clear from this meeting. We want all the members to know what is going on from month to month. Everything will have as much exposure as possible. This is also helpful if you know someone who would be a good person to contact to provide services. Although we know what needs to be fixed does not always mean we know who can fix it. Here are our thoughts.

The Heating System
The costliest feature on our maintenance budget is the furnace. It is costly to repair and it does not always do the job we want it to do. It is now becoming difficult to repair because it is over 70 years old. Some parts are no longer made.  We realize that we will probably be looking at a project best done in phases. We can work with that. With the cost of running this system getting worse all the time (it soaks up between 15 and 20% of the total budget just in fuel cost) anything we can do to lower its use would be beneficial.

Window Over The Main Door
As you enter the sanctuary from Landis Ave. next time, take time to look up. You will see something disturbing. The mullion which frames the double doors and the window over the doors is deteriorating. After 95 years the wood is rotting away. We have tried repair - it needs to be replaced.  Unfortunately, they do not carry things like this at Home Depot or Lowe’s. These are custom made by craftsmen who are very hard to locate any more. This is a structural issue.

Security Lighting
A concern of everyone who comes downtown to a meeting at night is the issue of safety. It is a sorry statement on our society today, but we no longer feel safe on our own streets.  A reasonable and cost effective method of providing greater security is better lighting. We hope to have a system which surrounds the entire property and provides a measure of safety.

Doors
We made a wonderful start ten years ago replacing many of the older wooden doors new metal doors. Easier to maintain and with safety crashbars to provide ease of escape in case of an emergency, they are also more attractive from the outside. We have been able to replace a couple more since our last funding drive, and we would now like to complete the job

Handicapped Access
How many of you have appreciated the sloped walkways from the last project which eliminated so many steps. How much easier has it been?
It was a very good start, but we need to go further. We need access to both the sanctuary and the fellowship level. This is not easy - we have checked into this before and our building comes from an era when these were not concerns.
We would like to provide more than a stair lift. We would like to have access for wheelchairs. And once people are in the building they should also have access to our rest rooms. That is not possible now and we would need to make some changes.

Parking Lot
The parking lot has not been resurfaced in over 25 years. We have filled in sink holes and patched up cracks. It’s time to make things safe again.
Unfortunately, we cannot do much about what our neighbors do or do not do. We can make it safe on our property.

Front Steps
Stand out front of the church some time soon and look at the front steps. These huge granite slabs are connected to retaining walls on either end. The walls are beginning to sag and the steps, as certain points, seem to be floating on thin air. This is not something you want huge granite steps to do. This is a major project, but one which cannot be avoided. We need to have someone come and assess our options.


Stained Glass Windows
Whenever anyone visits our church one of the first things they notice are our windows. Even the people who came and examined them ten years ago for us said how magnificent they were.  As a safety measure between 25 and 30 years ago the trustees made sure they were covered to protect them from both the elements and vandals. In that time newer technology has emerged. And our plastic coverings have yellowed terribly. The windows still look beautiful from the inside - but from the outside, not so much. We need to let the talent of those Italian craftsmen of 100 years ago show forth for all to see.

Fellowship Hall Ceiling
Unsightly is one way to describe it. Wasteful of energy is another. Add to that possible dangerous.  Many of the tiles from the era when the original ceiling was put in the hall are made of asbestos. These tiles probably are as well, and now they are starting to fall piece by piece on the dropped ceiling, which is also less than serviceable today.
We need to look at what our options are in areas where people eat and children play.

In Closing
We have done a wonderful job in maintaining a very large property. We are now faced with some things which are going to take a little more help. Not all the things on this list will be picked. It will not be possible to do them all or to do some completely. That is why it will be a while before we come before you with a proposal.
Help us with your ideas. Help us with you presence - when another meeting is called, we will let you know. Finally, we hope you will help us with your support.