A Day of Hope

“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” (George Iles)

“Hope…next year, things will be different!”

For discussion or reflection: What is your deepest hope this Christmas?

A Life-Giving Christmas

An Advent Study and Sermon Series at Noblesville 1st UMC, 2051 Monument St. Study at 9:30 AM. Sermon Series in The Gathering at 11:00 AM. Sundays, Nov. 28th through Dec. 19th. Additional Study time 10:00 AM Thursdays, Dec. 2nd through Dec. 23rd. Everyone welcome! Come experience Christ in Christmas through the fuller meaning of hope, peace, joy, and love.

10/19 Steering Team Meeting Notes

The Steering Team met on Oct 19th at 6:30 PM to put together concrete action plans for the brainstormed ideas from last meeting. Notes are posted below.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 18th at 6:30 PM in the Loft (Mark your calendars, please)

Topic: Another brainstorm of ideas for taking next step with The Gathering

Service Worker Teams

Service worker teams have been established. Kevin Emmert will help train the teams when he is available. Others from the original set up team should back him up when he is unavailable. The vision is that these teams will cover all volunteer needs for the service to include:

Set Up (chairs, tables, refreshments, altar)
Hospitality greeters (2 ext. doors of great hall, 2 West ext. doors) Open the doors for people, greet them in a friendly way, direct them to the service.
Ushers (1 at main doors to celebration hall, 1 at each side door to the Vine) Hand out bulletins before service, count attendance during the service, collect offering and attendance pad sheets and return offering and attendance sheets to the office.
Liturgist to read scripture
Tech team back up in the booth to train and eventually step in.
2 communion servers on communion Sundays

Tina will remind team members by email each week. New members will be sought continually for the teams.

Outreach Service Sermon Series Advertising

We will offer a coordinated sermon series for Advent called “A Life-Giving Christmas”, and then follow that immediately with a series called “Dangerous Prayers”. For both of these series Pastor Dave will develop advertising materials, and ask the congregation to distribute them personally and through neighborhood association newsletters.

Drama Leader Needed

Our Advent series “A Life-Giving Christmas” has a pre-packaged set of reader’s theater dramas. If we would like to incorporate them into worship, a drama leader will be need to recruit and rehearse players. It likely would require only a couple of hours per week for the 4 weeks of Advent.

Pastor Dave will offer this opportunity to the Gathering via an announcement.

5th Sunday Missions Coordinator Needed

Pastor Dave will need someone to help coordinate our 5th Sunday mission events. The vision is that each 5th Sunday of the month we would reach out in mission to the community in lieu of worship. We also need to arrange to do this during the Children’s Christmas Program, and the VBS program. There are many opportunities to do this, so the need is for someone to simply do the leg work to set them up, sign people up and send them out.

Pastor Dave will offer this opportunity to the Gathering via an announcement.

Fellowship Event Coordinators Identified

We are interested in scheduling some events where the people of the Gathering can come together to meet and interact more informally, maybe over a meal or a ball game. Betsy Rosiek has volunteered to try to coordinate this, and Kendall Hantelman indicated that she would be willing to assist.

Gathering Steering Team Meeting Schedule

Our meeting schedule for the rest of the year is as follows:

Tuesday, October 19th 6:30PM Loft
Tuesday January 18th 6:30PM Loft
Tuesday March 15th 6:30PM Loft
Tuesday May 17th 6:30PM Loft

This is an “Open” meeting. Hope you all will join us for as many as possible!!!

Gathering Steering Team Notes

Below are notes with my reflections and recommendations for actions going forward resulting from our meeting on Aug. 17th. The meeting structure was based loosely on our mission statment which I am including in this post. Please feel free to comment to clarify or add to anything I've written here.

Our Mission

The Gathering will become a recognized missional arm of Noblesville First United Methodist Church by developing our distinctive spiritual gifts as a congregation in outreach, hospitality, and creative worship as together we strive to. . .
. . . Create the MOST VIBRANT CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP EXPERIENCE in Hamilton Co.
. . . Be the MOST VISIBLE GROUP OF CHRISTIANS in the greater Noblesville Area
. . . COMPLETELY INTEGRATE with the ministries and programs of Noblesville First

Increase Participation

The group discussed ideas and options for increasing participation in the set-up process, as well as service workers and clean up.

Pastor’s Reflection:

It seems that the group liked the idea of teams of folks responsible for a week of the month. These teams would be responsible for set-up, identifying service workers (Greeters, Ushers, Liturgist and Communion Stewards), and clean up for a specific Sunday of the month. The idea is that these teams would be large enough that that there would always be enough people available to run the service even when other team members were absent. In order for us to do this effectively, I believe members of the original set up group will need to step up as leaders initially to train the teams on the things that need to be done.

Recommended Actions:

Pastor Dave will introduce this strategy in Sunday’s service and begin circulating sign-up sheets for the four weekly teams. The four leaders should “self-select” themselves and then let Pastor Dave know.

Increase Vibrancy

Suggestions surfaced regarding keeping our edge as an “alternative” worship service, and taking our worship experience to the next level.

Pastor’s Reflection:

The loss of the 8:15 service provide the worship team some extra time previous to our 11:00 service to get warmed up and ready. This has already shown fruit. We continue to need a back up praise band that can fill in for the regular worship team from time to time. We also continue to need back up on the tech team especially from an adult standpoint. It has been suggested that we might start to integrate some drama into the service.

Recommended Actions:

Pastor Dave will communicate these needs in worship, and continue to work with Matt to see them through. Committed volunteers will be required for any these improvements to be fully realized, especially regarding incorporating drama into the service.

Increase Visibility

Many great options were discussed in this area!

· New banners regularly displayed
· Handbills distributed during football parking
· Praise Band tailgate party for a football game
· Advertising in Neighborhood Association Newsletters
· Increase communication about the Gathering within the church
· Missional outreach on 5th Sundays in lieu of worship

Pastor’s Reflection:

Most of these options are easy to make happen. One couple has already gotten an advertisement in their Neighborhood Association newsletter, and copy for newsletters is available now for those who might want to do this. The tailgate party and the 5th Sunday missional outreach will require some coordination.

Recommended Actions:

Pastor Dave will see about getting new banners ordered, and will get the gathering advertising copy in the church newsletter. Matt will be asked to put together handbills and work with the youth on handing them out at the last two football games. Those interested in advertising in newsletters should contact Pastor Dave to get the advertising copy. Let’s make the tailgate party and missional outreach topics for our next meeting.

Increase Integration

The importance of seeing ourselves as distinct, but not separate from NFUMC was discussed, as was the need for Gathering folks to step up into leadership roles with in the larger congregation.

Pastoral Reflection:

Our distinctness will naturally create some differences, but we need to minimize these as much as is possible. We need to think of ourselves and be seen by the church as the 4th English-speaking service with a contemporary style.

Recommended Actions:

A list of the committees of the church was circulated among steering team members who were asked to indicate where they might be willing to serve. This list was forwarded to Pastor In Suk for review with the Lay Leadership Committee. A couple from the Gathering stepped up to be lay coordinators for our current Stewardship Campaign.

Increase Fellowship

The need to connect with each other, and especially get to know new folks in some kind of fellowship activity was discussed. Regular pitch-in’s, or a breakfast before church in the Vine were ideas that surfaced. Getting together to watch a Colts game, or holding a game night were other ideas.

Pastor’s Reflection:

These events are easy to pull off. We just need to set some dates and have someone step up to coordinate them.

Recommended Actions:

We will discuss this at our next meeting, but in the interim, if anyone would like to coordinate one of these events, see Pastor Dave.

"Most Wanted" - Day 31 - "Delight"

Here are my reflections on Day 31 of Dr. Terry Teykl’s “My Most Wanted Devotional: 40 Days to Pray for the Lost.” Comments are welcome and encouraged.

Delighting in Freedom

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4 – NIV)

I recently attended a men’s retreat that caused me to reflect deeply on some areas of my life where I was feeling discouraged and defeated. What I found was that these aspects of my life were barriers to my feeling free to fully follow the call that God has laid on my heart.

Instead of delighting in the Lord, I found myself anxious and sometimes even angry. This anxiety and anger had an obviously negative effect on my closest relationships.

During the course of the retreat, I ran across a verse that literally stopped me in my tracks. It was John 8:36 that says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

That verse reminded me that, in Christ, I am guaranteed victory over all those things that discourage me and make me feel defeated. I may feel defeated, but the reality is that I am not.

The reality is I am the victor in all things through Christ. I have found that very freeing, and out of that freedom has poured a true delight in the Lord and in my calling.

Are you free to delight in the Lord? How about the people represented by the names on your love list? How can we not share this good news that in Christ they can also become free to delight in the Lord and follow God’s calling on their lives.

Let us always be prepared to share the delight we have in our freedom in Christ.

Prayer

God of victory and glory, pour out on your people the joy of your salvation and the pleasure of your peace. Grant that our freedom in Christ might be so evident in our lives that we draw people to delight in You from whom all blessings flow. Amen