RECONNECT CHRISTMAS
Some Thoughts About December 13th
December 18th, 2009
Wow!
Our goal was $100,000 in one special “Reconnect Christmas Offering” on December 13th. The economy has been in the tank. A number of our church families have either lost their employment, fear they might lose their employment, and/or have already seen their compensation reduced as their company seeks ways to avoid layoffs. And besides, with all of the hurt here at home, why raise a boatload of cash to send to the other side of the world?
It seems more than the usual number of comments have been spoken, e-mailed, and voicemailed that “this will never work” because of the economy, or people are “worn out”, or “we need to focus on ourselves.”
Well, it’s true. The economy is still shaky and people are worn out (I’m pretty singed myself right now), and we have a bundle of big challenges before us as a congregation. No doubt about all of that.
So, did I want to “pull the plug” on the Reconnect Christmas project…in September, October, November, last week? Nope. I was hanging the whole thing on what we had all told one another over the past two years of congregational self-assessment. We said that a core value of our congregation, something that is true at all times and in all situations, is that we are a missional church. Taking away the “missional” component of our Christmas celebration would be like taking down the Christmas tree on December 20th or cancelling Christmas Eve services because it would be dark out, or deleting the Christmas carols from our worship these weeks because, well, there are other songs to sing and, besides, some of the carols are hard to sing. Foregoing a “special offering” on December 13th would be like denying ourselves. It is something we simply cannot do.
I had no “inside information” on the outcome. Just a confidence that we actually are a missional congregation. It isn’t marketing or wishful thinking. It is who, by God’s grace, we have become.
So the preacher preached (and cried a bit, too — at least at 9:45 service), the songs were sung, and the offering was taken: $106,000+ (with a bit more dribbling in this week). And, remembering that there indeed are children nearby in need, we also brought to worship over 1,200 toys for them.
I don’t know about you, but I am very proud of Wheatland Salem Church for being true to ourselves. The other challenges remain and the needs are still enormous here and around the world. But I feel much more prepared for Christmas now that we have given our attention to things that Jesus himself said were most important.
–Pastor Scott Field, Wheatland Salem Church
Tags: India School Project 2009, Mahbubnagar India
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About Mahbubnagar, India
November 6th, 2009
Where is Mahbubnagar?
Mahbubnagar is not a town or village. It is district within the state of Andhra Pradesh (aka A.P.). Andhra Pradesh is located in south central India. A district is somewhat equivalent to a county in the U.S.
You can check out the maps of India website to get your bearings for the country, state, and district.
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/andhrapradesh/districts/mahbubnagar.htm
Mahbubnagar: Just the facts
Mahbubnagar district is a poor rural area with frequent drought, subsistence farming, difficult living conditions scattered across almost all of the villages, low literacy levels, and poor public education.
http://www.indianetzone.com/43/mahbubnagar_district.htm
The side of India untouched by economic progress: subsistence agriculture
Rural agriculture in Andhra Pradesh state of India was profiled in a New York Times article on September 5, 2009. Read the article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/world/asia/05drought.html
Tags: Info, Mahbubnagar India, Mahbubnagar School Project 2009
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Kigoma Construction Update
October 7th, 2009
We are back in Tanzania now. We had a good trip out. Just wanted to send you a few action photos of the construction of the community center. The walls are done, now. The shots below are the pouring of the second “ring beam”. It is a steel rebar reinforced concrete beam that circles the entire building. Also notice the vertical concrete columns.
Next week we will try to get the concrete ceiling poured over the recording studio. We are using concrete to make the ceiling for sound proofing.
In two weeks the Kingwood UMC construction team arrives to put the roof on the building. Remember them in your prayers as they plan and prepare.
Blessings,
Lowell
Tags: construction, Kigoma Community Center 2008, Kigoma Tanzania, updates
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Update: Readying For The Second Floor
June 24th, 2009
As the building goes up, it becomes more difficult to construct. We are now building scaffolding for the workers. It is made with tree poles and the horizontal supports are placed into holes in the wall. The holes in the walls will be patched later.
This view is the end of the building that will hold the library (on the ground floor) and recording studio (on the second floor). You can now get a good feel for the size of the library as the walls are completed for the ground floor.
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Some Thoughts About December 13th
Wow!
Our goal was $100,000 in one special “Reconnect Christmas Offering” on December 13th. The economy has been in the tank. A number of our church families have either lost their employment, fear they might lose their employment, and/or have already seen their compensation reduced as their company seeks ways to avoid layoffs. And [...]
