Pastor’s Note
Why do we (should we) give? It is our belief that our need to give is tied in with the nature of God. What do our scriptures say, “16 For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 God GAVE, and it was not the first time.
We have to go all the way back to the beginning of scriptures to where it says, “7 Then the Lord God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 A few verses later it tells us that God also GAVE life to Eve. God GAVE us life.
But not just life, Genesis 1 also declare, “26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Everything in our lives was given to us by God. God GAVE; God continues to GIVE. Therefore, we who are created in the image of God should GIVE. God has a generous and giving spirit and if we are to be the light of God in this world then we too must have a generous and giving spirit. The two great commandments are to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. To GIVE is to answer God’s call to love God and love
our neighbors.
We need to give; it is how we were created. If we do not give and give generously then we dry up inside. When we are not generous, then like the Grinch, our hearts grow two sizes to small. Giving should afford us a sense of well-being. The scriptures say, “6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God can bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
Remember that November 22 is our annual Day of Thanksgiving. You are asked to bring your estimate of giving card back and join us after the service for our Dinner of Thanksgiving. Turkey and ham will be supplied, and you are asked to bring the trimmings.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Jay
Notes from Your Trustees
It has been a busy season for your Board of Trustees, and I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of what is going on.
First and foremost, as you have probably already heard, we were able to pay off the loan for the New to Us Building! The final payments came in to us for the McCoy property, and the Leadership of the church voted to pay off the loan, so now the property at 118-120 E Chaco belongs to us free and clear. This comes as a great relief to those in our family who hate paying interest!
Second, progress on the new buildings. We had two workdays in October; on the first we scraped, primed and painted all the window trim on the south side of the Sanctuary building, and on the second, we worked exclusively in the 118 building. We finished clearing furnishings from the upstairs, removed the old boiler from the down stairs. And took out the walls necessary to create an ADA restroom upstairs. Doug Thomas has been working ceaselessly and tirelessly with the electricians and plumbers to get the space to a point where we can make some design decisions. Our short-term goal is to have the space ready to host our Thanksgiving Potluck after church on the 22nd of this month in the new space, and it looks like we are on track to make that happen! Workdays in November will be on the 7th and the 21st. Please
make plans to join us.
Third, you may have noticed some changes in the sanctuary. We have been working to complete the pew cushion project, and with the help of Tammy Stalcup at Stitch Ahoy Upholstery, we are on track to have that done before Christmas. We are removing and replacing the old cushions 3 to 6 at a time so that you may not even notice the change until all of a sudden, several weeks from now, you will come into the Sanctuary and see the beautiful new blue cushions!
Several of you have expressed concern to me about the cracks in the sanctuary. Up until the last couple of months, there had not been any movement in the building for almost a full year, but in the last two months we have seen slight movement again, whether because of the heavy rains, or just the effects of gravity. Starting next week we will be working with a company called Earth Works to see what needs to happen next to halt any further shifting in the building, as well as correct existing movement.
The Nominations committee met last week and one of the things we discussed was filling several vacancies on the Board of Trustees. Trustees serve a three-year term and are not required to be able to do a lot of the actual work around the church, but advise and delegate the jobs that need to be done to keep our facility fully functional and able to serve our ministry and mission. If you feel led to serve in this capacity, please contact me or Pastor Jay.
Mariel Lynch, Trustee Chair
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Birthdays
| Beth Snowbarger | Nov 5 |
| Barb Carruthers | Nov 14 |
| Sue Dusenbery | Nov 15 |
| Nancy Goolsby | Nov 20 |
| Valerie Bross | Nov 23 |
| Rebecca Long | Nov 28 |
| Heather McCullough | Nov 28 |
Anniversary
| Paul & Dorcas West | Nov 8 |
Upcoming Meetings
You can find the AA and Al-Anon, men’s breakfast, and Sarah’s circle meetings schedule on the calendar page of the website: https://aztecmethodist.org/events/
Beyond that, we also have these meetings happening this month:
- November 8: Leadership Team Meeting @ 11:00am
- November 15: Church Conference
- November 17: Finances @ 5:30pm & Trustees @ 6:30pm
- November 22: Thanksgiving Potluck
Finances & Attendance
| October 4 | October 11 | October 18 | October 25 | |
| Giving | $3421 | $1967 | $1839 | $3187 |
| Worship | 45 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Sunday School | 21 | 19 | 19 | 15 |
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
—1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV)
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