At the Natural Church Development Church Health Team meeting the other night, we talked about how to show appreciation for the service that persons offer to the church on behalf of God’s kingdom. It became clear that we don’t do a good enough job of thanking people for the work that they do. We can’t say thank you enough and often we forget to say thank you at all.
I’d like to take a moment to thank some people for the work that they do for the Kingdom of God.
I’d like to start with Dave Parris. Since my arrival in 2005, Dave has been faithful in carrying out a number of ministries at the church. First of all, he has been the Chairperson of our Administrative Board. In this ministry he has guided the church through several decisions and provided leadership and direction for our church. Due to health reasons, he will be stepping down from this position in January of 2008. He also has been at work behind the scenes. He’s faithful for cooking at the United Methodist Men’s breakfast. He helps get the luncheon meats for Union Mission each month. He also makes trips to Sam’s and Lowe’s with Joe Johnson when things are needed at the church. In case I haven’t said it before, “Thank you for your loyal service.”
Another person that I would like to thank is Patty Douthat. As many of you know, Patty wears many different hats at the church. She is a member of the paid church staff with the position of Church Treasurer. In addition, she also serves as the Chairperson of the Finance Committee and as the Financial Secretary. She also leads the Ewilda Whitenack UMW circle. Over the past two years, she has also headed some major events at the church such as the Christmas Workshop that we have held the first weekend in November. In her spare time, she is also wife to Justin and mother to Conor and Isabelle. In January of 2008, she will no longer act as the Chairperson of the Finance Committee. We have been searching for someone to replace her in this ministry role and we have found an able bodied person to do just that. I’d like to thank Patty for her service to the church.
Another thank you needs to go out to Joe Johnson. Joe is the head of our United Methodist Men and the Chairperson of the Building and Grounds Committee. As the head of the United Methodist Men, he makes sure that the monthly breakfast is prepared and keeps the group moving ahead with projects. As the Chairperson of Buildings and Grounds, he, along with helpers like Dave Parris, Jack Allen, Wally Rangeo and others, keeps the church and parsonage in good repair. He also is willing to help out in lots of different ways around the church. If you need something done, ask him and he’ll ry to get it done. Thanks, Joe for all your hard work at the church.
That’s not all the folks that I need to thank, but it is a beginning. In the weeks ahead, I will add other people to the list of those that need to be thanked. I suggest that you also thank them for their ministry to the church. If you know of someone that you think should be included, then let me know and I’ll arrange to thank them for their work as well.
