Mission Council:
 

This group will be meeting monthly (usually the first Sunday of the month) to receive and discuss "Endeavors," ideas for programming and activities here at Franklin Circle Christian Church to help us fulfill God's mission. Ideas that are approved will be funded through the annual operational budget of the church.  

If you would like copies of the Endeavor Form to see what information is necessary to submit your ideas, please click HERE, or pick some forms up at the church or call Carole Sauer, Church Secretary, to have them sent to you in the mail. Every participant in the congregation can submit and lead Endeavors.  

Please pray for this group as they work together on behalf of the entire congregation to help enhance the ministry we are already offering, and to inspire and nurture new and creative ministry to expand our outreach to the neighborhood and the world.

Please know, all Mission Council decisions can be appealed directly to the Church Board.
 

News!

April 2008

Endeavors:
From Sharon Thomas/Elders: Request for $95.94 for Welcome Back Potluck Dinner on Sunday, June 22 for Pastor Allen coming back from his sabbatical. We said that more money for chicken was needed, and wondered if the CWF had the paper supplies to donate, plus help with the set-up & serving. 4Blessings Given, and we rounded it up to a maximum of $180.

From Pastor Allen & the New Worship Initiatives Team: Request for $240 to send seven people to a "Designing Worship Conference) at Avon Lake UCC on Saturday, April 19. 4 Blessings Given BUT the conference was later cancelled due to not enough registrations. (It has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2008 and the NWIT will resubmit a request later in the summer.)

Meeting Adjourned.
 

February 2008

As chair of Mission Council I am blessed to be surrounded by leaders willing to review and evaluate wonderful ideas in the form of Endeavors.

As we begin another year we are all looking forward to new and exciting Endeavors. Please pick up a lavender Endeavor form from several locations throughout the church and on the website to download a copy.

The date for the Endeavor for Lakeview Cemetery will be set and publicized soon. The endeavor to purchase a new printer for the Messenger has been extended to our March meeting. Security fee of $25 was approved for the New Worship Initiative Special Worship for February 22nd. Unfortunately, security is required for our parking lot. We also gave our blessings for the Hospitality budget of $200 for coffee, tea, sugar and creamer for Community Hours following worship each Sunday.

Sincerely,
Bev Wurm, Chair
 

January 2008

At its January meeting the Mission Council received evaluations from the November 22 Thanksgiving Affair, the November 18 & 25 AIDS Awareness Sundays, and the AIDS Healing Weekend Endeavors. Evaluations are pending for the Homeless Memorial Vigil Meal Endeavor.

Two new Endeavors were received. One was to support the Sunday, January 20th Special Worship Service led by the New Worship Initiatives Team, which was given the Council's blessings, The second, offered by Michelle Brown, newsletter editor, to purchase a new color printer and ink for the Messenger, was held until more research could be done.

One Endeavor that was previously postponed until the spring, the Lakeview Cemetery/Garfield Memorial Trolley Tour, offered by Tammy Ball, will be revisited at the February 3 meeting and a new date for the Tour will be set. She is looking for interested folks to help her.

New Endeavors are always welcomed. Please pick up a lavender Endeavor form from one of several locations in the building, or go to the church's website and download a copy: http://www.franklincirclechurch.org/Mission%20Council.htm
 

December 2007
At its December meeting the Mission Council received evaluations from the Christian Education Team on its Halloween Party and an initial evaluation on the Thanksgiving Affair.
Three new Endeavors were received and all given the blessings of the Mission Council: Support for four church members to attend the AIDS Healing Weekend in Toledo, OH; support to have a meal in conjunction with the December 21 Homeless Memorial Vigil; and support for the Evangelism & Publicity Team to send personal Christmas cards to persons who have moved into the neighborhood within the past year.

October 2007 Mission Council Report

At the October 7 meeting of the Mission Council three endeavors were received and all three received the blessings of the Council:

Thanksgiving Day Affair, Thursday, November 22, 3-6 p.m. (volunteers from 2 - 7:30 p.m.), gym, chapel.  A time and place for the community to gather for fun, food, and fellowship.  Games, musicians, a movie, a worship service, and a thanksgiving dinner will be provided.  Led by Joe and Ann Wolf and Doris Quisenberry.  Volunteers Needed!

Diaconate Appreciation Dinner, Saturday, November 24, 4 p.m., Parlor.  A dinner to say "Thank You" to the diaconate who have worked so hard in the past year.  Led by Joe Stanley and Bev Wurm.

HIV/AIDS Ministry, Sunday, November 18 and Sunday, November 25.  Several resources will be provided all members of the congregation, including a devotional booklet printed by The Upper Room, to help deal with HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses.  Personal testimonies will be shared in worship, and a panel will be offered following worship on November 25 for persons in our congregation to tell their stories about living with HIV and AIDS.  Led by Sharon Thomas.

September 2007

Mission Council Welcomes New Members, New Ideas
The Mission Council welcomed three new members, in keeping with the changes made to the Church By-Laws last June.  Cheryl Yurcak has agreed to represent the Evangelism & Publicity Team.  Colleen Munley has agreed to represent the Education Team.  Claude Pitman has agreed to represent the Upkeep Team.  An additional representative, from the Worship Team, will be on board shortly.  The updated By-Laws call for representation from the four Permanent Ministry Teams to be added to the existing at-large members.

Creative ministry and program ideas are called "Endeavors" and are solicited from everyone in the congregation.  You do not have to be a member of the Mission Council to propose an Endeavor... you don't even have to be a member of the church to do so!  Endeavor forms are lilac in color and are set around the church.  The form is also available on our website (click on the Mission Council logo on the right side of the homepage).  Endeavors should be handed in to our chairperson, Beverly Wurm, with plenty of time to get the logistics worked out.

One Endeavor was given the Council's full blessing at its September meeting.  The Christian Education Team will host a Halloween Party on Saturday, October 27 from 1 - 3 p.m. in the church gym.  An additional Endeavor, proposed by new member, Tammy Ball, is in the works.  She hopes to have the church host a Lolley the Trolly Tour to Lakeview Cemetary to see the Garfield Memorial and other historic sites there. 
 

March 2007 Mission Council Report

Mission Council Supports Nursery Improvements
The Mission Council, at its March 4 meeting, received reports from previous Endeavors, put on hold several projects which needed more information, and gave blessings to several important ideas and proposals.

Evaluations were received from the Youth Sub Sale, the 165th Anniversary Celebration, the OCEA Conference, the Media Guide, and the Stand Up & Be Counted project.

The Endeavors receiving blessings included: Purchase of resources for New Member/Inquirer’s Class (received from Pastor Allen); purchase of new nursery furniture, including a “feeder table” and teacher’s chair (Christian Education Team); and providing honorariums for musicians for the Special Worship Service on March 16 (New Worship Initiatives Team).

Several Endeavors are “in the works,” but need just a little more information. They include: Repainting the kitchen (Christian Women’s Fellowship), the purchase, flying, and care of an American flag outside the church, and better use of a television donated to the church.

New forms and procedure checklists have been created and copied. You can pick up a lavender “Endeavor Form” now to bring your creative ideas for summer to life now!
 

February 2007 Mission Council Report

Mission Council Blessings Given For Nursery Care, Advertising

At their last meeting, the Mission Council approved several endeavors:
> Nursery Teacher Stipend – Christian Education Team, Jean Borrelli and Ann Wolf, co-chairs: to pay a small honorarium to the Nursery Teacher to ensure we have a safe and consistent presence in the nursery for our infants.
> Media Guide – Evangelism & Publicity Team, Pastor Allen Harris, chair: to purchase a 2007-2008 Media Guide from the Center for Community Solutions to have up-to-date media contact information for print, radio, and television media.
> Plain Dealer Ad – Mission Council, Bev Wurm, chair: to purchase a “display ad” for the 165th Anniversary Celebration in the religion section of the February 10 issue of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
> 165th Anniversary Celebration – Mission Council, Bev Wurm, chair: to purchase the main dish for the Old Fashioned Potluck on Saturday, February 17, to set the details for the event.
> Worship Development Video – New Worship Initiatives Team, Pastor Allen Harris, chair: to purchase a video and guide from another congregation which has gone through a process of worship renewal.
The next Mission Council Meeting will be Sunday, March 4. It helps to have all Endeavors turned in to Bev Wurm, chair, by the Wednesday prior to the Council meeting.
 

November 2006 Mission Council Report

The Mission Council has been hard at work receiving creative new ideas and supporting a "culture of creativity" in our congregation. Here are some of the recent Endeavors given the blessing of the Council:

From the Evangelism & Publicity Team two Endeavors were approved: 1.) to buy a line listing in the Saturday Plain Dealer "Your Worship Directory" through the end of December, and 2.) to create and purchase FCCC t-shirts for sale to the congregation at a minimal price. The E&P Team have several other short-term ideas to improve the way we welcome visitors and new members into the church. They will be taking a longer-term look in January.

From Michelle Brown & Sue Raspe a request to upgrade the infant and toddler equipment in the nursery, including the purchase of a swing, a bouncer, and a walker.

From Pastor Allen honorarium money for the November Widening The Circle Forum on Accessibility.

We might also report here that the New Worship Initiatives Team had a great first meeting, with lots of people in attendance and ideas brimming for a possible second service of worship. A group of nine folks attended the CrossRoads service at Avon Lake United Church of Christ on Sunday, November 12 and enjoyed a lively and interactive worship.

The Mission Council will be involved in the discussions at the Board and in the Congregation as to what is and is not working with this "experiment" we know as the Mission Council. Please let our Board Chair, Al Betts, know your thoughts by talking to him on Sundays or, better yet, e-mailing him at albertbetts@peoplepc.com .

As always, your ideas are eagerly sought. You don't have to be a member, just grab one of the white/lavender Endeavor forms at the back of the sanctuary or in the chapel and turn it in to Pastor Allen. The next meeting of the Mission Council is 9 a.m. Sunday, December 3.

July 2006 Mission Council Report

On Sunday, June 11 the Friends and Family Potluck Luncheon brought together about 70 people, many of them, yes, friends and family of members of the congregation! Together we shared in the abundance of food brought by folks. We gathered in the gym, filled with music and images from the Caribbean, to be in keeping with our keynote speaker, Dr. Douglas Van Auken. His talk, about the work of several medical professionals to help bring better health care to the Dominican Republic, was both informational and inspiring. $105 was raised in a freewill offering to help support their work.
 

The next Endeavor will be the Outdoor Worship & Picnic on Sunday, July 16, being led by Beverly Wurm. More information is elsewhere in this Messenger newsletter. Following that will be the Leadership Workshop: Publicizing Your Event on Tuesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. being led by Pastor Allen.
 

Endeavor ideas are eagerly being solicited for the fall. Ideas which need leadership include: Pumpkin Picking event, Hayride event, Archives Computerization project, Leaf Raking for Seniors project, Dinners For Seven event, Nursery Improvement project, and the many, many ideas in the hearts and minds of members and friends of the congregation!
 

If you have an idea and the energy to organize others to help you, please pick up a lavender Endeavor form at the church, or have one mailed to you. The next meeting of the Mission Council will be Sunday, August 6 following the Community Hour.