A church I once served did a building project to make the church accessible.

It was no easy task.

The building was historic; there were some unique architectural details to be considered.

And then there was the pipe organ. Pipe organs and construction do not go well together. At all.

Running alongside all of this engineering work was the fundraising. And it was a major task. The total project cost was well into six figures.

We did everything; government grants, fundraisers and, of course, pledges from church members and the community.

Offering Plate Secrets

By Christopher White

[Reprinted with permission from “Question Box,” The United Church Observer, September 2013, page 40.]

Q.  Do you think a minister should know the full financial details of a congregation, including information on donors and what they give?

In case you missed it:

The Minutes for Mission 2013 stories for January and February are available as a free download from:

www.ucrdstore.ca/minutes-for-mission-2013-download-version-only.html

Be sure to share our church’s mission and service stories as a congregation! Weekly readings describe how gifts are used to support all the partners and ministries that uphold and further the work of our church in Canada and around the world.

From Milestones to Stepping stones. Text: Joshua 4:1-7 Mark 10:17–31

By Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church, October 14  2012

If your house was on fire, and you had the time to save only one thing, what would you save? Would you save a family heirloom which has been passed down through the generations? Would you save your favourite painting? Would you save your wedding quilt? Or would you try to save a photo album?

Here is my sermon, so far, for Sunday, October 14, based on Hebrews 4:12-16.

Performative Words (Hebrews 4:12-16)

I am posting my sermon for Sunday in a blog.  A key learning for me while at theological school was in a newsletter article on performative language, and I explore performative language as a spin off from the Hebrews passage this Sunday (Hebrews 4:12-16) -- just thought of a point I forgot to include so it will be in about 15 minutes.

Some of the women in our church were setting up for our roast beef dinner this evening and realized we had way, way too much silverware. They started sorting and realized that a lot of it was stamped sterling silver flatware, dating back to pre-Union times (the flatware all has F.M.C. monogramed on it for First Methodist Church). It shouldn't be run through our commercial dishwasher, so they started separating the stainless flatware from the sterling silver. When they got the first box full, they stopped and will come back next week to finish the job.

DO you believe you have enough?  Too much?  Not enough?

That is the question with which I am starting my sermon thoughts this week.  Those early thoughts can be found <a href="http://ministerialmutterings.blogspot.ca/2012/04/looking-forward-to-april-29-2012-4th.html" target="_blank"><b><i>here.</i></b></a>