PARISH NEWS
2022 Mission Support Campaign Launches!
In autumn of 2021 we launched our historic three year “A Place at the Table for Everyone” Campaign to build a fully accessible church for generations to come! With God’s help and your generous support, construction will soon be complete!
We also set ministry priorities for this year related to mental health support, addiction support and bringing people back together and without a doubt, we have shown results! EVERY WEEK over fifty of our neighbors gather across four different 12 Step Programs at the Trinity Community Center. EVERY WEEK we offer Yoga, Zumba, Community Crafters and Zentangle classes to bring people together and provide much needed stress relief. EVERY MONTH we offer Movie Nights and Game nights to bring people together. A forum on youth mental health was held and our Visitation Ministry will be reconstituted in just a couple weeks’ time! Beginning in August, in person worship attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels!
With God’s help and when we set goals and make the necessary investments of time, talent and treasure, even in small ways, OUR WORLD GETS BETTER. That’s why we are so excited to announce the following three goals for 2023 based off our Congregational Priority Survey results:
As we gather for our Mass for the Feast of the Reformation on Sunday, October 30th at 10:15am, all members of our Spirit filled congregation will be invited to submit a Statement of Intent regarding their investment of time, talent and treasure for 2023 towards the goals above.
After the service we will celebrate with a festive Potluck Luncheon in the Fellowship Hall with main dishes provided by our Congregation Council and Mission Support Committee. Please RSVP for the luncheon TODAY at https://bit.ly/ReformationSunday2022!
We also set ministry priorities for this year related to mental health support, addiction support and bringing people back together and without a doubt, we have shown results! EVERY WEEK over fifty of our neighbors gather across four different 12 Step Programs at the Trinity Community Center. EVERY WEEK we offer Yoga, Zumba, Community Crafters and Zentangle classes to bring people together and provide much needed stress relief. EVERY MONTH we offer Movie Nights and Game nights to bring people together. A forum on youth mental health was held and our Visitation Ministry will be reconstituted in just a couple weeks’ time! Beginning in August, in person worship attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels!
With God’s help and when we set goals and make the necessary investments of time, talent and treasure, even in small ways, OUR WORLD GETS BETTER. That’s why we are so excited to announce the following three goals for 2023 based off our Congregational Priority Survey results:
- Improve in-person attendance of Sunday Mass and the in-person worship experience.
- Increase programming and strengthen operations of the Trinity Community Center.
- Provide more fellowship opportunities for members of all ages to reconnect with God and one another.
As we gather for our Mass for the Feast of the Reformation on Sunday, October 30th at 10:15am, all members of our Spirit filled congregation will be invited to submit a Statement of Intent regarding their investment of time, talent and treasure for 2023 towards the goals above.
After the service we will celebrate with a festive Potluck Luncheon in the Fellowship Hall with main dishes provided by our Congregation Council and Mission Support Committee. Please RSVP for the luncheon TODAY at https://bit.ly/ReformationSunday2022!
Neal at the head of the table with family.
|
Spotlight on Service: Neal Fisher
In each edition of The Messenger, our semi-monthly newsletter, we highlight the exemplary work of one of our members towards fulfilling Christ's purpose for our congregation, to be "a Spirit filled congregation grounded in Jesus Christ, nourishing our local community in body, mind and soul in Rotterdam, New York." Our September/ October 2022 Spotlight on Service segment gives thanks for the work of Neal Fisher.
Neal was born in 1942, grew up in Ravena, NY and spent a great deal of time in his early years on the Fisher Dairy Farm. As his daughter Jody states, "he learned how to fix almost anything." After attending Clarkson University he took a job at General Electric as an engineer in the Gas Turbine Department. After moving to Rotterdam in 1966, he eventually followed his beloved wife Diane in beginning to attend Messiah. He began serving on the Budget & Finance Committee even before he was a member and has assisted the Kitchen Committee for many years. Neal has a passion for local Modified Stock Car racing and has worked with Jack Johnson and currently Ronnie Johnson. He also enjoys woodworking, adores his family and would do anything for them. He is a great listener and gives great advice. In addition to currently serving on the Budget & Finance Committee, the Kitchen Committee, the Audit Committee and recently on the Congregation Council, Neal has more recently served on two incredibly important task forces at Messiah! He has worked tirelessly on our Capital Improvement Task Force to get approved for our construction loan and regularly interfaces with our contractor Wade Coton of Manchester Homes, LLC. This is in addition to assisting with long term planning for the Trinity Community Center site as part of our Trinity Redevelopment Task Force. For all you do Neal in service to Christ in the face of our neighbors, we say, THANK YOU! |
Pastor Dustin and Rachel on their honeymoon.
|
August 2022 Pastor's Letter
He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite people who are poor and people with disabilities." - Luke 14: 12-13
A slightly less ableist translation of Jesus' words in last Sunday's gospel message serves as an important reminder, dear friends! As I write this letter, I hear our awesome contractors from Manchester Homes, LLC hammering away as they wrap up framing the new entrance portion of our historic Accessibility Project. Despite us having all gone through some of the most difficult years of our lives, your incredible generosity and service has made this dream of so many decades come true! As I've said again and again, I can't wait for our Christmas Eve Potluck this December when we'll be able to celebrate Christ's birth in a fully accessible Fellowship Hall for the first time! This work hasn't come without great sacrifice and frustration, most notably the two extra months it took to get our building loan secured, but we do believe the project will be completed on schedule in time for the holidays! I just reviewed our worship attendance statistics for the first time since before the pandemic, and I'm incredibly happy to report that with our virtual community included, average attendance at Sunday Mass was about the same or even slightly higher this summer than it was in 2019! Our food security ministries continue to grow by leaps and bounds! Through July of this year the Bread of Life Food Pantry served 1,174 guests compared to 907 over the same period last year, a 29% increase! Our Produce Pantry now provides fresh produce to between seventy and eighty guests a week! My goodness, this was QUITE the newsletter to write, but please know everything that was best about Messiah pre-pandemic is returning this fall! Many parents have indicated they'll be returned for our amazing Whirl! Lectionary Sunday School program beginning on "God's work. Our hands." Sunday on September 11th! From movie nights to game nights to craft fairs and Help Portrait Schenectady, our members are hard at work rebuilding the sorts of tables where EVERYONE in our community can feel welcomed, where EVERYONE in our community can be nourished in body, mind and soul. Thank you, dear friends, for all the ways you are part of the life changing work Christ calls us to! in hope, Pastor Dustin |
Seeking Worship Pianist
Messiah Lutheran Church is a vibrant, growing church in Schenectady, New York. We are looking for a pianist to start this fall. The position is flexible, although a commitment for most Sunday mornings is necessary (at least three to four Sunday’s a month). Sheet music will be provided. Additional hours and responsibilities are available but not required. This will allow you to choose between a casual position necessitating only two hours a week or so, or a position of leadership if desired (up to eight hours weekly available in this case). We will pay up to $26/hour based on experience and abilities.
Please email Rev. Dustin Longmire at pastor@messiahschenectady.org with a letter on interest and a resume. We will happily talk to you more about the options available, but if you enjoy playing the piano and would like to be payed to do so, please reach out to us!
Please email Rev. Dustin Longmire at pastor@messiahschenectady.org with a letter on interest and a resume. We will happily talk to you more about the options available, but if you enjoy playing the piano and would like to be payed to do so, please reach out to us!
|
August 2022 Financial Update
Our Budget & Finance Committee has recommended that we begin including a simplified Financial Update for all members and friends of the congregation in each semi-monthly edition of The Messenger. The two graphics indicate an extremely difficult financial picture in terms of undesignated giving to our Annual Fund.
Through July of 2022, we've taken in slightly more than expected, an amazing increase of nearly $20,000 compared to this time last year, and something we should be extremely thankful for! However, we also spent slightly more than expected on an already deficit budget due to increased utility costs and a number of costly attempts to fix the sewer situation at our Worship Center. Unfortunately, this leads us to be in a $13,153 deficit for the year through July. Due to the significant increase in revenue in 2022, we are on a better financial track than in July 2021, where costs related to merging with Trinity Reformed Church took a significant toll on our financial position. Still, this means we have a great deal of work to do in order to climb out of the financial hole we are in. Here are a few things you can do today to help Messiah Lutheran Church get back on a positive financial trajectory:
|
|
|
A Place at the Table for Everyone Accessibility Project Update
On August 30th after months of hard work we finally received word that we closed on our up to $500,000 Construction Loan from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund! After great difficulty, this was accomplished with the incredible work of Sue Collins, Penny Incitti, Neal Fisher with help from our Upstate New York Synod Bishop, Rev. Lee Miller, II. Thanks be to God!
Over the summer we also received a large contribution from a dear friend of our congregation, leading us to have already received $270,072 or 51% of the $526,706 currently pledged to the campaign. Our quarterly Mission Support Statements will be mailed out in the coming days and we encourage members who have made a Statement of Intent towards the campaign to consider making their second year's contribution as they are able. If you have not yet had an opportunity to make a Statement of Intent towards our three year "A Place at the Table Campaign," please speak with Campaign Co-Chairs Rich Becker and Dave Barnett in order to do so. Every day our amazing contractors from Manchester Homes, LLC are making more progress on constructing the new portions of our Worship Center and we can't wait to gather in a fully accessible Fellowship Hall by the time we hit the holidays later this fall! |
The new entrance takes shape!
|
The Rev. Jonathan Vanderbeck Mental Health Fund
In June 2021 as part of our commitment to prioritize mental health as a congregation our Congregation and subsequently our Congregation Council voted to create the Rev. Jonathan Vanderbeck Mental Health Fund. This fund is designed "to support members in paying for necessary mental health care" and as of the end of July has $1,039 in contributions but has not yet been used. If you are someone struggling to pay for mental health care, please contact Pastor Dustin for a confidential conversation. If you are someone who would like to contribute to this fund, please visit our Donate & Volunteer page, click "Give" and select "Mental Health Fund" in tithely's "Give To" box.
Update Our Parish Directory by Logging on to Realm Account Today!
As we've been talking a lot about lately at Messiah, my goodness, after so long apart and so many changes in our congregation's membership, WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER! Our Parish Directory is a key tool to helping everyone know who is who. There isn't a week Pastor Dustin doesn't hear from one of our members asking for someone else's contact information, but if you are a member of our congregation, that information is right at your fingertips using our online Realm account! While everyone's information is in Realm and Pastor Dustin, Heather and others use the system every day, only 53 of our 236 members currently have ever logged in to set up their profile. We'd encourage all our members to go to https://onrealm.org/MessiahLutheran73113 today. If you already have an account, click "sign in" and review all your contact information, update your profile picture and more. If you don't have an account, click "sign up" and get started! We'll be printing a new commemorative Parish Directory to be released at our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for our new Accessibility Project later this fall, but if you can get your information updated ahead of time, that'll save our Council members a phone call. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Parish Office at 518.355.2311 and we can assist you further!
TCC Bottle & Can Collection!
Want to contribute to the growth of the Trinity Community Center as we work to knit community closer together here in beautiful Rotterdam, NY! One way you can support that important work is donating your bottles and cans to the Trinity Community Center's account Green Bottle Redemption Center! Located at 1809 Altamont Avenue, the redemption center is open Tuesday - Friday from 9a - 4p & Saturday from 9a - 2:30p! Thanks so much and please help us spread the word!