The Grapevine
FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF NAPA
(707) 253-1411
February 1, 2012
Open
Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors:
the People of The
United Methodist Church
...fruit of the vine
As you may recall, I shared some remarks at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 8, that I called my first State of the Church address reflecting on the first six months of my work among you along with some initial impressions on where God is calling us to journey together. I was especially grateful for the comments and questions that followed the presentation and for the gracious spirit across the room. As promised and as a means of continuing the conversation begun that day, you’re invited to review a summary of my comments entitled the State of the Church address elsewhere in this publication. I’ll welcome any questions or reflections you might have following your reading of these remarks. Just call or make an appointment to drop by the office.
As January comes to a close, the season of Lent is not far off. This is a period of six weeks culminating with Easter when we contemplate more deeply the cost of following Jesus. There are several growth opportunities we’re planning during the season which begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22nd. Michael Herzog will lead a half-hour Ash Wednesday Worship Service in our sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. Just as Christmas Eve is to Christmastide, so Ash Wednesday is to Lent in setting the tone for the season. I hope you’ll prayerfully consider participating in this simple, elegant commemoration of the meaning of Lent.
And, once again, we have a Lenten Devotional which is being lovingly prepared by many contributors in our congregation under the direction of Susan Edenborough and Holly Zaccone. If you are one who is reflecting and writing for our 2012 edition, thank you. I am praying for you by name during this week. And, for all of us, the distribution of this rich, spiritual resource will begin on Sunday, February 19th, and continue for several Sundays following to ensure that every member, friend and constituent of Napa 1st UMC receives a copy. Please plan to use this resource throughout the six weeks of Lent as a daily devotional. For this season only, we’ll suspend the publication of a weekly GPS insert for Sunday bulletins. Rather, you’ll find reflection questions for each scripture chosen for the booklet on successive pages of the booklet that you can use just as if it were the GPS offering for that day. These questions will help you relate that day’s scripture to the message you heard on the previous Sunday for your prayerful reflection. The GPS insert will resume beginning on Easter Sunday, April 8th.
During Lent, we’ll be offering the first annual Napa 1st UMC Men’s Retreat on Saturday, March 10th. The men of our church are invited to travel with Pastor Lee Neish to Los Altos United Methodist Church where we’ll join with men from other local United Methodist churches to begin the day with an 8:00 a.m. breakfast. We’ll return to Napa at the close of the retreat at 3:30 p.m. the same day. We’ll be led in worship and conversation by Rev. Ted Larson and worship leader Joe Austin (both having attended our church recently). We’ll be viewing the full length motion picture Courageous in two parts which will form the basis of our discussion. Please consider this an important opportunity contributing to your spiritual growth.
So with your prayers and by your presence, make this the most significant Lent you’ve experienced in a long time. Fully experiencing The Season of Lent guarantees the fruit of the vine (Spirit). The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22 & 23).
Lee
Men’s Retreat
Again this year the men at the Good Samaritan UMC invite you to a one-day retreat on March 10 in Los Altos. In the past it has been an overnight retreat, but this year it will be a one-day retreat on March 10th. It is open to all men from Bay Area churches and we believe it is just what we need to dedicate ourselves to be great men of faith.
Where: At Los Altos UMC in the Creekside Center.
When: March 10 at 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
What: The movie "Couragious" will be shown in two parts as part of the program.
Schedule: We begin with breakfast, followed by music, a movie, then program #1, lunch, part 2 of the movie and program.
Why: You will experience lively music and a great time of fellowship with other men.
Register NOW --- Registration is free and unbinding! Join us!
ALL CHURCH LENTEN BOOK STUDY
If the Church Were Christian
Rediscovering the Values of Jesus
by Philip Gulley
Feb. 26 to May 6, 2012
Each Sunday from the end of February to the beginning of May, pastor Lee will be preaching on the ten chapters from this book. Join your friends and make new ones in small groups after church or throughout the week to share your insight into these ideas:
Feb.
26 Jesus Would Be a Model for Living
Rather Than an Object of
Worship
March
4 Affirming Our Potential Would Be More Important
Than Condemning
Our Brokenness
March 11 Reconciliation Would Be Valued over Judgment
March
18 Gracious Behavior Would Be More Important
Than Right Belief
March
25 Inviting Questions Would Be Valued More
Than Supplying Answers
April
1 Encouraging Personal Exploration Would Be
More Important Than
Communal Uniformity
April 8 EASTER – No Group Meetings
April
15 Meeting Needs Would Be More Important
Than Maintaining
Institutions
April 22 Peace Would Be More Important Than Power
April
29 It Would Care More About Love
and Less About Sex
May 6 This Life Would Be More Important
Than the
Afterlife
State of the Church Address
presented
by Pastor Lee Neish
Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 11:15 a.m.
First
United Methodist Church, Napa
First, let me begin by sharing with you several observations as the “new kid on the block.” I’d be hard pressed to imagine a better, more loving and gracious reception for a new pastor than what I’ve received during the past six months. This is truly a relational congregation which is lavish in expressing its love and care for one another as well as for its pastor.
I recall an early meeting I had with Doug Monroe prior to his retirement. I asked him to share what conflicts I would face coming into this congregation. His response was rather surprising. He said, “I know you might find this hard to believe, but there are no conflicts in this congregation. These people genuinely love one another. They have loved me and they will love you as well.” I must say that I have found that to be true. I’m not saying that there will not or should not be times when we experience conflict. What I am saying is that we have a healthy way of talking through differences and coming to resolution that is respectful of all involved. That is a major strength of any congregation.
I have also observed that we have an extremely talented and committed group of leaders who are actively engaged in the life and ministry of this congregation. Far from the state of denial which has paralyzed many mainline churches, this leadership has embraced the changing nature of the culture in which we find ourselves and is eager to respond and become proactive in reaching a community which has increasingly become skeptical if not hostile to the role the church can play in assisting people on their journey toward spiritual maturity.
So as we begin to look forward to the work before us, I would suggest several areas of focus that are critical to the life of our congregation:
1. We need to continue to build and expand upon the leadership that we already have. Doug Anderson, Executive Director of the United Methodist Center for Leadership Development, says that The key to congregational development is the development of the spiritual life of the leaders in the church to the point where the mission of God is more important than their own comfort or preferences when it comes to decision making, program planning, and new ministry initiatives. What this means to me is that aspiring toward church leadership is less a matter of title or role than it is about attitude to the mission of God in our midst. We, as United Methodists, understand God’s mission for us to be making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
The first significant fruit of that effort has been seen in the participation of eight of our leaders in the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection’s 2011 Leadership Institute in Kansas City this past September. The KC-8, as they are called, are resourcing the Church Council and leadership bodies of our church to engage in crucial conversations to clarify our identity which include statements of purpose, vision, values, beliefs, and discipleship path, including a profession of faith & practice which forms the threshold for FUMC membership. We intend to have this picture in place by this summer.
2. As we grow our leadership community deeper and wider, we will also focus on growing our artistic community deeper and wider. Performing and visual arts have become a well known strength of Napa 1st UMC across our community. As we build upon this strength, we’ll augment our visual arts team by adding multi-media teams to concentrate on graphic arts and video production made possible by the installation of our new projection system. We’ve contracted with Media Training Specialists Midnight Oil for a two day workshop which covers both technical operations and creative techniques to be scheduled upon completion of installation of the projection system. We’ve also begun to assemble several talented youth who will form a Praise Team for the worship we are planning as part of our Youth Ministry. Eventually, that ministry will give birth to additional media teams.
3. And speaking of Youth Ministry, our primary challenge will be to strengthen our ministry to families with children and youth. Building on the current strength of Sunday’s popular Grape Express, we are planning additional opportunities for children across and beyond our congregation including a summer Vacation Bible School as well as an additional week dedicated to producing a children’s musical. We’ll also be collaborating with several other churches in Napa to produce a one day Vacation Bible School on June 16th at the Justin Sienna High School athletic field.
We’ve designated Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 for the launch of a weekly gathering of youth to include gathering & games, worship, small group discussion, dinner, ministry or mission activity and closing prayer. We’ll begin this ministry with the installation and operational readiness of our media and projection system which should by the end of the first quarter, 2012. With the help of youth and their parents, we’ve also identified roughly a dozen outings we’ll plan throughout the coming year with events and dates to be published in next month’s GRAPEVINE.
4. During the first six months of my work among you as pastor, I’ve had the privilege of accompanying several of our Membership Care team to visit many of our homebound members. I’ve also conducted memorial services for four of our beloved longtime members. As we look across our congregation on Sunday mornings, we notice that we are an aging congregation. As members find it increasingly difficult to attend worship and other ministries on our campus, we do not want to lose touch with them. Therefore, I’m pleased to announce that Jan Geren, Dianne Mahler, Kathryn Tolman and I will attend training for Congregational Care Ministers at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection on February 10-12 in Kansas City. CCMs, as they are called, are a team of trained lay volunteers who use their gifts and graces to be the ultimate partner in ministry with clergy and staff. With this training they will be empowered to make hospital visits, telephone persons in need of contact, meet one-on-one with persons in need of a listening ear for prayer and encouragement, offer support to grieving families and proactively seek to encourage and care for persons in need. Along with these ministries, some CCMs will be led to administrative tasks, such as organizing care schedules or facilitating events or classes. This partnership between lay and clergy will enable us to provide a consistent and deeper level of care to our church family.
5. In 2010, Mike Slaughter, Lead Pastor of another one of our teaching churches, Ginghamsburg United Methodist Chuch in Tipp City, Ohio, near Dayton, published a book entitled “CHANGE the WORLD: RECOVERING the MESSAGE and MISSION of JESUS.” In chapter six of that book entitled Mission vs. Mortar, he makes a compelling argument for a healthy, balanced distribution of resource for a local church between four categories. Those categories along with percentages for Ginghamsburg in 2008 looked like this:
Mortar 22% Mission 34% Ministry/Discipleship 30% Administrative 14%
Debt Reduction Sudan Project Discipleship Budgets Administrative Budgets
Facilities upkeep Global Initiatives Missionary Budgets Personnel
Capital Local Initiatives Personnel
Personnel Missionaries
Agencies
Personnel
If we were to complete a similar analysis of resource distribution at Napa First United Methodist Church, those percentages in 2011 looked like this:
Mortar 25.8% Mission 44.7 % Ministry/Discipleship 12.7% Administrative 16.5%
$93,960 $162,270 $46.183 $59,872
If we at Napa First UMC were to hold to a healthy, balanced distribution according to the model distribution of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church percentages those dollar allocations would look like this:
Mortar 22% Mission 34% Ministry/Discipleship 30% Administrative 14%
$79,703 $123,176 $108,686 $50,720
The consequences of distributing our current resources along these percentages would include:
cutting our physical plant budget by $14,257;
cutting our mission budget by $39,094;
increasing our ministry/discipleship budget by $62,503; and cutting our administrative budget by $9,152.
Practically speaking, such a drastic reallocation of resources in our budget would have several unintended consequences, such as:
reducing our utility bills by closing some portion of our physical plant and eliminating cleaning services and regular maintenance on our existing facilities;
no longer paying our apportionments in full and reducing our pastor’s compensation to that of a ¾ to ½ time position;
hiring specialized staff to lead our ministries to families with children and youth with budgets to attract, disciple, and deploy children and youth for ministry and mission; and
4. eliminate such administrative items such as phone service, copier and mailings as well as reduce the administrative assistant position to part-time.
While many of us would be pleased to approve item #3 above, most of us would be appalled to approve the painful measures of #1, #2, and #4.
The truth is that we’ve been feeling heat from quite a few years – heat that, among other decisions, caused the painful decision to terminate our associate pastor position in 2010 primarily due to a combination of increasing costs and decreasing revenues. To be a bit more specific, by the end of 2011, we received $36,000 less in revenues from pledged, non-pledged and plate offerings than we had in 2010. That’s exactly 10% of our 2010 budget! In 2011, our total attendance of 8,421 over 52 Sundays yielded an average worship attendance of 162. By the end of 2011, that total attendance had dropped to 8,155 over 52 Sundays yielding an average worship attendance of 157. If these trends were to continue over the next five years, by 2016, our annual income from congregational giving would be only 50% of what it is today -- $180,000. Our average attendance would be 125.
But instead of cutting our expenses to match the current reality of our diminished revenues, what if we were able to return to our God-given mission of “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)? What if we chose to grow our way toward a healthy balanced distribution of resources rather than cutting our way? Our budget might then look like this:
Mortar 22% Mission 34% Ministry/Discipleship 30% Administrative 14%
$104,995 $162,265 $143,175 $66,815
for a total budget of $477,250.
You might say that the problem with this idea is that we’d have to raise an additional $115,000! If we amortized that over our average attendance, it would require each member to give an additional $732 over the course of the year (probably not a reasonable expectation.
But what if we were to grow our average attendance to result in that added revenue? We would find that, instead of having an average attendance of 157 in worship, we would grow to an average attendance of 207, an additional 50 people. Given the frequency of attendance across our membership, however, we’d have to introduce an additional 100 people into membership at Napa 1st UMC to yield that addition in average attendance. So, I ask you, is it unthinkable to add 100 new people to our membership roles over the next year or so given Napa’s population of roughly 75,000 people of whom less than 6% (5,000 persons) can be found in a church on Sunday morning?
So the painting of this picture is partially why we’re emboldening a new team under the leadership of Liz Marks which will encompass the areas of Evangelism and Marketing. It has been said that people change not so much because they see the light but because they feel the heat! But they also change because they feel the light. There is no other church in Napa that proclaims a gospel of grace and freedom as distinctly as the First United Methodist Church of Napa. Our Wesleyan heritage and our commitment to engagement in ministry collaboratively with our sister human service agencies in downtown Napa to serve our fellow neighbors provides a compelling reason to invite others to share in this life-changing enterprise. And, some of our Christian brothers and sisters have helped us know more about who we are not, rather than who we are. Because we are surrounded by so many so-called conservative, evangelical churches – we’ve gone out of our way to avoid being both conservative and evangelical. While I fully recognize our place in the Christian culture to be located along the via media (to use John Wesley’s term) or more toward a liberal theological orientation, that does not mean we are to abandon the evangelical orientation that was so much a part of the heritage of John Wesley and the Methodists during the late eighteenth and nineteenth – and even the early twentieth centuries.
What makes it difficult to invite our friends and neighbors to consider Napa First as home for their spiritual growth is exactly why it has become so important for that invitation to be offered. In a culture which, in many ways, has lost its way to a plethora of empty promises when it comes to spirituality, Wesleyan grace still provides the best insight into the prospect of having an understanding of, let alone a relationship with, a loving God. And, so, the direction that the above numbers indicate will not change until we change. Liz and her leadership team understand how important that change is and will be working with me and others to help us all become more convicted about the uniqueness of our faith journey and more invitational for others to join us.
6. A little more than two years ago, our Bishop and Cabinet reorganized our annual conference to use “circuits” to replace some of the role that the former district superintendants played. Gone are the days when we can afford the intervention of an outside authority to come and settle conflict in the church and micromanage clergy who, for the most part, have been ordained elders in full connection to the California-Nevada Conference. One might say that this new model has been necessitated by recent economic realities (our conference has the lowest record of remittance of apportioned funds across the denomination and has the lowest clergy to layperson ratio as well!). This new model is actually a very old model which was partially responsible for the rapid growth of Methodism across the United States. For it entrusts colleagues to mutually care for the mission in their similar geographical area.
Thus, the Vineyard Circuit comprised of St. Helena United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church of Napa, and First United Methodist Church, Community United Methodist Church, and Wayside United Methodist Church, all of Vallejo, is our new missional entity. In a very real sense, our circuit will begin to embody the connection upon which The United Methodist Church has always prided itself. Instead, however, the apportionment payment will be replaced by mission collaboration as the most significant metaphor of this connection. The first fruits of such connection was seen in early December when Napa First UMC hosted our first annual joint worship and charge conference gathering. You might even say that we are on a journey from being five independent and somewhat competing churches toward one church with five locations on five campuses. The general impact of rethinking church in such a way may well decrease overall expenses by eliminating repetitive administrative functions and staffing across five churches as well as increasing missional reach through more effective collaboration.
As you can see, we have much to do in the coming months to fully live into God’s preferred vision for our church as well as our circuit and annual conference. To round out the picture of our tasks for the coming year, I’m including a summary report at the end of this Address from a document entitled a Call to Action from The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. This document contains findings from extensive research conducted by an independent consulting firm over the past several years to, in part, discover what has become four key drivers of vitality in prevailing United Methodist Churches across the country. Please review this addendum for greater clarity regarding the directions in which we must move.
I ask you to be in prayer for our mission and vision as, together, we call upon God’s grace and the strength of the Holy Spirit so that we might be found faithful in accomplishing God’s purposes for our lives and work in this generation.
Call to Action—The Council of Bishops—The United Methodist Church
Four key drivers of vitality stood out, and they were consistent across different types of churches. They were:
Small Groups and Programs (Small groups include study, fellowship, and service; programs include classes and other activities.)
Number of Groups—High-vitality churches have more small groups
Children and Youth Programs—Regardless of church size, vital churches have more programs for children and youth.
Lay Leadership
Effectiveness—demonstrate vital personal faith, rotate in/out
Specific programs and involvement—more attendees serving as lay leaders
Worship Service
Provide a mix of traditional and contemporary
Specific aspects—More topical preaching in traditional services instead of lectionary-based. In contemporary services, highly vital churches are more likely to use contemporary music and multimedia.
Pastor
Excellence in key attributes
Focusing on developing, coaching, and mentoring lay leadership
Influencing the actions and behaviors of others to accomplish change in the local church
Propelling the church to set and achieve goals
Inspiring the congregation through preaching
Appointment length
Drivers of vitality are the factors that directly impact or cause the desired state: vital churches. Results of vitality, or indicators of church vitality, are what indicate that the desired state has been achieved. They are objective, observable, and measurable results. The several results/indicators of vitality used to determine the drivers of vitality were:
Average worship attendance and a percentage of membership
Total membership
Number of children, youth, and young adults attending as a percentage of membership
Number of professions of faith as a percentage of attendance
Number of professions of faith as a percentage of membership
Annual giving per attendee
Financial benevolence beyond the local church and a percentage of the church’s budget
New Grief Support Begins
Looking for 10 People who are interested in participating in a grief support group!
Barbara Barrett and Susan Edenborough will facilitate this group on six Thursday mornings beginning February 23. The group will meet from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the church.
Please call Barbara (255-8167) or Susan (265-0369) to sign up, or if you have questions.
First United Methodist Church
625 Randolph St. Napa 94559
Office: (707) 253-1411 Fax#: (707) 253-1976
www.napaumc.org
Facebook: Napa First United Methodist Church
Pastor: Rev. Lee Neish
Sunday Worship - 9:30 a.m.
Child and Infant Nursery Care is available
Church Office Hours:
Monday—Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
The Grapevine is published bi-monthly.
Editor: Dianne Mahler
A Fundraiser for The Volunteer Center of Napa Valley
Dreamweavers presents…
Fully Committed by Becky Mode
A devastatingly funny one act comedy
Thursday, January 26th
Dreamweavers Theater, 1637 Imola Ave.
Doors Open at 7:00 P.M.— Show starts at 8:00 P.M.
$20 per person
For more information or tickets,
contact Katie @ 253-6100 x 109 or
katier@can-v.org
Builders and the New Addition
The Builders are off to a great New Year start. We delighted in the entertainment provided by the Good Faith Quartet, including a debut of a song written by Bill Pramuk and sung by the quartet which also includes Wendy Camp and Don and Pat Hitchcock. As always the faithful fellowship, talking around the table gives us motivation to keep building our growing group.
We are moving on to February with the kind of “sweet” deal you won’t want to miss. The String Serenaders Quartet, including our own Jan Schmutz and Laura Lewis, will be presenting “Sweetheart” songs to get you in the Valentine spirit. We will meet Sat., Feb. 11 for our traditional potluck or $5.00 from 12:00 to 2:00 in the Kagawa Room. Guests are always welcomed. Isn’t there someone you know that needs to be part of forming our faith foundation? Need a ride? Call Kay Neal 224-8491
The Forgotten City of Christchurch, New Zealand—Fundraiser
Out of grief an idea was born. Rosemary Gallagher, a native of Christchurch NZ and a long-time Napa resident, recently visited her devastated hometown, mourned the loss of her cousin to a crumbling building, and experienced the daily fear created by frequent, continuing earthquakes. She and a group of concerned Napa Valley citizens wish to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the calamitous Christchurch earthquake and raise funds for struggling survivors by holding a concert/fundraiser. During her stay in Christchurch, Rosemary established connections to non-profit organizations that would best distribute the funds in the most efficient and inspired manner.
The catered event will include a silent auction and entertainment that includes Bay Area singer Melanie DeMore, our own Napa High Choir, Maori music and dance, the Threshold Choir, and a photographic presentation on Christchurch. Kellie Fuller of KVON will be Master of Ceremonies.
Please join us February 24 at 6:00 p.m. at the Napa First United Methodist Church at 625 Randolph Street, and visit our website at forgottencity.org to find out how you can help.
We would especially appreciate any help on the event day from members of the church, perhaps setting up and/or serving food. Please call Dianne in the office for information.
Mission Statement
The First United Methodist Church of Napa unconditionally welcomes all people wherever they are on their faith journey. As a congregation rooted in scripture, tradition, experience, and reason, we promise opportunities to grow in the Spirit to become active followers of Jesus Christ. We are affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity and a member of the Reconciling Ministries Network.
Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 am
Coffee, cookies, lemonade and friendship are served at 10:30 am
Adult Bible Study: 10:45 am - Holyword Theater
GRAPE Express—3 years through 5th grade—9:50-Kagawa Room
Visit us on Facebook—Napa First United Methodist Church
www.napaumc.org
707-253-1411
Worship Schedule
Jan. 29—Pray Then in This Way: Your Will Be Done on Earth—Rev. Lee Neish—Cathedral Choir
Feb. 5—Pray Then in This Way: Give Us Our Daily Bread—Rev. Lee Neish—Bonner Bells
Feb. 12—Pray Then in This Way: Forgive Us Our Debts—Rev. Lee Neish—God’s House Band
Feb. 19—Pray Then in This Way: Lead Us Not Into Temptation—Michael Herzog—Cathedral Choir