Dear Creator Family,
Thank you all for your prayers this past week and on Sunday. I know it was a surprise when you arrived to a Sunday Morning Prayer service, but I hope you felt the presence of God. Our sanctuary is always a holy place, no matter how we worship; sometimes the more silent the time there, the more special it is. (Ask a member of the Altar Guild or anyone who has spent time there in silent prayer.) Still, as humans we fix on expectations and routine in ways that this change may have been unsettling. Thank you for keeping your eyes on God and your care for our little faith community. Unexpected change is always an opportunity to turn to God and find the comfort of the Holy Spirit. I am very grateful to Cheryl Duhon, who led both the 8:00 and 10:30 services, and I know you were blessed by her service. I also give thanks for the wise counsel of our senior warden, Stacy Rusch. And now for the weeks and months ahead! We know summer will fly by; it always does, and so I thought it perhaps a relevant and important time to lay out the parish projects before us. And yes, please, I do mean us. If you've ever wondered why it takes so long for things to get done around church, remember that there are a scant few doing them! Your vestry is but three members strong!! It may be time to revisit that, and it is certainly time to pray on it. We continue to field unexpected breakage and damage, maybe like your house. The good news is I've been working through them best I can and thanks be to God that these immediate ones are almost behind us. Once you get to the 4th bullet "Grounds," below, these are the larger and parish-wide concerns that will require more than me and a team of three in order to really take care of them. I out them in front of all so that each might find a way to contribute and help. ⦁ Plumbing: The upstairs urinal has been out of order for months and has now been fixed. The dishwasher has been clogged for weeks and is currently being worked on with the hopes it will fixed by Sunday. The hot water heater in the Sacristy ruptured several weeks ago; thankfully, Ron and Lea Gibson were in the Church and stopped what would have been a disaster. A new hot water heater has been installed. ⦁ Electrical: Maybe you've heard several of the cove lights in the Church humming; unfortunately, that does not mean they're humming their prayers, it means a failing ballast. We are in the process of having those changed out. Further, there is a possible power fluctuation in the Church, indicating a failing breaker, and we hope to have that changed this week. ⦁ Structural: A brief, but intense storm managed to blow several shingles off the Church roof. We have contracted a roofer and have fixed the damage. The gate to the play yard and a storage door are in desperate need of attention, we will begin a repair on both this week. ⦁ Grounds: There are several areas of concern as well as the routine management we are looking at. First, the parking lot weed infestation must be controlled and we are assessing options while we fight it back. Second, the bush behind the mailbox is actually a Bradford Pear tree. Apparently, when you cut down a Bradford Pear, but do not remove the root, it can resurrect itself as a creeping bush that, if left alone, would take over the world! We have no doubt that Creator will be consumed if we do not act. We are looking at all options—mostly dramatic. Caring for our diverse and beautiful flora and fauna is a full-time job, how blest we are to have parishioners who devote such love and attention to God’s house. Sharon and Jay Warren have been tireless “church mice” tending and caring for our grounds. The beautiful portico and the longevity of the Crepe Myrtle tree are a testament to their tireless devotion. I have been told “trimming must occur!” so we are currently looking for a solution to this need. ⦁ Technical: In the effort of cutting overhead costs and being wise stewards, we are reviewing many of our technical services, such as phone, internet, and cable. We have already made modifications and will continue find the best cost solutions for our parish. This is a Vestry agenda item if you would like input or information. It directly relates to our monthly operating costs. ⦁ Relational: Over the past year we have been looking for a partner organization, such as a pre-, nursery, or charter school to share our Parish Hall. Our search has led to an ongoing discussion with a Christian Tutoring School who is looking for a new home. I will keep everyone appraised of any development. I could certainly use the help on "selling" our space to a renting organization. ⦁ Along those lines, we are looking for a possible Church partnership in which we could offer our sanctuary for afternoon worship. This is an ongoing search and it is a very exciting possibility. Again, I could certainly use the help. ⦁ Communication: Every week we publish “Creator Calling, "our electronic newsletter. That is our main vehicle for information, calendar items, parish news and messages. I pray you all are receiving it each Tuesday around noon. This is our way of updating and notifying the congregation of news and events that effect our lives. ⦁ Secretary: Since Mary resigned, we have been blessed by the hard work and dedication of Cheryl Duhon who has been volunteering as our Parish Secretary. Cheryl has helped to keep us on track and is a dedicated servant of the Lord. With valuable help, next week we will be re-addressing our search process for a new Parish Secretary. In the past we have been blessed by our parishioner helping to find the right person for the position. If you know of someone you think is a good fit for our needs, please let me know. The job description and requirements will be posted, and we will soon send you a link on where to find them. I did not mean for this update to read like a giant "to do" list, but I must confess there are days I come to work feeling it ever before me. It's important that we who share a common life (a common Altar and therefore a common life) know the state of the parish, know and care for our fellow members of our congregation, and feel the needs of our people and our parish personally. God has entrusted this faith family to all of us. Let's take this season to renew and recommit to taking care of God's house. Faithfully in Christ, Fr. Bill+
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AuthorFather Bill Burk† Archives
February 2025
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