Page 4 - First Churches 2019-20Annual Report.docx

teams secured a PPP loan/grant along with additional grant monies (totaling around $80,000) to cover costs, augment our security, and upgrade our facilities. Members gave, not just to ensure our church’s future, but to help alleviate the pain of those struggling in the present. Through our Pastors Fund, we have helped families buy food, pay rent, and cover bills.
As your pastors, we have done our best to attend to the pastoral care needs of the congregation during this time, knowing full well that our efforts are not enough. Thankfully, we see every day how members and friends in our community of faith reach out to pray and listen and support one another. Members have organized socially distanced mini-gatherings. Our Care and Visitation team, among many others, have made phone calls and sent cards. We thank you for being the church for one another.
Finally, several members of our strategic team re-committed themselves to the future of the church by joining the Administrative Ministries Board. Unlike many churches, we are thriving in the time of COVID and can commit ourselves to the on-going work of engaging our neighbors, meeting people where they are, telling our story, and providing a counter-narrative of a radically different form of Christianity than the one too often espoused from positions of power. We can and will continue to welcome others into our beloved intergenerational community by meeting their needs and giving them a place to belong and call home. Through our various online ministries, we will continue to deepen our community by getting to know each other, relying on each other, and loving one another. Through book groups, Bible study, and Centering Prayer we are increasing discipleship within our community. And, as best as we are able in this time of social distancing, we are doing what we can to challenge systems of oppression and alleviate suffering by rallying safely, continuing the work of our circle of care, and helping others as we are able, to make God’s love and justice real for everyone.
We do not know when we will worship in-person again. Till we are sure it is safe, we will continue to do all in our power to provide safe and meaningful opportunities for worship and spiritual growth on-line. Pastor Sarah will be taking her sabbatical this Fall and Pastor Todd will be at the helm, but we both remain deeply committed to First Churches and are grateful for the opportunity to serve you as Co-Pastors.
Respectfully submitted, Pastor Todd & Pastor Sarah
3