Then, this past week, our journey sent us all the way up to the balcony. The kids were tickled at being allowed to leave the sanctuary during worship. It was funny for me, too, to be leaving the whole congregation behind as we went down the aisle and out into the hall. (”This is the best one so far!” one of them said to me on the way up the stairs.)

Once we got upstairs, we waved to parents and friends down below. “How does it look from up here?” I asked.

“Dangerous!” one of the kids said, to much laughter.

“You can see everything,” another said in wonder.

And it was true; we could see everything. We could see the people who had come to worship, pray, and praise. We could see the choir, ready to lead us in song. We could see the communion table, where the feast had been set. We could see the cross that hangs at the front of the sanctuary, high above the baptistery. It’s there every week, but somehow it looked different from so high up and far away.

It’s good to get a new perspective sometimes. It’s good to get out of our routines, travel to unknown places, to get out of our comfort zone. That’s what Lent is, after all. It’s a journey that pushes us out into the wilderness and makes us look anew at the cross that has been there all along.

We are deep into Lent, a season that challenges us to think about who we are and how we are called to grow with God. It is fitting, then, that our congregation is also going through a season of reflection and renewal - and facing challenging questions about who we are and how we will grow.

I write to give you an update on the building projects we have been exploring for the past several months and to invite you to a congregational meeting on Sunday, March 21 at 10:00. At that meeting, pending the outcome of the board meeting on March 14, we will be making an important decision about a capital campaign this spring.

For several years, we have been praying and dreaming about the future of our church: how to welcome new members, how to address current and future facilities needs, and how to manage and do ministry in an aging building. Last week, our stewardship consultant presented the results of a congregational study that showed broad support for a capital campaign and the potential to raise funds for most of the proposed projects.

Several of you have asked for more information about these projects. First, however, let me remind you how we got to this point. In 2008, the property committee, then chaired by Cliff Greaves, began identifying facilities projects that needed to be addressed but were beyond the scope of the annual property budget.

In 2009, the board appointed a Capital Campaign Feasibility committee, chaired by Terry Simon, to gather more information about some of those projects. Recognizing that it would be impossible to address every need, the committee began exploring the most pressing deferred-maintenance projects, such as repairing/replacing the steeple, upgrading the boiler system, addressing water remediation issues, and repairing some windows and doors in the sanctuary. Keeping our mission and vision in front of them, the committee also explored possibilities that that would enhance our ministries and help us grow, including upgrading the kitchen, adding a portico to our front doors, and redesigning our entryway to include a larger gathering space.

The committee did research, talked with contractors, and developed estimated costs for each project. Their work concluded with a proposal to hire a stewardship consultant to help us better define our vision and to test the feasibility of a fundraising campaign. The board accepted this proposal in December 2009.

In January 2010, we began working with our stewardship consultant, Zip Long, who led us in a visioning workshop and conducted a congregation-wide survey, through which congregation members were asked for input on the proposed projects. On March 4, Mr. Long presented the report of the feasibility study, which indicated the potential to raise $425,000 - $500,000 in a three-year campaign. The full report and a brief synopsis are available at www.fccgreensboro.org (click on Building Possibilities), as well as in hard copy in the church office.

A short-term Capital Campaign Planning Committee (chaired by Sam Tucker and approved at the Feb. 14 board meeting), has been tasked with exploring the consultant’s report and formulating a recommendation to take to the church board on Sunday, March 14. Their recommendation will consist of a financial goal for the proposed capital campaign; a prioritized list of projects to be completed as we meet our goal; and the appointment of a Building Committee to oversee the projects once the funds have been raised.

If the recommendation is approved by the board, it will then come before the congregation at the meeting on March 21. If the congregation decides to move forward, the campaign will begin shortly after Easter and conclude by Memorial Day.

Now, let me try to briefly answer some of the most common questions, primarily about the kitchen renovation and the portico/entryway/gathering space. Some have wondered why the kitchen renovations and water remediation projects have been combined into one project. In order to solve the water problems in the kitchen, we’ll need to remove and then reinstall all the plumbing and electrical wires from the walls of the kitchen as well as remove all the appliances and the center islands. Since the kitchen is in need of renovation in general, it seems most cost-effective in the long run to make other upgrades while the kitchen is already torn up.

You have also wondered about the addition of the portico and the renovation of the entryway and gathering space. This could be separated into two different projects, the “inside” gathering space and the “outside” portico. However, the original intent of the project was to improve the overall experience of coming into the church.

It’s hard to visualize a space that doesn’t exist yet. You may be able to picture the portico - a large covered area just outside our front doors. The entryway and gathering space might be a little harder to see. The entryway (the area near the elevator) would get new paint, carpet, and furniture - including a welcome station for visitors - and possibly a new window to brighten the room. The gathering space would be created by moving the administrative office down the hall and opening up the wall between the hallway and the current office. New decorations and comfortable seating would create an informal multi-purpose space for people to gather. Let me share a vision of how this project might impact our congregation:

On a rainy Sunday morning, a car pulls up under our new portico. An elderly member of the congregation emerges. She walks with a cane to the front door, where a greeter welcomes her, helps her find her nametag, and walks with her to her seat. Next through the door is a couple who have never been here before. They stop at the Welcome Center and pick up a brochure about the mission opportunities in the congregation. Another greeter introduces himself, points the way to the restrooms, and since there is still some time before the service starts, invites them to have a cup of coffee in the newly redesigned gathering space.

As they fill their mugs, they meet a woman who points out her two young children, who have just come from Sunday school and are now selecting worship activities in the children’s corner. She tells the visitors how much she enjoys the adult conversation at church, where she knows her children are well cared for. On a couch nearby, a man whose wife has been ill sits with a friend, glad for some company and a listening ear. Bulletin boards on the walls hold pictures of the congregation and sign-up sheets for upcoming activities.

In the sanctuary, the prelude begins, and everyone makes their way in to worship. The visitors make a note to stop in the gathering space after church to sign up for the mission project scheduled for next weekend.

These are exciting times for First Christian Church as we grow into the vision God has set for us. These are challenging times, too, as we are all called to stretch, grow, and dream. If you’d like to talk more about all of this before the board meeting or the congregation meeting, feel free to contact me, or one of the members of the Capital Campaign Planning Committee: Sam Tucker, Cliff Greaves, Charles Jones, David Barnette, and Dawn Steadman.

Thank you for the questions you are asking and for prayers you are offering.
With gratitude for our ministry together,

Lee Hull Moses

Full Report from the Stewardship Consultant

Report Synopsis

What’s the next step in this process?
A short-term Capital Campaign Planning Committee, which was appointed at the February board meeting, is meeting now to process the report and formulate a recommendation. This committee is tasked with answering four questions:
1. Should we proceed with Cargill Associates (the stewardship consulting firm) to conduct a capital campaign this spring?
2. If so, how much money do we hope to raise in the campaign?
3. Which of the proposed projects should we undertake if we meet that goal?
4. Who should serve on a Building Committee to carry out the projects once the funds have been raised?

The recommendation of the planning committee will come before the church board at its meeting on March 14 at 7:30 p.m. If approved, the recommendation will be presented to the congregation at a congregational meeting on Sunday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m.

The mission of Orphanage Outreach is to provide opportunities to orphaned, abandoned, and disadvantaged children. Its goals are to help orphanages provide the children who live there with basic necessities and a quality education. They are also committed to helping the orphanages become self sufficient.

FCC’s objective for this mission trip is to serve as needed. We may be asked to lead or help with a sports, arts, English, or Vacation Bible school camp. We may also serve by helping with different projects that are already underway there, such as construction, painting, or planting.

For more information you may visit the Orphanage Outreach website: www.orphanage-outreach.org.

To make a monetary donation toward our mission trip, please make your check payable to First Christian Church and note “Orphanage Outreach” in the memo line.

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!”

To the exiles in Babylon, Isaiah’s words must have sounded like the promise of a summer picnic after a long, cold winter. They had endured not just a season, but a generation of homelessness and upheaval and weren’t sure if they would ever get back home. Isaiah writes to give them a word of hope, a promise that it would not be this way forever.

Winter – even as harsh as this one has been – is hardly exile. We haven’t been uprooted  from our homes. I glance at today’s paper, with it’s front page story about the overflowing homeless shelters, and I know that I have no room to complain about my drafty windows.

I do wonder, though, if maybe we are a little thirsty and we haven’t even noticed. That water – the cool, fresh, living water of God – sounds pretty good. The invitation to that summer picnic comes with a challenge, of course – it’s a challenge to examine just how we’ve been spending our lives. How did we get so thirsty in the first place?

It’s a call to live a little differently, maybe acknowledge the places where our lives are empty, and turn back to God. It’s a call to take our place in the everlasting covenant that God has made with us. It’s a call to come to the waters.

I am confident that soon, soon, the weather will turn. Crocuses and daffodils will start to make an appearance, and maybe we’ll see the sun again. The ground will thaw and the dull gray will turn green and fresh water will flow.  I the meantime, I’ll pull out another blanket, grateful that I have a warm place to sleep tonight, and dream of strawberries.

Isaiah puts out this call and then goes on to describe the rich abundance offered to the people of Israel by a God who knows no limits to grace. It’s an invitation to all who are hungry, who find themselves alone, all who have lost their way.

This is good news in a world where the earth is literally shifting beneath our feet. The images coming from Chile after last weekend’s earthquake are frighteningly similar to those from Haiti just six weeks ago. Thankfully, better infrastructure, less poverty, and different geology mean the death toll will likely be in the hundreds, not the hundreds of thousands as it was in Haiti, but there will still be much rebuilding to do.

Once again, the Week of Compassion responded with aid within hours of the earthquake. I’ve said before how grateful I am for the ministry of Week of Compassion, which provides disaster relief and humanitarian aid all over the world. I’m grateful for their ongoing partnerships that let them respond immediately when disaster strikes. I’m grateful that I can be a part of that work, even though I’m not there. I’m grateful for the Week of Compassion staff – Amy, Brandon, and Elaine – who are called to this incredible service. Will you join me in prayer for them, and for all in Chile and Haiti who are rescuing, recovering, and rebuilding?

As we continue through Lent, I invite you to look for ways that God is calling you into service, or calling you to come home, or calling you to share in the extravagant abundance of God’s unending love.

Then, on Sunday, I tagged along with our youth groups on an Interfaith Tour hosted by the National Conference for Community and Justice. We visited a church, a mosque, and a synagogue, and learned about the similarities and differences between these different faith traditions.

At the synagogue we visited, the rabbi showed us the Torah scroll their congregation uses in worship, and then pointed out a much older scroll that had been salvaged from a synagogue in Eastern Europe after the Holocaust. It now sits near the door of the synagogue as a grim reminder of the six million Jews that were visited by Death during that time. It was worn out and almost unreadable in spots, but it was clear that there was a holiness surrounding it.

When I complained to my sister, who had encouraged me to read The Book Thief, that it was just too sad, she said, “There is a lot of sadness, but it ends with hope.” It was that promise that got me through the most painful parts of the story. And she was right – I won’t give away the end, but there is a little glimmer of hope.

I thought of that as I looked at that Torah scroll that represented the meaningless deaths of so many people. Because behind that hard reality was this truth:  written on those now-unreadable pages were the words that remind us that God walks with us through our darkest days.

Lent is a dark season that takes us into the wilderness where temptations abound. It’s a season that does not let us get away with simple prayers of thanksgiving but demands confession and even repentance. It’s a season where hope seems hard to find.

But sometimes hope shines through in unlikely spots: the hope of dozens of teenagers gathered on a Sunday afternoon to learn something about somebody a little different from them. It’s the hope that maybe, someday, we’ll figure out how to live and love together the way that God intends.

May you find glimpses of hope in your Lenten journey this week.

Cost: $5 per class (a portion of which will support FCC’s outreach ministry)

Where: First Christian’s Friendship Room

In Prayerful Yoga, we discover the power of linking mind, breath and body as we rest in the presence of God’s love.  This series of gentle yoga poses and breathing exercises is suitable for all body types and levels of yoga experience.

Please bring a mat or large towel.

Instructor: Kishie Wyatt, Registered Yoga Therapist