Here is a snapshot of what I will be doing this week (July 12-18). I will be traveling to both of our campgrounds, Gwinwood and Zephyr, to check in on church camps in full swing. This week at Gwinwood, ChiRho and High School youth are gathering, and over at Zephyr the Kids and Jr. Camps are happening. In addition, I will be visiting with some of our active and retired clergy in need of pastoral care, attending the Commission on Ministry meeting in Ellensburg, and participating in the installation service of Greg Turk at All Pilgrims Christian Church in Seattle. I share this with you not to bore you with my travel schedule or “to do” list, but to point out some of the ways our Region is alive and active, even during these lazy days of summer. From our children attending church camps, to the oversight of licensed and ordained clergy through the Commission on Ministry, to the ongoing process and successful completion of the Search and Call process, our congregations are moving forward in their ministries and the Region is supporting and encouraging their work. Elsewhere in this newsletter is an article from Debbie Jennison, our Regional Treasurer, reporting on our financial status. Though we face many challenges in our efforts to undergird the ministries of the Northwest Region, I am grateful for the support we receive from our congregations and from committed individuals. Thank you for making our shared ministry possible.

Blessings on this journey,
Sandy

Central Christian Church
of Prosser, Washington

Invites you to join us in Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. for our final worship service marking the closing of our congregation and Church.  This celebration will be to remember with thanksgiving the many ways in which God has blessed our ministry and our lives in this place.

A time of remembrance and fellowship will follow the service.

1000 6th Street, Prosser, WA 99350

by Debbie Jennison, Regional Treasurer

When we began the budget year in January, 2010, we knew that at some point we would need to draw additional funds from our investments with the Christian Church Foundation (CCF) to cover expenses allocated from our special funds (i.e. Reconciliation, New Church, Transformation, etc.) We had hoped to delay this additional draw as long as possible so as to leave our money invested and earning interest until it was needed. However, in June, the Region had to borrow $20,000 from our Regional Line of Credit with Church Extension (CE) to cover expenses until we were able to access those additional funds from the CCF.  This was due to very low income from Disciples Mission Fund (DMF) in May and because we had not projected forward our cash flow early enough.  We believe the income from DMF was abnormally low because several congregations that give regularly to DMF did not get their May contributions in before the end of month cutoff.  The positive news is that the receipts attributed to June are looking good and we are in the process of accessing the additional funds from CCF.  A portion of those funds will be used to repay the line of credit from CE.

The board put together a very aggressive budget for this year, cutting expenses as much as possible.  There was also the hope for increased income from our 4 primary income streams:

DMF (67% of all funds are returned to the Region) – in 2009, 41 of our 50 congregations contributed to DMF. 
• 52% of our 2010 budgeted income is expected to come from this source ($124,000)

Individual Contributions – These are gifts to the region either as one time or on-going – in 2009, this totaled $18,757.
• 9% of our 2010 budgeted income is expected to come from this source ($24,000)

Regional Churches Contributions – These are gifts to the region from individual congregations giving directly to the region – in 2009, this totaled $24,383.
• 2.5% of our 2010 budgeted income is expected to come from this source ($6,000)

Christmas Offering (100% of all funds are returned to the region) – in 2009, 37 congregations participated in the Christmas offering.
• 14.6% of our 2010 budged income is expected to come from this source ($35,000)

Did you know that the Christmas offering can be taken any time of the year?  Does your church have DMF as part of their budget?

We know that in these tough economic times many congregations and individuals have cut back on their outreach giving. We appreciate those who have continued to give despite the challenges and especially give thanks for those who have actually increased their giving! Please remember that contributions can be received at any time and individuals can now contribute online! (Go to www.disciplesnw.org and click on the Connecting in Mission button.)

Thank you for your support of the wonderful programs and services of the Northwest Regional Christian Church!

NEWS FROM THE WIDER CHURCH

Mountaintop Wind
(Written by David Bell. Shared with his permission)

Eight o’clock in the morning and she’s was standing at the entrance of the trailer park.  Kelsey’s been on the waiting list to attend the Summer Fun Program since the beginning of the summer.  Today was to be her first day.  I opened the door; she bounded in, sat down in the center in the first seat behind me and put her seat belt on.  I said, “Hi,” and asked her name.  That’s all it took.  For the next ten minutes, it takes ten minutes to get to the next stop, Kelsey proceeded to tell me her life story since the summer began.

One highlight was to spend a day at the “lookout.”  Her mother, years before, had worked at the lookout station and watched for fires during the summer.  She could prove it!  I asked how.  “Oh,” she said, “in the upper beam, (she stretches her arms out and wiggles her fingers, not quite touching the van’s ceiling) on its side, my mother carved her name when she worked at the lookout, and it’s still there!  I saw it!”  Before I could say any more she went on to tell all about the day at the lookout station.  Amazing how much an eight-year-old can say in ten minutes.  She got to talking about the wind on top of the mountain.  “The wind, you couldn’t believe the wind!” she said.  “It blew hard!  It blew so hard, it blew fifty pounds!”  “Fifty pounds?” I asked. 
“Yeah, fifty pounds!”

I pulled over and stopped, ten minutes were up and brother and sister got on the van.  I held little interest for Kelsey after that, the three of them dived into what I am sure must have been a very important conversation.

Fifty-pound wind.  Isn’t that a perfect way for a child to talk about the wind?  Describing wind in pounds rather than miles-per-hour makes much sense.  Wind pushing against a child, or any of us for that matter has substance to it, no wonder a child might use language such as “pound!”  Thinking of wind in this way allows the imagination to flow down new streams of thought.  The wind of God, the voice of God, the breath of God blown into clay, has weightiness when thought of as Kelsey does.  Kelsey kind-of nailed that one on her first day to the Summer Fun Program…her way of thinking of wind is one that must be passed on. 

Afterthought

Kelsey would never have made it on the van that morning if it were not for the gifts of others.  After the June 15th journal entry, indicating days and van runs to pick up youth for the Summer Fun Program would have to decrease due to lack of funding, a number of folks stepped up.  I would like to thank a few entities in particular: Englewood Christian Church in Yakima, University Christian Church in Seattle, and the Office of Disciples Volunteering.  There were also a number of individuals who gave over and above in this time of crises.  Thanks to these individuals, congregations, and Office of Disciples Volunteering, the van is up and running again and the Summer Fun Program is extended another week!  It is important to say there are many individuals and congregations who support Mission programming through the year, year after year.  However, this thank you is necessary, because without this additional giving, many children, such as Kelsey, would never have the chance to attend.  More so, and yes this is a little selfish, I would not have learned about fifty-pound wind.  And that, the idea I can understand the voice and presence of God in a new and wonderful and unique way, well that, is simply a gift for the ages.

Sponsored by Disciples Home Missions Sept 4-11, 2010

Come for a day, or the entire eight days!

Scope of work to be completed:
#1 – Parsonage – tear off existing roof, clean out and replace attic insulation, put on new roof, gut the inside
#2 – Log Church – several repair projects, including log replacement and re-chinking

All volunteers for this project will be fed and housed at the Yakama Christian Mission.
Cost: $25 per person/per day or $150 for entire project. (Registration fee covers the cost of food, insurance and project support.) Visit DHM Mission Opportunities (click!) for more information and to register or contact Carl Zerweck (317-289-5061 ~ czerweck@dhm.disciples.org) or Brenda Tyler (888-346-2631 ~ btyler@dhm.disciples.org)