This coming Friday evening we gather together for our annual congregational dinner and congregational meeting. It is a great time to fellowship together and consider the year behind us and plan for the year ahead. We have many particulars to be thankful for this year: from the weekly strong expositional preaching of the Word and excellent Bible School and music programs, to the successful launch of our preschool and zoning approval for our full Sunday use of the 1716 building—and many other group and individual blessings. Our meal together and meeting are a time to reflect on these blessings and corporately thank the Lord for them.
Adopt 2014 Budgets
At our congregational and corporation meeting we will consider and adopt our Church Ministry, Building Improvement, and Outreach Budgets for 2014 and pray together over them. This gives us an opportunity to review these budgets with those who have carefully crafted them and to ask questions about how our monies are spent to the glory of God in each of these areas. It is always an eye opener to me to see all the Kingdom work Tenth is supporting compiled in these documents.
Elect New Leaders
As a Presbyterian church we believe the congregation has been given the responsibility of choosing its leaders, so we are all an integral part of the governance of Tenth Church. A committee of the congregation, the Nominating Committee, has worked hard to ï¬nd the candidates it believes the Lord would be pleased to have ï¬ll these leadership positions here at Tenth, but we as a congregation must review and elect them. That’s why it is important that you attend the meeting, as we need a large enough group to constitute a quorum that will reflect the congregation as a whole.
We will also take the opportunity to thank the elders, deacons, and deaconesses who are ï¬nishing their terms of service. This includes elders Bryce Bartruff, Patrick Canavan, Michael Kennedy, and Tim Peterman; deacons Dave Allen, John McElhenny, and Ted Voboril; and deaconesses Christine Abshire and Elaine Swyer. In addition, deacon Dan Kunkle will conclude his time as a deacon and is a nominee for elder.
Other Business
Another matter of business is to review proposed bylaw changes regarding annual meetings. Finally, this year we will have the extra attraction of hearing and discussing plans for the funding and use of the 1716 Spruce Street property that has been so wonderfully provided for us. Right now we are paying a mortgage on this property but would like to own it free and clear.
So please come join your brothers and sisters this Friday, December 6, at 6 PM for dinner (please remember to register either online or via the forms in the Narthex and pay by December 4) and at 7:30 PM for our congregational meeting. I am sure, like me, you will go away encouraged, enthusiastic, and energized for the year ahead working in Jesus’ kingdom here at Tenth.
Information about the meeting was mailed to members. Please let Abby Jang, our Friday receptionist, know by emailing her if you don’t receive yours by December 4 and would like her to email it to you. Please include your address in your email so we can verify it in our database.