A Love Offering
Dear Faith,
Thank you for being the hearts and hands of God during this difficult year. As we come to the close of 2020, we want to express our thanks to those people who make an impact in our lives. Our Faith staff consists of both clergy and lay people who care for us and our church. This year has been the most challenging due to creating entirely new ways to be and do church.
Here are some of the ways they have adapted:
“Laura and Linda have figured out a way to video, edit and distribute curriculum and learning to our youngest disciples. They have learned technology in a very short time and have produced some of the best resources for families we have seen anywhere.”
“Jonathon and Wyatt have helped produce soul affirming worship for the entire church and the youth leading our outdoor worship on Wednesday nights. They have identified the talent in our teens and have allowed us all to enjoy them. Wyatt stepped into being a liturgist when needed and produced wonderful Bible lessons for YouTube. Jonathon took on leadership in our communications area and is now doing all of our digital graphic work. They have both stepped into areas outside youth and helped wherever needed.”
“Glen and Lori have navigated the increase in online giving and mailed-in checks as we moved to more of a virtual campus. They are also learning a completely new Shelby software that is complicated but will help us be more efficient.”
“As many of you know Neisa is now calling everyone who’s birthday is in our church records and helping us stay connected. She has become support for everyone on staff and helps us be successful. Linda, with her attention to detail, has kept up all her duties in the children’s area and taken on helping Charla and Heather with administrative work.”
“Tricia has had the greatest loss on our team as the music director. She is having to find ways she never considered to reach you all musically. She and Greg Leslie have done a beautiful job bringing us music in ways we have never done before. She has taken up the leadership of the “United by Christ” Faith group as well.”
“Brittney has found creative ways to send gift sacks and connections to our Primetimers. She leads a Tuesday prayer team that now makes loving phone calls and try to keep up with the needs of our congregation.”
“Hannah has taken on the largest bulk of the load. She moved from part time to full time. She produces, edits and streams our worship services. She edits and creates many of our documents and all of our social media posts. She is our video guru and produced our first ever Virtual Vacation Bible School that was incredible. We can not say enough about how faithful she has been.”
“Kendra was brought on staff a few months before the Pandemic began- just enough time to learn how to do Christ-Centered Service at Faith in all the ways we could before the Pandemic. Kendra was met with challenges as soon as the Pandemic hit. How do we serve each other if we can’t be in the same room? Kendra had to find ways to adapt our mission statement (Inviting others to Christ-Centered Service) to our new reality. With the Mission Committee, Kendra reached out to organizations and communities in Tulsa and determined the best ways for Faith to serve safely. Our Grocery Delivery ministry was started at the beginning of the Pandemic and has grown every week. Thank you to Kendra and our volunteers who serve fresh food, meat, dairy, and pantry staples to food-insecure families in Tulsa County!”
“David, our Facilities Manager, has adapted our building to our new normal. He’s spent time taping out 6-foot-spaced lines, deep cleaning, sanitizing- the list goes on! He’s even learned how to use a disinfecting fogger! Talk about a specialized skill. We could not have opened and continued meeting in-person safely without David.”
“Charla and Heather have modeled true Christian leadership throughout these difficult times. In an environment where finding ‘right’ answers remains exceptionally elusive, our pastors have lead us in a way that drives us to first care for others, to watch out for our neighbors and place community above self.”
The Staff Parish Committee invites you to give to this Christmas “love offering” as an expression of your appreciation for their dedicated service to God’s work among us. Your gift will be kept anonymous. Please indicate “love offering” in the memo section of your digital offering or check to Faith UMC. We would like to present this gift before Christmas, so please submit your contribution by Sunday, December 13th. Your time, presence, gifts and service to Faith throughout this year have been greatly appreciated.
We wish you a Blessed and Merry Christmas!
The Staff Parish Committee
Eric Polak, SPRC Chair