Zing Zing

We added a new feature to the Grace Church website yesterday, a search box through Podzinger. Podzinger automatically takes our message audio files and allows you to search for specific words in the message and gives you the ability to play the message at the spot(s) where it finds those words.

So if you wanted to find the illustration Pastor Scott used about monkeys and coconuts, you can find it using Podzinger. Search for the word monkey and it finds it in the message.

Granted, Podzinger isn't perfect, but it seemed good enough to put it to use. The search bar is on the Message Series page on the church website.

Mother's Day

How should churches handle non-religious holidays that fall on a Sunday? Take Mother's Day for example. After all a mother was required for us to enter the world and who not better to honor with a special day. Though it does highlight the amount of influence Hallmark and the other card-producers have over our society. Mother's are special.

One dillema for churches is how to honor mothers, especially in the context of how churches honor fathers on Father's Day. I know of a church that one year, mother's received a carnation on Mother's Day and on Father's Day they gave each father a tract on how to be a better father.

While we all came into this world with a mom, there are many who have lost their mom, many who have not been blessed with children, and many who have lost children. For some in these categories, Mother's Day can be especially difficult; some even avoiding church all together because celebrating motherhood reopens too many wounds and excessive pain. Therein lies the dillema, how to honor mothers while being sensitive to and cognizant of those who are in pain.

I've heard of churches who don't give out gifts to mothers, in an attempt give less emphasis to the Mother's Day celebration. After all, it isn't a religious holiday. I've also heard of churches that in recognizing mothers also recognize those who've lost their mother or aren't able to be a mom through a prayer during the worship service.

To be serious about winning as many as possible, churches have to figure out how to navigate this dillema.

More on Route 772 Relocation

I haven't checked the Warwick Twp website in several months, but I just discovered the latest report on the Route 772 Relocation study. I highly recommend that Elizabeth and Warwick Twp residents as well as Lititz Borough residents familiarize themselves with the draft study.

I blogged a while back about the pros and cons of the relocation from a Grace Church perspective, and it appears that the initial recommendation is bringing 772 right by the church.

Why do we use registration cards?

If you've ever attended Grace Church you know that we regularly use registration cards; but have you ever wondered why?

Keeping track of a church congregation has its challenges. A church isn't like a theater which is only concerned about the number of people. In the church context, we're concerned about who was in church and we want to communicate with them. I've visited churches that have approached this using various methods, but each has something designed to try and connect with the congregation.

At Grace we use registration cards in several capacities:

1. It's an attender's way of letting us know they were here. Purposely, the responsibility of communicating that to us is on the onus of the individual. We're here to serve each attender, but they need to let us know who they are in order for us to be able to care for you. As you might imagine, the number of registration cards we received each week relfects about 100 less people than the actual number of people in the Auditorium.

2. We use the address information on the registration card to keep the church database up to date, or at least we try to; there are times when a new address slips by. One misconception is that by marking your new e-mail address on the card, your subscription to the weekly eBulletin and Pastor Scott's weekly e-mail updates will automatically be updated. Since those e-mail list subscriptions are fully automated, they can be updated on the church website.

3. The registration cards can be used to communicate information to the church office, whether it's signing up for an upcoming class or informing the Pastors of an upcoming surgery, a prayer request or other need.

How do we process/utilize the cards?
After an individual/family have attended 4 out of 6 worship services (submitting a registration card at each one) they are entered into the church database as a regular attender. With this designation, they'll be assigned a deacon as part of our deacon/pastoral care ministry. That's where the registration cards become important. It is a real challenge, if impossible, to care for people we about whom we know little.

One day each week, usually on Wednesday, a group of the staff and Pastors gather and pray for the various requests that were written on the registration cards from that Sunday. In addition to praying for the requests, we send encouragement cards to different individuals to let them know we prayed for them.

Hopefully that sheds a little more light on why we ask for the registration cards to be filled out each week.

The Business Mgr and The Prince of Denmark

Based on this article I guess I'm not the only one who has enjoyed Filipino hot wings.

My Super Deacon

I never thought my observation skills would become so handy.

Since mid-February my daily commute has increased some 10+ miles as I travel in to East Petersburg and then back to Lititz at the beginning and end of each day. As stated previously here, I know a number of people by the cars they drive, so with this longer commute I've been able to identify who I pass along the road from Grace Church each day. I figured it was worth noting, but had little other value to my daily living. That was until the day the tank ran dry.

As I was approaching East Petersburg coming down Route 72 I sensed the engine was running a little different than normal. I knew I was stretching the run on that tank of gas, but I didn't have money to purchase gas at my first chance, the second chance I passed up because I didn't have time and the third chance I passed up because I figured I'd be okay. So in true NASCAR form, as we passed by McMinn's Paving company, I had pressed my luck too far and the van came to a stop right under the billboard.

As I stepped out of the car quickly gauging how far of I walk I'd have to the nearest gas station and laying my plans, the thought hit me with little time to spare... I knew that I had passed Dave heading North on 72 every morning about that exact time for the past two weeks. Just as I looked at the Northbound traffic, there was his maroon Ford Escape about to pass me by. I called out to him and waved my hand desperately hoping I'd catch his attention.

It worked! He stopped, delayed having breakfast with his wife to help me out and then was on his way. Dave and his wife are our Deacons, but this made them Super Deacons, right there when I needed them.

But most of all, I thank them for so kindly calling ahead to the office to let my staff know that I run out of gas and that I'd be late for work. They really went the extra mile, making sure I'd get a good ribbing when I got to the office. Somehow this violates the Deacon-Congregant privilege, but I haven't been able to find the exact statute.

Thought it doesn't do much for my resume, being extra observant saved me a long walk to the gas station that morning.