REPORT OF THE DEACONS FOR 2017
Your deacons are happy to report that the spiritual life of our church is healthy and growing! In addition to the easily-quantifiable growth we can see in the increased number of names on our member list, and the increased attendance at worship every Sunday, we are broadening our biblical knowledge and deepening our spiritual wisdom.
We are thankful for the gift of Bibles we have received and made good use of each and every Sunday in worship. By reading scripture together in worship, we come closer together and learn together as we dig deeper into the Word. We briefly had a small group gather to worship, read, and discuss scripture together weekly, from which we learned much and will likely start up again in the new year.
The expenses of the Deacons are supported completely by your generous donations to the Deacons’ Fund. The small envelopes you see in your worship bulletin once a month support things like communion elements, candles for worship, gifts for baptisms and new members, donuts for fellowship, Upper Room booklets for daily devotional reading, and more. Following is a summary of the Deacons’ account for 2017:
| Deacons Account 2017 | Expenses for the year included: | |||
| Starting Balance: | $762.02 | Upper Room: | $314.00 | |
| Income for 2017: | $688.25 | Fellowship Refreshments: | $250.00 | |
| Expenses for 2017: | $702.35 | Worship Elements: | $25.50 | |
| Ending Balance: | $747.92 | Mailings: | $62.85 | |
| Envelopes: | $50.00 | |||
You may know the Deacons to be the ones who greet people every Sunday morning, assist with communion and baptisms, provide the spiritual nourishment of the Upper Room devotionals and the physical nourishment of donuts for our fellowship hours, and other tasks of setting up and cleaning up for worship each Sunday. But the Deacons are much more than a list of tasks to accomplish, and we look forward to broadening and expanding our role in 2018 and reaching out more to the congregation to help with everyone’s spiritual health and development.
For the deacons and for our entire congregation, this coming year promises an examination of “who we are and why we are here” as we explore the meaning and purpose of Oldtown and what drives us, excites us, and energizes us to do what we do, on Sundays and on the days in between that makes us “the Oldtown family.” We hope that this stronger sense of identity will result not just in more enjoyment and growth for ourselves, but in an increased outreach and involvement in our community and in the world for Oldtown. The deacons have begun this exciting journey among ourselves, and we look forward to helping guide the congregation through some invigorating discussion and thought in the coming year.
In closing, we pray for our entire congregation in the words of the Book of Hebrews:
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV)
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Fennell, for the Oldtown Deacons