Halleluia!!

During worship on December 11, we celebrated the work of our Reach and Renew campaign and we all learned how much had been pledged to the campaign. Eldonna set the stage with a reflection, saying that we undertook this campaign not really knowing how we were going to do; but based on the history of the church, we had faith we could do it.

Barb Arnold then talked about the wonderful experiences she had in her calls and visits (and about her Wii game with 3-year-old Henry Kremer). Annette Ellstrom, the campaign chair, very specifically thanked everyone who participated in the campaign in any way, including people who didn’t feel they could make a pledge at this time, but who supported the campaign with their prayers.

She then invited several Steering Committee members to come forward; and as they held up large numbers for the congregation to see, she re-arranged them several times until the pledge total from members of the congregation was revealed: $1,900,965. The congregation was overjoyed and erupted in sustained applause, which also included a few “hoots.” Kathy Taylor spontaneously led us in singing the Doxology.

Fred Wileman, chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, announced that the Foundation was pledging $250,000 to the campaign, to be used at the discretion of the Executive Council, making the total amount raised $2,150,965. Annette Ellstrom was honored and thanked for her tremendous work as campaign chair and given a Linda Hancock print.

Curt closed that part of worship with a reflection suggesting that the purpose of the campaign went far beyond the heating system and other physical work – that it was really about enabling us to remain faithful to Jesus’ vision of a world of justice and peace. After worship, we celebrated with refreshments and sustained conversation into the afternoon. It was a great day!