Part II Your Gifts at Work

This is the second installment of the Finance Committee's request to various ministry teams to inform the church about the exciting work and ministries they are sponsoring because of your financial gifts. The following is Art Tordoff's summary for Discipleship:

During the course of the last two years the Discipleship group has formed as a result of the inspiration of the work we did with the Purpose Driven Life, Church and Community programs. Work areas of Peoples that have been concerned with the program of the church including Nurture, Education, and Missions meet together to find and develop many of the activities of the church.

Over this time Peoples has hosted area churches for training sessions in various aspects of church life. Discipleship has sponsored planning retreats that have set the course for the continuing programs and goals of Peoples and have also sponsored both the Good $ense personal finance program and the End of Life Information sessions. Over the course of the last two years Discipleship has held two Community Awareness Fairs and a Neighborhood block party. We have distributed flyers in the community that have announced the existence and the activities of Peoples as a means of getting to know the community as well as those householders getting to know Peoples.

In the arena of Missions the Discipleship group has worked together to host and hold two International Extravaganzas that have helped the interest in Missions grow. Together we also have helped raise nearly $5000 for Heifer International, a goal that was set for three years and yet the achievement will have been met before the end of year 2. Merrill Kaiser has been the primary proponent of this activity with a great deal of assistance from Earle Harvey, Carol Bruneau and the Sunday school. Missions with the assistance of Nurture and Education (Discipleship) have also planned to continue relationships with the Root Cellar and Wayside Soup Kitchen. Planned short term missions will include a work party to Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop and an excursion to Overlook Farm near Springfield, Massachusetts to see up front and personal how the monies raised for the “Heifer Project Ark” will and are used.

On the Nurture front a number of fun activities have taken place or are in the works in addition to working together as a team on the above activities. New Year’s Eve had been celebrated for a few years under the auspices of nurture. We have had a few family events and the plan is to develop more and to also restore some older programs like the Saturday nighters which was a long tradition in the life of Peoples for adults. Rosemary Herd is principally in charge of this vital area of church life.

In the realm of education the Sunday school continues to grow with a number of young families and children participating under the leadership of Andy and Teresa Folley and with a great support cast that has included the Dunns, Betty Lane, Karen Jennings and Betty Splettstoesser. Both Pastors Jamie and Gwyneth Arrison have been actively engaged with Sunday school staff. While the children’s Sunday school operates somewhat independently of the Discipleship group it is important that the work of the Sunday school be a significant piece of Discipleship group activities and concerns.