A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM CARMEL UNITED METHODIST // August 2021
It’s easy as a new pastor of a large church to be pulled in a lot of different directions the first few months of ministry. That’s certainly happened for me here at Carmel. It was obvious to Sue and I that God (and the Bishop) had sent us to a warm and faithful congregation of women and men. Of course, the biggest hurdle was Covid-19 and the inability to gather for worship and fellowship with one another. As things have started to open for us and the world around us, it continues to nag at my pastor’s sensibility that I know so few of you with any kind of depth. It’s especially daunting with those who have not yet returned to church out of their quarantine.
That’s why I find myself convicted that we need to find a way for us as the children of God to reach out and make sure that all of us who make up our church community have weathered the storm of this pandemic. I think this is probably the ideal time to ask how the church might be able to come alongside you if there is need, and what new opportunities are available for learning, serving, and deeper relationships. We are putting our heads together, thinking about how best to do this as broadly and completely as we can—what we used to call an “every member canvas”—and be clear that we are NOT reaching out to talk about money or giving. There will be a need for that later this fall, no doubt, but the concerns of your pastoral staff are all about your spiritual, emotional, and relational vitality or lack thereof. Logistically it’s a challenging task to reach out as fully as possible to all those who see themselves as part of Carmel United Methodist Church. Though we’ve got several ideas in the pipeline, each is going to require a number of volunteers, a fair amount of coordination, a way to get what we need out of our database, and an abundance of patience and prayer. My reason for writing you now is to give you a heads up and to get your spiritual (Continue on page 2) Carmel United Methodist Church 621 S. Range Line Rd. Carmel, IN 46032
Phone: 317-844-7275 Email: Caremail@carmelumc.org www.carmelumc.org