March 16, 2018 The Blawenburg Beacon Newsletter for the members and friends of the Blawenburg Reformed Church This Issue Includes: Pastor’s Greeting 1 Administra- tion 2 Worship 4 Life-Long Learning 7 BVS Hospitality 9 10 Mission Proclamation 11 14 Upcoming Dates 16 … and more Early Spring 2018 Partnership with Griggstown – Starting Sunday, April 8th! This spring we will begin a new chapter of our church’s story as we begin a part- nership with the Griggstown Reformed Church (GRC). For the Blawenburg Re- formed Church (BRC) this partnership moves us towards a more faithful financial arrangement while allowing the church to retain me, Pastor Jeff, as your minister. For GRC the partnership fills their need for a part-time minister. The partnership we have agreed to is a four-month test. It will begin on Monday, April 2nd and end on Sunday, July 29th. Between April and July both our church- es and I will work to understand if the partnership can be a long-term arrangement and continue past July. Under the four-month test, I will be leading worship at both churches each Sunday morning. BRC will worship from 9am-10am and GRC will worship from 11am- 12pm. This is a change for BRC; rather than worshiping at 10am we will worship one hour earlier at 9am! After worship I will have time to greet the congregation at coffee hour before leaving for GRC around 10:30am. We are hoping that the earlier worship time will be attractive to younger families, some of whom appreci- ate earlier services on Sunday mornings. The first Sunday of this new arrangement will be Sunday, April 8th, which is the first Sunday after Easter. Beyond Sunday morning worship, I will be dividing this time according to a one- third and two-thirds arrangement. Two-thirds of my time each week will be spent working with BRC. One third of my time will be spent working with GRC. I will offer pastoral care for both congregations and I will lead consistory at both churches. For BRC I will also continue to teach Bible studies (Tuesday mornings at 10am and Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm) and work with our ministry teams, though at a lesser capacity compared to full-time ministry. I will have office hours at both churches each week and will be available by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Mondays and Saturdays will be my days off and I will be always on call for pastoral-care emergencies. There certainly is disappointment in not being able to continue in full-time minis- try together. However, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with a sister congregation. Members of GRC have already joined our Tuesday morning Bible study and we anticipate that there will be other crossover opportunities that will strengthen and enrich both congregations. I look forward to seeing what unexpected blessings God may have in store for us through this partnership. Please pray for our church, for our staff, for our consisto- ry and team leaders, for GRC, and for me and my family as we all engage in this period of change and discernment. (Continued on page 2)
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March 16, 2018
The Blawenburg Beacon Newsletter for the members and friends of the Blawenburg Reformed Church
This Issue
Includes:
Pastor’s
Greeting
1
Administra-
tion
2
Worship
4
Life-Long
Learning
7
BVS
Hospitality
9
10
Mission
Proclamation
11
14
Upcoming
Dates
16
… and more
Early Spring 2018
Partnership with Griggstown – Starting Sunday, April 8th!
This spring we will begin a new chapter of our church’s story as we begin a part-
nership with the Griggstown Reformed Church (GRC). For the Blawenburg Re-
formed Church (BRC) this partnership moves us towards a more faithful financial
arrangement while allowing the church to retain me, Pastor Jeff, as your minister.
For GRC the partnership fills their need for a part-time minister.
The partnership we have agreed to is a four-month test. It will begin on Monday,
April 2nd and end on Sunday, July 29th. Between April and July both our church-
es and I will work to understand if the partnership can be a long-term arrangement
and continue past July.
Under the four-month test, I will be leading worship at both churches each Sunday
morning. BRC will worship from 9am-10am and GRC will worship from 11am-
12pm. This is a change for BRC; rather than worshiping at 10am we will worship
one hour earlier at 9am! After worship I will have time to greet the congregation
at coffee hour before leaving for GRC around 10:30am. We are hoping that the
earlier worship time will be attractive to younger families, some of whom appreci-
ate earlier services on Sunday mornings. The first Sunday of this new arrangement
will be Sunday, April 8th, which is the first Sunday after Easter.
Beyond Sunday morning worship, I will be dividing this time according to a one-
third and two-thirds arrangement. Two-thirds of my time each week will be spent
working with BRC. One third of my time will be spent working with GRC. I will
offer pastoral care for both congregations and I will lead consistory at both
churches. For BRC I will also continue to teach Bible studies (Tuesday mornings
at 10am and Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm) and work with our ministry teams,
though at a lesser capacity compared to full-time ministry. I will have office hours
at both churches each week and will be available by appointment on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Mondays and Saturdays will be my days off
and I will be always on call for pastoral-care emergencies.
There certainly is disappointment in not being able to continue in full-time minis-
try together. However, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with a sister
congregation. Members of GRC have already joined our Tuesday morning Bible
study and we anticipate that there will be other crossover opportunities that will
strengthen and enrich both congregations.
I look forward to seeing what unexpected blessings God may have in store for us
through this partnership. Please pray for our church, for our staff, for our consisto-
ry and team leaders, for GRC, and for me and my family as we all engage in this
period of change and discernment. (Continued on page 2)
The Blawenburg Reformed Church is a covenant community of God’s people united in Christ
through the Holy Spirit. We commit our gifts to worship, hospitality, life-long learning,
serving those in need, and proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.