12 December 2008 by Gail Carter.

The past few months at Glen Mar have been so busy and December should be the busiest of all!  We have hardly caught our collective breaths from The Walk To Bethlehem and now we’re onto the rest of the Advent season!  Many, many thanks have been given to Brian & Margaret Prechtl for their introduction of WTB to Glen Mar, but you should know that along with Brian & Margaret, Donna & Brian Stinchcomb and Karen & Gary Wright spent long days and nights at the church making sure that everything was organized and in place for the big weekend.  And a great weekend it was - still can’t believe all those people (1400+) came out in that uncooperative weather to view the story of Jesus.  Quite a statement!  Also, quite a red flag for us to have as many chairs set up on Christmas Eve as possible, huh?

Speaking of Christmas Eve, it’s never too early to start practicing your “welcome” smiles and intros!  We are preparing for as many as 1,000+ new folks to visit us for the services on Wednesday afternoon/evening.  Please don’t hesitate to even just say “Hi” to people you may not know.  There are so many of us who don’t know EVERYONE, so remember that we’re all in the same boat. 

You may also want to brush up on your Glen Mar facts, so please continue to keep informed by reading “The Messenger” and your Sunday bulletin.  There are always a lot of questions about our Phase II progress, about the staff, about what various ministries are doing, and where people can get plugged in, etc.  The answers to all these can be found in not only the two publications, but on the website.  We encourage as many people as possible to click us on and stay informed.  As always, you can contact me through the website (layleader@glenmarumc.org) or on my regular email (gamarcar@verizon.net).  I make a heroic effort to answer everyone within a 24 hour period - even when I’m on vacation!  Mostly, the questions I receive are simple to answer, but sometimes they take a little research.  It’s never a problem, so keep your inquiries rolling in!

I should say here that I’m really very grateful for the help I’ve been getting from those of you who I ask to make phone calls to visitors that I meet personally.  We have a fabulous Visitor Follow Up team that is working very hard to keep abreast of everyone who visits us and has a system for engaging those folks by phone & email.  Andy sends a letter to everyone who registers as a first-time visitor.  When a visitor contacts me directly, I’ve been asking appropriate ministry leaders/staff members to make a call/contact depending on the specific interest of the visitor.  It’s been very exciting to see the enthusiasm of some new people getting hooked up with bible studies and other places that suit their interests.    Please keep up the good work and energy!!!

One of the ministries which is working behind the scenes on your behalf is the Leadership Team. Many are unaware of either who they are or what they do.  We meet every other week (down from every week during our initial transition) and are currently going through the second round of ministry reviews to continually assess the alignment of ministries and the Strategic Plan/growth goals.  It has been an incredibly arduous task, but the team is dedicated to making sure that all eyes are on the same goals, and adhering to our mission statement is one of them.

The SPRC (Staff Parish Relations Committee) has been completing their annual fun task of Pastor/Congregational Evaluations which are due to the Conference every December.  I can tell you this:  we call it the Staff Parish Slumber Party ‘cuz we never get out of those meetings ’til after 10:00 p.m.  This is Patrick Wagner’s last month of heading this group, so - if you know him - give him a smile and a “thanx” for all he’s done for the past couple of years on behalf of our staff.

Another team that gets very little positive recognition is the Finance Team.  Now, you talk about fun jobs!!!!  Their meetings may not go ’til 11:00 p.m., but what they do in one 2 1/2 hour meeting would take years for the mathematically-challenged.  This has been a most unusual, unprecedented, and challenging year for those in charge of church finances - there’s no sufficient model for how to forecast finances when transitioning to a larger facility.  Does the growth occur immediately?  Does the growth happen gradually?  Or, does the community pop in on Christmas Eve and then decide that Glen Mar is their church home?  Who knows?  Well, fiscally, the Finance Team has to make that call and base their projections on it!  Don’t get the impression that I sit on this team - - - it’s one of the very few that I don’t (although I am an ex-officio member according to the UM Discipline).  However, my husband, Jeff Carter, happens to chair it which makes me up-close-and-personal to the daily struggles he and his team face.  Jeff’s another one that deserves some encouraging and thankful words along with those folks he works with to keep us afloat.

Speaking of $$$ - our least favorite subject — this Sunday (December 14) is “Miracle Sunday”.  We are being asked to pitch-in, over and above our pledges, to keep us current with our apportionment obligation for 2008.  As you’ve probably read, we have been so blessed to receive a matching gift from one of our members for half the amount we still owe.  How glorious is THAT?  In common language, for every dollar you give, another dollar will be given.  Andy and I will be announcing the results of that effort on December 21st at every service.

Ahhhh…………December 21st!  Please put on your calendar that it’s a great Sunday to get an early start to the service of your choice.  It’s the big music Sunday and filled with joyous messages of Advent.  Traditionally, it’s also the Sunday that draws a TON of community visitors!  They come to check us out for Christmas Eve and to acclimate themselves to our environment.  We may be filled to overflow and our Sunday School programs may be jammed!  What a blessing we have now to invite and inspire!  Let’s throw out that Welcome Mat and encourage people to share in the joy we have in knowing that our God is a good, especially in these questioning and challenging times.

Blessings to all of you in this season of Advent and always.  Be assured that you have a voice here at Glen Mar and, through prayer, your voice is heard by God.

Gail Carter, Lay Leader

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10 June 2008 by Gail Carter.

Wow……..did that make you look????  Actually, what I’m interested in is “You Catching”. 

As Lay Leader, I sit in on a lot of teams.  On most of these teams there seems to be a common theme - a need for people; people to lead, to assist, to advise, to ACT.  On the other hand, as Lay Leader, I also get to talk to a myriad of congregation members, and guess what I hear ALL THE TIME????  “I don’t know where I belong”, “I want to be plugged into what’s going on”, “I’d like to help, but I don’t know who to contact or what the first step is”. 

After almost ten months of the Leadership Team reviewing ministries and their needs, I can tell you that if you’ve got a plug, there’s a socket to match it somewhere within Glen Mar.   For example, Jeff Carter is in need of someone with financial expertise to join his Finance Team.  Can you help?  Carrie Grams is always looking for an accompanist and someone to help out with administrative duties.  Would this interest you?  Pastor John needs assistance in Adult Christian Learning.  The list goes on and on.

If you are looking for an area to share your talents, please email me at LayLeader@GlenMarUMC.org or put a note in my mailbox which is located in the little hallway on the right after you enter the front doors.  I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you!!!

Gail 

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