Happenings around Parkrose United Methodist Church

May 2009, Volume 2, Issue 8

http://www.parkroseumc.org       welcome@parkroseumc.org. 

What’s Cooking at PUMC?

Miller Hall Update- A Note from Pastor Bill

Because of extremely high heating costs during the winter months of 2007/8 Church Council decided to close Miller Hall for the winter months of 2008/9 and evaluate the resulting impact of; 1) cost savings and 2) higher density of groups meeting in Sanctuary/Education Wing. We met on March 12 in a Town Hall meeting to begin the evaluation process. The conversation was terrific with much dialogue about pros and cons of operating with Miller Hall closed and the costs of reopening.

Since then we have sold the parsonage and the Trustees have invested the proceeds. A portion of the income from that investment will be used to supplement payment of my housing allowance (consequently adding income to the operating budget) as is specified in the United Methodist Book of Discipline. The balance of that income will be reinvested according to those same rules. The Trustees are also recommending the portion of parsonage proceeds authorized to remodel Miller Hall, be used as matching funds for any remodeling or development. That means if/when we decide to upgrade Miller Hall, the congregation will have an opportunity to contribute toward the construction costs. Any money raised for construction would be matched by parsonage fund money.

Also, since our March 12 Town Hall meeting your Finance Team has begun evaluating the cost savings of Miller Hall being closed. They have discovered several items of interest in their preliminary evaluation: 1) heating costs in the sanctuary and Education Wing have actually been REDUCED by 20% this year, EVEN WITH the additional use by the Hispanic Fellowship, Oromo Fellowship and other ministries that had previously used Miller Hall. This may be due to the installation of new thermostats in the Education Wing last year. 2) Even though Miller Hall has been closed, it still has been heated to a minimum temperature. We have spent close to $1,000 on oil for Miller Hall this winter (compared to $2,964 in 2007/8 and  $3,889 in 2006/7).

At the moment, consideration of Miller Hall’s future may be one of dollars and cents. And there are two focal points that your Trustees and  Finance Teams are looking at: 1) cost of operations, and 2) loss of income. Operating costs, of course, include heating. With energy efficiency upgrades that include the possibility of new furnace and even air conditioning current costs could be cut in as much as half. The Trustees have identified upgrades that would cost a minimum ballpark figure of $80,000. If half of that were raised by gifts and pledges by congregation members/constituents the other half would come from invested funds. Loss of income may be $2,000. Cost of operations may be another $2,000. A total impact on our ministry budget of reopening Miller Hall could be around $4,000 per year.

Trustees are entering a period of discovery to see how Miller Hall might be used to bring in that amount of money and more. Finance Team is evaluating our ministry budget to help the congregation make the best decision as we go forward. In the meantime Miller Hall will continue to be closed officially, with opening it considered on a case-by-case basis. More Town Hall meetings are assured as this process unfolds.

One of many bright spots in this process is that we are doing a great job of sharing space. Congratulations to the whole congregation for seeing the opportunity to build bridges! There have been minor bumps along the way but overall the graciousness of three ethnic groups working together to share space for worship, prayer, fellowship and community service has been very gratifying. I’m proud of what we have done and look forward to more. 

Thanks to Trustees and Finance Teams for their faithful leadership.  

Peace,

Pastor Bill

Community Garden… It’s time to get your hands dirty!

For the next six weeks teams of garden bees will be buzzing around our community garden space working to prepare the space for a June opening of the Parkrose Heights Community Garden. Each Saturday in May, show up at 9:00 a.m. and we will find a project for you. You might even feel a little more spiritual with some dirt under your fingernails. We would love to have you join in. If construction is not your thing we also have a couple of teams working on Garden Management (how we organize ourselves and operations of the garden), and Promotion/Publicity. Contact me if you’re interested. bill@parkroseumc.org or (503) 381-9134. Many hands make light work. For more details visit us on the web Parkrose Community Garden

Congratulations!

 To Ashley Verhulst (Bossert) graduating with her masters degree of Art and Teaching from Concordia University on May 2, 2009. Ashley plans to teach at the primary grade level. Way to Go Ashley!

Turban Ladies in the News Again!

Our Turban ladies are popping up in news articles around the land..  After being featured on the cover of Mid County Memo in March 2009, the Oregonian featured the group and their ministry on Monday, April 27, 2009. The Response Magazine that is the worldwide mission magazine for the United Methodist Church has also been in contact.  Through this publicity, awareness has been raised and a company in Milwaukie, OR has offered fabric scraps and many individuals have donated fabric. Several of our Turban ladies will be helping other organizations start their own Turbans…. What’s next?? 

United Methodist Women Invite You to Two Events in May

          Mothers and Others May 4^th,  7 p.m.  McKinnon Education Wing.  An evening celebrating and honoring women. A light dessert will be served during the program. Be sure to bring a favorite antique and be prepared to share about it.

     May 20^th-Gresham UMC.       Sarah Baker from Portland First UMC will be sharing about their recent trip to Louisiana. Their group worked at the UMCOR  Sager Brown Depot, where disaster relief supplies are warehoused and prepared for distribution worldwide. The ladies (and gentelmen) will be car pooling, meet in the parking lot at 10:00 a.m. (all are welcome)

Parking Lot Sale August 15, 2009

Start thinking about donations for our fund raising event. Clean out that garage or closet and bring your “gently’ used items on Saturday, May 9 or 23^rd to Miller Hall 10:00 a.m. to Noon.  This is a great time to give Mom’s the gift of a clean garage! Due to the upcoming digital television conversion we will not be accepting televisions. Contact Linda Allen for other donation times (503)-252-6871 or 2landl.allen@q.com

Make a Note.. Address changes:  Call the office for changes 503-253-7567

Kevin Witt- Page 14 in the church directory should be …

Betsy (Pauline) Brown-Page 5 in the church directory should be …